Unions today threatened strike action over Royal Mail’s “ruthless” plans to axe 1600 jobs, just months after the newly privatised postal operator reported a first-half profit of £233 million.
The first redundancies since the Government part-privatised Royal Mail in October involve 1600 managers, mostly from its Victoria head office. The Unite union, which represents 7000 Royal Mail managers, said it was considering industrial action.
“Unite is demanding a commitment to no compulsory redundancies on fair terms and an effective method for redeployment within the restructured organisation. If Royal Mail refuse, we will have no alternative than to consider a ballot for industrial action,” the union’s Brian Scott said.
“First the Government sells-off Royal Mail on the cheap and now the newly privatised service is ruthlessly sacrificing jobs. It’s more proof that Royal Mail’s primary reason for existing is now about making profits rather than serving the nation.”
Royal Mail, led by Moya Greene, said it would also create 300 jobs so only 1300 posts were being axed. It added that no delivery staff were affected by its “efficiency programme”.
Almost 50,000 staff have left the company since 2003. Greene, who earned £1.5 million last year, said: “This is the best way to ensure the continued delivery of the universal service and the good-quality jobs we provide for our people.” But Dave Ward, deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, which represents 134,000 postal staff, branded the job cuts “deeply concerning”, adding: “We will fight to protect as many jobs as possible.”
The 500-year-old postal service only narrowly avoided a strike at Christmas, after reaching a last-minute pay deal giving delivery workers a three-year pay rise worth about 9%.
Royal Mail today claimed its job-cutting plans would save £50 million a year, but said that the redundancy process would cost £100 million.
In February, Royal Mail announced plans to raise the price of first-class stamps by 2p to 62p and second-class by 3p to 53p.
Ahead of the annual results in May, Business Secretary Vince Cable has also warned on Greene’s pay, saying that a salary increase of more than 3% could prompt the Government, which retains a 30% stake, to vote against Royal Mail’s remuneration policies. That contrasts with the views of chairman Donald Brydon, who believes Greene deserves a substantial pay rise.
Shares in Royal Mail today fell 8p to 576p — still sharply higher than their 330p float price, which has seen critics brand the sell-off “botched”.
