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Shoppers could see disruption to deliveries over the Christmas period as Royal Mail workers are to stage six fresh strikes next month, including on Christmas Eve.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU), who represent 115,000 posties, said its members will walk out on December 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24 in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions..
This is in addition to strikes already notified for November 24, 25 and 30, and December 1.
READ MORE: Scottish teachers escalate strike action as latest pay talks break down
The action may see shoppers having to order ahead or experience delays if Christmas gifts or cards mount up in depots because of the industrial dispute.
A CWU spokesperson 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.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Our preference is for an agreement with the CWU but the change we need is not optional.
“They should be focused on a resolution to this dispute for their members and the long-term health of the business, rather than damaging strike action.”
It comes at the same time as all of the UK’s major parcel firms are continuing to fail consumers amid calls for regulator Ofcom to consider fining them if they cannot improve their service.
Evri, formerly known as Hermes, Yodel, DPD and Amazon Logistics failed to secure even a three-star overall rating out of five after being scored against criteria including customer service, parcel problems and accessibility needs, such as people needing longer to answer the door.
Evri came last for a second year running despite an overall improvement to score just 1.75 stars in the second annual parcel league table by Citizens Advice.
Yodel got the lowest score on a single criteria of all the firms, achieving just 1.7 stars for customer service.
Almost half of Yodel customers polled by Citizens Advice (43%) reported a problem with their last delivery, compared with just over a quarter (28%) of Royal Mail customers.
Royal Mail achieved the highest overall score but still only managed three stars.
Citizens Advice also revealed that a link to its online advice ‘If something you ordered hasn’t arrived’ had been viewed almost 211,000 times in the last 12 months, and 52,000 times in the three months leading up to last Christmas.
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