Related Articles
Postal workers fear they could lose their jobs if Royal Mail is allowed to end the delivery of second class letters on Saturdays.
Staff have claimed they have been told to prioritise delivering parcels over letters as these are more profitable.
An overhaul of the postal service is being considered by industry watchdog Ofcom, with possible changes including second-class deliveries being axed on Saturdays and only taking place on alternate weekdays.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said its members knew nothing about the regulator’s intervention on Thursday and warned Royal Mail faces “a serious threat to its very existence” amid concern over a £3.57bn takeover bid.
One postal worker told i: “It feels like they will just take a little bit away at a time until there’s nothing left.
They didn’t want letters. They just want the profitable parcels. Obviously, we’ll lose jobs somewhere along the line. But it feels like we’re getting more and more second-class letters because first class is so expensive.”
Under the proposals, delivery times would remain unchanged, at up to three working days, with Ofcom aiming to make a decision next summer after a consultation.
By law, the Universal Service Obligation (USO) requires Royal Mail to deliver letters to every address in the UK, six days a week, for the price of a stamp, and parcels five days a week. It must adhere to the rules or face multi-million-pound fines.
But the worker said first-class services were no longer reliable, and claimed delivery of parcels was sometimes prioritised over letters and cards.
“First class is not first class any more. Nothing is reliable with letters. It’s all about profit, it’s not about service. We’ve been saying it for years. The announcement today wasn’t a surprise,” they added.
“If we’re struggling to complete they will always say, make sure you get rid of your tracked [parcels]. We’re always told to prioritise them.
“If a letter didn’t get delivered, you can’t really tell where it’s at. If a parcel didn’t get delivered, you’ve got proof.”
Royal Mail said its aim is to deliver all items on time, whether they are letters or parcels, but that at exceptionally busy periods – such as at Christmas when volumes double – it may be logistically necessary to clear parcels first to keep mail moving.
It has urged the Government and Ofcom to review its obligations, arguing that they are no longer workable or cost-effective, given the decline in addressed-letter post.
In April, in its submission to the industry watchdog, Royal Mail proposed ditching Saturday deliveries for second-class post and cutting the service to every other weekday.
In May, The board of Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services (IDS) agreed to a £3.57bn takeover offer from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky’s EP Group
The takeover is being reviewed by the Government under the National Security and Investment act.
Royal Mail revealed last month that it once again failed to meet Ofcom targets for deliveries, with less than 80 per cent of first-class post on time in the three months to June 30.
Another postal worker said scrapping second-class deliveries on Saturdays and moving to alternate weekdays would lead to “massive job losses”.
They added: “It will also mean a massive failing in deliveries. If we’re delivering every other day, what that means is we’ve got two days work every day, so we’re not going to get round it all.”
The worker said staff were also told to prioritise delivery of tracked and special delivery parcels: “They will blow a gasket if you miss out on a single tracked. It’s a 100 per cent unwritten rule. They want shot of the letters, which is why it’s been left to collapse. It’s in freefall. They’ll hive the letters off to someone else and then we’ll become Amazon.”
A CWU spokesperson said it was clear that Ofcom was “completely unsuitable” to be the regulator.
“Once again they have given advance notice of their press release to Royal Mail, but the CWU and our members knew nothing of the timing of this planned intervention,” a union spokesperson said.
“We have previously met with Ofcom and made it clear we recognise change in the USO is needed, but the debate on the future of postal services in the UK cannot be led by them and Royal Mail.
“The absolute priority of the regulator right now should be restoring quality of service, which is current 13 per cent below the agreed Ofcom targets. Royal Mail has a resourcing and staff retention crisis and we will not allow this to go unreported.
“The takeover bid by Daniel Kretinsky, coupled with the ongoing mismanagement of the company at the highest level, means Royal Mail faces a serious threat to its very existence.”
It is understood that Royal Mail expects there to be no compulsory redundancies and fewer than 1,000 voluntary redundancies under its proposal for USO reform.
Ofcom reported last year: “We did not identify any suggestion that Royal Mail senior management had directed the prioritisation of parcels over letters outside of recognised contingency plans.”
Source link
