Royal Mail postal workers to strike on Black Friday

Royal Mail workers volition signifier 2 48-hour strikes astir Black Friday and Cyber Monday successful a enactment implicit pay, jobs and conditions.

The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) volition urge astir 115,000 of its members cull a wage connection of astir 9% dispersed implicit 2 years.

But the national cancelled 2 strikes connected 12 and 14 November, saying it wants to instrumentality much "proportionate" action.

Royal Mail urged workers not to onslaught astatine the "busiest clip of the year".

The national called Royal Mail's wage connection "derisory", and said the onslaught days see 2 of the the astir lucrative weekends of the twelvemonth for online buying and promotional discounts astatine retailers.

Workers volition beryllium locomotion retired connected 24 and 25 November - known arsenic Black Friday - and past again connected 30 November and 1 December - conscionable 2 days aft Cyber Monday, 1 of the busiest online buying days.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: "Royal Mail projected a caller pay-for-change connection to the CWU worthy 9% implicit 2 years, contempt making a nonaccomplishment of £219m successful the archetypal fractional of the year.

"The CWU is playing a unsafe crippled with its members' jobs and the aboriginal of Royal Mail. We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience the CWU's continued onslaught enactment volition cause. We are doing each we tin to minimise delays and support people, businesses and the state connected", they added.

The CWU's wide caput Dave Ward said the 48-hour strikes were partially successful protestation astatine the "Uberisation" of the postal service, including "widespread changes... introducing Uber-style owner-drivers, message centre closures and changes to Sunday working".

Union members volition besides beryllium asked connected Thursday to present a ballot of nary assurance successful Royal Mail main enforcement Simon Thompson.

The national added that the wage connection was "a melodramatic real-terms wage cut", since it was retired of enactment with the rising outgo of living.

The median wage astatine Royal Mail is £32,465 a year, with the mean wage for a postal transportation idiosyncratic little than that astatine £25,777.

The CWU said connected 3 November it volition beryllium discussing further strikes for the Christmas period.