Union urges help for bigger UK post offices

Unions have called on the government to give financial support to the UK’s high street post offices in a bid to avoid closures.

Amicus and the Communication Workers’ Union, which represent post office managers and workers respectively, told a committee of MPs yesterday that the so-called Crown Offices deserved the same help given by the Department of Trade and Industry to rural post offices.

The 555 flagship post offices directly owned and managed by Post Office Ltd are thought to be losing about Pounds 70m a year, and parent Royal Mail is reviewing their future. Although the state-owned group has said closures would be limited by relocation and franchising deals with retailers, Royal Mail has admitted that only 320 of the branches are commercially viable.

The DTI has pledged Pounds 150m of subsidies each year until 2008 for rural post offices and has also provided cash for the refurbishment of urban sub-post offices.

Billy Hayes, general secretary of the CWU, said the government should not be “let off the hook” as government business made up a big part of post offices’ work. Rebecca Bream