Royal Mail workers are set to walk out on strike this month on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday in disputes over pay, jobs and working conditions.
Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) spoke of a recent ‘ridiculous’ pay deal presented by the Royal Mail, which was branded a ‘surrender document’.
Strike action will come on the two busiest periods of the ecommerce calendar, 25 November and 28 November.
Over 115,000 workers are involved in the long-running dispute.
An emergency meeting last week put a last-minute stop to proposed strike action, with the CWU saying it had decided to withdraw industrial action planned for 12 and 14 November after receiving a legal letter from the Royal Mail.
“Posties are in the fight of their lives against the Uberisation of Royal Mail and the destruction of their conditions,” CWU general secretary Dave Ward said.
“But 115,000 of our members will not just accept this war on their livelihoods and their industry. They will never give up the fight to protect this industry and to protect their hard-won working conditions.”
Ward added that industrial action will continue in the run up to Christmas unless the dispute is resolved.
A Royal Mail spokesman told Metro: “On Monday October 31, Royal Mail proposed a new pay-for-change offer to the CWU worth 9% over two years, despite making a loss of £219 million in the first half of the year.
“The CWU have been in talks with us at Acas and claim they are open to change but they now need to show it.
“Instead, the CWU have announced four days of strike action which will damage our business further at our busiest time of year.”
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“Software AG head Nadeem Malik told Charged: “Royal Mail strikes on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday will cause extensive disruption for retailers. These are prime revenue opportunities, and delivery delays for online orders risk a domino effect in the build up to Christmas.
“Strikes affecting the movement of goods in the last mile are becoming more commonplace, adding pressure to supply chains already impacted by global disruption.
“Therefore, supply chain networks and planning must become more resilient yet again. For retailers, this means careful preparation around fulfilment times, especially to manage spikes in demand. Building a flexible network is key to increasing delivery capacity with alternative courier services.
“Bricks-and-mortar retailers must also look to expand Click and Collect capabilities, especially for customers who require items by a particular date.
“As proven during the pandemic, technology will play a key role here, as we have repeatedly seen digitally mature companies are often the most resilient during a period of disruption.
“Whether it’s using IoT platforms to collate data from sensors and smart devices across the whole network, integration and APIs to connect with delivery partners’ systems or siloed data, or simply internal tools that can model and evaluate processes to make them more efficient – a digitally-enabled, connected approach will be essential.”
