Thousands of postal workers have gone on strike for a second day, joining telecoms workers who are also on strike, as unions want bigger wage increases for their members.
On Wednesday, 115,000 Royal Mail employees went on strike, while 40,000 BT and Openreach employees remained on strike since Tuesday.
The postal worker strikes will impede package and mail deliveries.
Royal Mail employees are considering additional strikes for September 8 and 9.
In response to the growing cost of living, Communication Workers Union (CWU) members at Royal Mail are on strike after rejecting a 2% pay increase.
The Royal Mail stated that the strikes could harm the company.
Royal Mail’s future is more unclear than at any other moment in the company’s lengthy history, according to a spokesperson. “The CWU’s efforts within the larger trade union movement are putting employment in danger and making pay increases less affordable,” the spokesperson said.
The CWU, which claims this is the largest strike in the United Kingdom since 2009, has demanded that Royal Mail raise salaries to “meet the present cost of living.”
Similarly, CWU employees at BT Group are on strike against salary packages that do not keep up with inflation.
“The rationale for the strike is straightforward: workers will not tolerate a major decline in their level of living,” said CWU general secretary Dave Ward.
Inflation is at an all-time high in the United Kingdom, and prices are rising at the highest rate in forty years.
The strikes will impact mail delivery, particularly premium paid services such as Royal Mail Special Delivery, which assures arrival by 1 pm the next day.
“Unfortunately, we will be unable to provide compensation for items that are late due to industrial action,” a spokesperson for Royal Mail told.
“For Special Delivery Guaranteed items, the guarantee will be suspended until the end of the strike for items sent the day before the strike. The rules and rights of customers regarding mail loss and damage remain unchanged,” the spokeswoman noted.
On the first day of strike action, August 26, the CWU stated that its members had lost trust in Royal Mail.
At a strike location in London, the CWU’s Dave Ward stated, “They’ve lost faith in the leadership, and people will recognize this when they see how the corporation has conducted itself.
We will fight hard to obtain our members the compensation package they deserve,” he continued.
Simon Thompson, the CEO of Royal Mail, told on Friday, “Our reality is that the Covid bubble has burst, and we can all see the economic scenario around us.” Currently, we are losing £1 million every day.
The adjustment we require is to transform our business from one established for letters to one that can now succeed in the parcels market.
In what has been dubbed the “summer of strikes” across the UK, refuse workers and rail workers have also gone on strike.
Teachers and NHS employees are also considering strike action this fall in response to pay offers.
Unite and Unison, the two main unions in the United Kingdom, have stated that they will aim to coordinate strike action this fall to obtain better pay accords.
Both unions have presented motions calling for future walkouts to be synchronized in advance of next month’s Trade Union Congress.
