GBP 1,000 to axe 2nd delivery bonus offer to postmen

EIGHTY thousand posties will get pounds 20-a-week more to scrap the second delivery.

They also stand to pocket a pounds 1,000 one-off bonus if the move saves as much as bosses expect.

They will have to work longer shifts and will have bigger delivery rounds.

Chief executive Adam Crozier revealed the plan after Royal Mail said it had slashed losses by pounds 120million in the past year.

Leaders of the Communication Workers’ Union have backed the proposed sweetener for staff.

If it wins support at the union’s annual conference in June, Royal Mail will start single del-iveries in 93 regions from July.

Chairman Allan Leighton admitted: “When we did the trials we buggered it up.

“But we know this is the way to go and we’ve reached agreement with the union on the best way forward now.

“This will be the biggest single change to the postal service in this country since the introduction of the Penny Black.” Mr Leighton paid a big tribute to staff for helping “stop the rot” at Royal Mail. He predicted it would make a profit this year.

The day-to-day businesses – Royal Mail, Post Office and Parcelforce – lost pounds 197million in the year to April, a 38 per cent improvement on the one before. Mr Leighton said this owed much to the fact that walkouts were the lowest for a decade.

Workers took 5,766 strike days during the year ending in March. That was less than 10 per cent of the average for the previous two years.

Some 53,140 days were lost in 2001-02, when Royal Mail was hit by a damaging dispute at its Liverpool and Watford sorting offices.

And one-day strikes claimed 810,938 lost days in 1996/7.

Mr Leighton said: “Half the days lost to strikes in British industry used to be attributable to Royal Mail.

“Last year it was less than half of one per cent.”

Royal Mail’s total losses were pounds 611million, down from pounds 1.1billion. Nearly 17,000 workers left, and a similar number will go over the next three years.

CWU leader Billy Hayes said: “The Royal Mail chairman hit the nail on the head when he said our people have stopped the rot.”

Peter Carr, chairman of postal watchdog Postwatch, said: “This is very good news and the management should be congratulated.”

Caption: SHIFTS: Posties will work longer

Copyright: MGN Ltd