bosses facing a testing new year

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013 ... ch-in-2014" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Moya Greene

Chief executive, Royal Mail

Sector: Distribution

Royal Mail will continue to be the focus of public and political attention next year following its controversial flotation on the stock market.

The furore surrounding the company being sold off on the cheap – the shares were sold at 330p and soared by 38% on the first day and are now changing hands at 578.5p – has been centred on the business secretary, Vince Cable, whose department presided over the sell-off, and not Greene who had no role in the pricing decision.

Greene delivered a 147% increase in half-year pre-tax profits to £233m. Perhaps even more impressively she managed to smooth over industrial relations with the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which had threatened days of strikes before Christmas. Royal Mail's 140,000 workers were given a 9% pay rise over three years.

Now Greene will have to focus on securing the long-term future of Royal Mail. The company and the government said the service needed to be privatised to enable it to generate cash to invest in parcel delivery as letter use continues to decline. On average 58m letters are sent every day, compared with 63m in 2011-12.

Battles are also expected over the universal service obligation that requires Royal Mail to deliver to every address in Britain six days a week for the same price. The USO is protected by law until 2021, but other countries, including Greene's native Canada, are ending door-to-door delivery

[Lounge Lizard]

"other countries, including Greene's native Canada, are ending door-to-door delivery" which is a tad more serious than
other countries, including Greene's native Canada, are ending the delivery of Door To Doors.

[Lincox]

Door to door insurances were banished during the previous Tory Government. 150,000 or more insurance agents lost their jobs during this period. The sad part is that Thousands of Families now live without insurance policies. These industrial insurances (The name given to policies paid for and collected from the household) provided the less well off with affordable life cover and an element of savings which came in handy on maturity.
Now here we go again with fear of postal deliveries being banished into the past and another 100,000 plus jobs going. It will happen and the Universal Service Obligation will be powerless to stop it now that Royal Mail is fully integrated into the Marketplace. Again the less well off and the vulnerable will be the ones who suffer, as collecting mail from pick up points will be more difficult and possibly more expensive for those who do not have the means of transport etc.

[Chelseablue]

It's a big fat no vote then ,

[Lincox]

Don,t think it matters really Chelsea. The money grabbers will vote positively and no doubt be the majority. Will not change the eventual outcome. Jobs will go, deliveries reduced and stopped altogether in non profitable areas, and in it,s place collection areas with scant regard to customer service. Job completed, Moya goes back to Canada and looks for the next business to enchant.

[Chelseablue]

Li ncox that's what all the senior guys think in our office too. We've bin like sitting ducks ever since she came in . Scary stuff though .