More than 100,000 Royal Mail staff members will strike over four days in a call for a "dignified, proper pay rise."
The industrial action is set to take place on August 26 and 31 as well as September 8 and 9. It comes after a 77 percent ballot turnout from Royal Mail workers with a 97.6 percent vote in favour of the strike action.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) rejected a pay rise offer that Royal Mail operations director Ricky McAulay said was "worth up to 5.5% for CWU grade colleagues".
The offer would have included a two percent pay increase, with a further 3.5 percent available subject to future talks. It comes amid a 40-year high in inflation, which is expected to peak at 13 percent later this year.
Dave Ward, CWU general secretary, told the PA News Agency: "There can be no doubt that postal workers are completely united in their determination to secure the dignified, proper pay rise they deserve."
Craig Anderson, regional secretary for the Communication Workers Union in Scotland, told BBC Radio Scotland: "We are taking this action basically because we have been given no other option. The negotiations started in February regarding a pay rise for the workers within Royal Mail and negotiations have broken down."
What does this mean for postal services?
If the industrial action goes ahead it is likely that Royal Mail deliveries may be delayed on strike days. The Communication Workers Union has 115,000 members which makes up a large portion of the company's overall staff, of which there are around 140,000.
Some packages may still be delivered by staff who are not striking although this is still to be announced. A spokesperson for Royal Mail recently told i : “In the event of industrial action, we have contingency plans to minimise customer disruption and will work to keep people, businesses and the country connected.”
Mail that is delivered from other couriers like Amazon and DPD will likely still arrive as they will not be involved in the strike action.
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