Last post for (UK) High Street post offices – says Amicus

Amicus Britain’s second largest union representing 15,000 managers and staff working for Royal Mail and other postal operators will issue a wake-up call for action to be taken to protect the future of high street post offices when it meets backbench MPs in the House of Commons today (16/11/04).

Amicus

Amicus recognises that high street post offices are an essential community service that must be preserved at all costs.

1800 bank branches will close between 2005 -2010. 11274 retail bank branches including 2824 building societies have already closed (source: Campaign for Community Banking). High Street post offices provide a vital social and economic service to the community particularly against the bank drop of the banks retreat from the high street.

The union in evidence to the House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee will be pressing for:

– Government to consider an Urban Network Payment to maintain high street post offices as an interim or ongoing measure

– A complete review of Royal Mail strategy to assess the impact of postal competition on the Post Office network.

– The future of directly managed post offices to be assessed by local need for postal services and not solely financially driven by the ease of property sale, conversion to franchised operation or closure.

– The social role of the Post Office network to be defined and a commitment made to fund it, with contributions sought from organisations that benefit from the Post Office, such as other retailers, banks and local authorities.

– a thorough review to improve efficiency and productivity in the directly managed sector.

Peter Skyte, Amicus National Officer, said:

“Without further action by Government and the public, this will be the last post for Britain’s high street post office network as it faces death by a thousand cuts.

Royal Mail is selling off or closing an essential community service in a piecemeal fashion which will lead to greater financial and social exclusion.”

Post Office Ltd is part of Royal Mail Group, which is a public limited company wholly owned by the Government. The company operates 560 Directly Managed Branches, formerly known as Crown Offices, with costs that currently run at an estimated deficit of GBP70 million. Royal Mail is currently undertaking a review of its Directly Managed Branches but it is rumoured that the company is planning to close or sell at least half of its offices in order to save on operational costs. It is this review that has prompted the Select Committee Inquiry.

Note for editors:

1. The Communication Managers section of Amicus represents the interests of over 15000 managers and senior managers working within the Royal Mail, of whom nearly 2000 are managers in Post Office Limited.

2. In addition Amicus represents members in other postal operators such as Deutsche Post and over 1 million members of Amicus are themselves users of postal services in the UK.

3. Amicus will be presenting its evidence to the House of Commons Trade and Industry Committee in the Thatcher Room in Portcullis House, Westminster at 3.30pm on Tuesday 16 November 2004.

For more information please contact: Ciaran Naidoo +44(0)7768-931-315 Peter Skyte +44(0)7768-931302(m)