Postal deliveries to the Shotley peninsula have been disrupted today as Royal Mail strike action began.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called on its members who collect, sort and deliver parcels and letters to take strike action on 26 and 31 August and the 8 and 9 September 2022. 

CWU general secretary Dave Ward told Sky News: "We are going to fight very hard here to get the pay rise our members deserve."

"There can be no doubt that postal workers are completely united in their determination to secure the dignified, proper pay rise they deserve."

He added: "We can't keep on living in a country where bosses rake in billions in profit while their employees are forced to use food banks.

"When Royal Mail bosses are raking in £758m in profit and shareholders pocketing in excess of £400m, our members won't accept pleads of poverty from the company."

Royal Mail's latest adjusted operating profit for the year to March was £416m, up from £344m a year earlier.

A Royal mail spokesperson said: "We're really sorry for the disruption that this strike action is likely to cause to you. We want to reassure you we will do everything we can to minimise disruption and get our services back to normal as quickly as possible.

"Royal Mail has well-developed contingency plans, but they cannot fully replace the daily efforts of its frontline workforce. We will be doing what we can to keep services running, but customers should expect significant disruption."

On days when strike action is taking place: 

• We will deliver as many Special Delivery and Tracked24 parcels as possible
• We will prioritise the delivery of COVID test kits and medical prescriptions wherever possible
• We will not be delivering letters (with the exception of Special Delivery) 

What you can do:

• Post your items as early as possible in advance of the strike dates 
• Continue to post your items at Postboxes or Post Offices, however collections will be less frequent on days when strike action is taking place