Members of the Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) at Royal Mail said the 2% pay rise handed to them by management was not good enough and are instead seeking an amount that is “decent (and) appropriate”. Around 97.6% of members voted in favor of strike action, which will continue on Wednesday 31 August, Thursday 8 September and Friday 9 September. Read more: Who’s on strike in August and September – and for how long CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “There is no doubt that postal workers are completely united in their determination to secure the decent, proper pay rise they deserve. “We cannot continue to live in a country where bosses make billions in profits while their employees are forced to use food banks.” He pointed to the company’s adjusted operating profit in the year to March 2022 of £758m and its decision last November to give shareholders £400m in dividends, saying: “Our members will not accept the company’s calls for poverty. “Postal workers will not take kindly to having their standard of living battered by greedy businessmen out of touch with modern Britain. “They are sick of corporate failure to reward themselves over and over again.” Read more: Royal Mail losing £1m a day, chairman says Royal Mail rewards investors with £400m payday after parcels COVID boost Royal Mail said it would prioritize delivery of COVID test kits and prescriptions and deliver as many Special Delivery and Tracked24 parcels as possible. A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We cannot cling to outdated working practices, ignoring technological developments and pretending that COVID has not significantly changed what the public want from Royal Mail. “While our competitors work seven days a week, delivering until 10pm to meet customer demand, CWU wants to work fewer hours, six days a week, starting and finishing earlier. “Their plans to transform Royal Mail come with a £1bn price tag, are based on a completely unrealistic revival of the letter and prevent Royal Mail from growing and remaining competitive in a rapidly evolving industry. “Our future is as a parcel business. We need to adapt the old ways of working designed for letters to a world increasingly dominated by parcels, and we need to act fast. “We want to protect well-paid, permanent jobs in the long term and maintain our position as an industry leader in terms of pay, terms and conditions. This is in the best interests of Royal Mail and all its employees.”
