Post offices accused of second blackmail

Post office bosses were last night accused of a second blackmail after thousands of staff has been offered GBP 1,000 bonuses to keep quiet about branch mergers.

More than 1,500 employees working in Britain's largest post offices have been promised the cash on the grounds that they do not criticise the decision to transfer services to WH Smith.

It comes just days after the Daily Mail revealed that Post Office bosses considered spying on sub-postmasters to ensure they were cooperating with their closure programme.

Thousands of post-office staff have been offered GBP 1,000 bonuses to keep quiet about branch mergers

Alan Cook, the Post Office's managing director, has sent a letter to all staff who work for 'crown' – or main – post offices threatening to withdraw the bonus if they oppose the mergers.

It warned: "A lump sum payment of GBP 1,000 will be made to all colleagues in branches that will convert to W H Smith.

The letter went on to make clear that examples of protest include "asking customers to sign a petition or handing out leaflets during working hours, or taking part in strike action… any individual colleague who supports or is involved in activities that oppose our plans, during working hours, will not qualify for the payment".

Mr Cook's letter is set to provoke fury among staff as it comes amid reports that he is in line for a GBP 1 million bonus.

The high-flying executive, who earns GBP 250,000-a-year, is set to receive a bonus of 80 per cent of his annual salary every year if he hits the closure timetable and returns to the Royal Mail to profit by 2011.

But critics last night accused post office chiefs of attempting to 'gag' low-paid workers.
Liberal Democrat spokseman Lembit Opik added: "Whilst the Post Office may argue that it is only stopping resistance to these changes during working hours, it is clear that this is a gagging order to try and smooth the passage of a sell-off which the public doesn't want and which employees are opposed to.

"It would be much better for the Post Office to engage positively with its workforce instead of offering them the King's shilling to keep quiet."

The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) has warned that workers who switch over to WH Smith are facing pay cuts – as the company pays just over the minimum wage of GBP 5.35-an-hour – and reduced pension provisions.

Many employees were told in July whether theirs was one of the 2,500 branches to close – but were warned not to update customers for another three months.

From January next year, Royal Mail is to start closing 2,500 of the country's 14,300 post offices in a move which it says is essential to ensure the long-term prospects of government-owned company.

Adam Crozier, chief executive of Royal Mail, is understood to have been paid a bonus of GBP 370,000 on top of his GBP 615,000 annual salary last year.

Union leaders said it was 'perverse' that executives were being rewarded for cutting services. Andy Furey, from the Communication Workers Union, said: "It seems perverse. You reduce the service to the public in order to get a bonus. You would have thought improving the service would be rewarded."

A Royal Mail spokesman last night insisted that the level of Mr Cook's bonus would not be linked to the closure programme. He added that details about bonuses were included in the company's annual report, which had not yet been published.

The Royal Mail first announced the WH Smith plans last year.

Under the proposals, around 85 crown post offices will be replaced with a post office counter at their nearest branch of the retailer.