The Isle of Man Post Office says it has got ‘operational contingency plans’ in place ahead of a strike.
Up to 200 postal workers are downing tools for 48 hours from 5.30am next Thursday.
The Post Office says it wants to express its ‘sincere apologies’ to those who will be affected by their actions on the busiest weekend of the year.
People are being urged to post items early and order online purchases as soon as possible for the Christmas period.
Maintaining the flow of mail to and from the Island will be the priority – management say they are planning for ‘worst-case scenario’.
Island wide delivery of standard post will not be possible – Special Delivery and Parcelforce 24 services will be given priority along with Yodel parcel deliveries and business services.
Chief Executive Simon Kneen says: “We will receive both air and sea mail into the Island on the mornings of both strike days as normal and make evening airmail despatches to the UK.
“We will be contacting our business customers separately to explain our contingencies to try to maintain the flow of mail they need during the two days.”
“Special Delivery and Parcelforce next–day guaranteed items will be delivered on strike days although may be subject to a small time delay.
“Meanwhile, the despatch of Special Delivery and Parcelforce items on those evenings will be as normal and the time guarantee for both services will remain in place.”
The customer counter at Postal Headquarters and other retail stores will be open as usual.
Mr Kneen continued: “The full management team will be working over the two days together with other members of staff who choose not to strike.
“It has been confirmed that some CWU staff will attend work on the strike days.
“I wish to thank all my staff in advance for their hard work and additional hours they have offered to work to maintain a level of service for our customers during the strike period, which is our busiest time of the year.
“Every effort will be made to catch-up on any backlog of mail caused by the strike action. This recovery will be a similar experience to those days when the Island’s transport links have failed to bring in the mail due to fog bound weather etc.
“We will continue to keep our customers as fully up-to-date as possible regarding the latest news.”
