Why Are Postal Workers Striking?

Why is the Postal Service on strike?

Post Office strikes – CWU members went on a one-day strike on 3 May over pay; members had their wages frozen for 2021 and were offered a 2% increase plus a £250 one-off payment for 2022. The CWU said the offer was “exceptionally poor” given that Retail Price Index inflation had reached 9%.

The Post Office maintained that “the vast majority” of branches would remain unaffected. Around 3,500 members were involved in the dispute. Workers went on strike again on Saturday 4 June during the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II, after the Post Office had made a pay offer of a 2.5% plus a £500 payment.

The CWU said all 114 crown post offices (those managed directly by Post Office Ltd) would close for the day and that action by supply-chain workers would mean that there would be no cash collections or deliveries to post offices on Monday 6 June. A third strike day was organised for 11 July after members rejected a pay plan with a 3% rise and £500 payment.

Why are Royal Mail on strike?

The dispute between Royal Mail and staff represented by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has officially come to an end after months of bitter exchanges. Members of the union have voted by 67% to accept a deal with Royal Mail that was reached in April,

Turnout of members was more than 75%. The CWU had recommended members accept the deal. More than 115,000 postal workers held a total of 18 days of strikes between September and December last year, demanding higher pay and better working conditions as rising inflation eroded earnings. Under the agreement, staff will get a 10% rise over three years and a one-off lump sum of £500, though the union had initially sought an annual increase in line with the rate of inflation – currently running at 8.7%,

The deal also includes later starting times for deliveries which, Royal Mail said, would respond to greater demand for next-day parcels, improve quality of service and create greater growth capacity. New seasonal working patterns and regular Sunday working, sought by the company, were also agreed.

• Royal Mail said this would allow it to grow its seven-day parcels business and adapt to changing customer demands.
• A win for the CWU was the promise of an independent inquiry into suspended or sacked workers and reduced use of agency workers.
• While industrial action has concluded, ill will between the union and Royal Mail remains.

The head of the CWU, Dave Ward, said the near year long period of negotiating and industrial action has been “the most challenging period in both the history of the union and the company”. “Many workers simply do not trust Royal Mail group because of the company’s lack of integrity and the way they are being treated.” Acceptance of the deal will not mean a scaling down of union activity, Mr Ward said, nor is it an “endorsement” of Royal Mail actions.

• This result will be the start of the union reconnecting in every workplace”.
• The bitter dispute involved the union calling for the resignation of chief executive Simon Thompson and Mr Thompson saying the company was losing £100m a day during strike action.
• In May he announced he was stepping down.
• Ey, busy dates for Royal Mail were targeted by the CWU to cause maximum disruption.

Walkouts took place on the busy online shopping days of Cyber Monday and Black Friday, Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Royal Mail boss admits parcels are prioritised over letters. On days of strike action, Mr Thompson admitted to a hearing of the Business Committee that Royal Mail prioritised delivering parcels over letters.

1. Mr Thompson had been recalled by MP members of the committee who challenged his credibility.
2. The company faces an Ofcom investigation, and could be fined, over its missed delivery targets,
3. The targets require Royal Mail to deliver 93% of first-class mail within one working day of collection; deliver 98.5% of second-class mail in three working days of collection; and complete 99.9% of delivery routes on each day that a delivery is required.

But the former state-owned monopoly said only 73.7% of first-class mail arrived within one working day; 90.7% of second-class post arrived within three working days; and just 89.35% of delivery routes were completed for each day a delivery was required.

Why are CWU striking?

Union warns of more strikes and says Royal Mail is ‘waging war’ on staff Royal Mail has been accused by a union leader of “waging war” on staff and using intimidation tactics, including suspending more than 200 workers, in a that appears no nearer to being resolved.

The head of the Communications Workers Union (CWU), which is preparing to ballot its more than 100,000 members over further national strikes, said fresh talks were not heading toward an acceptable agreement. Dave Ward, the CWU general secretary, told MPs on the business select committee on Tuesday that his union was “still not confident we are in a place that we can reach an agreement”, following 18 days of national strikes in 2022.

“The union will be reballoting members, This is the most brutal attack on any group of workers the UK has seen in decades. It is a fight for every postal worker’s job.”

• The CWU, which has rejected management’s “best and final” offer of a pay rise of up to 9% over 18 months in exchange for changes to working hours and voluntary Sunday working, will send ballot papers to members next week, with the result due on 16 February.
• The crippling strikes, including six days in December, have cost Royal Mail more than £100m and caused delays to the delivery of Christmas cards and parcels.
• The company has said it is losing £1m a day and 2023 as part of arestructuring programme to refocus the business on the booming parcel delivery sector, as UK letter volumes continue to decline.

“We believe there are thousands and thousands more jobs at risk than the 10,000 the company has put forward,” said Ward. “They are waging war on the current workforce. Psychological warfare to make the job not worth it. To force people out and replace the workforce.” Ward alleged management had used tactics including staff being “bombarded” with communications aimed at demoralising them, being denied normal levels of overtime when coming back off the picket line, and “threatened” by bosses.

1. Royal Mail said it had received 292 reported allegations including violence, assault, harassment and intimidating behaviour by picketers against staff who had chosen to go to work on strike days.
2. Police in nine regions of the UK are undertaking investigations into some of the allegations.
3. The Royal Mail boss, Simon Thompson, in sometimes testy exchanges with MPs at the same business select committee hearing, said the company faced an “urgent situation” and expected the UK business to make an operating loss of £350m to £450m in the year to the end of March.

Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our,

We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google and apply. after newsletter promotion Thompson, who was, for taking a confrontational approach to the dispute with the CWU earlier this month, defended his approach, saying the company had made a dozen concessions following CWU demands and “would love to get back in talks, to get an agreement”.

Thompson rejected the accusation that he was set on “union-busting” tactics, pointing out that Royal Mail had agreed a wide-ranging restructure and pay deal for members of the Unite union in talks that took only three weeks. “It was the first time we have changed the frontline management structure in 35 years, some agreements were 40 years old,” he said.

1. Makes us fit for the future.
2. We can work with unions very well.” Royal Mail, which in November formally asked the government to change its obligations to allow it to, is keen to focus on parcels.
3. It is about getting the changes that we need to win,” said Thompson.
4. We have spent £900m investing to compete in the parcels market.

What we really need now is a change in working practices to compete in that hyper competitive market.” Thompson added that Royal Mail expected to provide an update very soon on the that stopped it being able to deliver letters and parcels internationally.

Why can’t postal workers go on strike?

To the editor: Re: “A state law that should be repealed immediately,” by Paul Miles-Mathias, letters, Feb 23: As a postal worker, it is obvious to me that Paul Miles-Mathias needs to do some fact checking before writing a letter. Federal law, specifically Title 5, U.S.C.

Can you still use post office during strike?

Please do not try to collect from or drop off items on these dates. They will reopen the day after strike action has finished. Post Offices will be open and offering the usual range of services on days when strike action is taking place.

How much do Royal Mail workers get paid?

What do Royal Mail pay different age groups?

Age group	Royal Mail pay per hour	Legal minimum wage
16-17	£7.16-13.24 per hour	£5.28
18-20	£10.00-13.71 per hour	£7.49
21-22	£10.40-15.13 per hour	£10.18
23 and over	£11.00-16.64 per hour	£10.42

Why is Royal Mail losing money?

Royal Mail made £1 billion loss after painful strikes: ‘We failed.and we apologise’ R made a loss of £1 billion in the year to the end of March 2023 after the postal service was hit by a wave of strikes and slump in demand for parcel deliveries. Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services said the loss was “due to industrial action, inability to deliver the in-year benefits of planned productivity improvements, lower test kit volumes and a weaker online retail market.” The firm said it had completed a 10,000 reduction in its staff numbers by the end of March, and last month reached a deal with the Communication Workers Union that would see a 10% pay rise and profit share scheme for remaining staff.

• Royal Mail bosses said: “We apologise to everyone for not delivering a quality of service to the standard we expect.
• We failed on some aspects last year and we apologise for that.
• It’s obviously been a difficult year for Royal Mail, and our customers and shareholders.” IDS chair Keith Williams said: “I said before that we had reached a crossroads at Royal Mail.

Now that we have a negotiators agreement with CWU that will shortly go out to ballot, and thanks to the good progress made on our five-point plan to stabilise Royal Mail, our destination is coming into sight.” IDS made an overall operating loss of £748 million for the year, after the Royal Mail loss was offset by a £296 million profit in its parcel business, GLS.

• The £1 billion loss by Royal Mail compares to a £250 million profit it made in the previous year.
• The bulk of the loss relates to an impairment charge of £539 million for the value of Royal Mail which it said was ‘given the current risk backdrop and ongoing industrial dispute.’ It follows an 18-day spate of strikes by postal workers, including during the crucial Christmas trading season, which the firm said caused shoppers to shop in-person rather than online and retailers to favour other parcel carriers instead of Royal Mail.

Demand for ‘tracked returns’ parcels fell 21% year-on-year, while total parcel revenue was down 18.5% to £3.9 billion. Letter revenue fell 5.7% to £3.5 billion. The firm also suffered a cyber-attack which is believed to have cost it at least £20 million to deal with, and earlier this week became the subject of an Ofcom investigation into failing to meet its annual delivery targets.

Last week, CEO Simon Thompson said he would quit his role and leave the company in October. “If it does not provide a satisfactory explanation and we determine that Royal Mail has failed to comply with its obligations, we may consider whether to impose a financial penalty,” Ofcom said. IDS shares fell 2.3% to 217p.

Matt Britzman, Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “It’s been difficult to find too much to get excited about at IDS recently, as the owner of Royal Mail has felt the hefty impact of union battles over the past year or so. Results show the full extent of the damage caused by 18 days of strikes alongside a weaker macro environment, with revenue at Royal Mail down over £1bn.

“The silver lining is that performance wasn’t quite as bad as analysts had forecast, and an agreement is now in place with the union on pay; the final hurdle is a vote from union members, which should end the lingering threat of further strike action. That means IDS can get back to concentrating on hiring a new CEO”.

: Royal Mail made £1 billion loss after painful strikes: ‘We failed.and we apologise’

Is the Royal Mail in trouble?

Royal Mail cost cuts to rein in 2023 losses A Royal Mail sign is pictured outside a post delivery office, in London, Britain August 26, 2022. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska Jan 26 (Reuters) – Britain’s Royal Mail expects its 2023 losses to be around the mid-point of its prior forecast range as the firm took measures to cut costs and mitigate the impact of strikes, its parent company said on Thursday, sending shares up as much as 4.4%.

The 507-year-old Royal Mail, which was privatised in 2013, is in the middle of a crisis, losing millions of pounds due to staff strikes in a long-running row over pay and conditions. The company said it now expects an adjusted operating loss near the mid-point of its previous forecast range of 350 million-450 million pounds ($433.5 million-$557.4 million) for the fiscal year ending March 31.

“Credit should go to management, that actions taken to mitigate the impact of more recent strikes have limited the financial impact,” Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Matt Britzman said in a note. Shares of the FTSE MidCap firm were trading about 2.3% higher at 224.8 pence as of 1028 GMT, off earlier highs.

Royal Mail, part of International Distributions Services Plc, said its 2023 outlook was hurt by strikes on 18 days in the fiscal year – six more than previously expected – with “tight control of costs and strike contingency measures” reining in some of the losses.Strikes by British postal workers roiled the key Christmas period after Royal Mail’s largest labour union rejected the company’s revised to increase wages by up to 9% over 18 months, instead of the previously planned two years.Royal Mail said the number of voluntary job cuts required to achieve its target of a reduction of 10,000 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) roles by August will be significantly lower than the forecast cuts of 5,000-6,000 made in October, partially helped by strong attrition levels.

In a trading update, the company said Royal Mail’s revenue fell 12.8% year-on-year in the nine-month period to end-December, while total parcel revenue declined 17.8%. Parcels account for 54% of the firm’s total revenue. In the first nine months of the fiscal year, London-headquartered Royal Mail said the net cost of the strikes was about 200 million pounds.

Are postmen still on strike 2023?

Royal Mail February strikes called off – Following the announcement of extra strike dates in February, the CWU later announced that strike action would be called off. It comes due to an error in the union’s strike notification for the Royal Mail. As a statement from the postal service reads: “The CWU has cancelled their planned strike action after making an error in their strike notification.

Could Royal Mail go bust?

Royal Mail ‘could go bust’ fear Royal Mail said yesterday it could “not rule out” administration as a “hypothetical worst case” scenario if there wasn’t a satisfactory way agreed to finance the company. The comment came in response to reports that Royal Mail – which is losing pounds 1.1m a day – could be “forced into administration” unless it was allowed to raise stamp prices.

• A Royal Mail spokesman however stressed that, while he could not rule it out, it was a hypothetical situation.
• The company is currently awaiting a decision from the post regulator, Postcomm, on future price rises.
• The mail group wants to put a penny on the price of a stamp, taking first-class to 28p and second class to 20p.

Postcomm has agreed to this but wants a price cap on subsequent rises to 2.5pc below retail inflation over three years.

Royal Mail says this would cancel any economic benefits from the price increase.Chairman Allan Leighton has previously warned that pricing proposals from Postcomm would turn a pounds 510m revenue boost from the 1p stamp rise into a pounds 460m financial “black hole”.He said that if the regulator would not put forward a straightforward regime it would seek a referral to the Competition Commission of the “complex price constraints” being proposed by Postcomm.Postcomm is expected to announce a final decision in the coming weeks.However there are concerns that if Postcomm rejects requests for an increase, Royal Mail may not be able to finance government loans totalling pounds 1bn.A spokesman for Royal Mail said: “If Postcomm try and impose on us the pricing straightjacket they have put forward there is no way we can finance the loans.”But we need to hear from Postcomm and take a view of what they decide and if they don’t make significant changes, we will have to trigger a referral to the Competition Commission.”He added: “Administration could not be ruled out if there isn’t a way of financing the company.”But what we want to see is a satisfactory outcome to Postcomm’s price controls so that we can proceed with the pounds 3bn restructuring plan for Royal Mail.”We don’t want to get to that situation where administration is an option – we have got a plan to run the Mail’s business commercially.””But it is a hypothetical worst case option.”Sunday newspapers said the DTI had warned that if Postcomm rejects requests for an increase in prices, then Royal Mail would not be able to pay back three government loans worth more than pounds 1bn.The DTI, shareholder and provider of finance to Royal Mail, said in December that it was essential that as a shareholder it made finance available only on a commercial basis.The DTI was not available for comment yesterday over whether administration was a possibility for Royal Mail.

: Royal Mail ‘could go bust’ fear

Who owns Royal Mail?

Royal Mail – Wikipedia Postal service company in the United Kingdom This article is about the British postal service. For its holding company, previously known as “Royal Mail plc”, see, Not to be confused with, Royal Mail Group Limited Royal Mail Native name

• : Post Brenhinol
• : a’ Phuist Rìoghail
• : Postya Riel
• : An Post Ríoga

Formerly

• Consignia Public Limited Company (2001–2002)
• Royal Mail Group plc (2002–2007)

TypeIndustry

Founded1516 ; 507 years ago ( 1516 ) FounderHeadquarters, England, UK Area served United Kingdom Key people

• (Non-executive Chairman)
• (CEO)

Services

• forwarding

• StoreFeeder
• Intersoft Systems & Programming

Website Royal Mail Group Limited, Royal Mail, is a British and company, originally established in 1516 as a government department. It is owned by, It operates the brands Royal Mail (letters and parcels) and (parcels). The group used the name Consignia for a brief period in the early 2000s.

1. The company provides mail collection and delivery services throughout the UK.
2. Letters and parcels are deposited in post or parcel boxes, or are collected in bulk from businesses and transported to Royal Mail sorting offices.
3. Royal Mail owns and maintains the UK’s distinctive red, first introduced in 1852 (12 years after the first, ), and other, many of which bear the of the reigning monarch at the date of manufacture.

Deliveries are made at least once every day except Sundays and at uniform charges for all UK destinations. Royal Mail generally aims to make first class deliveries the next business day throughout the nation. For most of its history, the Royal Mail was a public service, operating as a or,

Why are unions striking in the UK?

WHY ARE STRIKES HAPPENING NOW? – At the heart of the unrest is pay. Average wage growth in Britain slowed after the global financial crisis, and while it gradually picked up in the second half of the 2010s, pay rises were generally smaller for public-sector workers and brought little or no real-term increase.

• The divide between public and private-sector pay has become especially sharp over the past year as consumer price inflation reached double digits.
• Private-sector pay in the three months to November was up 7.1% compared with a year earlier, while average public-sector pay has grown by 3.3% over the same period.

Many of the particularly disruptive industrial disputes are in partly or fully public sectors such as transport and healthcare, involving railway staff, paramedics and nurses. Britain’s worst inflation in 40 years, of around 10% in recent months, has outpaced most public pay offers, and caused a cost-of-living crisis which has seen even some people with jobs resort to food banks.

Who does the postal strike affect?

What services are affected by the Royal Mail strike? – All Royal Mail and Parcelforce services will be affected by the strikes. That means that if you send with one of these services, collections may be delayed until after strike days and your parcel could take longer to arrive.

1. Parcelforce won’t be collecting parcels on strike days or the day before strike days.
2. To avoid delays, you could use a different delivery service as a Royal Mail alternative while UK postal strikes continue.
3. Shipping with Parcel2Go starts from £2.15 exc VAT and we have over 20 couriers to choose from.

We ship overseas using some of the most trusted international couriers, so no matter where you need to ship your parcel to, we’ve got a service for you.

Why is USPS so slow right now?

USPS delays, caused by COVID-19 and service changes, are impacting small businesses.The effects of these delays are seen in transportation, customer satisfaction and financial transactions.While businesses can’t control the holdup, there are different ways of working around the problem. This article is for small businesses challenged by the ongoing USPS delays.

Over the past few years, changes from the top down at the United States Postal Service (USPS), coupled with ongoing issues surrounding COVID-19, have caused the U.S. mail system to experience a slowdown in the processing and delivery of mail. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy’s 10-year plan, announced in 2021, implements money-saving changes, such as slowing mail delivery that will affect the services of the USPS dramatically.

Did UPS go on strike?

Updated on: August 22, 2023 / 5:29 PM / MoneyWatch Union to announce result of UPS contract vote Union to announce result of UPS contract vote 03:50 UPS workers on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to ratify a new contract that includes higher wages for workers, effectively eliminating the risk of a strike that would have been the biggest in 60 years, About 86% of voting members approved the contract, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters said in a press release announcing the vote results. The agreement, which will also create more full-time jobs and will secure air-conditioning in new trucks, covers about 340,000 UPS workers in the U.S. UPS drivers will earn an average of $170,000 in annual pay and benefits by the end of the five-year contract agreement, UPS CEO Carol Tomé said in an earnings call earlier this month. The vote was the highest share in favor of a contract in the history of the Teamsters at UPS, the union said. “Our members just ratified the most lucrative agreement the Teamsters have ever negotiated at UPS. This contract will improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers,” Teamsters general president Sean M. O’Brien said in the Tuesday statement. O’Brien said the new contract “raised the bar for pay, benefits, and working conditions in the package delivery industry.” Teamsters general secretary-treasurer Fred Zuckerman called the new five-year contract the “richest” he’d seen in 40 years.

Can I collect a parcel during strike?

Q. What will be the impact on the strike days? – A. We anticipate that you will be able drop-off your Royal Mail & Parcelforce parcels as normal, but there will likely be no collections at all on the strike days.

Is DHL affected by Royal Mail strike?

How do I avoid any delays to my delivery? – We strongly recommend choosing our Next Working Day shipping options if your delivery is time sensitive, as they will be delivered by DPD or DHL and will not be affected by the Royal Mail strike action.

Can I collect my letters from Royal Mail?

1. Collect from the mail centre – Choose Early Extraction to get your mail at the earliest possible time. Collect any mail that has already been processed at the mail centre. Any uncollected mail will be delivered to you the same day.

Choose what time to collect your mail between 1am-6am, Monday-Saturday at the mail centre For an extra fee, we can deliver your mail No volume restrictions – collect your mail regardless of quantity

What does a postman earn in London?

The average salary for a Postman is £27,239 per year in London, which is 2% lower than the average Royal Mail salary of £27,886 per year for this job.

What is a postman’s salary in UK?

Salary rate Annual Month Biweekly Weekly Day Hour How much does a Postman make in United Kingdom? The average postman salary in the United Kingdom is £47,500 per year or £24.36 per hour. Entry level positions start at £32,500 per year while most experienced workers make up to £62,500 per year.

What is minimum wage UK?

1. Introduction

	NMW rate	Annual increase (£)
21-22 Year Old Rate	£10.18	1.00
18-20 Year Old Rate	£7.49	0.66
16-17 Year Old Rate	£5.28	0.47
Apprentice Rate	£5.28	0.47

Why hasn’t my post been delivered?

Please use the form to ask us or tell us something and we’ll get back to you soon. Coronavirus update | We’re committed to helping our customers in any way we can during the coronavirus pandemic. We are, however, experiencing unprecedented demand for responses to queries. So it may take us a little longer than normal to get back to your enquiry.

What changes do Royal Mail want to make?

By the end of 2021/22 we’ll increase the number of parcel sorting machines in our network from 20 to around 30, and want to reach at least 50% of parcels sorted automatically. Our new hubs will bring us another c.15% when they start operating in 2022 and 2023.

Is Royal Mail slow?

Notes to editors –

1. Walnut Unlimited surveyed 4,007 18+UK adults between 25 May to 5 June 2023 to ask them about their experiences of letter delays. Questions that were asked included:
1. Thinking about any post you’ve received from or sent with Royal Mail in the last month, has any of your post been delayed or not arrived at all? 31% said they had experienced a letter delay and 22% said they had experienced a parcel delay.
2. Did you experience any negative consequences because a letter was delayed or didn’t arrive in the last month? 15% said they had experienced a serious negative consequence, including missing important documents (9%). missing a health appointment (6%), paying bills late (3%), missing a financial appointment (e.g. a job interview) (3%), and losing money through fines (2%).
3. Did you experience any negative consequences because a letter was delayed or didn’t arrive in the last month? 23% of people of colour had experienced a serious negative consequence as a result of letter delays, compared to 13% of white people.
4. Did you experience any negative consequences because a letter was delayed or didn’t arrive in the last month? 21% of disabled people said they had experienced a serious negative consequence as a result of letter delays, compared to 13% of non-disabled people.
2. 15.7 million people estimate worked out using Citizens Advice research finding 31% of people experienced letter delays in the month leading up to the fieldwork period of 25 May to 5 June 2023 and ONS 2021 Mid-2021 Estimates of the population for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland,
3. 7.3 million people estimate worked out using Citizens Advice research finding 15% of people experienced serious negative consequences due to letter delays in the month leading up to the fieldwork period of 25 May to 5 June 2023 and ONS 2021 Mid-2021 Estimates of the population for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland,

1. Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.
2. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free.
3. Citizens Advice helped 2.55 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2021-22. And we had 40.6 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.
4. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 18,500 trained volunteers, working at over 2,500 service outlets across England and Wales.
5. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.

Will there be post on Saturday?

We deliver and collect your mail on most days of the year, including Saturdays. However, we don’t usually deliver or collect on public or local holidays. (Please note: Local holidays are subject to change). Please use the links below to see the public and local holidays and how they will affect our services.