Strike dates: Postal and railway industrial action this month

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By now, you will have heard the news that many Royal Mail and railway workers are striking in the run up to Christmas this month, and in some cases, into January too. It can be confusing trying to keep up with when workers are going to strikes, the dates they will take place on and how you could be impacted. 

Fear not, we are here to help. Here are all the dates workers will be striking throughout the coming weeks. 

 

Royal Mail

December brings a fresh wave of strikes from Royal Mail workers, with the industrial action set to delay deliveries of Christmas gifts across the UK. This will impact millions using the service. Walkouts were arranged by the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) over pay and working conditions. 

Some days of striking have already been completed, with many more in quick succession to come. 115,000 members of the CWU will walkout during the strikes. 

Royal Mail strike dates:

• Thursday, 1st December 
• Friday, 9th December 
• Sunday, 11th December 
• Wednesday, 14th December 
• Thursday, 15th December 
• Friday, 23rd December 
• Saturday, 24th December (Christmas Eve) 

How will the strikes impact deliveries?

The closer to Christmas, the more these strikes are likely to impact the delivery of last minute or late Christmas gifts and packages. Millions of households will feel the havoc of this, so it is key that parcels are posted and goods ordered well in advance.  

Royal Mail are urging customers to allow plenty of time to post items this year, suggesting 2nd class items should be posted by 19th December at the very latest. 1st class items should be sent by 21st December. 

However, special deliveries and tracked guaranteed items should be sent no later than 22nd December. Special deliveries with a “Saturday guarantee” should be sent by 23rd December.  

International post

If you are sending presents overseas, you should allow yourself even more time. There is no such thing as too early when it comes to getting your goods to their destination on time. If you are sending items to family and friends in the armed forces, you should aim to post them by 2nd December.  

Deadlines for sending to other countries via standard international mail, such as the Far and Middle East, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, the British Virgin Islands, Canada, the US, Dominica and Anguilla have passed. Similarly, the deadline for posting goods to Cyprus, Greece, Iceland, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Malta via international standard post have passed. 

 

Rail strikes

We have seen multiple rail strikes this year, with a fresh lot of 48-hour strikes coming in the run-up to Christmas and into the new year. Recently, talks failed to break down the industrial dispute, meaning more walkouts have been planned.  

40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union (RMT) will walk out over an 8-day period in the coming weeks. Trains will cease to run between 2am on the strike day and 2am the following day, causing two days of disruption to services. 

Security staff at Eurostar will also go on strike this month, walking out on December 16th, 18th, 22nd and 23rd. 

Strikes, alongside planned engineering work over the festive period mean some lines will be out of service for many weeks from the middle of December. It is expected that just one in five trains will run on strike days. 

Strike dates

Nationwide strike dates: 

• Tuesday, 13th December 
• Wednesday, 14th December 
• Friday, 16th December 
• Saturday, 17th December 
• Tuesday, 3rd January  
• Wednesday, 4th January  
• Friday, 6th January  
• Saturday, 7th January  

Regional strike dates:

• Friday, 2nd December – Unite strike impacting East Midlands Railways 
• Saturday, 3rd December – Unite strike impacting East Midlands Railways 
• Sunday, 11th December – RMT Avanti West Coast strike 
• Monday, 12th December – RMT Avanti West Coast strike 
• Friday, 23rd December – Unite strike impacting East Midlands Railways 
• Saturday, 24th December – Unite strike impacting East Midlands Railways 

Affected train operators

• LNER 
• Northern trains 
• Avanti West Coast 
• Southeastern 
• Cross Country 
• Chiltern Railways 
• Hull Trains 
• Greater Anglia 
• Govia Thameslink (plus Gatwick Express) 
• London Underground 
• West Midlands Trains (plus London Northwestern Railway) 
• Great Western Railway 
• Transpennine Express 

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