Around 115,000 workers across the UK have taken part in the action. It is the first of four days of industrial action, with walkouts planned for August 31 and September 8 and 9. In Burnham, more than 20 staff joined the queue outside the sorting office in Dunstan Street, pictured here. The union representing the workers is demanding a wage increase that more closely reflects the current rate of inflation. Royal Mail apologized to customers and said it had contingency plans in place to minimize disruption. On strike days it will deliver as many Special Delivery and Tracked 24 parcels as possible, he said. It will also prioritize the delivery of prescriptions where possible. In Burnham, six managers delivered “priority” mail items locally on Friday. It comes as Royal Mail said the Communications Workers Union (CWU), which represents the strikers, had rejected a pay rise offer “worth up to 5.5%” after three months of talks. The union called on Royal Mail to increase wages to an amount that “covers the current cost of living”. Inflation, the rate at which prices rise, is at a 40-year high of 10.1% and is expected to top 13% later this year. CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “We’re going to fight very hard here to get the pay rise our members deserve.” “There is no doubt that postal workers are completely united in their determination to secure the decent, proper pay rise they deserve.” He added: “We cannot continue to live in a country where bosses make billions in profits while their employees are forced to use food banks.” “When Royal Mail bosses are making profits of £758m and shareholders are pocketing over £400m, our members will not accept the company’s claims of poverty.” Royal Mail’s latest adjusted operating profit for the year to March was £416m, up from £344m a year earlier. A Royal Mail spokesman said the business could not “cling to antiquated working practices, ignoring technological developments and pretending that Covid has not significantly changed what the public want from Royal Mail”. The company said it remained open to further talks to prevent strikes, but that they “must be about both change and pay”.
