Royal Mail workers were due to stage a second day of 48-hour strike action on Friday in a dispute over pay and conditions. “Following the very sad news of the Queen’s death and out of respect for her service to the country and her family, the union has decided to cancel tomorrow’s planned strike,” said Dave Ward, general secretary of Communications. Workers Union, which represents postmen. The Queen, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, died peacefully at Balmoral on Thursday afternoon, aged 96. A strike in Great Britain by around 40,000 workers at Network Rail and 14 train operating companies planned for September 15 and September 17 has also been called off by the National Union of Rail, Shipping and Transport Workers (RMT). “The RMT unites the whole nation in paying its respects to Queen Elizabeth,” said Mick Lynch, the RMT’s general secretary. “The planned rail strike on September 15 and 17 is suspended. We express our deepest condolences to her family, friends and country.” RMT’s Mick Lynch on the death of Queen Elizabeth II: “RMT unites the entire nation in paying its respects to Queen Elizabeth. “The planned rail strike on September 15 and 17 is suspended. “We extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends and country.” — Aaron Bastani (@AaronBastani) September 8, 2022 The train drivers’ union Aslef has also postponed a strike planned for September 15. “In light of the sad news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Aslef is suspending its industrial action until September 15,” the union said. “We extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends and country.” The Rail Delivery Group, which said train services would now run as normal during the four-day period expected to be affected by the strikes, welcomed the decision to call off the strikes at a time of “national mourning”. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The spokesman said: “The whole railway family is united in sending our condolences to the royal family.” Rail union TSSA also canceled planned industrial action for September 26 and said it would “respect the period of public mourning”.
