Royal Mail cuts may end Saturday post

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... -post.html

The proposal to reduce deliveries to five days a week will also see fewer first class letters arrive the day after they are sent.

The recommendations, to be submitted in the next 10 days as part of a review into the future of the postal sector, are included in a radical plan by the regulator Postcomm to shore up finances at the Royal Mail.

It hopes to secure the future of the "universal service", which means the company promises to deliver letters to each of the 28 million add-resses in Britain for the same price.

Moving from a six-days-a-week delivery would mark a further reduction of services by Royal Mail, which has already been allowed to end twice-daily deliveries in an effort to restore profitability.

The average delivery time has slipped and post boxes are no longer emptied on a Sunday. Any attempt to drop the Saturday delivery would be fiercely opposed, not least because it is enshrined in law under the Postal Services Act of 2000. Politicians, consumer groups, businesses and the unions say Postcomm's proposals would lead to a further diminution of the service.

Sian Jones, of the Communication Workers Union, which represents most of the Royal Mail's 130,000 delivery workers, said: "It is absolutely shocking for the regulator, of all people, to suggest moving from a six day service to a five day service.

"We should be investing, not cutting, what was once the leading postal service in the world." The Royal Mail announced a slump in its profits this week and claimed it had lost £100 million in its last financial year from fulfilling the "universal service".

It is the first time that the Royal Mail has ever made a loss from this service.

It prompted Adam Crozier, the chief executive, to issue a warning, saying that radical changes were needed to save the service which he called a "bedrock" of society.

John Hutton the Business Secretary, launched an independent review into the future of the postal sector late last year. Its main task is to investigate whether the Royal Mail can continue in its current form.

In a provisional report released earlier this week the review panel has already said "the status quo is not tenable".

All the interested parties have to submit their final suggestions to the review, chaired by Richard Hooper, the former deputy chairman of Ofcom, by the end of next week.

Postcomm's recommendations about cutting the six-day service are included in its submission to the review, the Telegraph understands.

The regulator also suggests that the Royal Mail's delivery targets should be lowered.

Currently 93 per cent of first class mail has to be delivered the next day, a target the Royal Mail has hit in the past two years. But Postcomm questions whether it needs to be so high.

The proposals are likely to be taken seriously by the review panel. In the past, significant recommendations have been implemented.

Elderly people would be among the hardest hit by the lowering of service, a spokesman for Help the Aged said last night. Mervyn Kohler, the head of public affairs at the charity, said: "This would severely impact pensioners, many of whom rely on the postal service as their only form of communication."

Charles Hendry, the shadow spokesman on postal affairs, said: "This will undoubtedly result in a poorer service for customers at a time when many of them face losing their local post office altogether."

Most of the mail delivered across Britain is sent by companies.

David Frost, chairman of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: " In an age when businesses need to communicate more and more, we can't allow any further fall in service.

"Otherwise businesses will get round using Royal Mail by using electronic communications or by using rival operators."

Royal Mail said it would strongly oppose any move to trim the universal service.

A spokesman said: "Royal Mail is dismayed that Postcomm is considering adverse changes including cutting deliveries on a Saturday and reducing our first class quality of service targets."

A spokesman from Postcomm said: “There is no truth in this suggestion that Postcomm will recommend a cut in services. The current system is enshrined in law.â€

[Night Tonic]

The proposal to reduce deliveries to five days a week will also see fewer first class letters arrive the day after they are sent.

The recommendations, to be submitted in the next 10 days as part of a review into the future of the postal sector, are included in a radical plan by the regulator Postcomm to shore up finances at the Royal Mail.

A spokesman said: "Royal Mail is dismayed that Postcomm is considering adverse changes including cutting deliveries on a Saturday and reducing our first class quality of service targets."

A spokesman from Postcomm said: “There is no truth in this suggestion that Postcomm will recommend a cut in services. The current system is enshrined in law.â€

[DGP1]

These things are usually put out in brainstorming sessions in which everything is put on the table, even if it is never going to happen and all that happens is a reporter reads through all the proposals that were put up and they take whatever information will support their/their editors/their owners point of view.

[rhino49]

Both Postcomm and Royal Mail are responsible for the current mess that we are in and they are trying to pass the parcel of necessary change backwards and forwards to see who will eventually take the responsibility for it.

At the end of the day they will both blame an "intransigent workforce" that knew what was going on all along but were ignored, and we will take the cuts and changes in our stride as always.

It's a small satisfaction to be able to say "I told you so" but I suspect soon all the MP's, Ministers and related consumer groups will claim that they always had doubts about the lack of freedom Royal Mail had as a business and that they should have had at least one hand free to fight the opposition.

If our leaders are reading this - It's time to take our business back and to start dictating terms to those outside it. The people inside it are working their bollocks off to keep it going and could do with a period of hassle free management cooperation for the good of all concerned.

[Phantom]

Well southern Ireland don't have a saturday delivery and it works for them. Personally I'm all for it, Saturdays are a waste of time and money.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Well southern Ireland don't have a saturday delivery and it works for them. Personally I'm all for it, Saturdays are a waste of time and money.

But are we prepared to loose a maximum of 1/6 of delivery posties which is what they will want if 5 day service ever comes in. Also as Saturday is such a busy day I would not be surprised if they cut collections on a Saturday (unless business pay for it) and deliveries on Mondays or Tuesdays as these are the 2 light days.

I think everything is in the pot now.

[k979aaa]

Postcomm has denied claims it is planning to advise royalmail to end deliveries on saturday's. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7393836.stm

[plodsie]

Both Postcomm and Royal Mail are responsible for the current mess that we are in and they are trying to pass the parcel of necessary change backwards and forwards to see who will eventually take the responsibility for it.

The ONLY one to blame for this is the Government (both Liebour and Tory). While Royal Mail senior managers are rightly berated for some -if not all - of their decisions, they can't be held responsible for the massive under-investment nor the huge pension deficit. Those where poisoned chalices passed on to those people who thought that by making cuts, they could make it better. Postcomm have done what they were set up to do, control Royal Mail so that the competitors could flourish, that was the Government's wish at the behest of Europe. I don't think there is any solution other than the part-privatisation of Royal Mail, but with such a failing company and a huge pension liability who would invest in that?

[madelin4]

They may cut Tuesdays delivery Mayb they may cut us to a 5 day week with a day off? Means we all work 4 days a week and no jobs are lost? And let them buy down hours

[somerset]

Well southern Ireland don't have a saturday delivery and it works for them. Personally I'm all for it, Saturdays are a waste of time and money.

Totally agree. Ask any postie on here who really enjoys Saturday? Just think about it. Finish Friday afternoon, back to work Monday morning. Bliss. You know what you are doing every weekend instead of trying to work out what day you have off. I asked several people today if they would miss having post on a saturday and ALL of them said NO !! Would you like to receive a massive bill in the post on a Saturday????

[k979aaa]

Royalmail is like a rudderless ship it has no direction drifting aimlessly on the high seas with pirate's all gathering like vulture's ( TNT/ UK MAIL/ ET AL)!. NOW IS THE TIME FOR OUR LEADERSHIP TO TELL US THE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT!. FOR IF THEY CANNOT FIND SOMEONE WHO CAN!.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Never mind the pirates gathering - the masters of the ship are 2 biggest pirates of their generation - Capt Teach (Alias Leighton) and Ann Bonny (Alias Crozier)

[k979aaa]

Never mind the pirates gathering - the masters of the ship are 2 biggest pirates of their generation - Capt Teach (Alias Leighton) and Ann Bonny (Alias Crozier)

Well said T.B.T!. Now check this site out and just see what they say. http://www.psc.gov.uk/news-and-events/n ... ticle.html

[pinstripe]

“The only threat to Saturday deliveries is if Royal Mail fails to take up the challenge of becoming an efficient universal service provider and it remains saddled with having to fund an enormous pensions deficit. The universal service lost £100m last year but instead of taking out costs, Royal Mail allocated a further £30m to it. "

Let's not mention whose fault this massive deficit is, oh wait, let me guess, is it ours?

There is too much of a defensive attitude about their whole statement, the Universal Service will be destroyed within 2 years and we will be working Mon - Fri. Goodbye 20,000 jobs!

I'd love to work Mon to Fri, but that's not the job I applied for, if it mattered that much to me I'd be working in a factory.

[norbert]

“The only threat to Saturday deliveries is if Royal Mail fails to take up the challenge of becoming an efficient universal service provider and it remains saddled with having to fund an enormous pensions deficit. The universal service lost £100m last year but instead of taking out costs, Royal Mail allocated a further £30m to it. "

Let's not mention whose fault this massive deficit is, oh wait, let me guess, is it ours?

There is too much of a defensive attitude about their whole statement, the Universal Service will be destroyed within 2 years and we will be working Mon - Fri. Goodbye 20,000 jobs!

I'd love to work Mon to Fri, but that's not the job I applied for, if it mattered that much to me I'd be working in a factory.

Crazy , all the parcel companies are out delivering long before Royal Fail and charge extra for saturday delivery when people aren't necessarily working and can take parcels in .

All panic mode , conflict and confrontation , no wonder Unite said :lfo & :cfo & their senior managers had outlived their usefulness and taken RM backwards .