Tag Archives: Opinion

The problem is that the USO can only be scrapped with Parliament’s say-so and it is refusing to play ball, business minister Kevin Hollinrake has announced. “As you will be aware, we currently have no plans to change the minimum requirements of the universal postal service,” he said in a …

The Labour MP has built up something of a following on the Left for his perceived skewering of company bosses during his time overseeing the business select committee but the impression was that he had already made up his mind about the Royal Mail chief. This was reinforced by the …

Margaret Thatcher famously left the Royal Mail out of her privatisation sights in the 1980s. She felt its monarchical connections and distinguished history going back to the creation of Master of the Posts in 1516 gave it a unique position. It had been in public ownership since 1635 and possessed …

After several sweeteners, the company has made a “best and final” pay rise offer of 9pc over 18 months, a proposal that the CWU has predictably rejected, on the basis that it represents “a devastating blow” to the livelihood of its 115,000 members. In reality, it is nothing of the …

The snail mail industry has experienced a tough couple of decades. And the company is hardly rolling in money. It is expected to report a full-year loss of between £350m and £450m this year, and the share price has fallen by 27pc over the last 12 months. It faces plenty …

Britain is in decline. It’s probably irreversible and doesn’t bother me for reasons I’ll scandalise you with later, but if the unions imagine they can seize this moment to grab as much cash as possible, like the last round of the Crystal Maze, they’ve made a big mistake. Their industries …

There are already private ambulance services, and right now they are all expanding. One company, Met Medical, has been specifically offering its services during the strikes. A Guardian headline writer described that as “cashing in” on the strikes in outraged tones. The more moderate among us may view it simply …

I was struck when I was posting my Christmas cards – ever the optimist, given the mail strike – that our stamps still have the late Queen’s head on them, even the ones specially printed for the festive season. Our coins still have her face embossed on them, and she …

How I miss that distinctive sound of Advent: the heavy thud of 11 envelopes landing on the doormat! Ever since the decline of handwritten letters, which began in the 1990s with the arrival of the internet, Advent has been the one time of year when we could re-live the daily …

Royal Mail worker Leila delivers mail in Balham, London, Jan. 12, 2021. | Kirsty O’Connor / PA via AP Jon Tait is a former sports journalist and postal worker, now working for the U.K.’s largest public sector trade union. In this op-ed, he discusses the dispute between postal workers and …