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A Bath charity fears the effect of postal workers’ strikes on donations to its Christmas appeal.
Julian House supports vulnerable people in the city who are experiencing homelessness, domestic abuse, learning disabilities or rejoining society after being released from prison. Yet, donations to its Christmas fundraising campaign have slumped this year.
Spokesman Cecil Weir said the ongoing Royal Mail strikes were partly to blame because many of the letters sent to supporters in November still had not arrived. He claimed this had led to a massive reduction in donations, with £190,000 still to find.
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Mr Weir said: “We are concerned about the damaging impact of the strikes on our most important fundraising appeal. Although homelessness is very much a 365-day-a-year issue, public awareness is much higher during the winter months.
“This is why we concentrate our fundraising efforts at this time of the year. This year, we need to raise £190,000 before the end of January, but despite posting letters to supporters in November, many have still not arrived, causing a massive reduction in donations.
“This could directly impact the services our charity is able to provide to some of the most vulnerable members of society. There are still a lot of people who write cheques and send in credit card donations. It’s a real worry.”
Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) who work for Royal Mail have taken eight days of industrial action so far, starting on November 24. The next planned strike days are this Friday (December 23) and Saturday (December 24/Christmas Eve).
Photographs taken at Bristol’s Royal Mail Centre in Filton on a strike day last week showed hundreds of postal cages stacked outside the depot. The CWU called the scene “highly unusual” and “chaotic”.
The union is striking over a two per cent pay increase for Royal Mail workers earlier this year, which it feels is not enough during a cost-of-living crisis. It said the issue was “not complicated” and that the company could “afford” to offer more.
“This is at a time when RPI inflation is currently running at 11.8 per cent and when Royal Mail has announced Group profits of £758 million and when the company is paying out many millions to private shareholders. In a national strike ballot over pay, our Royal Mail members voted by a 97.6 per cent majority to take action,” the CWU explained.
The strike days announced for this autumn and winter were:
- Thursday, November 24
- Friday, November 25
- Wednesday, November 30
- Thursday, December 1
- Friday, December 9
- Sunday, December 11
- Wednesday, December 14
- Thursday, December 15
- Friday, December 23
- Christmas Eve
Meanwhile, Julian House must find nearly £200,000 by the end of January and it is relying on a late surge in donations to bridge the gap. To find out more or donate, visit the charity’s website.
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