THE Post Office has revealed its contingency plans following confirmation of next Tuesday's strike.
Communication Workers' Union members will take part in the 24-hour industrial action on April 12.
It could involve up to 269 members of staff - about 55 per cent of Post Office workers are members of the union.
The Post Office said plans to minimise the disruption to customers is a priority and management are planning for a worst case scenario.
The organisation has said an Island-wide doorstep delivery of standard post will not be possible on that date but it is confident all premium services will be available and operating as normal.
The 45 per cent of staff who are non union members - plus any members of the CWU who choose not to strike - will work as normal on April 12.
Chief executive of Isle of Man Post Office Mike Kelly said: "We will receive mail into the Island on the morning of the strike and make a dispatch to the UK that evening.
"In addition to our business customers receiving their bespoke and premium services as normal, we aim to deliver standard post to the main business areas of Douglas and the rest of the Island, although delivery times will vary.
"We will prioritise all businesses who receive large volumes of mail and they will receive their mail as normal.
"Special Delivery and Parcelforce next–day guaranteed items will be delivered on April 12 although may be subject to a small time delay.
"Meanwhile the dispatch of Special Delivery and Parcelforce items that evening will be as normal and the time guarantee for both services will remain in place.
"Our retail network of post offices across the Island will remain open as normal as will the self-service pay and post kiosks located in the Crosby Hotel, Wessex Garage, Douglas and Shoprite, Victoria Road, Douglas.
"Meanwhile our Integrated Mailing Solutions (IMS) division will continue to be open offering printing, fulfilment and scanning services.
"We expect to operate 'business as usual' as much as we can for our premium services and would like to thank customers in advance for their patience and understanding during this unsettling time.
"We will continue to keep our customers as fully up-to-date as possible regarding the latest news.
"All staff will return to work on Wednesday (April 13) and every effort will be made to catch-up on any backlog of mail caused by the strike action the previous day.
"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."
Also see: Postal strike a "damaging course of action" says chairman
