London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 28, 2025

Royal Mail worker fears thousands face sack after Christmas as first of six days of strikes begins

Royal Mail worker fears thousands face sack after Christmas as first of six days of strikes begins

A postal worker taking part in today's strike action explains the gripes frontline Royal Mail workers have and claims the company will do what it wants once the core Christmas season is over.

A striking Royal Mail worker has voiced fears up to 25,000 staff could be sacked and new working conditions imposed on those left after the core Christmas season has finished.

The man, who usually delivers letters and parcels in the London area and is being identified as 'Derek' because he wished to remain anonymous, was speaking on the eve of the latest strike which began on Friday.
He said the 115,000 frontline workers were fighting for the very future of the business.

Workers are striking today and further walkouts are scheduled for 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24 December.

Their union, the CWU, has claimed the programme of modernisation the company is seeking, including voluntary Sunday working, in return for a larger pay rise would turn Royal Mail into a "gig economy-style parcel courier, reliant on casual labour".

Royal Mail has argued it is crucial to help it better compete as it places a greater focus on the lucrative parcel delivery sphere at a time when the company is losing £1m a day.

Derek, who is a union member but not a rep, explained that while part of the fight was for better pay, he and his colleagues were walking out to protect the company's values from a future that would mean a worse deal for the public and staff alike.

He said Royal Mail was attempting to weaken its commitments to letter delivery and make its contracted workers go further, through increased flexibility, to line the pockets of shareholders.

Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, told Sky News even if they were offered a 50% pay rise they would not accept it if the same terms and conditions were attached.


The company has accused CWU leader Dave Ward of spreading unfounded claims about Royal Mail's modernisation plans

The main gripes, Derek said, covered Sunday working and later start times for deliveries.

"The pay deal is something we wanted but 2% (with more in return for accepting new working practices) was a joke," he said.

"The vision is to start deliveries later and finish later but if you don't complete by your time allocated, we don't know where we stand as the goal posts keep changing. It becomes a conduct issue.

"They've got us by the b****.

"We are cutting off (finishing rounds before completion) on a regular basis because we're not getting paid any extra to clear backlogs."

Derek blamed staff shortages, saying agency workers had been brought in to help.

"We're on £12 an hour. Agency are getting £15-20," he said.

"Freelance drivers are being used to cover vacancies. They (Royal Mail) don't want to recruit.

"The night shifts for Christmas are another issue. The backlog is phenomenal. Packages are being prioritised when the company insists that is not the case.

"It's the terms and conditions that are the paramount issue in this dispute. They're trying to fix something that doesn't need it.

"Once Christmas is over, they'll do whatever they want and impose these changes.

"Compulsory working Sundays - I didn't sign up for that. They say it's voluntary but I'm having to do that now.

"Sickness is going through the roof."

He added that Royal Mail was deducting wages by £117 per day for strike days.

"I only earn £75 per day but they've taken off allowances including for the loss of leaflet drops," he claimed.

"Royal Mail said: "We are not docking extra days' pay - if people work, are on annual leave, off sick or on a rest day, then they are paid as normal; if people take part in strike action, then they are not paid for the period that they are on strike."

Royal Mail reacted to the growing cost of the strikes in October by launching a consultation on job cuts that could see around 10,000 roles cut by the end of August 2023. It later revealed half-year financial losses of £219m.

The company made, what it called, a "best and final" offer to end the dispute in late November.

However, its "extensive improvements" were rejected by the CWU.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said of Derek's comments: "Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, has made several false statements about job losses designed to mislead and create fear and uncertainty amongst our employees.

"As recently 28 November, we wrote Mr Ward to correct his false allegations that Royal Mail is planning to 'sack' thousands of workers and wants to become 'another courier company'.

"This is simply not true. We have already announced that reductions in 10,000 full time equivalent roles - which have become necessary as a result of industrial action, the need for better productivity and lower parcel volumes following the pandemic - will be achieved through natural attrition, reducing temporary workers and a generous voluntary redundancy scheme which has been oversubscribed.

"We would be happy to look into any concerns the individual has about his pay."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
×