Postmen 'To sell stamps on doorstep'
RURAL postmen could sell stamps and collect mail from doorsteps under radical plans being drawn up by the Government.
Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt wants to offer extra services in isolated parts of Britain in a bid to breathe life into the ailing Post Office.
Other plans include opening post offices in village pubs and mobile offices travelling to small villages every week.
Ministers are also considering whether postmen could collect and deliver cash to homes.
In an article for the Daily Express, Ms Hewitt acknowledged the company has “too many” problems.
“The Post Office has simply failed to adapt to modern life, ” she said. “We send millions more e-mails and text messages than letters. The fax, phone and Internet mean the Post Office can no longer depend on mail increasing.”
But she pledged: “We are going to help sub-post offices to make a success of banking – to help replace the High Street banks which have shut their own branches.
“Our rural postmen and women could follow the lead of the European counterparts and sell stamps and collect as well as deliver mail.
“The company could experiment further with mobile post offices which call each week at small villages. Or put post offices in the village pub or hall – or in a training centre or community cafe in an inner-city neighbourhood.
“And let’s recruit older workers to run them as volunteers or on a modest part-time salary.”
She added that the public would also accept plans to scrap the second post delivery of the day to cut costs and warned that painful decisions would have to be made to improve services.
The company is losing around £1.5million every day and is in the process of shedding 30,000 jobs and closing 3,000 sub-post offices.
Ms Hewitt warned that price rises were on the way to help the Post Office modernise and that it would have to start competing with banks by offering services such as household insurance.
The Trade Secretary said many people were stunned when the Post Office’s name was changed to Consignia and welcomed the change back.
She said: “But though this is an important signal, the Post Office has too many problems to be sorted out just by reverting back to its well-loved name. It will mean painful decisions.
“Making people redundant is always a miserable business.
But more changes will be needed, affecting the consumer as well as staff.
“The union itself has suggested scrapping the second delivery each day. It only accounts for four out of every 100 letters delivered but for over 20 per cent of costs.
“I think consumers would accept it if it guaranteed one reliable delivery every day “And because our mail is among the cheapest in Europe, a price rise will almost certainly be necessary but only to help the Post Office modernise, not to subsidise inefficiency.”
A total of £270million from the Government is to be earmarked for the modernisation and protection of community post offices. It will also compensate sub-postmasters who leave.
Ministers are looking at services on the continent which have adapted to new technology.
Britain currently has the highest number of post offices per person of any major European country.
