Around 115,000 Royal Mail postal workers went on strike on Friday over pay.
It is the first of four days of industrial action, with strikes also taking place on August 31 and September 8 and 9.
Letters are not being delivered on strike days and some parcels are being delayed, Royal Mail has warned.
The employee representatives are demanding a wage increase that better reflects the current rate of inflation.
Royal Mail apologized to customers and said it had contingency plans in place to minimize the disruption.
As many Special Delivery and Tracked 24 packages as possible will be delivered on strike days, it said. It will also prioritize the delivery of medical prescriptions where possible.
However, articles published the day before a strike, during the strike or in the days following it could be delayed.
The company encourages people to post articles as early as possible to avoid interruptions.
Businesses using Royal Mail have also warned customers.
Card company Moonpig has advised customers to order as early as possible but said its gifts and flowers use different delivery services so they would not be affected by the strikes.
Flower company Bunches said it would send goods by DPD’s next-day courier service at a reduced price to strike dates.
It comes as Royal Mail said the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents the strikers, has rejected an offer of pay increases “worth up to 5.5%” after three months of talks.
The union has urged Royal Mail to increase wages to an amount that “covers the current cost of living”.
Inflation, the rate at which prices are rising, is at a 40-year high of 10.1% and is expected to peak at 13% later this year.
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CWU General Secretary Dave Ward said, “There can be no doubt that Postal workers are totally united in their determination to secure the dignified, fair pay rise they deserve.”
He added: “We cannot go on living in a country where bosses make billions in profits while their employees are forced to use blackboards.
“When Royal Mail’s bosses rake in £758m in profit and shareholders rake in over £400m, our members will not accept any allegations of poverty from the company.”
Royal Mail’s most recent adjusted operating profit for the year to March was £416m, up from £344m a year earlier.
A Royal Mail spokesman said the company “cannot cling to outdated working practices, ignore advances in technology and pretend that Covid has not materially changed what the public wants from Royal Mail”.
“While our competitors work seven days a week and deliver by 10 p.m. to meet customer demand, CWU wants to work fewer hours six days a week and start and finish earlier,” they added.
“The CWU’s vision for Royal Mail would create a vicious cycle of falling volumes, higher prices, bigger losses and fewer jobs.”
The company said it was willing to hold further talks to avert the strikes, but said it “must be about both change and payment.”
Chairman Keith Williams said the company is losing £1million a day as parcel volumes fall and efforts to modernize the store’s stand.
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