Centro drops Royal Mail as business courier

[POSTMAN]

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As crisis talks start up again today to try to prevent further strikes at Royal Mail, it has emerged one of Birmingham’s largest public bodies has dropped the organisation.

Transport body Centro, which sends out more than 200,000 letters and parcels a year from its headquarters in the city centre, has broken its ties with Royal Mail and is now looking for a private delivery firm to take up the work.

It has put a tender out asking firms to bid for a two-year contract delivering from Centro House, on Summer Lane.

The move will be a blow for Royal Mail, which is currently locked in a bitter row with staff over jobs, pay and modernisation.

Centro said the decision to drop Royal Mail was not based on the industrial problems, but because it was costing it too much to have its post delivered.

The tender notice put out says: “Centro is seeking to contract with a supplier for postal services for a period of two years (with an option to extend for a third year).

“There is a split of 77 per cent first class and 23 per cent second class with post being mainly made up of letters, large letters and packets.”

The deadline for responses is November 26.

Private delivery firms are finding more and more business coming in from disgruntled Royal Mail customers.

Warwickshire retailer Dean Winsbury said last month that he had switched to DHL after problems with Royal Mail. He said he was told that DHL had been flooded with so many applications for delivery contracts that they were struggling to keep on top of them.

DHL has said it does not want to comment on the ongoing troubles at Royal Mail.

The problems at Royal Mail have also drawn condemnation from a business support group.

The Federation of Small Businesses has said members felt like they were being “held to ransom” and that nearly half of businesses with the option of leaving Royal Mail were considering doing so.

Meanwhile, talks will continue today between management and union leaders to try to solve the postal dispute.

The Royal Mail said 25 per cent of its delivery staff turned up for work on Saturday despite the action but the figure was disputed by the Communication Workers Union.

CWU officials insisted there was solid support from its 77,000 members involved in the walkout and said the public was continuing to back the workers.

Thousands of workers manned picket lines outside mail centres across the country during Saturday’s third successive day of strikes. And millions of undelivered letters and parcels are still waiting to be sorted.

If no arrangement is reached in the negotiation, the union has said there will be a third wave of national stoppages, with all 121,000 members striking this Friday and the following Monday.

[mailman337]

Barmy thing is that Royal Mail will still deliver most of it!!! :cfo :cfo :cfo

[shadow]

Barmy thing is that Royal Mail will still deliver most of it!!! :cfo :cfo :cfo

I don't understand these people don't they realise that they are only involving a middle man and as you say it will be us that deliver the stuff anyway.

[dogfood]

Barmy thing is that Royal Mail will still deliver most of it!!!

What is even more barmy is that by using a middle man they will save money whilst the same people will provide the service, AT A LOSS