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Around 11,000 Scottish postal workers have walked out in a dispute over pay and work conditions.
The leader of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) labelled it the “biggest strike in the UK since 2009” as more than 115,000 Royal Mail workers across the UK take industrial action.
Strike action will also be taken on Wednesday, August 31 as well as September 8 and 9.
It comes after a ballot of CWU members saw members vote by 97.6% for the industrial action on a 77% turnout.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “This is the biggest strike in the UK since 2009, and we have got over 115,000 members who are out on strike today after delivering a massive ‘yes’ vote.
“And it’s over pay, and our members just lost total confidence in the actions of the company, the board, and they’ve lost faith in the leadership and people will understand that when they see the way that the company have conducted themselves.
“The company made record profits last year: £758 million. They gave away over £400 million to shareholders, they rewarded themselves with huge record bonuses for achieving their financial targets and then imposed a 2% pay increase on postal workers.
“Against the background of rocketing inflation, rocketing energy bills, it’s simply not acceptable.
“Postal workers in the UK are one of the last remaining pillars of our society.
“We are going to fight hard to get our members the pay deal that they deserve.”
READ MORE: When are the Royal Mail strikes in Scotland? How will my post be affected?
He added: “In regard to the Labour Party, what we want is full support from them in this dispute, it’s a just cause.”
On Thursday, a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Tomorrow’s CWU strike thrusts Royal Mail into the most uncertain time of its 500-year history.
“It is putting jobs at risk and making pay rises less affordable. We are losing £1 million a day.
“We must change to fix the situation and protect high quality jobs.
“We want to protect well-paid, permanent jobs long-term and retain our place as the industry leader on pay, terms and conditions. That is in the best interests of Royal Mail and all its employees.
“We apologise to our customers, and the public for the inconvenience the CWU’s strike action will cause.
“We have offered to meet the CWU numerous times in recent weeks, but they declined each invitation, preferring to spend their time on the political agenda of the UK trade union movement.
“We remain ready to talk with the CWU to try and avert damaging industrial action and prevent significant inconvenience for customers.”
How will Royal Mail postal services be affected by the strikes?
Royal Mail has said that it has “well-developed contingency plans” to minimise disruption.
It added that it was “focused on getting mail delivery back to normal as quickly as possible after strike action,” but letters will not be delivered in strike day.
The company has apologised to customers but says it has plans to minimise the disruption.
On days when strike action is taking place, Royal Mail says it will:
Deliver as many Special Delivery and Tracked24 parcels as possible
Prioritise the delivery of Covid test kits and medical prescriptions
Customers should be aware the items that they post the day before, during the strike or after could be caught up in the delays.
Customers are advised to post items as early as possible in advance of the strike dates and noted that collections will also be less frequent during the strikes.
Royal Mail has added that it cannot guarantee delivery of all special delivery items by 9 am or 1 pm the next day.
It confirmed that it would be suspending its regular guarantees while strike action is occurring.
Royal Mail users can continue to post items at the post box or at the post office but should be aware of the delays.
