Royal Mail strike 2019: Why are workers walking out? Will I be able to send post for Christmas?

Royal Mail is facing its first national postal strike in a decade after staff voted overwhelmingly for action.

The walkout was backed by around 110,000 members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), in a huge turnout of 76 per cent.

The strike dates have yet to be announced but the union has said it could target the postal service around Christmas and Black Friday. 

CWU members have vowed to “fight” against those “who now seek to break up the great British postal service in the interest of fast-track profit and greed.”

But why are the workers taking action? And will the walkout lead to Christmas chaos?

When is the strike happening?

The dates of the strikes are “entirely up to the Royal Mail leadership,” the CWU said in a statement.

The union acknowledged “media speculation” that Christmas or November’s Black Friday weekend could be affected. 

But it said the dates will be decided, depending on the outcome of talks.

Why are the workers taking action?

The CWU has accused Royal Mail leadership of breaking a “progressive” deal reached just over a year ago.

The union said it had agreed a “blueprint agreement for the future” with the Royal Mail Group Board to raise pay, reduce working hours and reform pensions.

The “four pillars agreement” includes pay rises and a pledge to reduce weekly working hours from 39 to 35 by 2022, subject to productivity.

The CWU’s postal deputy general secretary Terry Pullinger said the company’s chiefs are now breaking that agreement.

The union has said relations with Royal Mail have worsened since Rico Black, 65, former boss of the logistics company GLS, took over the postal service in June last year. 

What is Royal Mail’s response?

Royal Mail has said it is honouring the agreement and has awarded two pay rises since last year.

It also insists it has cut the working week by an hour – although it has admitted that negotiations with the CWU on further cuts have stalled.

“We want to reach agreement. Industrial action, or the threat of it, is damaging for our business and undermines the trust of our customers,” it said in a statement, adding that it was “disappointed” by the CWU’s decision.

It added that Royal Mail was in mediation with the CWU and “committed to reaching a resolution”.

How might the strike affect customers over the busy Christmas period?

Royal Mail holds 51 per cent of the British parcel market.

It has faced increasing pressure in recent years from the likes of Amazon and multinational delivery businesses such as DPD, UPS and Hermes.

Still, with Royal Mail holding just over half the British parcel market, a strike over Christmas could overload competitors, and lead to a few empty stockings.

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