More than 115,000 Royal Mail workers will vote today on whether to go on strike over pay.
Ballots will be mailed to members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) with the result on July 19th.
If workers vote for a strike, the CWU says it could result in the largest strike its members have staged this summer.
The CWC is the latest of several unions to vote to strike in recent weeks over rising living costs.
Prices are rising at the highest rate in 40 years, with UK inflation hitting its highest level since March 1982 at 9.1%.
Higher fuel, energy and commodity costs are straining household budgets, and workers and unions are pushing for wage increases to cope.
But the government has warned that employers are spending big raises because they fear a 1970s-style “inflationary spiral” in which companies raise wages and then pass the cost on to customers through higher prices.
Britain’s railways have been disrupted when thousands of RMT union members walked out last week and hundreds of British Airways workers at Heathrow Airport also voted to strike over their wages.
Separately, 114 post offices are scheduled to close on July 11 as workers go on strike over pay.
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CWU deputy general secretary Terry Pullinger said in a video posted to Twitter that the union wanted an “inflation-based, non-binding wage premium” for its Royal Mail members.
“The company imposed a 2% pay premium, miles from inflation, totally unreasonable,” he said.
The CWU said the salary allocation was “despite previous agreements that no immediate executive action would be taken over pay”.
“Throughout this dispute, Royal Mail management have behaved in an abusive and disrespectful manner towards key employees,” Mr Pullinger said.
“Your behavior and especially the enforcement of such an aggressive salary offer has eroded trust among loyal employees. Nobody wants to be in this situation, but our members are heroes.
“We will fight back if provoked – and we’re confident we’ll get our biggest yes to action yet.”
CWU General Secretary Dave Ward said CWU General Secretary Dave Ward said he expects members to “take an historic vote to act.”
But Royal Mail said there was “no reason for industrial action”.
“We have offered fellow CWU class members a deal worth up to 5.5%, the largest raise we have offered in many years, which was rejected by the CWU,” a spokesman said.
The company said it was planning further talks with the CWU this week and hoped that an agreement could be reached.
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