Austrian Post Company Profile
Austrian Post Company Profile
Read MoreTag: Domestic
Consumers and Members of Parliament demand to see Royal Mail financial report
Royal Mail came under attack yesterday for refusing to publish its delayed financial results as it emerged that it has given them to the postal regulator.
Royal Mail would not give a reason, but speculation is growing that it wants to avoid controversy over executive bonuses or hide the fact that its financial performance is better than expected. Both issues would prove tricky as it battles with the Communication Workers Union.
Royal Mail said that it had not set a date to make the results public. The figures are for its year to the end of March and usually are published in May. It has avoided a fine by sending the numbers to Postcomm within a deadline set by its license, but the regulator has no obligation to make them public.
The delay comes as postal workers are staging a month of strikes in the worst dispute to hit the business for 11 years and as thousands of post offices are being closed.
Royal Mail had to supply figures to Postcomm no later than four months after the end of the financial reporting period, (therefore, July 31) to fulfill its license. It is obliged to file the accounts with Companies House at the end of next month, six months after the close of its reporting period.
Read MoreMove to ease UK postal price controls
Royal Mail should be allowed to increase the price of a second-class stamp from 24p to 29p by 2010 to help its ‘deteriorating financial position, the postal operator’s regulator proposed on Thursday.
But the latest financial data from Royal Mail highlighted the urgent need for the operator to cut costs and improve its productivity.
Nigel Stapleton, Postcomm’s chairman, warned that “significant concerns” about Royal Mail’s financial position had emerged from an interim review of the 2006-10 price control imposed by the regulator.
Postcomm intended to allow some Royal Mail prices to increase “because its financial position is now weaker than it, and we, had envisaged when the control was finalized in May 2006”, Mr Stapleton said.
Under the proposals, the price of a second-class stamp could increase to 29p by 2010, as opposed to the 26p cap under the original control.
The increase would allow Royal Mail to cut the price of bulk business mail, and other items where it faces direct competition from rivals, to try to staunch its loss of market share.
Postcomm warned that Royal Mail had “not capitalised on opportunities” in growing areas of the market, such as online orders for packets – a criticism the company flatly rejected. The regulator said Royal Mail was failing to meet its annual 3 per cent target for improving efficiency, achieving only 1.9 per cent for 2006-07 and a forecast 0.6 per cent over the next three years. Royal Mail’s own analysis suggests it achieved gains of 4.6 per cent in 2006-07.
Read MoreChicago postal service is rebounding
The Chicago District of the U.S. Postal Service announced Wednesday that it had improved its delivery rate through reforms a few months after the U.S. postmaster slammed the city for having the worst mail delivery in the nation.
District Manager Gloria Tyson said an audit of Chicago’s mail operation by IBM Consulting Services found that 93 percent of first-class, overnight mail arrived on time between April and July, compared with 90 percent the previous quarter.
The increase was the result of the district hiring more than 240 more carriers, overhauling equipment and correcting nearly 143,000 addresses, Tyson said.
The announcement drew praise from U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill), who in May oversaw a House subcommittee hearing on the city’s mail operation that aired complaints from disgruntled customers, business leaders and lawmakers.
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill) said her office had heard from more than 120 frustrated postal customers this year.
Davis said previous managers of Chicago’s mail operation had insisted there were enough carriers, even as the union argued otherwise. He said the recent audit proved the managers had been wrong.
On an April visit to Chicago, U.S. Postmaster Gen. John E. Potter is finishing an audit of the Chicago district, which will highlight problems and suggest solutions.
Read MoreJoint statement – Royal Mail dispute
Following a meeting between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union last Thursday 9th August, the national postal strike has been called off.
At a meeting today between Allan Leighton, Adam Crozier, Billy Hayes and Dave Ward, it was agreed:
• That both parties commit to talks on all the issues between them, hosted and facilitated by the TUC and supported by ACAS. Both sides commit to reach an agreement by 4 September
• That during this period the talks are on a confidential basis with no media or internal briefings unless explicitly jointly agreed. The CWU Executive and Royal Mail Board will receive regular updates on progress and would also be expected to undertake this confidentiality clause
• That for that period, Royal Mail will not serve notice or take any unilateral action to impose changes by executive action
• That for the same period CWU will suspend industrial action
• That the signatories to this joint statement will review the process as and when necessary
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