The union representing postal workers has turned up the heat in its dispute with Royal Mail (RM), launching a series of strikes which are likely to disrupt the postal system for the foreseeable future.

Talks between RM and the Community Workers Union (CWU) are ongoing, though the first 48-hour stoppage is set to begin when 130,000 workers walk out at noon today, 4 October. A second 48-hour strike is scheduled to begin at 3am on Monday.

An unspecified programme of weekly strikes, beginning in the week of 15 October, is expected to follow until the issues are resolved.

Talks between the two sides are continuing, though an agreement remains illusive. RM has said that its priorities over the coming days will be to keep mail flowing, processing as much as possible and ensuring that customers can still post mail through the post office system.

However, it warned that mail delivery will be severely disrupted during the stoppages “and for a significant period afterwards”.

These are just the latest stoppages in a disagreement over pay and possible job cuts.

CWU members voted for industrial action in June over Royal Mail’s “below inflation pay offer” and plans to cut the workforce by around 40,000 through the automation of mail sorting processes.

Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said that the strikes were “a proportionate response to an employer that is completely out of control”.

“Despite five weeks of negotiations, Royal Mail has failed to take on board the union’s message that, in order for the business to succeed, Royal Mail needs to invest in its workforce,” he added.

The struggling organisation has warned that, following the loss of its 350–year monopoly last year, it will not be able to compete in the current marketplace unless it makes these modernising changes.

Levels of support for June’s action were disputed by RM and the union, and company leaders will be hoping that the prospect of losing four day’s pay will prove too much for many employees.