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PACKAGES have been piling up at Royal Mail’s depot in Warrington ahead of Christmas amid mass walk-outs by striking staff.
Strikes have been plaguing Royal Mail throughout 2022, with members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) walking out as far back as July.
Now, as the CWU continues its industrial action, images have been released showing the havoc being wreaked by the strikes at depots across the country – including in Warrington.
Packages have piled up at the depot in Warrington during the strikes, as there are not enough staff members to deliver the backlog of packages ahead of Christmas.
The CWU claims that Royal Mail executives rejected the union’s ‘peace offer’ which would have ended the strikes ahead of the festive season.
Terms of the union’s offer included a nine per cent backdated pay deal, and a job security commitment given by the company’s CEOs.
Dismayed users of Royal Mail’s service have taken to social media to complain about the time it is taking for their parcels to be delivered – with many claiming that the tracking service shows their items have been sat at the depot for days on end.
One person commented on Twitter: “My 48hr tracked parcel has been at Warrington Mail Centre since Tuesday, December 6 – I only live half a mile from this mail centre.”
Another said: “Totally disgusted, RoyalMail. A parcel has been sat at Warrington’s hub for five days – Grant Shapps, these strikes need sorting.”
Our members don’t want to be on strike. They want to be serving the public. Royal Mail have told the Telegraph they have a £1.7bn ‘war chest’ to destroy your postal worker.
That is more than enough money to resolve the dispute and clear this backlog. #StandByYourPost pic.twitter.com/uSCVfDSCwH
— The CWU (@CWUnews) December 16, 2022
One user, Aaron, was also frustrated by the chaos caused by the strikes, adding: “Royal Mail do you want to tell me why my parcel hasn’t moved from Warrington parcel hub in a week? Bit of a joke as it’s an important gift for Christmas.
“Better hurry up and get it delivered.”
Speaking to the Warrington Guardian in July, one CWU worker who was striking for the first time, said: “This isn’t about workers being greedy, or being awkward – just pay us enough to feed our family, pay us enough to heat our homes.
“I’ve worked for BT for 36 years, I’ve invested my entire working life in them; I deserve to be treated better.”
A spokesperson for the CWU said: “In many mail centres, the post is doubling by the day.
“This has been a crisis that could have been avoided if a few weeks ago, Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson had bothered turning up to a scheduled meeting with workplace representatives to avert these strikes.
“Postal workers belong to the communities they serve and want to get back on the job, but they know their value – and they won’t accept the casualisation of their work, the destruction of their conditions and the wrecking of their family lives.”
A Royal Mail 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.”
