Royal Mail workers will stage two 48-hour strikes around Black Friday and Cyber Monday in a row over pay, jobs and conditions.
The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) will recommend around 115,000 of its members reject a pay offer of around 9% spread over two years.
But the union cancelled two strikes on 12 and 14 November, saying it wants to take more “proportionate” action.
Royal Mail urged workers not to strike at the “busiest time of the year”.
The union called Royal Mail’s pay offer “derisory”, and said the strike days include two of the the most lucrative weekends of the year for online shopping and promotional discounts at retailers.