One of the largest issues that small business owners are facing in the recession is late payment and the recent postal strikes have made this situation worse. While the economy is slowly making some positive noises - business confidence is up, house prices and manufacturing output are rising- the strikes are giving business owners an unwanted headache.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) is due to vote today on whether to go ahead with a national strike, which will disrupt businesses across the country. The CWU have already taken part in numerous strikes in recent months that have led to an estimated 20m letters and parcels now waiting to be cleared.
The strikes have affected business owners as they have often resulted in invoices and cheques failing to arrive on time, leaving small firms short of cash and at
risk of large overdraft charges as the cheques fail to reach them.
Even if the national strike does not go ahead it is likely that the regional action will continue due to the differences between the Royal Mail and the CWU over working hours, pay and modernisation.
"If the government is serious about helping businesses get through this recession, it needs to get a grip on these postal strikes. The disruption has dragged on for far too long and neither the Royal Mail nor the unions involved have shown enough leadership. The net result is that businesses are suffering at a time when they can least afford it," said David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce.
"Last weekend I had a stall at the Thames Festival, an event in London visited by almost a million people. I ordered a batch of one of our most popular products but due to the strikes they did not arrive in time.
"Every penny counts for small companies - particularly during the current tough economic climate - so to miss out on valuable sales because of industrial action is scandalous. Businesses like mine rely on the postal service to keep trading," said Lindsay.
Tips to avoid postal angst:
1) Use a private courier. It sounds simple, but many business owners in the last strike still used Royal Mail and hoped for the best.
2) Be organised. If you have an invoice that it due to be posted to you around the strikes contact the customer and try and arrange an alternative method. Organisation is also needed with private couriers; private mail firms have seen their business rapidly expand recently, and during the strikes are often fully booked. As soon as the dates are announced, act.
3) Use alternative methods. Although sometimes using post is vital, can you increase your use of email or fax when strike action is on? Explore all positive alternatives.