Strikes gather momentum in the run-up to Christmas as workers fight for higher wages amid rising costs.
In separate industrial action, Royal Mail staff, railway workers and driving examiners will exit on Wednesday.
It comes ahead of the first-ever nationwide strike by nurses this week.
On Friday, rail workers, buses, baggage handlers, highway workers and driver examiners are on strike.
Industrial action by 115,000 members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) coincides with the busiest time of year for Royal Mail, with people and businesses sending out Christmas cards and gifts.
Some parcel companies claim the Royal Mail strike is having a knock-on effect, forcing them to postpone next-day delivery as people and businesses look for alternative ways to send their mail.
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DPD Group said: “We are experiencing short delays in our next-day delivery service at a few locations as a result of the industrial action at Royal Mail, which has had a huge knock-on effect across the industry. ”
Evri, the delivery company formerly known as Hermes, said severe weather, strikes at the Royal Mail and staff shortages are causing “some local delays”.
While Yodel also said deliveries to some areas are taking longer, he didn’t specify why.
As well as strikes this week, Royal Mail workers will also take industrial action on December 23 and Christmas Eve.
The dispute has been ongoing since the summer and, as with all industrial action by rail, NHS, teachers, border officials and driving instructors, pay is a key issue.
Workers demand wage increases as the cost of living rises. The rate at which prices are increasing, known as inflation, is over 11%, which is the fastest pace in more than 40 years.
This is mainly due to rising food and energy prices.
A small Brighton business that relies on Royal Mail to get its products to customers said the strikes in the run-up to Christmas were “frustrating”.
Lucy Bryant, who runs her artist studio Haus of Lucy, says she supports the strikers because “everyone has the right to fair pay”.
However, she relies “so heavily on the Post” to get products from suppliers and send her art to customers that she says the Royal Mail strikes have “made my life very difficult this Christmas season”.
“I have to deal with the frustration of my customers,” she says, when works of art do not arrive on time in the run-up to Christmas. “It’s frustrating for them and it’s frustrating for me.”
Some artwork comes through, some doesn’t. “There’s almost no logic to what’s coming through,” she says.
Lucy had to reorder prints at no cost to the company, “that’s a pretty big achievement for me,” she says.
“I’m not Banksy – not yet,” she adds.
Lucy says using other postal services is “a little bit wild west” but if the strikes continue she may be forced to find alternatives to Royal Mail, a service she trusts.
On Wednesday, the Office for National Statistics will release inflation figures for November. In October, this rate was 11.1%.
On Tuesday, ONS figures showed that the gap between public and private sector wage growth nearly reached a record high.
The average wage increase for workers in the private sector between August and October was 6.9%. This compares to wage growth of just 2.7% for public sector workers.
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A Royal Mail spokesman said the company had made a “best and final salary offer worth up to 9% over 18 months”.
“Rather than working with us to agree on changes needed to fund this offer and put money in the pockets of our posties, the CWU has announced plans to vote on more strike action in the new year.”
However, a CWU spokesman said Royal Mail had offered workers a 3% pay rise this year, 3% next year and a further 2% if staff agree to the “absolute destruction” of the terms and conditions.
In addition to the rail strike on Tuesday and Wednesday, there are also rail strikes on Friday and Saturday.
This is part of a long-running dispute between unions, rail companies, the government and Network Rail over pay, job cuts and changes to terms and conditions.
Employees are being pressured by the rising cost of living and want collective agreements that reflect this.
But the rail industry has been hit by a drop in ridership during the Covid pandemic and is under pressure to save money. Bosses say reforms must be agreed to deliver wage increases and modernize the railroad.
Network Rail is looking to cut 1,900 jobs as part of changes to the way its maintenance teams work – although it insists most of that could be achieved through voluntary redundancy.
The RMT disagrees with some of the changes and certainly does not want forced downsizing.
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