Fresh Royal Mail strikes spark fears of Xmas mayhem

Brand owners, charities and online shopping firms face serious disruption to their Christmas marketing plans following a major escalation of the Royal Mail postal dispute which will see 19 days of strikes in the peak festive build-up, including what many see as the crucial dates of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

The Communication Workers Union said the decision to ramp up action “matches the level of anger members feel at the way Royal Mail Group has treated them”, with posties across the UK “facing the fight of their lives to save their jobs and the service they provide to every household and business in the UK”.

Some 115,000 CWU members are already planning to walk out for 48 hours on Friday (September 30) and Saturday (October 1) this week. Now widescale strike action has been called for October 13, followed by walk-outs on October 20 and 25, and November 28 (Cyber Monday).

Different teams and combinations of teams will strike on other dates, but that will have a knock-on effect on all deliveries, the CWU has claimed.

The union said the move follows a threat centred around the “outrageous” decision by Royal Mail Group’s senior management to withdraw from major national agreements, push ahead with cuts to workers’ terms and conditions, and “completely sideline” the CWU.

General secretary Dave Ward added: “This is a significant announcement, but it is one which matches the level of anger our members feel at the way Royal Mail Group has treated them.

“These are the same people that have kept the country connected and returned Royal Mail Group to record profit.

“Postal workers across the UK now face the fight of their lives to save their jobs and the service they provide to every household and business in the UK. We call on everyone to stand with their local postal worker.”

In response, a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Royal Mail is losing £1m a day and must change faster in response to changing customer demands. We operate in a competitive market, and our customers have choices.

“Further strikes and resistance to transformation by CWU will only make our financial position worse, and threatens the long-term job security of our postmen and women.”

Royal Mail claims it had invited the CWU to discussions through dispute resolution service Acas on September 22 but “rather than responding to our offer, the CWU announced further damaging industrial action, once again taking the path of prolonging disruption over resolution”.

The company said that the CWU should “engage urgently on the changes required” and apologised “for the inconvenience the CWU’s continued strike action will cause”.

It added: “We are doing all we can to minimise any delays and keep people, businesses and the country connected.”

Last month, data-driven marketing industry body the DMA called for an urgent resolution to the dispute, urging both sides to thrash out a deal to prevent what it described as “yet another hardship for companies during extremely challenging economic times”.

However, with the two sides appearing to be even wider apart, many businesses and charities will be braced for disruption to their plans.

The festive season is one of the third sector’s key fundraising periods, with many organisations relying on direct mail to bring in donors. The sector is already facing increased competition from the Qatar World Cup, meaning messages may well be crowded out as the football dominates TV, online channels and newspapers. Response rates could also take a hit as consumers focus their attention elsewhere.

Major brand owners also use the run-up to Christmas to launch direct mail campaigns, promoting seasonal and loyalty offers.

Meanwhile, ecommerce deliveries are also likely be severely affected by the CWU action. This could force many businesses to use other courier services, further exacerbating Royal Mail’s financial problems.