Royal Mail new strike days for December 2022

Royal Mail workers are set to go on strike on December 23 and Christmas Eve, after new strike days were announced by the The Communication Workers Union (CWU). December 23 and 24 would normally be two of the busiest days of the year for postal workers – the strikes could mean last-minute Christmas presents won’t be delivered on time.

The CWU says it will not allow Royal Mail bosses “to destroy the livelihoods of postal workers.” The strikes come over disputes regarding pay, working conditions and job safety.

The full list of new strike days are pencilled in for December 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24. Additionally, they will also be striking on the dates of November 24, 25 and 30, and December 1, which includes Black Friday.

On strike days, the Royal Mail says it will prioritise the delivery of Covid-19 test kits and medical prescriptions “wherever possible”. They will also aim to make sure as many Special Delivery and Tracked 24 parcels reach their destination on time – however, they won’t be delivering any letters on strike dates.

The Royal Mail encourages you to post items or make deliveries before the strike dates. When the strikes are on, it will take longer than usual for mailed items to arrive.

A statement on the Royal Mail website reads: “The CWU has formally notified Royal Mail they plan to call on their members who collect, sort and deliver parcels and letters to take national strike action on Thursday 24, Friday 25 and Wednesday 30 November and Thursday 1 December 1, 2022.

“Royal Mail has well-developed contingency plans, but we cannot fully replace the daily efforts of our frontline workforce. We’ll be doing what we can to keep services running, but we are sorry this planned strike action is likely to cause you some disruption.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the CWU said: “The CWU want a negotiated settlement with Royal Mail Group and will continue to engage the company to that end.

“But those in charge of Royal Mail need to wake up and realise we won’t allow them to destroy the livelihoods of postal workers.”

CWU acting deputy general secretary Andy Furey said: “This dispute has always been about a company having respect for dedicated public servants who, as key workers, provided unprecedented customer service during the pandemic. The determination of these people hasn’t swayed, and nor has their sense of betrayal.

“They won’t accept their living standards being smashed by people running a service that generated tens of millions of pounds in profit out of our members’ efforts. There is more than enough money for a reasonable pay rise – implementing this real-terms pay cut has always been a management choice, not a necessity. We urge management to see sense, get into real negotiations and cut a fair deal to avert these strikes.”

Workers who collect, sort and deliver parcels and letters:

Processing, distribution, international, collection and admin: