Britain will go through a second consecutive week of postal strikes this week.
Postal workers will be laying down their tools on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, during the latest stage of hostilities between Communication Workers' Union (CWU) leaders and Royal Mail's management.
Royal Mail said more than 900 managerial and contract staff would be moving mail around the country during the national strikes. The company maintains that the union agreed to changes to jobs and working conditions already made in a pay and modernisation agreement back in 2007.
Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson have both spoken out against the strike, but have also tried to prevent overly-politicising the dispute. They have called on conciliation service Acas to be brought in to negotiations.
Royal Mail says current measures to increase efficiency are required to deal with the decline triggered by the advent of the internet. Unions say they do not object to modernisation
Attempts to involve Acas in the dispute have so far failed. On Tuesday Royal Mail said they would approach the conciliation service if the union agreed to call off the strikes being held today and tomorrow. The CWU said third party involvement depended on the direct participation of Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier.
