International Distributions Services PLC (LSE:IDS)’s Royal Mail workers staged walkouts today, ultimately targeting Black Friday sales, while members of the University and College Union were also among groups involved in action on Thursday.
Around 115,000 Royal Mail workers, part of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), will strike today and tomorrow on Black Friday, when shoppers will be hoping to get at bargain rates.
After pay negotiations failed to genreate a compromise on Wednesday, CWU General Secretary Dave Ward said: “We will not accept that […] the people who kept us connected during the pandemic, and made millions in profit for bosses and shareholders, take such a devastating blow to their livelihoods.”
As many as 70,000 university staff also walked out as part of a dispute over pay, pensions and conditions on Thursday, affecting an estimated 2.5mln students.
The walkout marks the “biggest strike action in the history of higher education,” according to University and College Union (UCU) general secretary Jo Grady, with strikes also planned for 25 and 30 November.
After the sector generated a record £41.1bn worth of income in 2021, UCU outlined that universities should be able to meet staff demands of a “meaningful pay rise” amid the cost-of-living crises.
According to UCU, the 150 vice-chancellors in the UK collectively earn around £45mln, around £300,000 each, while Talent.com places the average salary of a lecturer at just over £38,000.
Both actions look to last unless deals are reached, with Jo Grady hinting towards “even bigger action in the New Year,” while Royal Mail workers are due to be involved in a series of walkouts in the run up to Christmas.
In a separate dispute, teachers across Scotland are striking on Thursday for the first time since the 1980s, leading to primary and secondary schools being forced to temporarily shut their doors.