Thousands of households will not receive deliveries until AFTER 6pm under new Royal Mail shake-up plans

[TrueBlueTerrier]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... plans.html

Thousands of Britons will not receive mail until after 6pm in a Royal Mail shakeup
Bosses want postal workers to deliver rounds later in day when people are home
Pressure to ensure parcels and next-day items from online orders arrive on time
The Communications Workers Union (CWU) has branded the plans 'outrageous'

A proposed shake-up at the Royal Mail could see millions of Britons waiting until after 6pm to receive their deliveries.

Pressure to ensure parcels and next-day items arrive on time is leading postal bosses to reorganise the way deliveries are made.

Because most online orders are made late at night, post bosses want postal workers to begin rounds later in the day to maximise the chances of customers receiving their purchases the next day.

A projected map of the changes suggests that over 100 areas of the UK will receive post after 5pm, including parts of London, Cornwall, Cumbria, Wales and Scotland, The Telegraph reports.

But in 17 areas, including Abbey Wood in London, Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria and Truro in Cornwall, Britons could be waiting past 6pm for their packages.

A Royal Mail spokesman insisted all letters would be delivered by 5pm 'at the latest' as opposed to the current 4pm cutoff point.

The proposals are likely to be raised in negotiations with the Communications Workers' Union, which has so far labelled them 'outrageous'.

The CWU is already planning industrial action after an overwhelming majority of members voted in favour of it, after a row over pay and conditions.

A CWU spokesman said: 'The changes would see our members delivering for up to five hours in the height of darkness of winter.

'This is just one example of how Royal Mail are running down the postal service in the UK and why our members are balloting for strike action to defend it.

'Postal workers need and deserve the support of the public to win this battle.'

The Royal Mail states it gave workers a 2 per cent pay increase back dated from April 1 and is offering the CWU a rise of 3.5 per cent - provided there are improvements in productivity and an overhaul of postal workers' rosters.

A projected map of the changes suggests that over 100 areas of the UK will receive post after 5pm, including parts of London, Cornwall, Cumbria, Wales and Scotland

A Royal Mail spokesman said: 'We are in discussion with the Communication Workers' Union about moving start times later to meet the growing customer demand for more next-day parcel deliveries, and to reduce our environmental impact by moving more mail by rail over time.

'We have made it clear that these proposal are all subject to negotiation and detailed design, and no plans have been finalised.

'More parcel companies are now delivering later into the evening to meet changing customer needs, and we are redesigning out network to deal with growing numbers of parcels, including investing in two new super hubs.

'As part of our ongoing planning and negotiation, we are exploring a number of changes that would mean that we would still deliver letters by 5pm, as opposed to 4pm currently.'

[qwerty2]

Get this out in the press / social media and more and more people will kick up a fuss

[qwerty2]

Also who really wants parcels the next day?
Stuck up spoilt brats who’ve never had a job spending their parents money

[wally7]

May be Royal mail start getting the basic right first like delivering the letters daily Monday to Saturday. I am fed up seeing frames and frames full of letters in the office for days and days.

[clashcityrocker]

Get this out in the press / social media and more and more people will kick up a fuss

It's taken from the Daily Mail isn't it?
When did they become the friends of strikers?

[daveyeff]

daily mirror had it out as well.

[qwerty2]

Hope TV shows and radio pick this up

[Mr Rush]

Also who really wants parcels the next day?
Stuck up spoilt brats who’ve never had a job spending their parents money

Their world would end if they had to wait 28 working days.

This is all being driven by the big commerical contracts, which will all be Tracked. I remember the shifting focus to packets being pitched as a publicly accessible service for small businesses sending parcels out from their eBay shop, for example. Well that stuff sits in an overflowing york for a week in November/December because it doesn't have the magic T on the label. Perhaps the public really doesn't care about letters anymore, but let's not pretend their isn't a disparity of service when it comes to parcels in this alleged parcel company.

[logicalthinker]

Also who really wants parcels the next day?
Stuck up spoilt brats who’ve never had a job spending their parents money

13.3million households in the UK currently subscribe to Amazon Prime next-day delivery.
In a recent large-scale survey of online shoppers, 62% said next-day delivery was an important factor in their decision to order.
55% of those surveyed said a delivery timeslot on the day was important.

A business can either modernise to keep up with the competition or it can become a relic of a bygone era.

[ssdd]

Also who really wants parcels the next day?
Stuck up spoilt brats who’ve never had a job spending their parents money

13.3million households in the UK currently subscribe to Amazon Prime next-day delivery.
In a recent large-scale survey of online shoppers, 62% said next-day delivery was an important factor in their decision to order.
55% of those surveyed said a delivery timeslot on the day was important.

A business can either modernise to keep up with the competition or it can become a relic of a bygone era.

I don't think it's a fair comparison. What you're not addressing with Amazon Prime is that they work on a different model. They have massive despatch centres whereby certain products can achieve next day delivery - even on the day in some cases. Think of it like a giant Argos. Other items (not in their warehouses) will take longer.

Having said that, there are other couriers who do work on the same model as we do - although not as ubiquitously at a fair price.

I do agree that a certain cohort of consumers want next day delivery - heck they would have it NOW if they could. Is there anything wrong with this? I would say yes, but that's from a philosophical point of view. Greed is not an attribute that contributes to society. Maybe Greta will have something to say about this in the future. Maybe not.

[hans solo]

Duties in my office have not had mail delivered since Friday
Only packets

[Tman]

Greed is not an attribute that contributes to society. Maybe Greta will have something to say about this in the future. Maybe not.

It's not greed but another aspect of the "I want it now" ethos so beloved of certain sections of society.
On the other hand, who would rather walk into a shop and be told it'll be available in a week, or walk out with it two minutes later?

Who's Greta?

[pieoftheday]

Havnt we got a 'safe place' policy now? So what does it matter to the customer what time we arrive

[ssdd]

Greed is not an attribute that contributes to society. Maybe Greta will have something to say about this in the future. Maybe not.

It's not greed but another aspect of the "I want it now" ethos so beloved of certain sections of society.
On the other hand, who would rather walk into a shop and be told it'll be available in a week, or walk out with it two minutes later?

Who's Greta?

I was referring to Greta Thunberg - the teenage climate spokesperson. I could see her coming out with something like "our actions as a society are NOT sustainable", as she furrows her brow and looks menacing.
It's a double-edged sword. Of course, it's handy to have things arrive quicker, but are we being spoiled a little and groomed to expect service on demand? As I say, it's a philosophical argument and doesn't really sit well with the business of business.

[1560loopsayear]

They make it sound like we're all out delivering till 4pm now, the latest I get back taking into account 'pouch off' and taking off your break is 3pm on the longest days. I presume only a small minority of offices are still delivering mail at 4pm now.