Post Office strike: Businesses warned to plan ahead

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A 24 hour walkout is planned for Crown Post Offices across the UK on September 15 with business owners set to be "significantly impacted"

Thousands of Post Office workers are set to strike this Thursday 15 September in a row over closure plans and pensions – a walkout which will see around 300 Crown Post Offices close for 24 hours.

The first strike of its kind since the 1970’s, the strike is expected to have a significant impact on businesses and consumers leading key industry players to issue announcements urging business owners to plan ahead to mitigate delays to shipments.

David Jinks, ParcelHero’s head of consumer research, has advised business owners using Post Offices to ship parcels to “send them a day earlier or to use a recognised international courier such as DHL, UPS or TNT, who will come to your premises or home and pick up your items, bypassing the need to visit the Post Office entirely.”

Jinks continued:

“Obviously this is a difficult situation. The Post Office network needs urgent modernisation but important branches need protecting – and no one likes to hear of potential job losses of skilled staff. There is a possibility of further industrial action so it is sensible for everyone to have contingency plans in place, however.”

The warning follows a statement from the general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), David Ward, which claimed the “Post Office as we know it is on the brink of extinction”.