End of Saturday post? Royal Mail may cut deliveries after union gives in

Union leaders have conceded for the first time that they will accept an end to six-day-a-week letter deliveries, clearing the way for Royal Mail to enact historic cuts to postal services.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents 110,000 postal workers and brought services to a standstill with industrial action in 2022, has been one of the biggest hurdles to Royal Mail reducing its loss-making daily deliveries.

But it is now ready to back the company’s proposed reforms, admitting that the current service is “no longer financially viable”.

Royal Mail is pushing to reform the universal service obligation (USO) — legally binding rules that stipulate letters must be delivered to every UK household six days a week. It wants to shift to delivering second-class post