Royal Mail: Postal strikes kick off ahead of Black Friday

Letters will Equity cfd not be delivered and some parcels will be delayed, the Royal Mail has warned. People “can’t keep on living in a country where bosses rake in billions in profit while their employees are forced to use food banks”, he added. The first-ever nationwide strike by nurses is also expected to go ahead this week. While Yodel also said that deliveries are taking longer to some areas , externalbut did not specify why. This will include “accelerating” the delivery of NHS and healthcare letters together with “critical Government mailings”. Customers will not be able to claim refunds for delayed items or consequential loss due to delay for items sent on those dates.

Royal Mail staff to strike in run-up to Christmas

It also objects to proposed changes to working conditions, such as ending a number of allowances and the introduction of compulsory Sunday working. Royal Mail has offered a pay deal which it says is worth up to 9% over 18 months. The planned 19 days of industrial action include Black Friday week and Cyber Monday, as well as 13, 20, and 25 October, and 28 November. The union had been told an additional 3.5% rise is available, subject to further talks and agreements – which would total a 5.5% rise.

Royal Mail workers vote to go on strike over pay

“The CWU’s message to Royal Mail’s leadership is simple – there will be serious disruption until you get real on pay,” he added. Inflation, which is the rate at which prices rise, is at a 40-year high of 9.4% and is expected to peak at 13% later this year.

Royal Mail fires warning shot over jobs and pay as union secures new strike mandate

• The union criticised Royal Mail’s “aggressive” stance over the talks and called for an improved pay deal, a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies and other improvements to the offer.
• About 115,000 workers had been expected to walk out as part of a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
• “Items posted the day before, during or in the days after any strike action will be subject to delay,” Royal Mail advise.
• Deliveries will be disrupted by 10 more strike days at the busiest time of the year for the postal service.
• The Canadian Union of Postal Workers went on strike over wages, working conditions and other issues.

Significant disruption is still likely on the dates below, but as not all staff are involved Royal Mail says it will only affect “parts of our operation”. Post Offices will stay open and offer their usual services but Royal Mail collections will be limited. “The proposed agreement will now be considered by the executive of the union before being voted on by the union’s membership. A spokesman for CWU said Royal Mail’s management was trying to “casualise” the postal service. Different teams and combinations of teams will strike on other dates, but that will have a knock-on effect on all deliveries on those dates, the CWU spokesman said. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said the strikes will cover Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Royal Mail said strikes had already cost the firm more than £100m and that the pay offer may need to be withdrawn if there is “further deterioration in the company’s financial position caused by industrial action”. Industrial action will threaten the job security of postal workers, said Royal Mail, calling on the leaders of CWU fxbrew forex review – a good broker or scam to cancel the walk-out and accept invitations for talks. The CWU is the latest of several unions to ballot for strikes in recent weeks, as the cost of living soars.

More strikes are planned for 30th November and 1st, 9th, 11th, 14th, 15th, 23rd and 24th December. It is thought some of these safeguards, such as the commitment to avoid compulsory redundancies, could be extended as part of a new agreement. I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Inflation, the rate at which prices rise, hit 9.1% in May and is forecast to go higher later this year.

The average pay rise for workers in the private sector was 6.9% between August and October. Customer Service Points will be closed on strike days – meaning people who have requested to drop off or pick up parcels from there must wait to collect them. Royal Mail said it will continue to accept, prioritise and deliver as many Special Delivery items on strike action days “as our resources allow”. “Even the threat of more strike action by the CWU means more customers will switch their parcel business to our competitors.

The company has pointed to research by the industry regulator suggesting only minimum disruption for households and businesses should it no longer have to deliver letters on a Saturday. Its plea to save money through a reduction in the universal service obligation for letter deliveries, over five days instead of six, has been met with government opposition. The company has previously said that 18 dates of strikes to date, including over the crucial Christmas season, had cost it £200m. They argued that the business was losing customer confidence because of the continuing dispute and risked becoming increasingly uncompetitive as it already paid its staff up to 40% more than cheaper rivals. As the CWU union secures a fresh strike mandate from its members, a company source tells Sky News there will be no improved pay offer as the demands are becoming increasingly unaffordable. Royal Mail workers are to strike on six days in December, including Christmas Eve, usually one of the busiest days of the year for the company.

Services

This is part of a long-running dispute between unions, rail firms, the government and Network Rail over pay, job cuts and changes to terms and conditions. The union has said the strikes are partly about the “Uberisation” of the postal service, including “widespread changes… introducing Uber-style owner-drivers, mail centre closures and changes to Sunday working”. On days of strike action, Mr Thompson admitted to image manipulation a hearing of the Business Committee that Royal Mail prioritised delivering parcels over letters. Mr Thompson had been recalled by MP members of the committee who challenged his credibility. The bitter dispute involved the union calling for the resignation of chief executive Simon Thompson and Mr Thompson saying the company was losing £100m a day during strike action.

The industrial action is in response to what the Unite union says are plans to cut 700 jobs and slash pay by up to £7,000. These are likely to be the days with the worst disruption as it involves delivery and collection staff, as well as those who sort parcels and letters. On strike days it will deliver as many Special Delivery and Tracked 24 parcels as possible, it said. Royal Mail also wants to end the extra payments that postal workers get for doing things like driving bigger trucks. Postal workers I’ve spoken to say they’d lose £50 a week if those allowances were to end. Royal Mail says it is in such financial peril that without immediate changes to working practices it could go out of business.

Walkouts took place on the busy online shopping days of Cyber Monday and Black Friday. The BBC reported on Thursday that talks between the proposed owner and the Government have been positive and that the finalised deal “could be confirmed in the next two weeks”. “Postal workers won’t accept their living standards being hammered by bosses who are typical of business leaders today – overpaid, underqualified, out of their depth.” Workers on the railways and at airports are also in pay disputes with employers, with prices for goods in the UK rising at the fastest rate in 40 years. “We remain committed to getting around the table with the CWU, resolving this dispute and agreeing a pay and change deal for our people. Its other efforts to reduce costs have already resulted in thousands of job losses through voluntary redundancy.