Shoppers may face a cash crunch in the run up to Christmas as staff at note and coin delivery service G4S vote in favour of strike action.
G4S Cash Solutions clients include Barclays, Lloyds and HSBC as well as retailers including Tesco, Asda, Aldi, Morrisons and Boots, and the pub chains Wetherspoon’s and Greene King.
The firm's 1000+ staff who deliver notes and coins will stage a 48-hour strike on the 5th through to the 7th September after rejecting a 4.5% pay rise and lump sum payment from management.
The GMB labour union says of G4S: "All its offers have represented a massive real pay cut for members, and Wednesday’s inflation figures (RPI - 14.2%, CPI - 11.1%) only reinforces your claim for a cost of living increase to protect members and their families from going backwards."
The union is calling for a 15% pay hike, raising the prospect of further strike action in the run up to Christmas.
G4S says it has contingency plans to minimise disruption to cash services across the country.
Facing a cost of living squeeze, people in the UK are increasingly returning to cash as a more effective way of managing their budgets and controlling spending.
Post Offices in the UK handled a record £801 million in personal cash withdrawals in July, up almost 8% month-on-month.
In total, over £3.3 billion in cash was deposited and withdrawn over Post Office counters, the first time figures have crossed the £3.3 billion threshold in Post Office’s 360-year history.