In response to continuing strike action, Royal Mail has revealed intentions to lay off up to 10,000 workers by the end of the current August.
The postal service said that it would start informing employees of its recommendations, which seek to cut its overall staff by 10,000.
By March, it’s anticipated that half of these positions would be eliminated, and by August, the remaining 5,000.
According to the business, the decision was made in reaction to “the effect of industrial action, delays in implementing promised efficiency gains, and decreased package volumes.”
After being impacted by strike action, Royal Mail is anticipated to have an operational loss of £350 million for the year, according to parent company International Distributions Services.
The changes were announced one day after the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents Royal Mail employees, called a new strike in a protracted dispute over pay and working conditions.
This is a really sad day, according to Simon Thompson, chief executive of Royal Mail. I am sorry to announce these employment losses.
We shall use every effort to prevent forced layoffs and assist those who are impacted.
‘We have just reported losses for the first half of the year of £219 million. Every strike day makes things worse financially for us.
“The CWU regretfully raises the possibility of more staff cutbacks by choosing harmful strike action over settlement.”
In a long-running disagreement over wages and working conditions, postal employees went on strike again yesterday. A total of 19 further walkouts are scheduled for the next weeks.
The greatest strike in a year that has witnessed industrial upheaval across several sectors, including rail, according to the Communication Workers Union (CWU).
Yesterday was the sixth strike day in recent months, with picket lines set up outside Royal Mail offices by about 115,000 members throughout the UK.
Yesterday morning, the CWU posted images of employees who were on strike in places including Leicester, Sheffield, Oxford, Aberdeen, Worcester, Belfast, and all across London.
Additionally, picket lines were set up in the West Sussex communities of Bognor Regis, King’s Lynn, Sidcup, Romsey, and Thirsk.
The union claims that the Royal Mail is preparing structural changes that will effectively transform workers with safe, well-paying employment into a “casualized, financially vulnerable workforce overnight.”
According to the CWU, proposals include for cutting worker sick pay, delaying post delivery to the general public by three hours, and offering less favorable conditions to prospective hires.
Prior to the busy holiday season, the union has declared an additional 19 days of strike action.
“Postal employees face the worst ever attack on their employment, terms, and conditions in the history of Royal Mail,” general secretary Dave Ward warned.
The loss of daily deliveries and the abolition of the unique bond between the public and postal employees in every town in the UK pose further threats to the general public and companies.
Simon Thompson, CEO of Royal Mail, insults the intellect of every postal worker by claiming that their transformation goal is “modernization.”