With inflation spiking to a brand new 40-year high, the current cost of living crisis and warnings over an incoming recession biting, many are struggling to make ends meet.
It's no surprise that workers across different services in the UK are striking to increase their pay.
From train and airline strikes to walkouts by BT Broadband workers, industrial action continues to disrupt services across the country as workers fight for better pay and conditions.
The postal system is the latest service to be disrupted as a massive 115,000 members of Royal Mail staff are staging four walkouts across August and September.
The workers have gone through with their first planned strike today, Friday August 26.
Here's everything you need to know about the Royal Mail strikes, including strike dates and how it will affect your postal deliveries.
When are the Royal Mail strikes?
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has announced that Royal Mail workers will walk out on four dates in the coming months.
The first walkout has already happened today, Friday August 26. This will be followed by another strike on August 31.
Two more strikes are planned by postal staff for September, with two days of back-to-back walkouts on September 8 and 9.
How will post be affected by Royal Mail strikes?
Since over 100,000 are said to be walking out, it's likely that there will be a significant amount of disruption to postal services.
The CWU have warned that "serious disruption" will continue until the Royal Mail "get real on pay".
The Royal Mail has said that despite the strikes, you can continue to send parcels and letters but has been encouraging people to post their items early, before the strike action dates.
It said: "We have contingency plans in place, and will be working hard to minimise disruption and get our services back to normal as soon as we can to keep people, businesses and the country connected.
"Meanwhile you can continue to send your parcels and letters and we would encourage you to post early in advance of these dates."
Why are the posties striking?
The strike action comes as the Royal Mail claims the CWU has rejected a pay rise offer that is "worth up to 5.5%".
But the CWU said: "Management of Royal Mail Group decided to impose a 2% pay rise on its employees through executive action, those same employees who were given key worker status at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic."
The strikes were decided after a recent ballot saw CWU members vote by 97.6% on a 77% turnout to take action.
The union has been in talks over pay rises for three months now and CWU bosses confirmed that the action was "for a proper pay rise" as they demand Royal Mail increases wages so that it "covers the current cost of living".
Inflation has now reached a 40-year high of 10.1% and it is predicted to rise even further to a staggering 18.6% by January 2023.
What is the union saying?
The CWU say posties are having to rely on food banks to feed their families while Royal Mail bosses "rake in billions in profit".
CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: "Nobody takes the decision to strike lightly, but postal workers are being pushed to the brink.
"There can be no doubt that postal workers are completely united in their determination to secure the dignified, proper pay rise they deserve.
"We can't keep on living in a country where bosses rake in billions in profit while their employees are forced to use food banks.
"When Royal Mail bosses are raking in £758m in profit and shareholders pocketing £400m, our members won't accept pleads of poverty from the company.
"Postal workers won't meekly accept their living standards being hammered by greedy business leaders who are completely out of touch with modern Britain.
"They are sick of corporate failure getting rewarded again and again.
"The CWU's message to Royal Mail's leadership is simple - there will be serious disruption until you get real on pay."
What does the Royal Mail say?
The Royal Mail said it believes "there are no grounds for industrial action".
Ricky McAulay, operations director at Royal Mail, said: "After more than three months of talks, the CWU have failed to engage in any meaningful discussion on the changes we need to modernise, or to come up with alternative ideas.
"The CWU rejected our offer worth up to 5.5% for CWU grade colleagues, the biggest increase we have offered for many years.
"In a business that is currently losing £1m a day, we can only fund this offer by agreeing the changes that will pay for it.
"Royal Mail can have a bright future, but we can't achieve that by living in the past."
