Christmas post hit as Royal Mail workers strike

[livewirer]

Christmas post hit as Royal Mail workers strike

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63961595

By Dearbail Jordan & Tom Espiner
Business reporters, BBC News
Firms have warned of the hit to Christmas sales as postal workers squeezed by rising costs fight for higher pay and better conditions.

Royal Mail workers walked out again on Wednesday, marking the third of six strike days across the festive season.

Lucy Bryant, who sells art products, uses Royal Mail for deliveries and says it's frustrating for her and customers when they don't arrive on time.

The warning comes as rail workers and driving examiners walk out too.

Postal worker walkouts coincide with the busiest time of year for Royal Mail when people and businesses are sending Christmas cards and presents.

Lucy Bryant, who runs her small business Haus of Lucy from Brighton, says she supports the strikers as "everyone has a right to fair pay".

However, because she relies "so heavily on the post" to get products from suppliers and to send her art to customers, she says it "has made my life very hard this Christmas season".

Some artworks are getting through, and some aren't. "There's almost no logic to what is getting through," she says.

Lucy had to re-order prints that didn't arrive at a cost to the business "that is quite a big hit for me to take," she says.

"I'm not Banksy - yet," she adds.

Pip Haywood, managing director of online card company Thortful, has calculated that each day of action is costing the firm up to £50,000 a day.

"It's meant we've had to staff up to protect our customers," she told the BBC, with three times as many requests for advice on delivery windows from shoppers than usual.

"So it's not just hitting revenue, it's adding cost and also causing brand damage."

With the company relying on Royal Mail for about 80% of its business, she says the strikes mean the firm will miss its sales target for the year.

Some parcel companies claim the walkouts are having a knock-on effect, and forcing them to delay next-day deliveries as people and firms seek alternative ways to send their post.

DPD Group said: "We are experiencing short delays to our next-day delivery service in a small number of locations, as a result of the industrial action at the Royal Mail, which has had a huge knock-on effect across the entire industry."

Evri, the delivery company formerly known as Hermes, said that severe weather, Royal Mail strikes and staff shortages are causing "some localised delays".

While Yodel also said that deliveries are taking longer to some areas but did not specify why.

[enskied]

Or she could pay the real cost of a parcel delivery.
They all want a subsidised post, but don't back the workforce behind that.
Get real you know the cost of a first class stamp on a letter that is never going to get delivered.

Pay up.

[Slim2none]

Perhaps Pip should have modified the website of the online card company to advise any and all prospective customers about the delays they may experience.

Pretty sure she'd save some money for the company.

Not very "thortful" Pip!

[PMC Network Driver]

I have been with Royal mail for 38 years I have been on strike each time the UCW and the CWU called for strike action and most of the time we have got what we wanted well before autumn pressure, but this time I sense some thing is very different in the approach higher management are taking, they will not let us win this time I guarantee that and after Christmas they won't care if we strike for a full month, we are going to lose this one and all the changes that management want will be forced on us via executive action in 2023, I'm glad that I have only 11 more months until retirement because the business' and our hard fought for agreements are going to change beyond belief, we are screwed and if you don't believe that? well just wait and see.

[geromethegnome]

yup, seems as if it’s not a great business model after all

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... -lost.html