Royal Mail strike dates 2022: when is strike, how many days, will it impact Black Friday and Christmas post?

Royal Mail workers will go on strike for a further 19 days before the end of the year, leading many people to worry about what this means for deliveries during the busy festive season.

Alongside Christmas, there are also two other major shopping dates coming up in the next few weeks - Black Friday and Cyber Monday. These are two dates in November when shoppers are offered big discounts on products ahead of the festive season, and for many marks the beginning of their Christmas shopping.

The boom in purchases because of these two dates always leads to extra demand on Royal Mail postal workers during November and December.

The latest strike announcement comes after workers went on strike over pay during the summer, although some dates were cancelled due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

So, just when are the new strike dates, and will the strikes affect Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Christmas deliveries?

Here’s everything you need to know.

When are the Royal Mail strikes?

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) announced that a further 19 days of strike action will take place in October and November.

They said this will be a mixture of single days and rolling action across Royal Mail Group’s network.

For households, this means that they won’t receive any letters or packages on certain days before the end of the year.

The BBC reports strike action has been called for 24 hours from 4am on various days starting from Thursday 13 October. Action will also be taken by all workers on 13, 20, and 25 October, and 28 November.

Different teams and combinations of teams will strike on other days, but that will have a knock-on effect on all deliveries on those dates, a CWU spokesman said.

The dates of those other days are yet to be announced.

Will the Royal Mail strikes affect Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

The planned dates for the strikes will affect the week when people will expect their Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchases to be delivered, which is week commencing Monday 28 November.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday always take place on the last Friday and Monday in November. This means that Black Friday takes place this year on Friday 25 November, while Cyber Monday takes place on Monday 28 November.

People can expect there will be delays on receiving the goods they have ordered during this time.

Will the Royal Mail strikes affect Christmas?

At the time of writing, there are no planned strikes for December - but this could change.

The full 19 strike days have not yet been announced, but as people start buying their gifts in October or November it is fair to expect that the strike will cause some disruption to people as they begin to get organised for the festive season.

We would advise that people buy the things they need early to allow for delays in delivery times, which will ensure that everything arrives in time for Christmas.

Why are Royal Mail workers striking?

More than 115,000 Royal Mail workers have been walking out in a dispute over pay, which has been supported by the workers’ union CWU.

Royal Mail initially planned four days of strikes, with the first two falling on Friday 26 August and Wednesday 31 August. The final two were scheduled for Thursday 8 and Friday 9 September.

The walkout on 9 September was cancelled as the UK entered a period of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II. Now the period of mourning has ended, however, further strikes are planned for Friday 30 September and Saturday 1 October.

The union said the decision to strike for a further 19 days follows a threat centred around the “outrageous” decision by Royal Mail Group’s senior management to withdraw from major national agreements, push ahead with cuts to workers’ terms and conditions and “completely sideline” the union.

CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “This is a significant announcement, but it is one which matches the level of anger our members feel at the way Royal Mail Group has treated them.

“The chief executive of Royal Mail Group is treating postal workers as if they are stupid. These are the same people that have kept the country connected and returned Royal Mail Group to record profit.

“Postal workers across the UK now face the fight of their lives to save their jobs and the service they provide to every household and business in the UK.

“We call on everyone to stand with their local postal worker. If Royal Mail Group are allowed to get away with this then it sends a green light to every rogue big business in the UK.

“We will not stand by and see the Royal Mail Group become the next P&O but we need your backing to win.”

What has Royal Mail said?

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “On September 22, Royal Mail invited CWU to enter into talks through Acas to find a resolution to our dispute on change and pay.

“Rather than responding to our offer of Acas talks, the CWU announced further damaging industrial action, once again taking the path of prolonging disruption over resolution.

“Royal Mail is losing £1 million a day and must change faster in response to changing customer demands. We operate in a competitive market, and our customers have choices.

“Further strikes and resistance to transformation by CWU will only make our financial position worse and threatens the long-term job security of our postmen and women. The CWU has a responsibility to recognise the reality of the situation Royal Mail faces as a business and engage urgently on the changes required.

“We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience the CWU’s continued strike action will cause. We are doing all we can to minimise any delays and keep people, businesses and the country connected.”