Today we are seeing a tremendous demonstration of unity as over 115,000 postal workers walk out and man picket lines in villages, towns, and cities up and down this country. They are striking because they won’t accept their living standards being absolutely hammered by greedy business leaders who I don’t believe are being honest with their workers.

Every single person in this country relied on a postal worker during the pandemic. They kept us connected to our communities, to our loved ones, and to vital goods and services. At the time, Royal Mail called them heroes. But now, when these same people are suffering from skyrocketing inflation and soaring energy bills, the company has turned their backs on them. Instead of offering a real pay raise to do right by their workers, Royal Mail Group has imposed a real-terms pay cut of 2 percent.

This is an insult, particularly when our members delivered record profits of £758 million for Royal Mail, with millions paid out to shareholders. This is not about affordability, it’s about pleading poverty when those who create all the profit are expected to see their wages collapse.