Image source, Getty Images By Ben King Business press reporter, BBC News Postal employees are set to hold a series of strikes, postponing letter and parcel shipments in the run-up to Christmas. About 115,000 members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are participating in the conflict with Royal Mail. When are the next strikes? A 48- hour strike will happen on 30 November and 1 December. Another wave of strikes is prepared for 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24 December – a few of the busiest days for pre-Christmas shipments. Postal employees coming from the CWU voted extremely in favour of strikes on 19 July, and very first did something about it on 26 August. A 48- hour strike impacting the discount rate shopping day referred to as Black Friday occurred on 24 and 25 November. How will they impact shipments? On strike days the Royal Mail states it will not have the ability to provide very first and 2nd class letters. It will provide as numerous parcels and Special Delivery letters as possible. Where possible, concern will be provided to prescriptions and Covid test packages. The timescale dedication provided on Special Delivery Guaranteed products will be suspended the day prior to any strike. Individuals will not have the ability to declare payment for late shipments. Image source, Getty Images Royal Mail shipment workplaces and customer care points will be closed. Letters will not be gathered from post boxes. Royal Mail has actually employed countless firm employees to assist process the stockpile. The Post Office is a different service, and post workplaces will be open, although some services, such as publishing letters, might be impacted. Other services such as expense payments and banking will run as regular. When are the last publishing days prior to Christmas? The last publishing days to make sure shipment prior to Christmas are presently 19 December for 2nd class and 21 December for 1st class mail. Royal Mail might bring those dates forward if the series of strikes due to start on 9 December are validated. Why are Royal Mail employees striking? The action is over pay and conditions. Average pay at Royal Mail is ₤32,465 a year, and the typical spend for a postal shipment employee is ₤25,777 Royal Mail has actually used a pay offer which it states deserves approximately 9% over 18 months. This is listed below the existing rate at which rates are increasing – 11.1%. The CWU desires a greater pay deal. It likewise challenge proposed modifications to working conditions, such as ending a variety of allowances and the intro of mandatory Sunday working. What does Royal Mail state? Royal Mail is moving from its standard organization of providing letters – which is no longer lucrative – to the fast-growing world of parcel shipments, driven by the increasing appeal of online shopping. It deals with stiff competitors from other carriers, which provide their employees less generous pay and advantages. The business states it is losing around a million pounds a day, and can not manage to provide its employees a greater pay increase. It states strikes have actually included ₤100 m to its losses, and has actually revealed strategies to cut up to 10,000 tasks. The business has actually enhanced its deal to employees, consisting of more generous redundancy terms and a profit-sharing plan. On 24 November, Royal Mail stated it had actually made its “finest and last deal”, and implicated the union of “holding Christmas to ransom”. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Postal employees and strike action protesters outside the Mount Pleasant Royal Mail arranging workplace Who owns Royal Mail? Royal Mail was owned by the federal government till 2013, when it was privatised. Shares were offered to banks and personal people, with 10% scheduled for Royal Mail staff members. About 6% of the business is owned by workers today.
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