Big Brother:The press pick our teles up.

NEWS · Post by **NEWS** » 25 Feb 2007, 02:36

The Royal Mail, which earlier this month revealed an 86 per cent plunge in profits, is spending hundreds of thousands of pounds installing television screens in every delivery and sorting office in the country.

Management will use the screens to convey information and updates on the company's performance to staff, including speeches by chief executive Adam Crozier and chairman Allan Leighton - prompting wags inside the state-controlled postal group to dub it "Allan Leighton Direct" and to compare it to George Orwell's Big Brother.

A Royal Mail spokesman declined to comment on the cost of the new communication system, but insiders believe it will set the business back considerably. The TVs are understood to be 42-inch Fujitsu screens, which retail for around Â£2,000 each.

The Royal Mail will be able to negotiate a discount but it is still buying a considerable amount: at least one will be installed in every site, including 1,400 delivery offices, the 470 post offices the group manages directly, administration centres and other depots. The spokesman defended the communication system, commenting: "It's absolutely normal good practice for any large company to have effective and swift communications with its people, especially when we're operating out of many different sites nationwide."

But the move comes at a time when the Royal Mail is being forced to tighten its belt as it confronts a gaping pension black hole and struggles to adapt to increased competition. Earlier this month, the group confirmed that interim operating profits had come in at Â£22m, against Â£159m a year earlier. Much of the decline was blamed on costs associated with the pension deficit, which rose by Â£1bn to Â£6.6bn. But the Royal Mail has also lost a number of corporate clients, including Carphone Warehouse, BT and Centrica.

Employees, meanwhile, are being told to keep spending to a minimum, at least until the end of the financial year next month. The First Line Fixed scheme, for example, where a pool of money is made available for morale-boosting items such as kettles and TVs for staff rooms, has been temporarily suspended.

INDEPENDENT

Post by **POSTMAN** » 25 Feb 2007, 02:37

Ours was being put in on Sat.

Post by **Carnoustie** » 25 Feb 2007, 08:19

We've had two installed, one for the floor and one in the WTLL room. They were put in about six weeks ago and haven't been used in anger once yet !!! WTF is the point of that ?

I reckon we should all print out the article and stick it on the notice boards at every office, or maybe get sticky labels and hang the article down from the bottom edge of the screens

Its a frickin outrage. Even if Royal Mail got a 25% discount on the retail price due to purchasing in bulk, a quick calculation of 1,870 units x Â£1600 comes out at a cost to the business of eight grand shy of 3 MILLION quid.

Anyway, sorry lads, but they'll doubtless tell us there's no money available for a decent pay rise this year

ROCKY · Post by **ROCKY** » 25 Feb 2007, 10:18

look on the bright side 3 months from now they will be on e bay cheap as chips after having walked out the door

Post by **POSTMAN** » 25 Feb 2007, 10:29

ROCKY wrote:look on the bright side 3 months from now they will be on e bay cheap as chips after having walked out the door

johno47 · Post by **johno47** » 25 Feb 2007, 19:49

Amazing, no money for uniform, but money for televisions, during our dispute at Burslem, rm were paying Â£900 quid a day on food and drink to keep the casuals and bosses fed and watered, makes you think dont it. P.S can these telys get sky.

Post by **POSTMAN** » 25 Feb 2007, 23:05

P.S can these telys get sky.

Make the most of the 10 mins freeview you night boys