Consumers are facing major delays to Christmas and January sales parcel deliveries nationwide as Unite members working for UPS ballot for strike action.
Over 2,000 Unite members at the firm, which is headquartered in Feltham, West London, are being balloted over industrial action in a dispute about pay and conditions.
Workers including delivery drivers have rejected the company’s latest pay offer of a 2.8 per cent increase and 3.2 per cent increase for 2025 and 2026 respectively. The pay offer is less than the inflation rate (RPI) of 4.5 per cent and a real terms pay cut.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This dispute is a clear case of a rich employer putting profits before people. It is shameful that workers at a company that turns over billions have been offered such a miserly pay deal and have been left struggling to get by.
“Our members at UPS have Unite’s full support in their fight for a fair pay rise.”
A previous offer from UPS had a lump sum of £100 to those on minimum wage, but this has now been retracted by the firm to fund the pay offer for 2026.
UPS is the world’s biggest parcel courier. While it has not released specific figures for the UK, it delivers more than 15 million parcels each day worldwide. It is highly profitable, reporting $1.31 billion in net profits and $21.4 billion in revenue just in the third quarter of this year. Meanwhile, around a quarter of its UK workforce are on minimum wage and have been struggling to afford essentials amid rising costs.
The dispute also relates to conditions. Staff that have left UPS have not been replaced, resulting in workers at the company having to do forced overtime and being given unreasonable workloads. Meanwhile, there are fears around job security due to the use of outsourcing.
Workers have also seen their sick pay withheld and not paid by the company, going against what has been agreed between UPS, Unite and its sister unions.
The ballot opened this week and closes on 3 December. UPS has already attempted to interfere in the democratic process by putting up posters in its workplaces advising workers not to vote in the ballot.
Action could begin in mid-December, hitting last-minute Christmas gift deliveries as well as purchases made during the popular Boxing Day and January sales. In particular, Apple customers could see delays as this is a retailer that usually uses UPS as its courier, while other firms that use it include Amazon, Dell and Louis Vuitton.
Unite national officer Matt Draper said: “Any industrial action and disruption to customers will be entirely the fault of UPS which is prioritising its own greed.
“Management need to come back to the table with a pay offer that is acceptable to our members as well as commit to improving conditions.”
