// Royal Mail workers are to hold 19 days of strike action over pay and terms during the peak postal build-up to Christmas
// The strike action will be taken by all staff on 13, 20, and 25 October, and 28 November
Royal Mail workers are set to strike 19 days over pay and terms and conditions in the peak postal run-up to Christmas.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said the walkouts will cover peak delivery periods including Black Friday on 25 November and Cyber Monday on 28 November, which the union said will have a “dramatic impact”, reflecting the “level of anger” workers feel.
The union said that the industrial action in the run-up to Christmas will be a mixture of single days and rolling action across Royal Mail Group’s network and strike action will be taken by all workers on 13, 20, and 25 October, and 28 November.
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.
Subscribe to Retail Gazette for free
Sign up here to get the latest news straight into your inbox each morning
Royal Mail workers already staged strike action over three days in August and September and the postal service said further strikes would make its financial position worse and threaten workers’ job security.
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “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,” he said.
“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.”
Royal Mail had proposed a pay rise of up to 5.5% in May 2022 in relation to the courier adding an additional, seventh working day as it expanded its Sunday delivery services on 31 May.
But the offer was rejected by the CWU due to being too low to cover the additional living costs brought forward amid sky-high inflation.
Click here to sign up to Retail Gazette‘s free daily email newsletter
