BBC- Royal Mail: When are the postal strikes and Christmas post dates?<br /><br />Postal workers are holding a series of strikes, delaying letter and parcel deliveries.<br /><br />It means the suggested last dates for sending Christmas post have been brought forward.<br /><br />When are the next strikes?<br />A wave of strikes has been called for 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24 December - some of the busiest days for pre-Christmas deliveries.<br /><br />Postal workers belonging to the Communication Workers Union started their industrial action in August.<br /><br />How will the strikes affect deliveries?<br />On strike days the Royal Mail says it will not be able to deliver first and second class letters.<br /><br />However, it will deliver as many parcels and Special Delivery letters as possible.<br /><br />The timescale commitment offered on Special Delivery Guaranteed items will be suspended the day before any strike.<br /><br />People will not be able to claim compensation for late deliveries.<br /><br />Royal Mail delivery offices and customer service points will be closed. Letters will not be collected from post boxes.<br /><br />Royal Mail has hired thousands of agency workers to help process the backlog.<br /><br />The Post Office is a separate business, and post offices will be open, although some services, such as posting letters, may be affected. Other services such as bill payments and banking will run as normal.<br /><br />When do I have to send Christmas post?<br />The last posting days for delivery before Christmas have come forward.<br /><br />They are now 12 December (instead of 19 December) for second class post.<br /><br />And 16 December (instead of 21 December) for first class.<br /><br />How much are Royal Mail workers paid?<br />The action is over pay and conditions.<br /><br />Median pay at Royal Mail is £32,465 a year, and the average pay for a postal delivery worker is £25,777.<br /><br />Royal Mail has offered a pay deal which it says is worth up to 9% over 18 months.<br /><br />However, this is below the current rate at which prices are rising - 11.1%.<br /><br />The CWU wants a higher pay offer. It also objects to proposed changes to working conditions, such as ending a number of allowances and the introduction of compulsory Sunday working.<br /><br />What does Royal Mail say?<br />Royal Mail is moving from its traditional business of delivering letters - which is no longer profitable - to the fast-growing world of parcel deliveries, driven by the increasing popularity of online shopping.<br /><br />It faces stiff competition from other couriers, which give their workers less generous pay and benefits.<br /><br />The company says it is losing around a million pounds a day, and cannot afford to give its workers a higher pay rise.<br /><br />It says strikes have added £100m to its losses, and has announced plans to cut up to 10,000 jobs.<br /><br />The company has improved its offer to workers, including more generous redundancy terms and a profit-sharing scheme.<br /><br />On 24 November, Royal Mail said it had made its "best and final offer", and accused the union of "holding Christmas to ransom".<br /><br />Who owns Royal Mail?<br />Royal Mail was owned by the government until 2013, when it was privatised.<br /><br />
