The direct mail market may have recovered from Covid but brands are now facing a summer of discontent with Royal Mail managers already voting to strike and more than 115,000 workers poised to join them in what unions claim could be the biggest ever strike to hit the postal giant.
Royal Mail managers across the UK will be the first out, with 2,400 “working to rule” between July 15 and July 19 and then striking from July 20 to July 22.
According to union Unite, the strike action is over Royal Mail’s plans to cut 700 jobs and cut pay by up to £7,000. During these periods, deliveries and some services like tracked items, will be delayed.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said Royal Mail was “awash with cash but it is putting profits and dividends for the few at the top ahead of its duties as a public service”.
She added: “There is not a single aspect of these cuts which is about improving customer service. They are being driven entirely by a culture of greed and profiteering which has seized a 500-year-old essential service, driving it close to ruin. Our members are determined to force the business to take a different path, and they have the full backing of Unite.”
Meanwhile ballot papers are currently being dispatched to Communication Workers Union (CWU) members, with the result expected on July 19. If workers back action, the CWU says it could amount to the biggest ever strike by its members.
Perhaps unsurprisingly Royal Mail says there are “no grounds” for any strike action.
Separately, 114 Post Offices are to be closed on July 11 when workers strike over pay.
CWU deputy general secretary Terry Pullinger said on Twitter that the union wanted an “inflation-based, no-strings pay award” for its Royal Mail members.
“The company has imposed a 2% pay award, miles away from where inflation is, totally inadequate. Throughout this entire dispute, Royal Mail management have conducted themselves insultingly and disrespectfully to key workers.
“Their conduct, and particularly the imposition of such an aggressive pay offer, has eroded trust among loyal employees.”
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