2nd Nov 2009

Customers are likely to be aware that yet further industrial action by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) will result in additional national postal strikes. These will be on Friday the 6th and Monday the 9th of November 2009 and will result in severe disruption to normal mail deliveries operated by the Royal Mail.

We would strongly advise all customers to take this strike action into account when sending samples to us. There are a number of options available to customers, including delaying sending samples, using one of the Royal Mail "special" delivery options or using an alternative service not reliant on Royal Mail (such as a courier service). Customers should note that most non-Royal Mail postal delivery services that operate in the UK still rely on the Royal Mail for the final stage of the delivery process (the so called "final mile"). Hence, the use of a completely separate delivery organisation would be advisable. That said, the Royal Mail will still try to keep mail moving through the use of managers and contract drivers. They will also be giving priority to their "special delivery" and "Tracked" services. Hence, customers who do not wish to use a totally different organisation to deliver their samples may choose to use one of these types of delivery with Royal Mail.

The links on the left of this page provide more details on the industrial action and what options are available to people who need to send items during a strike. Please feel free to contact us if you have further concerns or any questions.