Strikes and floods cause poor service results by Royal Mail
With the release of their half-year performance results, Royal Mail has confirmed what customers already knew: this summer’s official and unofficial strikes and the widespread flooding seriously affected the quality of postal services throughout the UK.
Howard Webber, Chief Executive of Postwatch, commenting on Royal Mail’s announcement said, “Given the floods and the industrial dispute, customers will not be surprised that Royal Mail’s performance has been seriously below par during the summer. There will, however, be a collective sigh of relief that the bad news is over and that the future looks distinctly brighter.
“Industrial peace between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union means the industry, after a step backwards, can take great strides forward. Next year, customers should expect Royal Mail to be announcing a much improved performance. That should help all of us to post with confidence.”
Notes to Editors
1. Royal Mail’s delivery performance results can be found at www.royalmailgroup.com The headline figure is that on average only 85.1 per cent of 1st class stamped mail was delivered next day from April to September 2007. The annualised licence target is at least 93 per cent to be delivered next day.
2. Royal Mail‘s performance for its third quarter (announced by end February 2008) and for the whole of 2007/08 (announced by end of May 2008) will continue to show the effects of the industrial action.
3. The first 24 hour strike took place on 29 June. The last official industrial action was a 48 hour strike which started on 8 October.
4. Royal Mail’s delivery performance differs between postcode areas. The following tables show the 20 best and the 20 worst performing postcode areas:
TOP 20
1 HA Harrow 89.9
2 LU Luton 89.6
3 KT Kingston upon Thames 89.4
3 TN Tonbridge 89.4
3 TW Twickenham 89.4
6 TR Truro 89.1
7 RH Redhill 88.5
8 CR Croydon 88.4
9 BD Bradford 88.3
9 BR Bromley 88.3
11 NW London NW 88.1
11 SG Stevenage 88.1
13 AL St Albans 88.0
14 WC London West Central 87.9
15 EC City of London 87.8
15 UB Uxbridge 87.8
17 CB Cambridge 87.7
17 HX Halifax 87.7
17 W London West 87.7
20 PE Peterborough 87.5
BOTTOM 20
1 OX Oxford 78.4
2 CO Colchester 78.7
3 CM Chelmsford 80.1
4 DD Dundee 80.5
4 FK Falkirk 80.5
6 ST Stoke-on-Trent 80.6
7 WV Wolverhampton 80.8
8 KY Kirkcaldy 81.5
9 EH Edinburgh 81.9
10 B Birmingham 82.0
10 PH Perth 82.0
12 S Sheffield 82.3
13 HU Hull 82.5
14 DY Dudley 82.6
15 N London N 82.7
16 SS Southend-on-Sea 82.8
17 CV Coventry & Warwickshire 82.9
18 SW London SW 83.0
19 ML Motherwell 83.4
20 CH Chester & Deeside 83.5
