Argos and eBay ready to desert Royal Mail as union votes for

[DOM]

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Argos joined a growing band of retailers making plans to desert Royal Mail today as the Communication Workers Union voted overwhelmingly in favour of a national strike over proposed changes to working conditions.

The catalogue group said it had put contingency arrangements in place with rival operators to ensure its deliveries were not disrupted by the strikes.

The Guardian has also learned that a group of 30 online retailers, meeting at a trade fair at Earl's Court in London, have agreed to switch to other postal operators because of the disruption at Royal Mail.

Jonathan DeCarteret from Post-Switch, a consultant present at the meeting, said: "A large number of these companies feel that they can no longer trust Royal Mail to deliver to their customers. Deals are being struck left, right and centre with its rivals. We find that once a company leaves Royal Mail they never come back."

Post-Switch estimates that one quarter of Royal Mail's 100 biggest customers, including banks, utilities and charities, were now talking to rivals to switch business. "The vote yesterday is only speeding up this process," DeCarteret added.

Post-Switch said last month it handled almost three times as many inquiries from frms wanting to find an alternative to Royal Mail than usual, after months of regional stoppages at branches.

In a further dent to Royal Mail's fast- shrinking customer base, eBay also said it was talking to other companies to make sure deliveries ran smoothly in the runup to Christmas.

Separately a survey of 250 businesses, by the British Chambers of Commerce, found three-quarters were now considering using another delivery service.

Yesterday the Guardian revealed that the online retailer Amazon, the Royal Mail's second largest customer, had already discussed moving its £25m contract to deliver packets larger than 500g to the rival Home Delivery Network.

Amazon confirmed it was "working on contingency measures with other carriers" but disputed the characterisation of its HDN deal as a cancellation of a long-term contract. Industry sources said it came several weeks before a regular break-clause in Amazon's contract with Royal Mail, causing concern for the state-owned group and jubiliation at HDN.

Yesterday Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which organised the ballot, traded thinly veiled insults as industrial relations sunk to a new low. The CWU called the state-owned group's management, led by the former Football Association head Adam Crozier, "arrogant", and said the 3-1 vote in favour of industrial action represented a "damning verdict" on the way the postal service was run. Royal Mail hit back, condemning the strike as "reprehensible" and warning it would be "very damaging".

Talks today between the union and Royal Mail could avert a strike. CWU leaders will meet Monday to discuss whether to issue notice of national action. A spokeswoman said: "The ball is in Royal Mail's court."

The union claims Royal Mail is pushing through plans to modernise the business too quickly and without consultation. The postal group is more inefficient than rivals, and mail still has to be sorted by hand before any post round. Royal Mail's plans would alter the nature of the job, as well as hours, for many workers.

The CWU leader, Billy Hayes, accused the government and Royal Mail of refusing to negotiate with the workforce over modernisation. The union's deputy leader, Dave Ward, said: "We've seen cuts and increased workloads and now we need an agreed rollout of real modernisation. Aligning the interests of customers, employees and the company as a whole is a prerequisite for the successful modernisation of Royal Mail."

Mark Higson, Royal Mail's managing director, said the firm had had more than 70 meetings with CWU in recent months . He added that Royal Mail was not planning to introduce any more big elements of the modernisation scheme this year.


Alternative methods

Robert Hammond, a post expert at Consumer Focus, warned a national strike in the runup to Christmas "will lead to a miserable time for consumers and businesses alike". But there are ways of mitigating the misery.

Consumers should not rely on postal deliveries when waiting for bills or paying them, but find an alternative method such as phone, online or at a bank or post office, Hammond advised. For businesses who need packages delivered urgently, eschewing "snail mail" for courier companies is another, more expensive option.

But for ordinary consumers planning on doing their Christmas shopping online, it is impossible to avoid the effects of strike action altogether. It is true that online retailers like Amazon and Argos are talking to other postal operators about delivering medium-sized packages like box sets. But often these packages end up at the "last mile" of Royal Mail's network – its local sorting offices – which rely on its postmen to deliver it. The best advice for those sending Christmas cards is to post them early – really early.

[ade@cambs]

"We find that once a company leaves Royal Mail they never come back."

Should get their facts straight, or did i dream of the ones that have.

[shadow]

Ebay is an auction site and you buy your goods from individuals or companys not actualy ebay so what are they on about. I don't think I've ever delivered anything for argos before.

[banner18]

Ebay is going to desert Royal mail??? What a joke, who else will deliver your dinky packages for a few quid? These companies know that they cannot do without Royal mail,, but they still choose to fight against us, using empty threats and rhetoric. Why not lobby the only set of people who can really do something to protect this vital service, the GOVERNMENT? The government can push Royal mail to treat us fairly and have the union back off and reach an agreement.
Liberalisation has been nothing but a shambles, why is no-one blaming the numpties who put the cart before the horse, just so that their fat cat mates in TNT etc.. could line their pockets with booty?

It is obvious that RM provides a vital service, and the end delivery part of the network should not be forced to try make profit at all cost.

[kwf166]

I woudn't believe anything from that paper, they are full of lies and propaganda, just like the Royal Mail management

[chunk]

let customers try to take there stuff UkMail they will find it odd that when we don't deliver they don't deliver.
I am not gloating its just that after almost 3 years(correct me if i,m wrong) of downstream access, most customers don't realize we are still the only company
that delivers letters and
that provides a uk bulk network.

[BELIAL]

Yeah yeah yeah DOM heard it all before, it was tripe then and its tripe now. They need to think of a new angle , can't for the life of me understand why they trot out the same tired old propaganda that has already failed. Bankrupt talentless management without an original thought between them.
Looks like ' streets of London paved with gold' campaign was a barnstorming success 3 - 1

[axeman]

sorry belial
You'll have to wait for a reply as he's run out of ideas and has to wait for tomorrows conference call for more bulshi* from his esteemed leader before comenting

[rhino49]

In a further dent to Royal Mail's fast- shrinking customer base, eBay also said it was talking to other companies to make sure deliveries ran smoothly in the runup to Christmas.

If you add the theoretical amount by which our customer base has shrunk to the amount of mail and packets we are now struggling to cope with on a daily basis - then the UK economy must be the fastest growing in the world. Who is actually delivering all this business we are losing? I see a lot of stuff with other firms franking labels and logos coming back to us for delivery so I assume we are getting revenue from those items. It's all smoke and mirrors - you can call them alternative delivery options but they aren't really - anyone who does have an alternative will charge small business's - or in fact any business a fortune for what will only be a stop gap solution. Money talks and they will all return to the best value carrier - US!!!

[BELIAL]

Know what you mean, management seem to have this really spooky Stepford Wives thing going on . Maybe more like an overweight over staffed Borg collective only with less people skills and a more sinister master plan . How come one of the drones preaches the RM mantra to you at WTLL then you come on here at night and read the exact self same words from all around the country? Still Axeman if only we could locate the CPU

[bandit1157]

this is ebays opening line on the dispute

Today the Commercial Worker’s Union has issued strike notice to Royal Mail this means a national strike is possible from the 18th October.


i thought i was in the Communication Workers Union. ebay = thick as f^^k. their only concern is their commission. sod off mark lewis

[andy2007]

RM should have considered the damage that a Strike would do, before they started implementing their "interesting interpritation" of the Pay and Modernisation Agreement. And looked up the term modernisation, in the dictionary. They knew the risks. And now they're facing the consequences of their actions.

Treat you staff like s**t, and they'll turn on you.