Is your Business ready for Royal Mail Strikes in November?

For any Business the latest announcement from Royal Mail of upcoming strike dates can only be seen as an inconvenience or for some, a major problem for others and they ramp up in November! The Communication Workers Union has called on all its members who sort, collect and deliver parcels and letters to take strike action over conditions and rates of pay in the upcoming weeks. It is thought that around 115,000 staff will be striking on these dates. These strikes will no doubt have huge effect on delivery of all your Business mail as various documents relating to your company need posting daily from Invoices, Purchase Orders and statements to legal Letters and promotional items. On strike dates when sending letters only special delivery will be prioritised so considerable delays to your mail delivery can be expected on proposed strike dates and the following days due to back logged mail.

Royal Mail have stated they have “Well-developed contingency plans” but “cannot fully replace the daily efforts of our frontline workforce”. The following information has been released by Royal Mail to advice on what can be expected during strike action and to announce ‘significant disruption’.

• No letters at all will be delivered (apart from Special Delivery).
• Any items posted the day before, during, or in the days after these dates could be delayed.
• Special Delivery mail will still be prioritised “as resources allow” but the usual next-day guarantees are being suspended and customers can’t claim compensation for delays.
• Tracked 24 mails, including medical prescription items and COVID tests, will also be prioritised but people are again warned to expect delays.
• Delivery Offices and Customer Service Points will be closed.
• Post Offices will stay open and offer their usual services but Royal Mail collections will be limited.
• People can still drop mail at post-boxes but there will be fewer collections and items face delays.

With all this in mind Post important Items as early in advance of strike dates as possible. When it comes to mailing items of less importance consider the backlog of previous mail, is it worth holding off sending out until things have settled or maybe opting for first rather than second class to make sure your mailing items are prioritised.

As it stands the dates above have been proposed for strike action although these could change if talks successful or schedules change. To keep an eye on developments concerning Royal Mail Strikes head to their website for the latest news https://www.royalmail.com/latest-news