Year: 2003

Post office staff are preparing for a fight with Royal Mail group after being told individual branches will have to pay to smarten up their image.

In an attempt to make the loss-making network profitable, David Mills, chief executive of the Post Office, a subsidiary of Royal Mail group, is planning to rebrand the post offices, including smartening up premises, introducing new uniforms and rolling out personal loans and credit cards.

However, sub-postmasters have been told they will need to improve their image at their own cost.

“To compete with the banks and building societies head on we have to change the physical environment that we work in, and our staff will have to step up to the mark,” said Mr Mills.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has backed away from a damaging strike, allowing more time for talks with Royal Mail. The union represents 160,000 Royal Mail staff who are threatening to walk out over pay and job cuts. Strikes would seriously disrupt cash flow and possibly even bankrupt the troubled British postal operator.

Leaders of the CWU have delayed voting on industrial action after meeting with political pressure to avert Britain’s first national postal strike since 1996. The ballot, due to begin on August 21, has been postponed by at least a week. In the meantime, the union has asked for more talks with Royal Mail negotiators at the conciliation service, Acas.

Private companies may be called in to deliver letters to millions of homes if a planned national postal strike goes ahead.

Postwatch, the government’s consumer watchdog for mail, is to call on Patricia Hewitt, the trade secretary, to suspend Royal Mail’s monopoly for a year if industrial action takes place as planned in the autumn.

The prospect of a year’s business is thought necessary for private companies to invest in the infrastructure to cover a strike, even if it goes on for much less than 12 months.

“We are very concerned that the dispute will result in customers being ignored,” said Peter Carr, chairman of Postwatch. “We therefore expect the secretary of state to suspend Royal Mail’s monopoly for a year. This is what we will be calling for.”

Royal Mail has agreed to bring in tougher working practices to tackle widespread complaints of sexual harassment and discrimination.

The company is to appoint 22 independent investigators, introduce monthly staff surveys and monitoring, and open a bullying hotline. In addition, managers are be trained to deal with complaints, and external reviews will be carried out.

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) is to suspend its seven-month investigation into claims of bullying of female staff while Royal Mail attempts to clamp down on the alleged problem. The commission says the investigation will resume if the situation does not improve.