New Royal Mail plans mean thousands of UK households will get post after 6pm

A proposed shake-up at Royal Mail could see UK households having to wait until after 6pm for their daily post in bid to speed up the delivery of parcels.

WalesOnline reports that it is hoped having posties starting later will allow for sorting offices to process ‘next day’ deliveries on time, as people are ordering more and more online late at night. To cope with the new plans, more than 100 areas around the country would have to wait till after 5pm.

But the likes of Wales, London, Cornwall, Cumbria and Scotland might not see their post until 6pm at the earliest. It’s estimated residents of Kinross, near Perth, might not see anything until 7.30pm.

Read more Council bids for £20m levelling up fund to support Sage arena project

A Royal Mail spokesperson told the Daily Telegraph the timings were based on ‘high level’ estimates but nothing has been finalised. She was adamant letters would arrive by 5pm, just an hour after they do under the current scheme.

Other changes proposed include introducing more automatic sorting machines, with post often still currently sorted by hand, as well as a seven-day working week to keep in touch with rival companies. The Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) is threatening nationwide strikes, with a majority of its more than 100,000 members voting for industrial action over pay and conditions.

A CWU spokesman told the newspaper: “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. Postal workers need and deserve the support of the public to win this battle.”

The Royal Mail spokesperson added the company remains “in discussion” with the CWU about moving start times, which she said would also “reduce our environmental impact” as more trains can be used instead of lorries. She said more rival parcel companies are delivering later in the day to meet changing needs and the firm is “redesigning our network”, including opening two new Super Hubs.

Read next