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The cost of posting a letter or sending a parcel could rise as Royal Mail warns they may have to take action to combat soaring inflation. As a result, they may need to cut costs and increase prices, which could mean paying more for your first class stamps.
Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson has described a shift in customer needs with a huge demand for parcel delivery, and is keen to offer a faster service and ‘long-term job security’.
The group said it was facing “significant headwinds” from higher wage demands, and like the rest of the world, are facing surging energy and fuel costs – however have insisted they are not planning any further job losses, Glasgow Live reports.
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Royal Mail said it was also keeping its prices under constant review in order to combat rising inflation which comes after it recently hiked the cost of posting letters by an average of around seven per cent and parcel prices by an average of around four per cent on top of a fuel surcharge.
The current prices for services are:
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Letter: 1st class 95p, 2nd class 68p
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Large Letter: 1st class £1.45, 2nd class £1.05
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250g: 1st class £2.05, 2nd class £1.65
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500g: 1st class £2.65, 2nd class £2.15
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750g: 1st class £3.30, 2nd class £2.70
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Small Parcel 2kg: 1st class £4.45, 2nd class £3.35
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Medium Parcel 2kg: 1st class £6.95, 2nd class £5.35
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10kg: 1st class £7.95, 2nd class £6.95
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20kg: 1st class £12.95, 2nd class £10.45
Only last month the price of first-class stamps rose by 10p to 95p, while second-class stamp prices went up 2p, to 68p. But now the Royal Mail has said it will need to go further with cost savings, increasing its target to more than £350 million from around £290 million previously.
Royal Mail said it hoped to meet earnings expectations for its UK business over the year ahead, if it can agree a pay deal with its union that is “broadly” in line with its current offer.
Simon Thompson told the PA news agency that the group remains in “intense discussions” with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) as they look to agree on pay.
He added: “As we emerge from the pandemic, the need to accelerate the transformation of our business, particularly in delivery, has become more urgent.
“Our future is as a parcels business, so we need to adapt old ways of working designed for letters and do it much more quickly to a world increasingly dominated by parcels.
“The last two years has shown us all how quickly customer needs can change. Our focus now is to work at pace with our people and our trade unions to reinvent this British icon for the next generations, so that we can give our customers what they want, grow our business sustainably and deliver long-term job security for our great team. We have no time to waste.”
