Royal Mail is missing deliveries every day. Stormy weather and many sick workers are to blame. The BBC reported that staff from over a dozen delivery offices said rounds are skipped daily and letters are delayed for weeks. Royal Mail admitted "short-term disruption to certain routes" caused by storms Goretti, Ingrid, and Chandra in January and higher than usual employee absences. They added, "Where a delay affects a route, we work to resolve it as quickly as possible by putting in extra support and reviewing performance daily to restore deliveries as quickly as possible." The company said parcels now make up most deliveries and take more space in vans and depots. Workers claimed that parcels are being given priority over letters, although Royal Mail denied this. Large parcel volumes can pile up and create health risks, they explained. These delivery issues come nearly a year after the £3.6 billion takeover of Royal Mail's parent company, International Distribution Services (IDS), by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) supported the takeover but now says the company is "a company in crisis." CWU regional official Craig Anderson told the BBC, "I’m not confident that the service is going to improve going forward, it certainly hasn’t since Christmas." Citizens Advice found 16 million people did not get letters and cards on time during Christmas. IDS told investors Royal Mail delivered 99% of items on time in the last three months of the year. Revenue rose 1.6% to £2.4 billion. Parcels increased 8% to 424 million, but addressed letters fell 9% to 1.5 billion, even with the Christmas boost. Recently, regulator Ofcom allowed IDS to end second-class post on Saturdays and reduce it to alternating weekdays. First-class stamp prices have more than doubled since 2020 to £1.70, and second-class stamps cost 87p. However, Ofcom fined Royal Mail £21 million in October for missing delivery targets, marking its third major fine. The CWU was asked for comment.