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The Royal Mail strikes mean many customers might not get their Christmas letters and parcels delivered in time as post remains piled high at sorting offices, postal workers have warned.
More than 100,000 unionised employees are expected to have walked out of their posts on Friday after a fresh round of talks in the increasingly bitter dispute broke down without reaching an agreement.
Thousands attended a rally outside Parliament in central London to protest what they called “unachievable” changes to working conditions.
As well as Friday, postal workers will strike again on Sunday and on Wednesday 14, Thursday 15, Friday 23 and Saturday 24 December.
Royal Mail brought forward this year’s final Christmas posting dates as a result, with the final date for sending 2nd class post Monday 12 December.
But striking workers have told i that the upcoming walk-outs coupled with a growing backlog of parcels at sorting offices mean that even post sent ahead of the deadline may not be delivered in time.
“Mail may arrive for Christmas [if it’s] posted by 12 December but there will be a heck of a lot that won’t,” said Sandy Best, who works as a postwoman in Swindon. She said this was due to increasing quantities of post that has been accumulating during the strikes.
Another worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said there is “no chance everything will be delivered before Christmas” while a spokesperson for the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said it is “highly unlikely” that 2nd class post sent now will arrive in time.
Monday 12 December is anticipated to be the busiest day of the year in post office branches, Royal Mail’s customer experience director Laura Joseph said, with many customers likely to make the most of cheaper postage options.
But one postie, who has worked for Royal Mail for nearly 18 years, said that in the past, every item of post had to be treated equally but now, letters have been “pushed down the pecking order”.
It comes after i revealed a shocking build-up of post at sorting offices last week, with trolleys piled high with parcels crammed together, leaving little space for employees to walk around. Postal workers said some offices are so full that parcels are having to be stored in lorries and trailers outside.
The day he spoke to i, the employee said parcels were being delivered but very few letters, leaving as many as 40,000 in the sorting office.
“1st class letters and important letters that have been there for five or six days on the system weren’t even looked at,” he said.
Royal Mail has denied prioritising parcels over letters, saying they “should be treated with equal importance”.
A company spokesperson said: “We are doing all we can to deliver Christmas for our customers and minimise the impact of damaging industrial action. The CWU is striking at our busiest time, holding Christmas to ransom for our customers, businesses and families across the country. We apologise to our customers and strongly urge them to post early for Christmas.
“We have been doing a good job of quickly recovering from days of industrial action and have well developed contingency plans in place to minimise delays and keep people, businesses and the country connected. However, we cannot fully replace the daily efforts of our frontline workforce on days the CWU are taking strike action.”
A CWU spokesperson did: “Postal workers want to get on with serving the communities they belong to, delivering Christmas gifts and tackling the backlog from recent weeks.
“But they know their value, and they will not meekly accept the casualisation of their jobs, the destruction of their conditions and the impoverishment of their families.
“This can be resolved if Royal Mail begin treating their workers with respect, and meet with the union to resolve this dispute.”
When are the new latest posting dates?
Royal Mail has urged customers to post items and gifts for Christmas as early as possible.
The last day to post parcels and letters second class this year is Monday 12 December – six days earlier than it was in 2021.
The last date to post first-class mail is now five days earlier, having been pushed forward from 21 December to 16 December.
The new latest posting dates are:
- Wednesday 7 December – Royal Mail Bulk Mail Economy
- Monday 12 December – 2nd Class, 2nd Class Signed For, Royal Mail 48
- Friday 16 December – 1st Class, 1st Class Signed For, Royal Mail 24, Royal Mail Tracked 48
- Monday 19 December – Royal Mail Tracked 24
- Wednesday 21 December – Special Delivery Guaranteed
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