The CWU says up to 20 million items of post are sat in a backlog in London sorting offices.

More strikes by postal workers disputing pay and working conditions looks set to cause more disruption around the UK this week, as the Communication Workers Union (CWU) stages fresh strikes.

In August strikes escalated as the CWU branded Royal Mail’s business approach as “chaos management”.

Yesterday (8 September) postal workers in London began their 11th 24-hour walkout ahead of a week of protests across the UK. Every day this week offices across the country will be affected and the CWU anticipate that up to 20 million items of mail remain undelivered in London sorting offices and more than a million items are causing a backlog in the Bristol area.

Dave Ward, CWU Deputy General Secretary, said: “Royal Mail’s head in the sand approach to the problems in the mail industry is now severely damaging services for customers with backlogs bigger than in the national strike of 2007.”

Paul Tolhurst, Royal Mail’s Operations Director apologised for the disruption that customers may face during strike actions: “We again urge the CWU to call off its plans for further strike action and to stop blocking change and modernisation.

“Modernisation means investment in new equipment throughout our operations and changes in working practices to reflect the fast-moving market we are now in – and we again call on the CWU to help us secure a strong future for the business, its people and its customers rather than repeatedly acting to undermine it.”

However, Mr Ward continued: “Management have been attacking our members through bullying –in unagreed, often unworkable, changes. The dismissive attitude to staff at the same time as cuts to jobs, hours and overtime and a pay-freeze has made Royal Mail a dismal place to work.”

Click here for a list of where and when strike action will be taking place.