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Gift givers looking to get their cards and presents to family and friends before Christmas only have days to send them. Royal Mail announced a timeline for people to post their mail earlier this month as planned strike action has disrupted its services this Christmas.
The deadlines for sending items with second and first class stamps have already passed last week with December 22 being the final cut-off point for any remaining mail to be sent. Special delivery items and things sent under express postage are the only things that will still arrive in time for Christmas according to the Royal Mail website with some important deadlines attached to keep in mind.
As listed on the Royal Mail website:
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Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed* Wednesday December 21
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Parcelforce Worldwide express48 and express48Large** Wednesday December 21
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Parcelforce Worldwide express24. expressAM^ Thursday December 22
READ MORE: Police asked to drive ambulances as paramedics walkout in strike action
This means that even if you use the most special and expensive services to make sure your parcel reaches its destination, you still need to post it by Thursday or risk it not arriving on time. It is also important to bear in mind Royal Mail’s terms and conditions which it adds at the bottom of the list.
“*Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed offers on-time delivery for delivery to UK addresses or your money back. A Saturday guaranteed delivery is available for an additional fee and offers on-time Saturday delivery to most UK addresses or your money back. Conditions and exceptions apply.
“** express48large is only available in certain Post Office branches. Please contact your local branch for special availability.
“^Parcelforce Worldwide offer a guaranteed next working day delivery (Mon-Fri). Extended delivery times exist for outlying areas. Parcelforce Worldwide Guarantee definition: A refund of the whole or a proportionate part of the consignment charges in the event of late delivery in line with UK or International Conditions of Carriage for Retail Services. Delivery time begins from date of collection.”
The company is being hit by strike action over pay and working conditions on December 23 and 24, hence the imposed posting deadlines. The Communication Workers Union (the union helping coordinate strike action) general secretary, Dave Ward, has warned that current workplace proposals from Royal Mail could spell “its degradation from a national institution into an unreliable, Uber-style, gig-economy company.”
Kevin Beazer, also from the CWU, said they “sympathised” with the general public. But he added: “People don’t want to lose money but the attacks on their [postal workers] terms and conditions is like nothing we’ve ever seen before.”
Postal workers are just one in a long line of workers who have opted to go on strike this year as the cost of living crisis intensifies and inflation slashes real terms wages. The Office for National Statistics found that 2022 has seen the most number of work days lost to strike action since November 2011 with 417,000 working days lost to strikes in October.
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