Post Office to cut 150 jobs weeks after appointing 'highly paid' directors

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The Post Office is planning to cut 150 jobs, many of them senior posts, according to Unite.

The union said the move came weeks after the company announced the appointment of more than 30 "highly paid" directors.

Unite officer Brian Scott said: "This appears to be a strategy to reward those at the top at the expense of the workers delivering the service.

"This is down to the lack of commitment from the government and a rickety management that does not have a coherent strategy going forward.

"As the shareholder, the government should be investing in new products and services in the Post Office that allows it to grow, prosper and become sustainable for the benefit of the public."

A Post Office spokesman said: "We are creating a leaner and flatter structure and this means we are making changes at all levels of the business.

"If changes are proposed, our people would always be the first to know.

"The term director reflects the increased spans of control which have been introduced for a number of people.

"These changes are not about promotions or pay increases."

Mr Scott said the news came five weeks after the company announced the appointment of more than 30 directors.

He added: "These redundancies, which are part of the Post Office 'slash and burn' approach, are a result of its failed business plan.

"They are unacceptable and unnecessary.

"The trusted Post Office brand and reputation are at stake, as is public confidence in the Post Office.

"Unite once again calls on government to put the activities of the Post Office under the microscope as opposed to simply accepting what it is being told by this dismal management.

"Government has a responsibility, as guardian of the public's interest, to make sure that its investment in the Post Office has been spent properly and that the business plans stand up to robust scrutiny."

Unite, and the Communication Workers Union, have been embroiled in a long-running dispute over pensions which sparked strikes last year.

The Post Office added: "These changes are not about promotions or pay increases, and resulted in a reduction to our cost base."

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Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the power the union has over the Post Office is gone, as was demonstrated over the xmas strikes, which had a negligible impact on the operation. Now we're seeing decisions such as in this article because they know there's no resistance.

So let that be a warning to us all in the RMG, you have to stand up and be counted before it's too late. What happens over the pensions and the upcoming changes in terms will be a real testing ground for the union resolve.