Royal Mail delivers only half of first-class post on time in Christmas run-up

Royal Mail failed to deliver almost half of first-class post on time in the run-up to Christmas, in what is thought to be the worst performance in the firm’s history.

Just 54 per cent of first-class mail was delivered the next working day in the three months to December, significantly below its 93 per cent target.

Brighton, Perth, Sunderland and south London were among the worst-performing regions, with delivery performance well below 50 per cent.

Royal Mail did not achieve its performance target in one postcode area out of 118, despite aiming to reach targets in 91.5 areas.

The company apologised for the poor service, blaming nine days of “highly damaging” strikes that saw postal workers walk out over pay and conditions.

Stop using Covid ‘excuse’

It comes after watchdog Ofcom told Royal Mail to stop using Covid as an “excuse” for postal delays, saying the firm “fell well short of where it should be”.

The figures show that in the three months to Dec 4 2022, 78.6 per cent of second-class mail was delivered within three working days, significantly below its 98.5 per cent target.

Three-quarters of first-class mail was delivered within two days.

The quality of service was significantly higher in the group’s first quarter, from April to June last year, although still below targets.

Royal Mail could face a fine if found to have fallen short of its requirements. It was ordered to pay £1.5 million in 2020 for a similar breach.

‘Damaging industrial action’

The company said the majority of mail is delivered on time, but “nine days of highly damaging industrial action” led by the Communication Workers Union (CWU) had significantly lowered its performance as postal staff walked out.

Grant McPherson, group chief operating officer, said: “We are committed to improving our performance and accelerating Royal Mail’s transformation in order to restore service levels while meeting the changing requirements of our customers.

“We’re sorry to any customers who may have been impacted by service levels during this period, which are much lower than we would want as a result of CWU’s ongoing strike action.”

A CWU spokesperson said the performance is “totally unacceptable” and “postal workers are devastated and want the service restored”.

He said the ability to rectify the problem “lies at the hands of an aggressive and out-of-control management”.

In the year to March 2022, 82 per cent of first-class mail was delivered on time, compared to just under three quarters for 2020-2021.

An overwhelming majority of workers voted for fresh action in a ballot earlier this month, although no new strikes have yet been announced.