Royal Mail workers confirm fresh strikes before Christmas

Royal Mail workers have confirmed fresh strikes two days before Christmas.

The Communication Workers Union confirmed two days of strikes on Friday 23 December and Christmas Eve.

An offer extended to the company to suspend the strikes and establish a period of calm from now until 16 January 2023, as well as the union and the company both signing a joint statement incorporating Royal Mail’s latest promise of no compulsory redundancies, was rejected almost immediately, according to the Communication Workers Union (CWU).

The strikes will be the 17th and 18th days of action in an increasingly bitter dispute and look set to end any hopes of huge amounts of Christmas post being delivered in the period.

The CWU said in a statement following the announcement: “Further to the update this afternoon, we can confirm that within hours of receiving our letter, Royal Mail Group have rejected our attempt to resolve the dispute.

“The strikes planned for 23/24 December will go ahead.

“We remain available for further talks facilitated by ACAS.”

The management’s rejection of any talks falls on the eve of National Postal Workers Day – 21st December – an annual event which celebrates the role that posties play in British life – and following a recent boast that Royal Mail bosses have amassed a £1.7 billion ‘war chest’ to destroy postal workers’ livelihoods.

Royal Mail has warned customers that “services will be affected” by postal workers striking in a row over pay, job security and working conditions, adding that the walkouts are “likely to cause you some disruption” in the run-up to Christmas.

CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “For Royal Mail Group to reject our offer just hours after receiving it demonstrates that they were never serious about saving Christmas for customers and businesses.

“When a company openly boasts of having built a £1.7 billion fund to crush its own workers rather than use that money to settle the dispute and restore the service, then you know dark forces are clearly at work.

“Their sole intention is to destroy the jobs of postal workers and remove their union from the workplace.

“Our members will not stand for this, and further action will take place in 2023.

“Our message to the public and businesses is that postal workers do not want to be here, but they are facing an aggressive, reckless and out-of-control CEO committed to wrecking their livelihoods.”