This morning, we announced the appointment of Martin Seidenberg as Group CEO of International Distributions Services (IDS).
Under the revised structure, Martin will lead the IDS Group and set its strategic direction. Martin will be appointing CEOs for Royal Mail and GLS responsible for operational management of the two businesses in due course.
Martin has been CEO of GLS since June 2020, after initially joining as CEO of GLS Germany in 2015 after 15 years at DHL. Martin will take up his new Group position in August.
LTB 193/23 – APPOINTMENT OF NEW GROUP CEO INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTIONS SERVICES
No. 193/23
20th July 2023
TO: ALL POSTAL BRANCHES
Dear Colleague
APPOINTMENT OF NEW GROUP CEO INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTIONS SERVICES
After a significant period where the company has been without leadership and direction, the appointment of new Group CEO Martin Seidenberg is cautiously welcomed.
We also await with interest, the forthcoming appointment of the Royal Mail CEO.
The truth is though; this is not a time for words. It is a moment for actions. If we do not see a complete shift from the attitudes and approach of the current senior management team then this company has no future.
We are now well beyond the fallout from an industrial dispute. We are into the territory where the strategy of the company’s current leadership is destroying quality of service and the universal service obligation has completely eroded the trust of the workforce and put Royal Mail in the most serious position in its 500-year history.
CWU members overwhelmingly endorsed the Business Recovery, Transformation and Growth agreement little over a week ago. They are seeing and feeling no change at local level. We have seen breaches of the agreement both material and in spirit. This is unprecedented so early into an agreement. Whilst our members want to move on from the dispute, senior management cannot shake off their union busting mentality. The new CEO has to oversee a significant change in both personnel and approach.
We are absolutely committed to working with the new CEOs and improving industrial relations but the union must also focus on our own actions. We cannot just sit back hoping for better.
Our strategy will be built upon the following key principles:
1. Immediate re-engagement with our reps and members in the workplace.
2. How we counter and challenge Royal Mail senior managements approach.
3. Putting forward CWU solutions to turn around the fortunes of the company.
Yesterday, we held a senior field officials briefing and on Tuesday, we have a national briefing, which will bring together representatives from every branch in the UK.
We are putting in place plans to brief all of our local representatives.
We are going to organise, recruit and drive the positive change we want to see in every workplace.
Our Postal Executive and Divisional Reps will oversee the restoration of the IR Framework alongside the development of our own agenda. We will not be sitting back and waiting for Royal Mail to table their plans. We will be on the front foot and demanding things such as more innovative attendance patterns.
Once we have met all of our representatives we will host an open session with our members where you will be able to input into this strategy but crucially we will give you a role too. We need reps in every office. We need union committees in every office. We need CWU advocates in every office and we need all new entrants to join the union. Every single one of us has a role to play in winning in the workplace.
Yours sincerely
Dave Ward
General Secretary
Andy Furey
Acting Deputy General Secretary (Postal)
This morning, we announced the appointment of Martin Seidenberg as Group CEO of International Distributions Services (IDS).
Watch Martin in conversation about his new role with director of corporate affairs, Jenny Hall.
Under the revised structure, Martin will lead the IDS Group and set its strategic direction. Martin will be appointing CEOs for Royal Mail and GLS responsible for operational management of the two businesses in due course.
Martin has been CEO of GLS since June 2020, after initially joining as CEO of GLS Germany in 2015 after 15 years at DHL. Martin will take up his new Group position in August.
Read our trading update for the first quarter 2023-24... Royal Mail’s financial performance – Q1 2023/24
Our financial performance in the first quarter is in line with what we expected (all figures year on year):
Royal Mail’s total revenue was down 4%
Total parcel volumes were down 10%, with domestic parcels down 9%
Addressed letter volumes (exc. elections) were down 8%
In contrast, GLS revenue grew 7.4% year on year in the first quarter, with GLS parcel volumes up 4%.
Royal Mail’s challenging financial position and lower volumes of both letters and parcels demonstrates the need to adapt resource to workload and improve our ways of working so that we can become more competitive.
Today’s results also show that addressed letter volumes are down 30% since pre-pandemic, once again highlighting the urgent need to reform the Universal Service to reflect changing customer demands.
