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More than 100,000 Royal Mail postal workers are on strike today after unions rejected a two per cent pay rise in a dispute that could last until Christmas.
Letters will not be delivered and some parcels will be delayed in what is being described as the biggest strike of the summer so far.
Walkouts are also set to take place on August 31, September 8 and September 9 after 97.6% of members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) voted in favour of industrial action.
The union has a mandate to continue action for six months, meaning the strikes could drag on until January, affecting the crucial Christmas trading period as well as the busy Black Friday weekend.
It is the latest in a string of protests across the country this summer, with bin strikes currently taking place in more than 20 council areas in Scotland and strikes planned over the August bank holiday on buses operated by London United.
Dave Ward, general secretary of the CWU, said: ‘There can be no doubt that postal workers are completely united in their determination to secure the dignified, proper pay rise they deserve.
‘We can’t keep on living in a country where bosses rake in billions in profit while their employees are forced to use food banks.’
He condemned Royal Mail’s adjusted operating profit in the year ending March 2022 of £758million and its decision last November to hand shareholders £400million in dividends.
More than 100,000 Royal Mail postal workers are on strike today after the Communication Workers Union rejected a 2 per cent pay offer. Strikers at the Royal Mail Whitechapel Delivery Office in east London have been joined on the picket line by someone dressed as Postman Pat
CWU general secretary Dave Ward (pictured on the picket line today) said postal workers ‘completely united in their determination to secure the dignified, proper pay rise they deserve’
Strikers today have been expressing disdain towards Royal Mail’s CEO Simon Thompson, with chants of ‘What do we want? Thompson out. When do we want it? Now’ ringing out on the picket lines in east London.
Strikers at the Royal Mail Whitechapel Delivery Office have been banging drums and waving flags and have been joined on the picket line by someone dressed as children’s book character Postman Pat.
Royal Mail said it has contingency plans in place to minimise disruption and will prioritise the delivery of medical prescriptions, Special Delivery and Tracked 24 parcels on strike days.
But it said that items posted the day before a strike, the day of, or on the days after might be disrupted and the company advised customers to send parcels and letters as early as possible.
Mr Ward continued: ‘Our members just lost total confidence in the actions of the company, the board, and they’ve lost faith in the leadership and people will understand that when they see the way that the company have conducted themselves.
Strikers (pictured outside a post office in London) say that a 2 per cent pay rise is insufficient when inflation is at 10.1 per cent
Letters will not be delivered and some parcels will be delayed. Some collection offices like this one in Windsor, Berkshire are shut for the day
Royal Mail made an adjusted operating profit in the year ending March 2022 of £758million and gave £400million in dividends to shareholders last November (stock image)
‘The company made record profits last year: £758 million. They gave away over £400 million to shareholders, they rewarded themselves with huge record bonuses for achieving their financial targets and then imposed a 2% pay increase on postal workers.
‘Against the background of rocketing inflation, rocketing energy bills, it’s simply not acceptable.
‘Postal workers in the UK are one of the last remaining pillars of our society.
‘We are going to fight hard to get our members the pay deal that they deserve.’
The calls for a pay rise come as inflation is at a 40-year high of 10.1% and is expected to surpass 13% later his year.
The CWU has called on customers to refuse post today to support the industrial action and Mr Ward also appealed to the Labour Party to show their ‘full support’ and to start asking questions in Parliament about ‘what the real motives are of the company at the moment’.
Strikers today have been expressing their disdain towards Royal Mail’s CEO Simon Thompson (pictured), with chants of ‘What do we want? Thompson out. When do we want it? Now’ ringing out on the picket lines in east London
Walkouts are also set to take place on August 31, September 8 and September 9 after 97.6% of members of the CWU voted in favour of industrial action
Labour has faced criticism in recent months for an apparent lack of support for strikers after Keir Starmer told MPs not to join rail workers on picket lines.
The party’s former leader and the MP for Islington North Jeremy Corbyn expressed his support on Twitter for today’s postal strikes.
His son Tommy’s National Hemp Service shop account shared a picture of the MP outside the London store pointing at a poster that read: ‘This house does not want deliveries from Royal Mail or Parcelforce on 26th August, 31st August, 8th September or 9th September.’
The post said: ‘We proudly stand with postal workers and @CWUnews in the Royal Mail Group Strike starting tomorrow.
‘Join us in helping them to demand a fair deal.
‘Refuse deliveries on strike days. #StandByYourPost’
Labour MP for East Leeds Richard Burgon also tweeted his support for the strikes, saying he stands in ‘solidarity with CWU’ over their rejection of a real-terms ‘pay cut’ and former Labour leadership candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey said postal workers ‘deserve a no-strings cost of living pay award’.
The National Hemp Service shop, run by Jeremy Corbyn’s son Tommy, shared a picture of the Labour MP showing his support for today’s strikes
Homeowners and shopkeepers have been showing their support for the industrial action by displaying signs in their window saying they do not want to receive deliveries from Royal Mail or Parcelforce on strike days
A Royal Mail spokesperson said the business could not ‘cling to outdated working practices, ignoring technological advancements and pretending that Covid has not significantly changed what the public wants from Royal Mail’.
They added: ‘While our competitors work seven days a week, delivering until 10pm to meet customer demand, the CWU want to work fewer hours, six days a week, starting and finishing earlier.
‘Their plans to transform Royal Mail come with a £1billion price tag, are predicated on a wholly unrealistic revival in letter writing, and prevent Royal Mail from growing, and remaining competitive, in a fast-moving industry.
‘The CWU’s vision for Royal Mail would create a vicious spiral of falling volumes, higher prices, bigger losses, and fewer jobs.
The company said it remained ready for further talks to avert the strikes, but that they ‘must be about both change and pay’.
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