Hays DX seeks license extension for postal strike deliveries
Hays DX, the UK's leading private sector mail company, has applied to the Postal Regulator, Postcomm, for an extension of its existing licence to expand its business mail delivery service in the event of an official Royal Mail strike. If Postcomm approves the application, Hays DX will be able to limit the damaging effects of such action on the business community by delivering business mail to all business addresses in 50 city centres throughout the UK.
The service, known as 'Peace of Mind' from Hays DX, will be made available to existing customers, and will offer next day delivery to all businesses in the designated areas. The company has received an increasing number of enquiries from its customers over the past few months, expressing concern about potential strike action, and asking if Hays DX could do anything to help.
"Whilst nobody wants to see a national postal strike, it is clear that the recent media coverage and union comment is making many UK businesses very nervous indeed," said Neil Tregarthen, Managing Director of Hays DX. "For businesses that need to send and receive time-critical mail, a strike can prevent continuity of business and have serious financial repercussions. Using our 'Peace of Mind' service will limit this effect, and mean that businesses can still send and receive a material amount of their business mail during any industrial action."
Hays DX already delivers mail to over 36,000 business through its Document Exchange service, as well as to every business in Central London, Central Edinburgh and Central Manchester through the DX Metro service.
Pictures are available at http://www.newscast.co.uk/ (020 7608 1000)
Notes to Editors: The 50 towns/ cities that Hays DX is applying to deliver to are: Scotland Postcodes Edinburgh EH1, EH2, EH3, EH11, EH12 Perth PH1, PH2 Aberdeen AB10, AB11, AB12 Dundee DD1, DD2, DD3 Glasgow G1, G2, G3, G4, G31, G32, G33, G69, G70, G71, G72, G73, G74, G75, G76, G77, G78, G81, G81, G82, G83, G84 :: Wales & South West Bristol BS1, BS8, BS99 Swindon SN1, SN2 Taunton TA1 Exeter EX1, EX2, EX4 Plymouth PL1, PL2, PL4 Cardiff CF1, CF2, CF10 Swansea SA1, SA2 Bath BA1 Gloucester GL50 :: East Anglia Cambridge CB1, CB4 Ipswich IP1 Norwich NR1 Peterborough PE1 :: Lake District Carlisle CA1 :: Yorkshire Bradford BD1, BD2, BD3, BD16, BD17, BD18, BD21, BD23 Doncaster DN1, DN15, DN31, DN32 Hull HU1, HU13 Halifax HX1 Leeds LS1, LS2, LS6, LS8, LS12, LS14, LS15, LS18, LS22, LS25, LS26, LS27, LS28 Sheffield S1, S2, S3, S60, S61, S65, S70, S71 York YO1,Y11,Y12 :: North West Blackburn BB1, BB2, BB5, BB10, BB11 Chester CH1, CH2, CH4 Liverpool L1, L3, L4, L5, L20, L21, L22, L37, L36, L38, L39 Manchester M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M60, M11, M12, M13, M14, M15, M16, M17, M22, M24, M90, M32, M33 Preston PR1 :: North East Newcastle NE1, NE98, NE99 Sunderland SR1 Teeside/Middlesborough TS1 :: Midlands Derby DE1 Milton Keynes MK1, MK2, MK3, MK4, MK5, MK6, MK7, MK8, MK9, MK40 Nottingham NG1, NG2, NG3, NG4, NG5, NG6, NG7, NG18, NG24, NG25, NG26, NG27, NG28, NG29, NG30, NG31 Birmingham B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B70, B71, B98, B72, B90, B91, B15, B16 Coventry CV1, CV2, CV3, CV10, CV12, CV21, CV32, CV34, CV37 Oxford OX1, OX2, OX3 Northampton NN1 Leicester LE1 :: South East London WC, EC, W1, W2, W6, SW1, SW3, SW6, SW11, SW19, SE1, E1, E14, E18, N1, N22, NW1, NW3, NW10 Croydon CR0, CR9 Reading RG1, SL6 Guildford GU1, GU2 :: Essex Chelmsford CM1-2 :: South Coast Brighton BN1, BN3, BN11, BN21, BN22, BN23, BN24, BN26, BN27 Southampton SO1, SO2 :: N. Ireland Belfast BT1
1. There are currently 36,000 DX members who send over 1 million items of mail by DX each day. DX is a pre-9am business mail service to a network of local collection and delivery points across the UK at a saving of up to 30% against Royal Mail rates.
2. Hays DX introduced the Document exchange service in 1975. Today Hays DX is the leading private sector mail player in the UK and is perfectly positioned to support its customers in achieving better service and greater value from the ongoing liberalisation of postal markets.
3. Hays DX has invested heavily in infrastructure and technology, breaking new ground in the field of business mail services. Hays DX strongly believes that business critical mail deserves proven reliability, tailor-made solutions and ever improving value for money and is committed to using the changes in the regulation of the mail market to provide its customers with just that.
4. Hays DX currently operates in the following sectors: Legal and Judiciary, Financial Services, Retail Finance, Property and Construction, Government, Health, Utilities, Optical and Commercial. It is a wholly owned subsidiary
Contact: For further information, and photography, please contact: Andy Rowlands – Bell Pottinger Communications – 020 7861 2439/ 07932 042 656 or Carolyn Dealey – Bell Pottinger Communications – 020 7861 2452
from ft.com 1/5/02
Hays seeks to deliver post on strike day
Financial Times; May 1, 2002
By ANDREA FELSTED and SARAH LAITNER
Hays, the support services group, has asked the postal regulator for permission to expand its licensed mail services in the event of an official Royal Mail strike.
Last week, the Communication Workers' Union said postal workers would bring mail services to a halt on May 8 in the first national postal strike for six years. The union is locked in a dispute with Consignia over pay and delivery standards.
Under an interim licence awarded to Hays in September, the group can collect and deliver mail before 8am in the business districts of London, Manchester and Edinburgh.
Hays has applied for the licence to be extended to allow it to deliver business mail to all business addresses in 50 city centres throughout the UK during a Royal Mail strike.
It denied that the next-day delivery service was opportunistic, and said it would be available only to existing customers.
But some industry observers will see the move as an attempt to offer strike-breaking services and evidence of "cherry picking" by private sector operators.
Neil Tregarthen, managing director of Hays DX, the mail business, said: "Whilst nobody wants to see a national postal strike, it is clear that the recent media coverage and union comment is making many UK businesses very nervous indeed."
However, Postcomm said there was no possibility of a decision on extending Hays's licence before May 8. A decision is unlikely before the end of June.
"It would be very unlikely these licences could be used for one-day strikes," the regulator said.
Last year, Deya, a logistics and distribution company, won a 12-month licence from Postcomm to provide postal services for local authorities and utility services if there were disruption of the Royal Mail service.
Meanwhile, MPs yesterday hit out at Postcomm's plans for rapid liberalisation of the postal market, accusing it of making "decisions in the dark" that could hit the universal postal service.
The Commons public accounts committee urged the regulator to "err on the side of caution" over its plans and said the "adversarial and unconstructive" relationship between Consignia and Postcomm should end.
Copyright: The Financial Times Limited 1995-2002
