Royal Mail has launched a Sunday Special Delivery Guaranteed service for business account customers, however the news comes as its workers are set to walk out on strike on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday in disputes over pay, jobs and working conditions.
The delivery giant said its Sunday service will give business customers the ability to send high value and important parcels on a Saturday for Sunday delivery, strengthening Royal Mail’s seven-days-a-week parcel delivery proposition. It comes as online shoppers increasingly require seven-day-a-week delivery options when buying parcels online.
Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail, said: “Retailers who can offer all of their customers a seven-days-a-week shopping experience, open up a whole new trading day and don’t push their customers to other online retailers or physical stores at the weekend. In short, retailers who offer Sunday delivery will grow faster. That’s why we have been rapidly scaling up our Sunday service and why we’re now adding another option for urgent and higher value items.
“The UK already trusts Royal Mail to deliver their purchases seven-days-a-week. Adding a Special Delivery option means we can offer even higher levels of choice and convenience for our sending and receiving customers.”
However, Royal Mail staff who are members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have spoken out following a recent “ridiculous” pay deal, which was branded a surrender document. The CWU had withdrawn industrial action planned for 12 and 14 November after receiving a legal letter from the Royal Mail, but strikes will go ahead on the key dates of 25 November and 28 November.
Furthermore, the CWU has warned that industrial action will continue in the run up to Christmas unless the dispute is resolved.
