Will the Post Office be open tomorrow — and when will the Royal Mail strikes end?

The postal service is set to see some major disruption as Royal Mail workers are preparing for a second day of strike action — here’s how it will impact the Post Office

Royal Mail workers are set to stage a second walkout tomorrow (August 31) as part of a series of strikes in a dispute over pay.

Last Friday saw 115,000 postal workers begin the first of four days of industrial action after members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) voted by a majority of 97.6% in favour of taking action.

The CWU is calling for a pay rise for Royal Mail workers that fully addresses the cost of living crisis, saying: “Our members need it, our members deserve it – the company can afford it.”

The Royal Mail claims that the CWU rejected an offer worth up to 5.5%.

It has apologised to customers for the disruption that the strike action is likely to cause and said it is doing everything it can to “minimise disruption”.

As Royal Mail staff prepare for the second strike day, here’s everything you need to know about Post Office opening times and how your mail will be affected, as well as when the strikes are set to end.

Is the Post Office open during the Royal Mail strikes?

The Post Office will remain open while Royal Mail staff are striking, and you will still be able to post letters and parcels and can also use postboxes.

This is because it’s CWU members who collect, sort and deliver parcels and letters for the Royal Mail who are striking, not Post Office staff, who belong to a separate company.

However, because many Royal Mail staff won’t be working, collections will be less frequent on strike days so it’s likely that the items you post may take longer than usual to get to their destination.

Your local Post Office should be operating during its normal opening hours, but the Royal Mail advised that you post your items as early as possible.

It said that it will attempt to deliver Special Delivery and Tracked24 parcels and will also prioritise the delivery of Covid test kits and medical prescriptions, but its workers will not be delivering letters.

When will the Royal Mail strikes end?

The Royal Mail strikes are currently set to end on September 10 but more strike action could go ahead as workers have voted in favour of strikes in a second ballot over terms and conditions.

As well as tomorrow’s strike action, there are already two more days of walkouts planned by CWU members, including Thursday September 8 and Friday September 9.

CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “The CWU’s message to Royal Mail’s leadership is simple — there will be serious disruption until you get real on pay.”

In the second ballot, CWU members backed even more strike action by 98.7% on a turnout of more than 72%.

Ward said: “We will do everything possible to see if we can make progress but the Royal Mail management has to change its position. If they don’t, then we will take strike action.”

It’s believed that the CWU could soon announce more strike days as a union source said: “I think by the end of September you are going to be looking at eight days.”