Royal Mail workers across the UK will continue to strike this week in a dispute over pay.
It comes as the Communication Workers Union (CWU) shared that more than 115,000 postal staff with walk out and gather outside Royal Mail officers across the country.
The strikes started on Friday, August 26 and saw limited post through the Royal Mail delivered.
The decision to strike came after a recent ballot which saw members vote by 97.6% for the industrial action on a 77% turnout.
Now the strikes will continue across the next couple of weeks seeing severe disruption to regular posting times.
When are the Royal Mail postal strikes?
After last Friday marked the first of planned walkouts, this week will see the second take place on Wednesday, August 31.
The next load of walkouts will then not take place until a week later in September.
The planned upcoming Royal Mail strikes are:
- Wednesday, August 31
- Thursday, September 8
- Friday, September 9
How will Royal Mail postal services be affected by the strikes?
Royal Mail has said that it has “well-developed contingency plans” to minimise disruption.
It added that it was "focused on getting mail delivery back to normal as quickly as possible after strike action," but letters will not be delivered in strike day.
The company has apologised to customers but says it has plans to minimise the disruption.
On days when strike action is taking place, Royal Mail says it will:
- Deliver as many Special Delivery and Tracked24 parcels as possible
- Prioritise the delivery of Covid test kits and medical prescriptions
Customers should be aware the items that they post the day before, during the strike or after could be caught up in the delays.
The Royal Mail is also advising to post items as early as possible in advance of the strike dates and noted that collections will also be less frequent during the strikes.
Royal Mail has added that it cannot guarantee delivery of all special delivery items by 9 am or 1 pm the next day.
It confirmed that it would be suspending its regular guarantees while strike action is occurring.
Royal Mail users can continue to post items at the post box or at the post office but should be aware of the delays.
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