Royal Mail workers to stage four days of strikes

Around 115,000 Royal Mail workers are set to strike on four days in August and September in a dispute over pay, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said.

Staff at the postal carrier and delivery service will walk out on August 26 and 31 and September 8 - 9. Royal Mail said the CWU had rejected a pay rise offer "worth up to 5.5%" after three months of talks.

Union bosses the action was "for a proper pay rise" to cover the current cost of living. Inflation, which is the rate at which prices rise, is at a 40-year high of 9.4% and is expected the peak at 13% later this year.

"Nobody takes the decision to strike lightly, but postal workers are being pushed to the brink,” said CWU general secretary Dave Ward.

"There can be no doubt that postal workers are completely united in their determination to secure the dignified, proper pay rise they deserve," he said.

He added that people "can't keep on living in a country where bosses rake in billions in profit while their employees are forced to use food banks".

The company called for further talks to avert the strikes, but said they "must be about both change and pay".

"In a business that is currently losing £1m a day, we can only fund this offer by agreeing the changes that will pay for it," the company said.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti at Sharecast.com