It’s the second day of the summer Royal Mail Strikes and once again the entire network has ground to a halt in the first dispute with the CWU which is over pay. The second dispute for which the CWU already has a clear mandate to strike on is over terms and conditions so after the latest round of strikes are over we’re expecting more to be called.
While there are many alternative options for parcel post, assuming the networks have the capacity to pick up volumes normally handled by Royal Mail which is questionable, there are no real alternatives for small lightweight items – letters and large letters are the domain of Royal Mail and there simply isn’t an affordable alternative for these services. With strikes likely to continue well into Q4, if you are reliant on letter post it may be time to start considering your stock profile and if it’s possible to move to items that can be sent via parcel services.
After today’s action, the next summer Royal Mail Strikes will take place on the 8th and 9th of September next week.
Royal Mail has well-developed contingency plans, but they cannot fully replace the daily efforts of its frontline workforce. We’ll be working to keep services running, but you should expect significant disruption on strike days. Please post items as early as possible in advance of the strike dates. Items posted the day before, during, or in the days after any strike will be subject to delay.
On strike days, we’ll deliver as many Special Delivery and Tracked 24 parcels as possible and prioritise COVID test kits and medical prescription items. We will not be delivering letters, except for Special Delivery letter items. Delivery Offices and Customer Service Points will be closed, please do not try to collect from or drop off items on strike day dates.
– Royal Mail
Royal Mail’s statement that they’ll keep post moving as much as possible is pretty forlorn – pretty much nothing will be delivered today with parcels probably still sitting in collection offices and not even travelling to destination delivery offices until tomorrow at the earliest.
There is a much wider issue than the CWU dispute with the Royal Mail, and that is with families facing real hardship this winter, workers are highly motivated to get a massive pay rise. It’s no longer a case of maintaining a standard of living, many are faced with a simple inability to pay their bill and put food on the table once the 1st October energy price rise starts to bite.
A new survey from new survey from polling company Survation, on behalf of the Enough is Enough campaign produced highly predicable results – loaded questions normally do but in this case it’s hard to argue against the workers needs. It’s likely that even massive government assistance will now be too little to stop the strikes taking place across multiple industries. The Unions have built up a head of steam not seen since the 70s and they won’t be backing down any time soon.
Union backed Enough is Enough campaign survey results
The ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign was launched to improve conditions for working people. To what extent do you agree, disagree or neither agree nor disagree with its five aims?
Pay should rise in line with the cost-of-living
Agree 76%; Disagree 7%; Unsure 14%; Don’t Know 3%
Cut energy bills
Agree 84%; Disagree 4%; Unsure 10%; Don’t Know 2%
End food poverty
Agree 83%; Disagree 4%; Unsure 11%; Don’t Know 2%
Decent homes for all
Agree 78%; Disagree 4%; Unsure 16%; Don’t Know 2%
Tax the rich more
Agree 72%; Disagree 8%; Unsure 17%; Don’t Know 3%
