Post Office campaigners call to end controversial plans

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Post Office campaigners call to end controversial plans to franchise town's main office

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Campaigners say franchising will result in a loss of jobs and a poorer service for customers and have, along with MP Michael McCann, called on Post Office management to abandon the plans.

Campaigners are calling on the Post Office to bin controversial plans to franchise East Kilbride’s main office once and for all and end months of uncertainty for staff and customers.

The Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) and the town’s MP, Michael McCann say it is time to “stop flogging a dead horse” and end “East Kilbride’s Post Office Panto” with seemingly no announcement on possible retail partners forthcoming.

The Post Office management say franchising is necessary to save the Crown network, which they say is running at a loss of £37million per year.

But campaigners say franchising will result in a loss of jobs and a poorer service for customers.

Mr McCann last week wrote to Connie Hewitt, who is the Post Office’s senior stakeholder manager Scotland, asking her to abandon the franchise plans, which he described as a “pantomime”.

Michael plans to follow up with a letter of complaint to Vince Cable at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.

In his letter to Ms Hewitt he stated: “The Post Office have said that each of the Crown Post Offices have received at least one bid for a franchise.

“However, despite repeated attempts to secure more information about that process none has been forthcoming.

“Would it be fair to assume then that any franchise bid that was received for the East Kilbride Crown Post Office was unsuitable? This process has been going on for a long time and it is unacceptable that the loyal staff working in East Kilbride continue to have a dark cloud hanging over their futures.

“I therefore wish to know if any further bids have been received to franchise the East Kilbride Crown Post Office.

“If the answer is “no” I will be writing to Vince Cable at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills to ask him to end this pantomime.

“The service provided by the staff in East Kilbride is second to none. Their trade union, the Communications Workers Union (CWU), have acted impeccably in their negotiations with Post Office management.

“They have put forward sound plans for the business which would see it remain in public ownership and preserve the quality of the services which people know and trust in the town.

“This franchise business has been slow and agonising and, unless you tell me any differently, unproductive.

“Consequently, do you not agree with me that there is no longer any point in continuing to flog a dead horse?”

The CWU are backing Mr McCann’s bid to bring an end to franchising plans.

Liam Murphy, CWU Territorial Representative, said: “The CWU share the concerns of Michael McCann MP over the future of East Kilbride Crown Post Office.

“The fact that the Post Office more or less put a for sale sign on East Kilbride Post Office, putting at risk the jobs of the staff, and here we are, 18 months later, and they still can’t tell the staff if they will have a job going forward, or tell the community of East Kilbride, whether they will have a Crown Post Office or not is unacceptable.

“The arrogance shown by the people running the Post Office is unbelievable. They have shown no consideration for either the public or staff in East Kilbride.

“They seem to be more interested in a policy of managing decline, rather than finding new work to replace the work that this Tory a Government has taken from the Post Office.”

The Post Office failed to respond before our deadline.

[subbie]

A Post Office Official has told me that out of the 70 Crown Offices put forward for franchising 26 have converted to a new operator, 22to WH Smith and 4 to independent owners, and that POL only have 8 or 9 more serious expressions of interest no one else is interested, not even a 50% success rate.

Subbie

[manboss]

A Post Office Official has told me that out of the 70 Crown Offices put forward for franchising 26 have converted to a new operator, 22to WH Smith and 4 to independent owners, and that POL only have 8 or 9 more serious expressions of interest no one else is interested, not even a 50% success rate.

Subbie

If that is true, I feel sorry for the 44 offices, that's a lot of staff still in limbo.