I have just been reading the latest news on the BBC News website regarding the imminent postal strikes: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8317628.stm

At TransAction we have been worried about the potential effects of a national strike on business as we very much depend on the reliability of the postal service to deliver certified translations. Certified translations are required for official purposes (e.g. immigration matters, name change, job applications), so they often come with a tight deadline.

At the beginning of the week two clients contacted us because they had not yet received the hard copies of their translations, which were both sent by first class post some time ago. One of the translations was required for a specific meeting relating to application to the GMC, so the fact that it had not yet arrived caused our client a great deal of worry. We then reissued the translation and sent it out by Royal Mail Special Delivery, hoping that this service wouldn’t be affected by the strike.

If this kind of situation continues to present itself, we will end up wasting a lot of time and money reissuing translations.

According to BBC News, mail centre staff and drivers will strike tomorrow (22^nd October) and the delivery and collection staff will strike on Friday (23^rd October). We are told to expect “very limited” service these two days – on Thursday the processing, movement and collection of mail will be limited, and on Friday the delivery and collection of mail will be affected. Post Office branches will be open as usual, although collections will be affected, and the strike should not affect the delivery of Special Delivery and Royal Mail Tracked items.

Surely industrial action of this kind will drive customers away from Royal Mail?

We are now advising all clients to pay extra for the Special Delivery Royal Mail postage option. Even if next day delivery cannot be guaranteed, at least in this way items can be tracked.