Responding to the ongoing strikes by the Communications Workers Union, Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson is urging customers to post even earlier for Christmas, if they want them to get cards and parcels to friends and loved ones on time.
In an email sent to customers, he asked customers to send Second Class mail by 12th December and First Class by 16th December 2022.
“At Royal Mail, we know this is the time of year when you rely on us most,” he wrote. “So we deeply regret that the Communication Workers Union (CWU) is planning further strikes on 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24 December 2022.”
The CWU went on strike after Royal Mail members had an unagreed two per cent pay deal imposed on them, at a time when RPI inflation is currently running at 11.8 per cent and when Royal Mail announced Group profits of £758 million and when the company paid out many millions to private shareholders.
In a national strike ballot over pay, Royal Mail members voted by a 97.6 per cent majority to take action.
Royal Mail members have also voted by 98.7% on a 72.2% turnout for strike action in defence of its “Pathway to Change” national agreement, made last March after lengthy, detailed and comprehensive national negotiations between DGSP Terry Pullinger for the CWU and CEO Simon Thompson for the company. The CWU says
the Royal Mail company leadership has reneged on the Pathway to Change agreement’s Key Principles and has begun to impose changes without negotiation and without agreement.
“The CWU is actively in favour of change,” says the Union. “We want to change this Great British company together and by consent. This is why the union is so determined to defend our mutually agreed Pathway to Change.”
Simon Thompson does not mention any of the CWU’s reasons for the strike in his letter, but is keen to point out Royal Mail is continuing to try to offer a good service.
“Last week we delivered around 700,000 parcels during strike days and recovered service quickly. I want to thank personally more than 11,000 of our employees who came back to work during that last strike.
“But the task gets more challenging as Christmas nears. So we’re asking customers to send Second Class mail by 12 December and First Class by 16 December 2022.
“We’ll do everything we can to respond. And we’re doing everything we can to settle this dispute.”
According to Thompson, he has engaged in eight months of talks with the union and a pay offer of up to 9% over 18 months is on the table. “But even before the strikes we were losing £1m a day,” he continued. “So we can only afford that offer if the union stops resisting the changes needed to deliver what you, our customers, ask for today.
“You’re sending 60% fewer letters than you used to, and the number keeps on falling. You’re sending more parcels, which you want delivered quickly, including at weekends.
“We’ve also listened carefully to our employees. Existing employees who aren’t required to work Sundays won’t be required to do so. And we’re introducing family-friendly options to help with our need for more afternoon working.
“We are bringing in new recruits on different contracts, but their terms, conditions and pensions will still be the best in the industry. This is not the gig economy. We have a generous voluntary redundancy scheme and are not making compulsory redundancies.
“We are the only people who deliver a universal one-price-goes-anywhere service to the whole United Kingdom, and we know how much you need us.
“We urge the CWU to call off these damaging strikes. And we’ll do everything we can to deliver Christmas. For everybody.”
• Royal Mail News: royalmail.com/latest-news
• CWU Information on the strike action: cwu.org/rmgstrikeinfo