Small business is big loser in UK postal strike

Small businesses are one of the biggest losers in the on-going postal strike, industry leaders said.

As the long-running dispute rumbles on, with postal workers staging a third day of unofficial strike action, the Federation of Small Businesses said its members were being badly affected.

Spokesman Simon Briault said a whole range of businesses, from building and plumbing firms to mail order companies were being hit. The federation said 94 pct of its members exclusively use the Royal Mail – many to send cheques and invoices through the post.

‘The other 6 pct who use alternative mail carriers often rely on the Royal Mail for that last mile,’ Mr Briault said.

In a survey on postal services carried out by the federation, 88 pct of respondents said they send post every day, while 69 pct said they send invoices through the post. The federation said business mail constitutes 87 pct of mail sent and the small business dependence on the postal system in the UK should not be underestimated.

Mr Briault said a lot of small businesses still used cheques to do business and these were being delayed in the post. He added: ‘When that is disrupted it has a direct impact on cashflow. Small business don’t have big profit margins.

‘They have to borrow more money from the bank which results in them paying more interest charges. Small business contribute 50 pct to the GDP. This postal strike is a massive issue.

Talks aimed at resolving the long-running dispute will resume later today in a bid to avert a fresh round of official strikes called by the Communication Workers Union from next Monday. Up to 130,000 union members have held two 48-hour strikes in the past week which crippled mail deliveries across the country.