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ROYAL Mail has proposed a shake-up of its parcel delivery service – in a move that could see post not arrive until as late as 7.30pm.
The company wants to wait until later in the day to allow for more time for ‘next day’ packages.
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But, according to the Telegraph, it would mean that some households across Scotland wouldn’t receive their post until after 5pm.
Bosses made the bid last week to keep up with online orders being made late at night.
The later rounds would give ‘next day’ packages time to arrive at sorting offices.
Among the impacted households include Arbroath, while those in Kinross, near Perth, might not receive parcels until 7.30pm.
And letters would arrive by 5pm at the latest – which is an hour later than the current time of 4pm.
A Royal Mail spokesman told the Telegraph that no final decisions had been made on the proposals – which was based on ‘high level’ assumptions.
The spokesman said: “We are in discussion with the Communication Workers Union about moving start times later to meet the growing customer demand for more next day parcel deliveries, and to reduce our environmental impact by moving more mail by rail over time.
“We have made it clear that these proposals are all subject to negotiation and detailed design, and no plans have been finalised.
“More parcel companies are now delivering later into the evening to meet changing customer needs, and we are redesigning our network to deal with growing numbers of parcels, including investing in two new Super Hubs.
“As part of our ongoing planning and negotiation, we are exploring a number of changes that would mean that we would still deliver letters by 5pm, as opposed to by 4pm currently.”
But Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) hit out at the changes, calling them “outrageous”.
The plans are subject to negotiation with the union, which represents more than 100,00 postal workers.
CWU is also threatening with strikes across the whole of UK after a majority of members voted for industrial action over two weeks ago.
It comes after a dispute with Royal Mail over pay conditions.
A spokesman for the union told the paper: “The changes would see our members delivering up to five hours in the height of summer heat and in the darkness of winter.
“This is just one example of how Royal Mail are running down the postal service in the UK and why our members are balloting for strike action to defend it.”
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