Tag: Royal Mail

Royal Mail paid twice for letters to charity (UK)

Posted by | Jun 17, 2008 | |

The Royal Mail is often being paid twice for donors’ letters to charities, Third Sector (June 11) reveals.
Many charities supply Freepost envelopes to supporters but tell them that if they use a stamp it will save the charity money. But the Royal Mail has introduced an automated system for sorting Freepost envelopes that cannot tell whether envelopes are stamped. So unless their staff spot the stamps, the charity will pay postage and the donor will pay for the stamp.
“Royal Mail has failed to properly communicate to charities the change in circumstances,” says Lindsay Boswell, the Chief Executive of the Institute of Fundraising.
WaterAid has stopped asking donors to put stamps on Freepost envelopes and Samaritans has changed its wording from “if you use a stamp it will save us money” to “it could save us money”. Twelve charities from the Direct Marketers in Fundraising Group met Royal Mail in March to find a solution but say the company cancelled a follow-up meeting. A Royal Mail spokesman
A task force will study how charities can deliver more welfare-to-work initiatives.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) jointly launched the task force, reports Third Sector Online.
The voluntary sector missed out on most DWP contracts to provide back-to-work services for people on incapacity benefit last year. The task force will look at the barriers the sector faces.

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Action looming at Royal Mail

Posted by | Jun 17, 2008 | |

Postal workers could start a national strike later this year after delegates at last week’s CWU union conference voted unanimously for action against attacks on their pensions, threats to shut scores of offices, and the menace of privatisation.

The CWU estimates that around 40,000 jobs are at risk from management plans.

Deputy general secretary Dave Ward told delegates that the government’s liberalisation of the postal service stood behind the attacks.

“We know that we can’t simply strike our way out of this situation – and that there must be a political solution to the problems we face – but if management don’t back off, we will ballot for strike action,” he said.

He added that the timetable for the strike “will be designed to maximise pressure on the company and the government”, but that the union would offer talks before a ballot is implemented.

Bob Gibson, the CWU assistant secretary outdoor, said that the coming dispute would be even more important than last year’s.

In closed session several delegates warned the union’s leadership not to flag up compromises before the start of any negotiations.

It is expected that the union will initiate a ballot for strike action in August, with action likely from September onwards.

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Postal unions warn of strikes over post office closures

Posted by | Jun 16, 2008 | |

A postal workers’ union delivered an ultimatum to the Government, saying there will be escalating strike action unless it abandons plans to axe 2,500 post offices and franchise out 83 Crown Offices.
The Communication Workers Union assistant secretary Andy Furey said “the Government can’t afford not to support this vital public service”.
In a letter to MPs, the union warns: “If a settlement is not reached, an industrial action ballot is inevitable.”
David Drew, Labour MP for Stroud, blamed Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier and chairman Alan Leighton.
He said they had “taken Manchester United and turned them into Derby County”

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Postmen told to ditch bikes for trolleys (UK)

Posted by | Jun 16, 2008 | |

Postmen have been told to use trolleys instead of using their bikes, so their shoulders are not injured carrying heavy mail bags.

The move, which has been introduced in Lancashire, comes after one depot took delivery of 60 new bicycles.

All delivery offices in the county are taking part in the trial, which aims to reduce shoulder strain by replacing the bike with “high-capacity” trolleys, which can carry more mail.

But the move has not gone down well with all postmen and women.

One worker from the Leyland depot, where trolleys are currently being favoured over bikes, said: “We are absolutely baffled. They tell us it is health and safety because of the big bags we have on our shoulders but the bikes have saddle bags, so that makes no sense either.

“Can you imagine having to walk miles away from the office, all the time getting further and further away and then having to come back? They are going to be knackered.”

He said postmen and women on the routes chosen for the trial had been told they had “no option” other than to use the trolleys, despite Royal Mail having bought 60 new bikes last year.

The Royal Mail spokesman insisted that “the majority of staff” still had the option of using bicycles on their deliveries.

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Post offices may be reopened under council subsidy plan (UK)

Posted by | Jun 15, 2008 | |

An agreement between the Post Office, the Government and local councils means that, in theory, every one of the 2,500 branches earmarked for closure under a cost-cutting plan could be saved.
Ministers ordered cuts to the network to reduce its GBP 150 million-a-year subsidy. However, councils have been looking for ways to avoid closures in the face of a growing public backlash.
The first post offices to be reprieved are in Essex, where the county council is expected to announce in the next 10 days that it has saved at least 15 of 31 branches closed this year.

The council has set aside up to GBP 1.5 million for the scheme. Some post offices will be reopened on the same premises, while pubs, cricket clubs, libraries and shops will become home to a post office in other cases.
The pilot has attracted interest from councils, with 100 local authorities contacting the Post Office. Half of those are already in talks to follow suit.
However, Alan Cook, the managing director of the Post Office, said the obstacles had been overcome. “We have got to the point where we have established a model that will work for local authority funding,” he said.
The news was welcomed by the postal watchdog. Howard Webber, the chief executive of Postwatch, said: “I feel qualified joy that there could be any extra post offices which offer more services to customers, providing it does not have a damaging impact on the post offices that are remaining in the network.”
Last year, the Government ordered Royal Mail, which owns the Post Office, to close 2,500 branches. By the middle of last week, 764 branches had been shut and 41 saved.
Earlier this month, post office managers told a Commons committee that a further 4,000 branches could be closed.

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