Royal Mail strikes: Liverpool postal workers begin 19 days of walkouts - 18 other strike dates confirmed

Royal Mail workers across Liverpool are holding the first of 19 strikes in a bid to improve pay and conditions

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) are in dispute with Royal Mail after the postal group foisted a 2% pay deal on its members, at a time when RPI inflation eclipsed 11.8%.

More than 115,000 CWU members across the UK including Liverpool started the 24-hour walkout on Thursday, 4:00am BST. This is the sixth strike for postal workers who have been committed to direct action since the summer and is currently the biggest ongoing strike of the year.

CWU General Secretary Dave Ward said: “The CEO of Royal Mail Group, Simon Thompson, is treating postal workers as if they are stupid.

“These are the same people that have kept the country connected and returned Royal Mail Group to record profit.

“Postal workers across the UK now face the fight of their lives to save their jobs and the service they provide to every household and business in the UK.”

Here’s everything you need to know about the Royal Mail strikes - what are the strike dates, how will it affect residents in Liverpool, and will it impact Christmas?

Why are Royal Mail workers striking?

The CWU is in dispute with Royal Mail over separate issues.

Firstly, the union has accused the Royal Mail of failing to honour the Pathway to Change agreement signed off by DGSP Terry Pullinger for the CWU and CEO Simon Thompson. They’ve stated that Royal Mail has planned structural change which would transform the members into a “casualised, financially precarious workforce overnight”.

The CWU announced that the structural change included delaying the arrival of post to members of the public by three hours, cuts in workers’ sick pay and inferior terms for new employees.

General secretary Dave Ward said: “Postal workers face the biggest ever assault on their jobs, terms and conditions in the history of Royal Mail.

“The public and businesses also face the end of daily deliveries and destruction of the special relationship that postal workers and the public have in every community in the UK.

“It is insulting the intelligence of every postal worker for Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson to claim that their change agenda is ‘modernisation’.

“It is nothing more than an asset stripping business plan that will see the break-up of the company and the end of Royal Mail as a major contributor to the UK economy.

“Royal Mail Group claim to be losing £1 million a day. The CWU believe these figures need to be scrutinised.”

Secondly, the CWU has insisted Royal Mail workers have had a 2% pay deal “imposed on them” without consultation or taking into account the current rate of RPI inflation, which is at 11.8%

When are the Royal Mail postal strikes in Liverpool?

The CWU has announced that Royal Mail postal strikes will occur at times of dramatic impact, including peak mail periods such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the Christmas build-up.

According to the CWU website, workers will strike on October 13, October 20 and October 25 from 4:00am BST on each day. All three strikes will be 24-hour industrial action and will affect all members across all functions.

Aside from one day of a national strike on Monday, November 28, Industrial strikes set to affect Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the lead-up to Christmas will focus on disrupting different parts of Royal Mail’s operational and administrative network. This includes:

• Network and National Distribution: November 2, 8, 14, 23, 30 

• Parcel and letter processing and distribution, Royal Mail international parcel and letter services, and collections (customer, Post Office, postbox): November 3, 9, 15, 24  and December 1.

• Parcel and letter deliveries: November 4, 10, 16, 25 and December 2

What has Royal Mail said?

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Three weeks ago, Royal Mail invited the CWU to enter talks through Acas to find a resolution to our change and pay dispute. We have not reached an agreement with the CWU on this request.

“Royal Mail is losing £1 million a day and must change faster in response to changing customer demands.

“The CWU leadership’s choice of damaging strike action over resolution is weakening the financial position of the company and threatening the job security of our postmen and women.”