POSTAL workers are being treated in an awful way by “faceless HR staff who now run the company,” Communication Workers Union (CWU) delegates have said. An emergency motion warning of an “out of control and unaccountable” fifth column within Royal Mail was passed unanimously at the union’s annual conference in Bournemouth today. Plymouth and East …
Read More »Royal Mail seeks to fast-track delivery shake-up after shock takeover bid
Royal Mail is pressuring regulators to approve plans for less frequent letter deliveries, as the company scrambles to fend off a £3.1bn takeover bid from a Czech billionaire. International Distributions Services (IDS), Royal Mail’s parent company, said foot-dragging by Ofcom had “held back” plans to modernise the company. Keith Williams, …
Read More »Rise and decline of Plymouth’s postal service
The history of the General Post Office in Plymouth, reflecting the national picture, stretches back to the the 17th century, but, as with the national story, the activities of the Post Office did not really take off until the 19th century. At the beginning of the 19th century Plymouth’s post …
Read More »One-punch thug leaves three strangers wounded during drunken West Bromwich crime spree
An ‘aggressive’ thug knocked out a good Samaritan’s dentures and fractured a pensioner’s jaw during a brutal drunken punching spree. Cruel Elvis Cani pounced on his victims ‘out of nowhere’, wounding three strangers who were walking through West Bromwich town centre. The 30-year-old landed single blows on the unsuspecting passers-by …
Read More »Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky ‘very serious’ about bid for Royal Mail
Bosses are understood to be keen to emphasise that the postal service is at an inflection point as it pushes through a turnaround plan for its struggling letters business. Insiders pointed to the company’s strongest Christmas performance in four years, as well as an ongoing review by Ofcom into its …
Read More »Royal Mail ‘uses Google to check stamps’, claim whistleblowers
One whistleblower said they dealt with surcharges “on a case by case basis” and said colleagues would often not charge customers and let them have the post without paying the “silly” £5 fine. They added they had sympathy for revenue protection staff who they claim are “misidentifying” stamps because Royal …
Read More »Royal Mail’s planned cuts to mail service part of global offensive against postal and logistics workers
Royal Mail has announced plans to end six-day-a-week mail deliveries. This is part of a worldwide offensive by post and logistic companies to slash thousands of jobs, spearheading a cost-cutting and profit-driven restructuring. The stampede by Royal Mail to ditch the Universal Service Obligation—a legal requirement meant to safeguard mail …
Read More »Royal Mail is a critical national asset – it should be treated as such
Labour may see a split as an opportunity to renationalise the Royal Mail, convinced that the state would make a better fist of reviving it. But shorn of the cross-subsidies that a highly profitable parcels operation provides, mounting losses from letter deliveries risk being immediately thrust onto the taxpayer. It’s …
Read More »How Russian gas is fuelling a bid for Royal Mail
The 48-year-old has cited his time growing up during the Velvet Revolution, as the overhaul of Czechoslovakia’s communist government is known, as a driving force behind his love of free markets. Kretinsky trained as a lawyer before joining Slovakian investment group J&T in 1999, where he made his name as …
Read More »Royal Mail suitor should face fit and proper person test
While Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last night declined to comment directly on the takeover bid, he signalled that the Government would revisit how “former public sector monopolies” are regulated to safeguard the provision of vital services. However, the Labour Party has signalled it is open to Mr Křetínský’s approach. A spokesman …
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