Royal Mail claims 35 million items are stuck in the backlog.

The backlog created as a result of the national postal strikes has risen to 35 million items, the Royal Mail has revealed.

As a new series of talks between the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Royal Mail bosses began, the firm said the industrial action taken this week has caused such a large amount of mail to build up.

A second day of strike action began today, with another scheduled for tomorrow, meaning those who want to send parcels will need to use alternative parcel delivery providers such as Parcel2Go.com.

According to a spokeswoman for the CWU, it is keen to engage in productive talks, as the longer the dispute rumbles on, the more of a problem it becomes for everyone.

"We're hoping for as many talks as possible. The urgency is obviously rising," she stated.

Meanwhile, Guardian journalist Steven Morris recently revealed that some of the temporary workers hired by Royal Mail play a game called parcel basketball after he signed up to work at the Western Approach Distribution Park in Severn Beach, near Bristol.

Written by Sarah Gower


Article Added: 30/10/2009 16:39:09