OFCOM ANNOUNCEMENT ON ROYAL MAIL USO: UNION RESPONSE

[norris9]

The main problem with it is Royal Mail won't staff us properly. Don't cover sickness. Don't cover annual leave. Don't cover people that get taken off driving. Don't cover rounds that fail because a van broke down. The toxic culture within offices leads to a high turnover of staff and if this USO change means busier days and managers harassing staff even more, then people leaving will ramp up.

[heraldmoth]

Changes can be brought in from the 28th July.

I would say they will now be brought in adhoc accross the board as soon as it suits….bank holiday in NI this weekend I wouldn’t be surprised to see Saturday packets and 1st class only

What has bank hol in ni got to do with uso changes.be very little delivered in ni most offices have day off.

Depends what the day off is, if it’s Monday it makes sense to fail Saturday and put that budget into Tuesday….this is all about saving money no making work easier

Saturday is the bh day off an monday is a non service day.but only in del.mc working as normal on saturday.bt 47@48 are in as usual delivering on the 12th july an few other offices have a skeleton staff in.mc staff get the mon as a bank hol Either

I’d be stunned whatever day is taken if the new USO reform is not trialled to some extent next week

[heraldmoth]

The main problem with it is Royal Mail won't staff us properly. Don't cover sickness. Don't cover annual leave. Don't cover people that get taken off driving. Don't cover rounds that fail because a van broke down. The toxic culture within offices leads to a high turnover of staff and if this USO change means busier days and managers harassing staff even more, then people leaving will ramp up.

What you describe is a gig economy which was always the end goal of Thompson. Burn staff short term rinse and repeat. This was all warned of before the last strikes, comes as no surprise

[TopperGas]

Changes can be brought in from the 28th July.

I would say they will now be brought in adhoc accross the board as soon as it suits….bank holiday in NI this weekend I wouldn’t be surprised to see Saturday packets and 1st class only

The MC side of things will probably go live everywhere within the next couple of weeks. The labels for 2C manual letters and flats are ready to go, it'll be down to any tweaks being made to the DTS algorithm

MW mentioned that it won't be rolled out until all the pilots are working, I E. In the new year.

if somebody gave you the go ahead to start saving £m's would you just sit and wait until next year or start making the changes now?

[Sean06]

Changes can be brought in from the 28th July.

I would say they will now be brought in adhoc accross the board as soon as it suits….bank holiday in NI this weekend I wouldn’t be surprised to see Saturday packets and 1st class only

What has bank hol in ni got to do with uso changes.be very little delivered in ni most offices have day off.

Depends what the day off is, if it’s Monday it makes sense to fail Saturday and put that budget into Tuesday….this is all about saving money no making work easier

Saturday is the bh day off an monday is a non service day.but only in del.mc working as normal on saturday.bt 47@48 are in as usual delivering on the 12th july an few other offices have a skeleton staff in.mc staff get the mon as a bank hol Either

I’d be stunned whatever day is taken if the new USO reform is not trialled to some extent next week

Just told you sat is a bh mon a nonservice day don,t understand what you mean.just like you said 4% over 2 years yet its 4.2% in 1st year.

[Sean06]

Changes can be brought in from the 28th July.

I would say they will now be brought in adhoc accross the board as soon as it suits….bank holiday in NI this weekend I wouldn’t be surprised to see Saturday packets and 1st class only

What has bank hol in ni got to do with uso changes.be very little delivered in ni most offices have day off.

Depends what the day off is, if it’s Monday it makes sense to fail Saturday and put that budget into Tuesday….this is all about saving money no making work easier

Saturday is the bh day off an monday is a non service day.but only in del.mc working as normal on saturday.bt 47@48 are in as usual delivering on the 12th july an few other offices have a skeleton staff in.mc staff get the mon as a bank hol Either

I’d be stunned whatever day is taken if the new USO reform is not trialled to some extent next week

Just told you sat is a bh mon a nonservice day don,t understand what you mean.just like you said 4% over 2 years yet its 4.2% in 1st year.why will you be stunned if uso is not trialled next week.would say meself pretty silly if not working saturday an monday.

[POSTMAN]

https://www.cwu.org/ltb/ltb-143-25-writ ... o-changes/

LTB 143/25 – WRITTEN BRIEFING ON USO CHANGES
No. 143/25

10th July 2025

TO ALL POSTAL BRANCHES

Dear Colleagues

WRITTEN BRIEFING ON USO CHANGES

As you will be aware from LTB 141/25, this morning Ofcom announced changes to the specification of the postal Universal Service Obligation (USO). Alongside continuing negotiations on a separate USO national agreement, we are also engaging with MPs and other politicians across the country to ensure they support our call for Ofcom and the Government to fairly regulate the postal and logistics sector. Please see the attached briefing which we have distributed to all MPs.

This briefing should be distributed to all local reps and can be used when briefing members.

If you have any questions or need any further information please contact the General Secretary’s Office, Dawn Lynch on dlynch@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward

General Secretary

Martin Walsh

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

[heraldmoth]

Changes can be brought in from the 28th July.

I would say they will now be brought in adhoc accross the board as soon as it suits….bank holiday in NI this weekend I wouldn’t be surprised to see Saturday packets and 1st class only

What has bank hol in ni got to do with uso changes.be very little delivered in ni most offices have day off.

Depends what the day off is, if it’s Monday it makes sense to fail Saturday and put that budget into Tuesday….this is all about saving money no making work easier

Saturday is the bh day off an monday is a non service day.but only in del.mc working as normal on saturday.bt 47@48 are in as usual delivering on the 12th july an few other offices have a skeleton staff in.mc staff get the mon as a bank hol Either

I’d be stunned whatever day is taken if the new USO reform is not trialled to some extent next week

Just told you sat is a bh mon a nonservice day don,t understand what you mean.just like you said 4% over 2 years yet its 4.2% in 1st year.

Essentially what has been put on the table is 4.2% this year followed by 2 years of below inflation rises, but f you do the math it’s abt 1.5% above inflation this year so even my 4% over 3 years was 3% above what it actually may be….i give up you clear yo my understand about putting the wrong labels on Yorks and mixing tracked mail in with manual letters

[Hyrrokkin]

The main problem with it is Royal Mail won't staff us properly. Don't cover sickness. Don't cover annual leave. Don't cover people that get taken off driving. Don't cover rounds that fail because a van broke down. The toxic culture within offices leads to a high turnover of staff and if this USO change means busier days and managers harassing staff even more, then people leaving will ramp up.

What you describe is a gig economy which was always the end goal of Thompson. Burn staff short term rinse and repeat. This was all warned of before the last strikes, comes as no surprise

Agree 100%

This has been RM's long term plan for years and now we are in the end phase over the next few years as it all shakes out with the new owners.

[A2B]

if somebody gave you the go ahead to start saving £m's would you just sit and wait until next year or start making the changes now?

Obviously RM/IDS are no longer listed on the stock exchange but i wonder how much value the OFCOM announcement would have added to the share price?

The previous board would have known that this statement was coming, surely they should have been looking after the interests of their shareholders instead of gifting this added value to the new owners?

[scotchy1962]

Just wondering something, what happens if people, businesses and the like decide to stump up the big money and send everything 1st class.
Would that completely feck up the whole USO reform and the theory of "1st class everyday" by the way i doubt very much they will even be able to deliver that.
Just a thought.

[Mr Rush]

Just wondering something, what happens if people, businesses and the like decide to stump up the big money and send everything 1st class.
Would that completely feck up the whole USO reform and the theory of "1st class everyday" by the way i doubt very much they will even be able to deliver that.

Such a shift has already been observed.

From the bulletin: "There is an interesting indication of customer response to the pilot, with Reps in the Division reporting that some customers who previously sent out magazines, gift cards and periodicals, have switched from second-class mail to first-class. This has, so far, had a significant effect on combined days."

[Sean06]

Changes can be brought in from the 28th July.

I would say they will now be brought in adhoc accross the board as soon as it suits….bank holiday in NI this weekend I wouldn’t be surprised to see Saturday packets and 1st class only

What has bank hol in ni got to do with uso changes.be very little delivered in ni most offices have day off.

Depends what the day off is, if it’s Monday it makes sense to fail Saturday and put that budget into Tuesday….this is all about saving money no making work easier

Saturday is the bh day off an monday is a non service day.but only in del.mc working as normal on saturday.bt 47@48 are in as usual delivering on the 12th july an few other offices have a skeleton staff in.mc staff get the mon as a bank hol Either

I’d be stunned whatever day is taken if the new USO reform is not trialled to some extent next week

Just told you sat is a bh mon a nonservice day don,t understand what you mean.just like you said 4% over 2 years yet its 4.2% in 1st year.

Essentially what has been put on the table is 4.2% this year followed by 2 years of below inflation rises, but f you do the math it’s abt 1.5% above inflation this year so even my 4% over 3 years was 3% above what it actually may be….i give up you clear yo my understand about putting the wrong labels on Yorks and mixing tracked mail in with manual letters

Honestly do not understand anything you just wrote.

[kennierobo]

The rhetoric of this not being rolled out nationwide until next year is farcical it will be rolled out quicker than Usain bolt can cover a 100 meters

[TopperGas]

Just wondering something, what happens if people, businesses and the like decide to stump up the big money and send everything 1st class.
Would that completely feck up the whole USO reform and the theory of "1st class everyday" by the way i doubt very much they will even be able to deliver that.
Just a thought.

I delivered a T24 letter to a firm of solicitors recently, I can't recall them ever one before and usually have specials or 1c/2c post, given we usually clear out tracked daily it's a good way of getting next day delivery at half the special rate.