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Small firms in the UK face the prospect of two weeks of continuous disruption in the postal service between July 25th and August 8th, because of a planned series of strikes.

The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) has announced that the industrial action by Royal Mail workers will be stepped up because the company's management 'refuses to take the strike seriously'.

Since the end of June, two previous strikes have been carried out by postal workers angry about a 2.5 per cent pay offer and plans to modernise.

From July 25th a series of strikes will see employees from each section of the company walking out over two 24-hour periods, causing massive disruption to postal services. This will hit small businesses particularly hard, as they often rely on prompt deliveries.

'The timing is aimed at maximising the impact on mail,' a spokesman for the CWU says.

The group's general secretary, Billy Hayes, explains the decision: 'Again, we are calling on Royal Mail's business leaders to enter fresh and meaningful negotiations aimed at settling the dispute. The fact that they continue to refuse to do so is a failure to their workforce and the public.'

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