Tag: Royal Mail

Postcomm welcomes Government review of the postal services market (UK)

Posted by | May 6, 2008 | |

Postcomm welcomed the emerging views of the independent review panel on the UK postal services market.

Postcomm chairman, Nigel Stapleton said: “We will be considering the emerging views of the panel and will use them to inform our second submission.”

Postcomm’s first submission highlighted the positive impact for customers since the addressed letters market was opened fully to competition in January 2006. Since then:

– larger customers have enjoyed lower prices and increased innovation;
– residential mail users have experienced record levels of service quality from Royal Mail; and
– smaller businesses and public sector customers are now beginning to reap the benefits of choice.

Postcomm believes the future health of Royal Mail, the universal service, and the addressed letters market are inextricably linked. Decisions about fundamental reform must be taken swiftly if Royal Mail is to lead a healthier mail market and provide a strong universal service.

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Royal Mail goes digital (UK)

Posted by | May 5, 2008 | |

After trials on hand-held tracker/scanners carried out by 700 Royal Mail postal workers ended in March, Royal Mail is to expand the installation of the technology throughout its fleet of vehicles.

The scanner/trackers (PDAs) are already in use by other postal and parcel operators but Royal Mail has been testing different types to establish which work best in the field. So far, none have been a great success for postal workers operating on foot, but one has been selected for use in vehicles throughout the network. The name of the manufacturer will be announced shortly.

The scanners include an emergency 999 facility to provide added protection for users, the ability to scan signatures for delivery verification, as well as log collection points in real time via GPS.

The CWU, which was initially concerned that the introduction of the technology would enable Royal Mail to ‘spy’ on workers, has agreed that the new equipment would provide an important enhancement to services as well as added protection for operatives – providing a code of conduct is agreed between the CWU and Royal Mail.

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Royal Mail strikes caused by modernisation changes (UK)

Posted by | May 3, 2008 | |

Royal Mail, in it’s application to the Postal Services Commission for relief from the impact of Industrial Action, said that a number of factors had caused a drop in quality of service in 2007 but the underlying cause was industrial action brought on by essential changes to make the business more efficient. It said the changes formed part of the loan it had secured from government to modernise the business.

The application timetabled the impact of events caused by national, rolling, and wildcat strikes but said that it was not possible to “identify every small event that contributed to the wider degradation in quality of service during the year as a result of work to rule and go-slow activity”.

It said that settling the industrial dispute on unsatisfactory terms had not been an option and in finding a solution to the dispute, the transformation of Royal Mail and the funding secured by government had to be protected as much as the long term interests of Royal Mail and it’s customers.

Royal Mail said that as well as industrial action over pay and conditions, it had also experienced industrial action over delivery office closures which again, were part of an overall plan to make the business more efficient. In addition, the new EC legislation relating to 56mph driving speed restrictions for 7.5 tonne vehicles, which became law in January 2008, required the restructuring of Royal Mail’s network operations and duty patterns in delivery, resulting in changes to the start time for over 100,000 delivery postmen and women. It said the CWU had used the changes as both a bargaining and propaganda tool during the dispute.

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Royal Mail to Explain Why Quality of Service Dropped

Posted by | May 2, 2008 | |

Royal Mail has been requested by Postcomm to demonstrate that industrial action last year, which saw mail pile up in delivery and sorting offices, was wholly the result of transformation plans, and that the industrial action only had caused a drop in quality of service. Royal Mail will present its case at an open meeting on May 14th.

Major stakeholders in the postal market have been invited to this event and given the opportunity to ask any questions they have about Royal Mail’s application; this will help ensure Postcomm has appropriately considered the views of all interested parties before it makes its decision.

In June 2007, Postcomm agreed Royal Mail’s request to suspend – until the end of the financial year – the payment of compensation to bulk mail customers, and to earn revenue that it would not otherwise be permitted to do (due to the ‘C factor’), where industrial action has taken place and quality of service figures have dropped.

Postcomm agreed to the request because it wished to ensure that Royal Mail was not discouraged from taking the steps needed to modernise its business – such modernisation would be to the benefit of all mail users.

Postcomm decided that prior to making any decision it would convene an open meeting at which Royal Mail would present the main points in its application. For it to be satisfied, Postcomm expects

Royal Mail has recently asked Postcomm to suspend the Bulk Mail Compensation Scheme and adjust the value of the C factor in the event of industrial action related to transformation activities in 2008/09.

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Royal Mail goes to court over zonal pricing decision (UK)

Posted by | May 1, 2008 | |

Postcomm received summons that Royal Mail intends to seek a judicial review of the regulator’s decision to reject the company’s recent ‘retail zonal pricing’ application.

Postcomm say the initial application was received in February 2007, studied with great care, and consulted on widely, at Royal Mail’s request. Postcomm rejected the application because it put forward a pricing structure that appeared to have a number of discriminatory features and would have been introduced in a way that would lead to unreasonable changes for its customers. It is now for the court to determine the merits of the case.

Postcomm has not ruled out any future moves towards retail zonal pricing for products outside the universal service should Royal Mail propose an alternative approach that avoids the problems presented by the recent application. Postcomm is generally supportive of pricing that is more reflective of costs.

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