It’s hard to keep up with the Royal Mail industrial action as they battle with the CWU Union via legal objections and through negotiation with ACAS now involved. The latest Royal Mail Strike Days update is that they have called off the recently announced additional days national strike action that was due to take place on the 12th and 14th of November 2022.
The Royal Mail Strike Days update also confirms that the Union have indicated that are going ahead with national strike action on Thursday the 24th and Friday the 25th November and for Wednesday the 30th November and Thursday the 1st of December 2022, although Royal Mail have not yet received formal notification of these new dates. The CWU has to provide 14 days’ notice before they can take any strike action.
Royal Mail Strike Days naturally cause immense disruption, so it’s helpful to know what post is prioritised.
Royal Mail has well-developed contingency plans, but we cannot fully replace the daily efforts of our frontline workforce. We’ll be doing what we can to keep services running, but we are sorry this planned strike action is likely to cause you some disruption.
– Royal Mail
During strikes, Royal Mail aim to:
- Deliver as many Special Delivery and Tracked 24 parcels as possible
- Prioritise the delivery of COVID test kits and medical prescriptions wherever possible
- Will not be delivering letters (with the exception of Special Delivery)
While Royal Mail say that there is a commitment on both sides to reach a resolution, there is no end of the strikes in sight as the CWU have robustly rejected the 7% pay offer on the table and have announced a vote for further strike action and a motion of no confidence in the Royal Mail CEO.
Our advice is to get contracts in place with alternative carriers if you haven’t already done so. There are no affordable alternatives for low ASP low weight small items that would normally ship via letter or large letter post. The reality is that your only option is to ride the wave of strikes and communicate the likelihood of delays to buyers. Royal Mail’s advice to post your items as early as possible in advance of the strike dates is unrealistic as you have no control of when buyers place orders.
