|
Beware of Postal Strike Disruption
 If
your business sends a lot of post, then you
need to be prepared for the postal strike
taking place on Friday 29th June;
and possibly again in early July.
The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) have
confirmed that strike will be going ahead,
as a dispute over pay was not settled.
Unless a last minute agreement is found,
then Royal Mail deliveries across the
country will be crippled.
This means that any post you send before
Tuesday 3rd July is likely to be delayed for
at least a day, and possibly longer as the
backlog is cleared. If you send any post by
Special Delivery, or using next day
services, any items posted on Thursday 28th
June will not qualify for money back if
delivered late.
The postal regulator Postwatch is advising
that you try to avoid posting any mail until
Tuesday 3rd July; as although a
skeleton service will be trying to keep the
post going as well as possible, it will be
under immense strain.
Even a 24-hour strike will mean that
important mail items such as invoices,
payments, wage slips and contracts could be severely
delayed. If you are expecting important
mail, you should contact the sender to
discuss ways of getting around the postal
problems - for example, by finding out how
much is owed on an invoice and organising
payment so as to avoid extra charges.
Most post offices will be unaffected, but we
would still advise against sending post as
the delays will make it more likely to be
late, damaged, or lost.
If an agreement is still not reached soon,
there may be another strike around the 13th
July; if this is the case you should send
any important post early to help it arrive
on time, and make sure that any important
items you are receiving are also posted
early.
Royal Mail is operating a helpline on
08457 740 740, but this is likely to be
extremely busy over the coming few days.
For more information on the strikes and how
they may affect you visit the Postwatch site
here.
|
