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Royal Mail workers will launch a new wave of strikes in December in a round of union action that will wreak havoc on millions of households posting gifts in the run-up to Christmas.
The strikes have been organized by the Communication Workers’ Union amid a row with the company over wages and working conditions.
What dates are the strikes at Royal Mail?
The CWU is planning a 10-day strike, which means its 115,000 members will strike on the following dates:
Thursday 24 NovFriday Nov 25- Wednesday Nov 30
- Thursday December 1
- Friday December 9
- Sunday December 11
- Wednesday December 14
- Thursday December 15
- Friday December 23
- Christmas Eve
Will the postal strikes affect Christmas deliveries?
Yes. Strikes on December 23 and Christmas Eve in particular threaten to wreak havoc on late parcels making their way to millions of homes.
During the last national strikes in August, the large staff representation of the CWU left almost the entire postal network crippled, with only the most essential services and special deliveries continuing.
What is the latest date to send Christmas cards and parcels via Royal Mail?
Royal Mail is urging customers to take “enough time” to post items this year.
If you want cards and presents to arrive on Christmas Day, you should post 2nd class items no later than December 19while 1st class must be shipped no later than December 21.
Special deliveries and guaranteed items with tracking must be shipped before December 22. Special deliveries with the company’s “Saturday Guarantee” can ship on December 23.
Why are Royal Mail employees taking industrial action?
The dispute between the postal service and the CWU, which represents more than 100,000 of Royal Mail’s 140,000 employees, revolves around pay and conditions.
In the wake of rapid inflation, the CWU argues that the company’s postal workers deserve a raise to match the price increases. Inflation in the UK was 11 percent last month, a 41-year high.
They are also angry about changes to working conditions that Royal Mail bosses want to make, including a seven-day-a-week parcel service, reducing letter delivery to five days, more automation of parcel and letter sorting and later finishing times , to get more deliveries the next day.
Royal Mail says the company is losing £1 million a day and without radical changes the company has no future. Bosses have threatened layoffs and a possible breakup of the company if striking workers cannot be taken to their limits.
What if I send mail internationally?
Then you have to take even more time. Royal Mail says mail to family and friends serving in the armed forces should be sent by December 2.
For others using international economy mail, you missed the deadlines for shipping to the Far and Middle East, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, Canada and the US by regular mail.
However, the TBEN for Cyprus, Eastern Europe, Greece, Iceland, Malta and Turkey is November 25, while for Western Europe you must ship items before November 28.
Those using international standard or international tracking and signature services are late for mail destined for the British Virgin Islands, Dominica and Anguilla.
But you still have time for the rest. The TBEN for Australia and New Zealand is December 1, for mainland China it is December 2, for the Caribbean it is December 5, for Africa, the Middle East and Asia it is December 7, for Cyprus and Malta it is it December 8. and for Eastern Europe and Turkey it is December 10.
For Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Poland, Sweden and the US it is December 10, while for Western Europe it is December 12 and finally for Belgium, France and Luxembourg it is December 14.
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