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Postal workers are set to begin a four day strike from next Friday 26 August and local MLA Justin McNulty has given his backing to them. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called on its members who collect, sort and deliver parcels and mail to take strike action on 26 and 31 august and the 8 and 9 September 2022.
Mr. McNulty said postal workers deserved a wage increase that reflects the rising cost of living.
The Newry and Armagh representative said “Royal Mail workers have the full backing of myself and the SDLP following their decision to commence strike action later this month. Like many workers they are finding it harder to survive, with the cost of living crisis spiralling out of control, families’ bills increasing and wages remaining stagnant, something has to give.
“Royal Mail's operating profit rose by over £70m last year and the company should be using this money to give staff a pay rise that recognises the difficult situation many people are facing. If we are going to deal with the multitude of issues facing our society at the minute, then we need to see big businesses passing on their large profits to staff.
“No worker takes the decision to strike lightly, they do it because they feel they have exhausted all other options to secure fair pay and working conditions. It’s unfortunate that services will be affected by these four days of strike action and I would urge Royal Mail to sit down with unions and staff to reach an agreement on a pay deal before strike action commences on August 26.”
Royal Mail say they will be doing what they can to keep services running, but customers should expect significant disruption.
On days when strike action is taking place:
- They will deliver as many Special Delivery and Tracked24 parcels as possible
- They will prioritise the delivery of COVID test kits and medical prescriptions wherever possible
- They will not be delivering letters (with the exception of Special Delivery)
