Royal Mail workers walk out in first of 19 days of strikes
Industrial action will threaten the job security of postal workers, said Royal Mail, calling on the leaders of CWU to cancel the walk-out and accept invitations for talks. Royal Mail workers are holding the first of 19 strikes in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions. CWU members are striking over a pay deal Royal Mail offered earlier this year. As well as an additional 3.5% increase dependent on workers agreeing to certain conditions such as mandatory working on Sunday to deliver parcels. 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. They also said there was “no grounds for industrial action” and accused Unite of putting out misleading claims over additional job losses to members.
Royal Mail to axe up to 10,000 jobs as losses rise
Postal worker Hannah Carrol, who is part a strike at Whitechapel in East London, said she wanted to see wages rise in line with the growing cost of living. The union has called for Royal Mail to increase wages to an amount that „covers the current cost of living“. General Secretary Mr Ward said the changes could lead to the „destruction of the special relationship that postal workers and the public have in every community in the UK“. Royal Mail also revealed that it will have to enter talks with the union because, it said its legacy voluntary redundancy scheme, which offers up to two years’ of pay, „is now unaffordable“. During the first half of its financial year, Royal Mail said strike action cost the business £70m, leading to an operating loss of £219m compared to a £235m profit last year.
What does Unite say?
This is the sixth strike for postal workers, and comes after a summer of unrest which saw rail workers and criminal barristers walk out amid disputes with their employers. While the industrial action will be carried out by managers, the union warned postal staff might also refuse to work in unmanaged buildings. Unite claims the industrial action will “impact the postal and parcel service immediately across Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. The CWU rejected the offer describing the company’s plans as the „Uberisation“ of the postal service.
Royal Mail staff warned company in ‘fight for its life’ as more strikes loom
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Post Offices will stay open and offer their usual services but Royal Mail collections will be limited. Special Delivery mail will still be prioritised „as resources allow“ but the usual next-day guarantees are being suspended and customers can’t claim compensation for delays. “We committed to protecting pay for all managers who stay with Royal Mail, and the vast majority have how to use stablecoins: stablecoin 101: definition collateral how they work seen an increase in their earnings. Inflation, the rate at which prices rise, hit 9.1% in May and is forecast to go higher later this year.
Unite said Royal Mail managers will take their contracted breaks, start and finish exactly on time and take their rest days, leaving no manager on site. Delays to key services such as next-day delivery and tracked items could potentially be impacted. Trade union Unite said the industrial action will impact the postal service across the UK “immediately”.
It said this included „the direct impact of eight days of industrial action“ as well as lower volumes of parcels being posted. „In the event of industrial action, we have contingency plans to minimise customer disruption and will work to keep people, businesses and the country connected,“ a statement said. No letters will be delivered during strike days, said Royal Mail, but as many special delivery and Tracked24 parcels as possible would be delivered. It plans to cut between 5,000 and 6,000 jobs through redundancies. Headcount will be scaled back by a further 4,000 through not replacing people when they leave, cutting temporary staff and reducing overtime. Royal Mail has announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs by next August, blaming ongoing strike action and rising losses at the business.
Any strike dates are yet to be decided but the CWU what is systems development life cycle said if a walk out goes ahead, it could amount to the biggest ever action taken by its members. „Let’s be totally clear the company posted record profits back in April“. Letters will not be delivered and some parcels will be delayed, the Royal Mail has warned. Royal Mail said that if workers go ahead with further walk-outs „the loss for the full year would increase materially and may necessitate further operational restructuring and headcount reduction“. Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device. „Network“ staff walk out but delivery and collection staff should be working.
- 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.
- Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device.
- The action is on top of four days already announced for late November, around the Black Friday shopping weekend.
- Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) backed the action on Tuesday after ballot papers were sent out three weeks ago.
Mr Eatwell claims Royal Mail was looking to cut 700 jobs on top of 1,200 slashed last year, with managers who remain facing cuts to salaries of up to £7,000. Mike Eatwell, Unite national officer with responsibility for Royal Mail, said members have been “forced to the position of taking industrial action because those running Royal Mail refuse to see sense”. First, Royal Mail managers are set to “work to rule” between 15 and 19 July, meaning they will work strictly according to contracted hours and duties. The union has been told a 3.5% is available subject to further talks and agreements, which would total a 5.5% rise. „Despite nearly three months of talks, the CWU have not engaged in any meaningful discussion on the changes we need to make to adapt,“ a statement added. 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.
„The CWU’s decision to choose damaging strike action over resolution regrettably increases the risk of further headcount reductions.“ These walkouts are currently set to only involve delivery workers, so collections from postboxes and Post Offices should take place. Delivery staff are not yet involved on these days, so some people may still receive items. Tracked 24 mail, including medical prescription items and COVID tests, will also be prioritised but people are again warned to expect delays. The new strikes have been called for 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24 December, the busiest time of the year for Trading insurance deliveries.
Record wage rises still outpaced by soaring prices
See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times. Processing, distribution, international, collections and admin workers go on strike. 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“.
„The price of everything’s going up, people are having to do more and more overtime,“ she said. Inflation, the rate at which prices rise, is at a 40-year high of 10.1% and expected to surpass 13% later this year. General Secretary Dave Ward said workers faced the „biggest ever assault“ on jobs, terms and conditions „in the history of Royal Mail“. The plan was approved despite objections over increased flooding, sewage leak risks and traffic. International Distributions Services, which is the parent company of Royal Mail, saw its share price tumble by 6.75% to 195p on Friday following the announcement. The next strike date is scheduled for 20 October followed by a further walk-out on 25 October.
„While bosses rake in £758m in profit and shareholders take £400m, workers are expected to take a serious real-terms pay cut,“ he added. The company is encouraging people to post items as early as possible to avoid disruption. He described the plans as an „asset-stripping business plan“ that will lead to the break-up of the company. This would effectively see employees in secure, well-paid jobs turned into a „casualised, financially-precarious workforce overnight“, said the union.
