British Post Office union announces Christmas strike

IN case you are waiting for parcels from the UK or are about to send one from Spain, you should be aware that the Communications Workers Union has called a five day strike of workers in the Post Office starting on Monday December 19 and lasting until Christmas Eve.

Ever since the split between the Royal Mail and the Post Office it has been a little difficult to understand who does what, but it appears that this strike will only affect what are known as Crown Post Offices and these are the main high street offices, not the sub-post offices which exist throughout the UK.

The argument is over the transfer of 61 offices to WH Smith stores around the country as well as job security and pensions all of which are under scrutiny as the recently privatised company looks to make long-term savings.

One side argues that the savings will guarantee work for the majority over a period of time whilst the other side sees it as a simple ploy to reduce costs and therefore efficiency.

The good news is that in theory at least, Christmas deliveries of parcels and mail will continue although there is a possibility that there may be some delays as well as some difficulty in actually finding a high street post office to accept mail.