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EXCLUSIVE: STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer contacted the UK Government amid mounting trade union concern about the looming ballot.
Scotland’s top trade unionist has warned the Holyrood election is being put at risk by the privatised Royal Mail.
STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer has written to the UK Government claiming staffing issues and delays to the postal service are a threat to the poll.
Scots will vote in the seventh Scottish Parliament election in May, with many voting by post at an earlier point during the campaign.
The Royal Mail will also have a key role in delivering election materials to homes across the country.
But the postal workers’ union, the CWU, has a number of concerns with the operation of the Royal Mail and the service being provided.
They say a two-tier workforce model, introduced in late 2022, has created “significant friction and disharmony” among postal workers.
The CWU claims 21% of new starters in Scotland leave within 90 days and say morale is at an “all-time low”.
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They also say a new delivery model will lead to problems like mail being delayed.
Foyer, who represents hundreds of thousands of workers, has now written to Labour’s Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle.
She claimed Royal Mail is in a “perilous state” and wrote:
“Workload has increased substantially for workers on the ground with increased delays to mail delivery whilst the costs of the rollout of the model outstrip any projected savings predicted by the company.
“Mail delivery and the guarantee of a universal postal service is a critical function of our nation’s infrastructure. An unsustainable workload from an unworkable model result in delays and harm to our communities.”
She wrote that trade union votes had been marred by “missing ballots” and claimed democracy is being “compromised” by “failures” of the privatised postal service.
Foyer added: “With the Scottish Parliament elections mere weeks away, with election material and postal ballots playing a critical role, the CWU and the STUC have deep concerns over the Royal Mail’s ability to ensure the election is representative and fully functional.”
She told the Record: “We simply cannot compromise the validity of that vote if Royal Mail fail to deliver election material or postal ballots as expected.”
Craig Anderson, CWU Regional Official for Scotland, said: “There is a viable and genuine threat to our democratic process if Royal Mail are allowed to run rampant with their rogue reform agenda to the Universal Service Obligation (USO).
“Their unworkable Optimised Delivery Model simply does not work. High staff turnover and poor conditions, unsurprisingly, is leading to delayed deliveries and stacks of mail piling up with no end in sight.“These failures don’t just fail the company – they fail communities. We need the UK Government to show leadership and facilitate further meetings between the company, unions and politicians to ensure the upcoming elections are not threatened nor compromised by the current failures of Royal Mail.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We reject claims that postal services in Scotland pose any risk to the delivery of election material or postal votes. We take our role in supporting UK democracy extremely seriously and have successfully delivered elections for many years.
“Our dedicated elections team plans year-round and has been working with the Electoral Commission, Scottish Government, local authorities, political parties, printers and suppliers to ensure candidate mail, poll cards and postal votes are delivered securely and on time. Robust processes and daily operational oversight are in place throughout the election period to maintain service stability and resolve any issues quickly.
“These well-rehearsed measures mean we are fully prepared to deliver election mail across Scotland, and suggestions that the delivery of election mail is at risk are simply wrong.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “The public rightly expects a well-run postal service and ministers recently met with the CEOs of Royal Mail and International Distribution Services about improving the quality of the service.
“We will continue to ensure Royal Mail works to deliver the modern quality service people expect.”
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