Royal Mail staff could get £20k for relocating

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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ROYAL Mail staff have been told they will be guaranteed a job if they have to move to Nottingham – and could get £20,000 to relocate.

The incentive, in the form of travel allowance, is one of the options on the table for about 400 workers at the Derby Mail Centre. It comes as Royal Mail announced plans to shift its Midland Road sorting operation.

Last night, the proposal was called “utterly unacceptable” by Derby North MP Chris Williamson.

John Forkin, director of Marketing Derby, said he would try to stop it. He said: “Derby is an important business centre and it is critical it has the profile a Royal Mail centre brings. Derby has far better road and rail connections than Nottingham. It doesn’t make sense to me.”

MP says plan to move mail depot is `an utterly unacceptable betrayal'

For Derby's Royal Mail sorting depot, it appears the building simply does not fit into the firm's plans.

On several floors, and dating back decades, the traditional Midland Road mail centre is dated and inefficient, compared to the more modern single-floor office in Nottingham.

So the Royal Mail, which two years ago moved the sorting of second-class post down the A52, wants to sort all post there in future.

Unfortunately for Derby, that could mean the relocation of around 400 staff, at a time when hundreds of public-sector positions are also being stripped from the city.

It is a move that has outraged Derby North MP Chris Williamson who, when leader of the city council's Labour group, campaigned to protect the sorting office.

Last night, the Labour MP called Royal Mail's proposal "utterly unacceptable" and "an act of betrayal".

"I was given assurances by Royal Mail that operations in Derby were secure and that jobs would not be hived off to Nottingham," he said.

"It seems I was misled, whether deliberately or otherwise. At a time when we are seeing job losses as a result of unjustified cutbacks in public services, to lose another 400 is completely beyond the pale.

"I will be making strong representations to Royal Mail and reminding them of the assurances they gave me. I will also be raising the matter with the relevant minister."

The daily sorting of 150,000 second-class items was moved to Nottingham in September 2009. At the time, staff feared it was the start of the process to wind down Royal Mail's presence in Derby.

Royal Mail's head of external relations, Mike Dalton, was at pains to point out that it was not just Derby's sorting office that could close.

Leicester's mail centre might also shut, with staff transferred to Northampton. Mail from the Worcester offices could instead be sorted in Birmingham.

"The reason we think Nottingham is better than Derby is because of the logistics of the building itself," he said.

"The Derby building is a lot older. Nottingham is much better set up to use modern sorting technology. In essence, that's why Nottingham could be more favourable. If you look at any modern sorting office, everything is on a single level. The mail comes in one door and leaves through another.

"It's about what's best for us going forward, what site would take new computerised technology. This is not just about Derby, or whether it should be Derby or Nottingham. The review is about the whole of the Midlands."

In terms of what might happen to the Midland Road building, where a delivery office would still operate, Mr Dalton said nothing had been drawn up.

"We did not come up with a formal plan for what we would do with the rest of the site," he said.

Under the regional plans, the number of Royal Mail staff would fall by 550, to 18,000. The company said it was sorting much less post than in previous years and so it made sense to centralise it into four centres.

It has already agreed that there will be no compulsory redundancies. Instead, staff leaving or retiring will not be replaced.

Lee Barron, regional secretary from the Communication Workers' Union, said it was keen to ensure the best outcome for staff in Derby.

"Obviously there is genuine concern at any time of change," he said.

"It's about us securing agreements that avoid any compulsory redundancies. There are various packages in place to protect individuals – some of the terms on the table are going to be generous.

"There was always going to be a review of mail centres. We knew that was going to happen, following industrial action at the back end of 2009. We are free to make a viable counter-proposal. We are going to have to consult with the workforce."

[arnold cheshire]

i wish theyd give me 20k to move office

[POSTMAN]

I think the article makes it look like £20k is dropped in their lap if they move.

[oldrangersW12]

"I was given assurances by Royal Mail that operations in Derby were secure and that jobs would not be hived off to Nottingham,"

Royal mail lying? who'd of thought

[fishtank]

I think the article makes it look like £20k is dropped in their lap if they move.

They've obviously been reading BT2010 and did that journo thing where they just see a figure and write it down.

Excess Travel and Relocation from 1 April 2010 until 31 March 2013

The total amount reimbursed over the five year period would be subject to a £20,000 limit.

[stokes11eg]

I think the article makes it look like £20k is dropped in their lap if they move.

They've obviously been reading BT2010 and did that journo thing where they just see a figure and write it down.

Excess Travel and Relocation from 1 April 2010 until 31 March 2013

The total amount reimbursed over the five year period would be subject to a £20,000 limit.

Yes-- and note thr word reimbursment--you have to spend your own money first, then claim it back!

[not me]

the way it worked for us is they worked out the cost difference(for public transport) between getting g to the new office vs the new one from your home address
so if for example you lived nearer the new office you got £0