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Royal Mail workers have been involved in widespread strike action as part of a long-running dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.
Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have held a series of walkouts, which Royal Mail claims have cost it in excess of £100m.
The action significantly disrupted post in the lead-up to Christmas, with videos showing warehouses stacked with built-up mail.
Will there be more Royal Mail strikes?
There are no further strike dates currently confirmed for 2023, but the dispute between Royal Mail and the CWU shows little sign of reaching a conclusion.
The CWU has warned “further action will take place in 2023”.
A spokesperson for the union said: “Royal Mail Group keep telling us they have no money. They find it to spend millions on agency staff just for show.
“Make no mistake – this isn’t about clearing mail, it’s about breaking the spirits of postal workers. They will never succeed.”
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “When a company openly boasts of having built a £1.7bn 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.”
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Royal Mail, however, urged the CWU to “seriously consider” its latest offer to help “bring the company back to profitability”, adding that “Royal Mail is not too big to fail”.
The company tabled its “best and final” offer to workers in late November. It said the offer includes “extensive improvements” that have been made during the negotiations with the CWU, including an enhanced pay deal of up to 9 per cent over 18 months, offering to develop a new profit share scheme for employees, and making voluntary redundancy terms more generous.
The union countered with its own offer, which Andy Furey, the CWU’s acting deputy general secretary, said had been “thrown back in our face”, adding there were “no further talks planned at this stage”.
Ahead of the recent pre-Christmas strikes, the CWU said: “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.”
On its website, the CWU states: “The pay dispute is not complicated. Our members are striking for a pay rise that fully addresses the current cost of living. Our members need it, our members deserve it – the company can afford it.”
Simon Thompson, Royal Mail’s chief executive, said: “Negotiations involve give and take, but it appears that the CWU’s approach is to just take. We want to reach a deal, but time is running out for the CWU to change their position and avoid further damaging strike action.
“The strikes have already added £100m to Royal Mail’s losses so far this year. In a materially loss making company, with every additional day of strike action we are facing the difficult choice of about whether we spend our money on pay and protecting jobs, or on the cost of strikes.”
How is post affected on strike days?
Despite “well-developed contingency plans”, Royal Mail acknowledged that these “cannot fully replace the daily efforts of its frontline workforce”, with significant disruption on strike dates.
The most significant effect is that Royal Mail does not deliver any letters or parcels on strike days, except those sent by special delivery.
Royal Mail promised to “prioritise the delivery of Covid test kits and medical prescriptions wherever possible”, alongside other Tracked24 parcels.
Most post offices have remained open, although a few have been affected by the CWU action. Any items posted in postboxes or post offices the day before, during or following strike dates are likely to be subject to delays, however.
Royal Mail has a full, in-depth list of FAQs here. It advises its customers to:
- Post items as early as possible in advance of the strike dates;
- Keep posting items at post boxes or post offices, but be aware collections will be less frequent on strike days.
Postal deliveries – and collections from businesses, post offices and postboxes – should resume the day after strikes take place.
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