As the cost of living crisis pushes widespread mass industrial action, thousands of postal workers in the UK began a series of strikes on Friday over pay.
Postal employees in east London waved flags and chanted, “What do we want?” outside a delivery office. Good money!
Delivering packages and mails around the country in their signature red vans emblazoned with a crown insignia, Royal Mail Group employees have taken to the streets in protest against a salary increase that has failed to keep pace with rising costs of living.
Employees of Royal Mail Group, represented by the Communication Workers Union (CWU), will go on strike starting this Friday for multiple days.
They are also planning attacks for September 8 and 9.
“Our members are saying it’s enough,” CWU general secretary Dave Ward told AFP.
We’re asking for a significant increase in salary for our staff. We want that to reflect the work that everyone on staff did to keep the business running during the pandemic, he said.
Moreover, “we want it to protect us against inflation,” he clarified.
The Royal Mail Group has announced on its website that it will not deliver mail on strike days, citing “severe inconvenience” as the reason.
While UK inflation has reached double digits, the union claimed that 97.6 percent of members chose to strike in response to an imposed pay contract of only 2 percent.
The CWU stated, “The salary conflict is not complicated.”
In other words, “Our members need it, our members deserve it, and the company can afford it.”
The privatized Royal Mail Group’s announcement of £758 million ($896 million) in profits for the previous year was cited.
Largely unionized workplaces in the United Kingdom are going on strike. This includes the Royal Mail and the railways, both of which were once owned by the government.
The energy regulator Ofgem stated Friday that it would nearly double the price cap on energy bills for those not on fixed-term tariffs, to an average of £3,549. This news coincides with the strikes.
