ONLINE deliveries could be delayed over the biggest shopping days of the year because of strikes.
Royal Mail has announced strikes on 19 days including Black Friday and the run up to Christmas.
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The dispute is over pay and conditions and follows previous action in August and September.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said there will be walkouts on a number of different days.
The first will start from 4am on Thursday 13 October and will last 24 hours.
Further strike dates include, October 20, 25 and November 28.
Black Friday takes place on November 25, with major shops like Amazon, Currys and Argos offering major sale discounts to shoppers in store and online.
Cyber Monday follows where traditionally these offers are available online, but in recent years the two days have merged to create one shopping bonanza across high street stores and websites.
Some even start their deals earlier in the lead up to the day.
Meanwhile Amazon has launched a second Prime Day this year with sale dates for subscribers on October 11 and 12.
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Royal Mail said it needs to make changes to the business as it’s losing £1million a day, and must respond to changing customer demands and competition.
The union claims the move follows a threat centred around the “outrageous” decision by Royal Mail Group’s senior management to withdraw from major national agreements, push ahead with cuts to workers’ terms and conditions and “completely sideline” the union.
How and when will strikes affect deliveries?
Previous strike action has taken place at quieter times, but the run up to Christmas is among the busiest times of year.
Strike action is already scheduled this week on September 30 and October 1.
Royal Mail has warned of “significant disruption” and apologised for delays.
It has warned that it will try and deliver as many parcels sent as special delivery and Tracked24 and will prioritise prescriptions and Covid testing kits.
There will be no delivery of letters on these days.
The postal service recommends that people post items as early as possible before strike dates, and that collections will be less frequent on days of strike action.
But you can continue to post items at Post Offices and letterboxes.
The full list of dates for confirmed strikes are as follows:
Workers who collect, sort and deliver parcels and letters:
- Friday September 30
- Saturday October 1
- Thursday October 13
- Thursday October 20
- Tuesday October 25
- Monday November 28
Processing, distribution, international, collections, admin:
- November, 3, 9, 15, 24 and December 1
Delivery:
- November 4, 10, 16, 25 and December 2
Network:
- November 2, 8, 14, 23, 30
Why are Royal Mail workers going on strike?
Workers are striking over a dispute to do with pay and conditions.
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.
“The chief executive of Royal Mail Group is treating postal workers as if they are stupid. “These are the same people that have kept the country connected and returned Royal Mail Group to record profit.
“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 says it must make changes because the business is losing money and customer habits have changed.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “On September 22, Royal Mail invited CWU to enter into talks through Acas to find a resolution to our dispute on change and pay.
“This evening, rather than responding to our offer of Acas talks, the CWU announced further damaging industrial action, once again taking the path of prolonging disruption over resolution.
“Further strikes and resistance to transformation by CWU will only make our financial position worse, and threatens the long-term job security of our postmen and women.
“The CWU has a responsibility to recognise the reality of the situation Royal Mail faces as a business and engage urgently on the changes required.
“We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience the CWU’s continued strike action will cause. We are doing all we can to minimise any delays and keep people, businesses and the country connected.”
This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk
