Phunter wrote:Minimum requirements don't mean that is compulsory, RMG might decide which areas are dependent on letters to be profitable.
That's possible but an extremely complex business model to implement.
It's not really the areas that require letters to be profitable that are the problem but the areas where letters are not enough to offset the cost of delivering the small and medium parcels or alternatively where parcel delivery could stand on its own.
Basically rural areas or high density urban areas.
IoMPO set the precedent so if we drop to a five day operation it will be Saturday that gets dropped probably entirely.
The other option would be to keep the six day service but drop working conditions and pay.
Changing to a five day operation would involve less conflict, be easier to achieve and gain massive savings for RM.
Most of the job losses would come from 'natural wastage', with current staff shortages and maybe staff relocating to LAT hubs playing a part. I think its safe to say by the end of 2020 the job will be totally different from what it is now - and not in a good way.
The views I express here are mine alone and do not represent the views of Royal Mail Group.
Final quarter of 2020 so sometime in October 2020 but that is about changes such as whether letters are still viable or if RM are allowed to switch to a five day operation etc. The initial job losses, or non replacement of any staff that leave voluntarily, will come from the 'new parcel strategy' . It's likely this will be in place by Xmas 2020.
The views I express here are mine alone and do not represent the views of Royal Mail Group.
Why is the USO being looked at in 2020 instead of 2022 ? If Ofcom is an independent body why did it bow to royal mails request to have this review done 2 years early or was this not at royal mails request ?
If this does result in job losses this may enable the older employees to get out (if they want). I don't agree that it'll be last in first out as these are the people Royal Mail want to keep as they are much cheaper to employ rather than full timers with all the benefits that they get.
Deadly wrote:If this does result in job losses this may enable the older employees to get out (if they want). I don't agree that it'll be last in first out as these are the people Royal Mail want to keep as they are much cheaper to employ rather than full timers with all the benefits that they get.
The % job losses are probably going to be higher in MCs with the parcel automation. If RM were to be able to be allowed to do letter deliveries every 2 or 3 days then some MCs might become letters and flats only. Some might become pure parcel sorting offices
The biggest joke is that the whole country (and by that I mean the public as well as us guys) is sleepwalking into allowing a fat German to walk in and basically tear up 500 years of public service for no other reason than to feather his own nest!!! If RM get their own way and reduce letter delivery to a couple of times a week that’ll be it, it’ll never ever come back again to the level of service we all take for granted. How the hell can this just happen on one man’s whim.
leolion855 wrote:What date in 2020 is the uso up for discussion?
As stated in my initial post "Royal mail have said the regulator has begun the review of the Universal service."
I do not know the specific date but the review is ongoing during 2020 (Brought forward from 2022)
wow so no official announcement date? One day we could be going to work as normal then the next 20k of us sacked!
It'll take some time to implement. It's not going to happen overnight. Given there are at least six people in my office of 70 ready to retire or likely to need ill health retirement soon, I don't think there'll be many forced job losses. And it won't be 20k. If they manage to lose the delivery of mail on Saturdays I can see them ramping up Saturday and Sunday packet/special deliveries to keep up with the competition.
hero22 wrote:Why is the USO being looked at in 2020 instead of 2022 ? If Ofcom is an independent body why did it bow to royal mails request to have this review done 2 years early or was this not at royal mails request ?
Officially it was Ofcom's decision and nothing to do with Royal Mail.
Unofficially I doubt it.
The excuse for bringing forward the review was a steeper than anticipated decline in letters and profitability.
To be honest after seeing how quiet Christmas was something will need to happen sooner rather than later.
Whatever RM/Ofcom decide to do it will be the wrong thing at the wrong time, it usually is.
The biggest problem with mail is that now and again we just get an avalanche of letters on any given day - especially when Matalan, catalogues, screw fix and/or any of our local businesses decide on a whim to just have a bulk posting. Managers then tell us that everything has got to go on that day and staff end up leaving loops left, right and centre. I've seen loops not get delivered and my gut feeling is that if they get rid of a Tuesday as a USO day, you can be sure that the Wednesday is going to be one helluva day.
I think that if Royal Mail want to lose a USO day then it should also apply for packets as well as the post - especially as Royal Mail are intending to spend billions on these parcel hubs.
On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world.