PO trials parcel delivery deals
PARCELFORCE, the parcels division of the Post Office, has begun contracting out parcel deliveries in seven towns and cities around the UK, raising fears of thousands of job losses among its 12,000 workforce.
The trials in Woking, Reading, Aldershot, Leeds, Milton Keynes, Luton and West London are seen as a precursor to sweeping changes in the business throughout the country.
One industry insider said that as much as half the Parcelforce workforce could be under threat. But the Post Office would be expected to try to redeploy staff and rely on natural wastage.
The company has been in discussions with unions over both contracting out to other companies and the prospect of some employees becoming “owner-drivers” – delivering parcels under contract to Parcelforce without being directly employed by the PO.
Parcelforce, which has lost money for most of the last decade, is keen to cut its costs and make the business more flexible. It has argued that its many rivals have more efficient business practices, and that unlike Parcelforce, they do not have a universal service obligation.
