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Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the Communication of Workers Union (CWU) has called off strike action that was set to take place today.

Around 1,600 workers across south east Wales were due to be on the picket line today, with a recent ballot seeing more than 97% of members vote in favour of industrial action.

South east Wales branch manger for the CWU told Caerphilly Observer how the need for strike action has never been greater: “We entered talks with Royal Mail back in February when the cost of living situation was already bad.

“We’re now at a point however where families will not be able to live, having to choose between eating and heating. It sounds cliché but it’s now reality.”

A postal worker currently earns on average around £380 a week, or just under £20,000 a year.

Before the strike was called off, the Royal Mail hit out at the union and said: “The CWU’s self-centred actions with the wider trade union movement is putting jobs at risk, and making pay rises less affordable.

“We are losing £1 million a day and the CWU’s strike action is making our situation worse. We want to protect well-paid, permanent jobs long-term and retain our place as the industry leader on pay, terms and conditions. Each strike day makes that more difficult, making Royal Mail’s future more uncertain than at any time in its long history.”

“On the CWU’s first strike day, more than 850 offices were operational as we worked to minimise customer disruption and keep people, businesses and the country connected. Over the Bank Holiday weekend, teams across Royal Mail have worked tirelessly to implement our recovery plans, ensuring NHS letters and critical government mailings were prioritised as we cleared the mail to return to normal service levels.

“We need the same commitment from the CWU’s leadership to engage on change, this is the only way we can unlock more pay. Our future is as a parcels business. We must adapt old ways of working designed for letters to a world increasingly dominated by parcels and act fast. We cannot cling to outdated working practices, ignoring technological advancements and pretending that Covid has not significantly changed what the public wants from Royal Mail. 

“We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience the CWU’s strike action will cause. We remain ready to talk with the CWU to try and avert damaging industrial action and prevent significant inconvenience for customers. But any talks must be about both change and pay.”