Tag: Royal Mail

Communication Workers Union say agreement is subject to ballot

Posted by | Oct 22, 2007 | |

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said the agreement would now be subject to a ballot by its 130,000 members.

It offers staff a 5.4 pct rise in pay and weekday overtime from 1 October, and an extra 1.5 pct pay hike from next April – conditional on reforms being delivered.

Royal Mail said the deal gave it a “fighting chance” of future success.

‘Settling the dispute’

The firm said the agreement – which brings a summer of costly industrial unrest closer to an end – would enable it to proceed with the modernisation of its operations.

We have been clear that to become competitive we needed flexibility to modernise

Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier

The CWU deliberated for a week before agreeing to back the deal and the BBC’s John Moylan said some of the language in the agreement might worry some workers.

The deal includes a one-off payment to workers of GBP 175 and a commitment to close the final salary pension scheme to new members in February and to existing members in April.

From April 2010, the normal retirement age for workers will be extended from 60 to 65 but existing staff will still be able to claim pensions benefits built up before that date at 60.

The CWU said the agreement “settles all areas of the dispute” and would now be subject to a ballot of union members.

Royal Mail said the agreement would allow it to enforce more flexible working patterns and use new technology more efficiently.

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Royal Mail offers broadband

Posted by | Oct 22, 2007 | |

The Post Office, a subsidiary of the state-owned Royal Mail, will begin selling ADSL broadband connections at the end of the month through a deal with British Telecom’s wholesale arm.

A connection running at up to 8 megabits per second and subject to “fair usage” limits will cost GBP 15.95 a month, or GBP 25.95 a month when bundled with a phone line and 60 minutes off-peak calling a month.

The Post Office began selling home phone lines two years ago and has signed up 400,000 customers.

Delivery has been outsourcing to BT Wholesale, but staff at Britain’s 14,000 post office’s will help sell the broadband service to customers.

Market researcher Ovum says the Post Office’s offering is straightforward and attractive and it will be hoping to capitalise on its “trusted brand”, but success will hinge on the performance and consistency of the service and customer support.

Ovum says these have been getting plenty of attention in Britain, where some customers have been jaded by their experiences with “free broadband” packages from the Carphone Warehouse and others.

The Post Office is looking for new revenue streams now the Government is paying most social security and pension payments directly into people’s bank accounts and a GBP 150 million rural subsidy is in doubt.

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Agreement on Royal Mail pay offer and modernisation and support for pension reform

Posted by | Oct 22, 2007 | |

Royal Mail is pleased to announce that the Communications Workers Union has accepted the company’s offer on pay along with plans to modernise the company and reform the pension scheme.

Royal Mail has made a two year proposal which provides a stable base from which the company, its customers and our people can move forward. The CWU’s acceptance of the proposal means that Royal Mail can now go ahead with essential plans to modernise the business and make it more flexible, efficient and able to compete properly in the marketplace. It also secures support for the pension reform that is a major element in safeguarding the future of the business and our people’s jobs.

Royal Mail Chief Executive Adam Crozier said: “All along we have been clear that to become competitive we needed flexibility to modernise and we needed to reform our pension scheme because the costs were crippling the company. This deal, which is within the parameters we clearly set for pay this year, gives Royal Mail a fighting chance of success in the future.

The key points agreed today are:

• An increase of 5.4 pct on basic pay and weekday overtime from 1 October (equivalent to a cost of 2.5 pct in the financial year from April 2007 to March 2008).
• A one-off lump sum of GBP 175, from an existing employee “share of savings” scheme and so at no extra cost to Royal Mail.
• The flexibility we need to modernise our operations so that we can compete effectively against rivals who have already modernised and so have lower costs and prices than Royal Mail.

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IPC leads environmental sustainability initiative

Posted by | Oct 19, 2007 | |

The International Post Corporation (IPC) announced today at its bi-annual Board meeting in New York City, its plans to develop a three-tier program to address environmental sustainability among its member posts. The program will focus on developing common sector-wide definitions and measurement systems; conducting stakeholder research and communicating sector-wide advances in environmental sustainability throughout the postal industry.

“Climate change is no longer an issue of debate,” said Jean-Paul Bailly, chairman and CEO of Groupe La Poste in France and chairman of the IPC Board. “Two prominent areas for concern to postal operators and our industry stakeholders are the operation of extensive road and air transport networks and issues related to direct mail, a strategically critical business for posts.”

Mr. Bailly added, “Because of the sector-wide urgency of the issue, the IPC Board will devote its annual conference this May to develop a common environmental sustainability initiative and map the way forward for the postal industry.” The conference, Leadership through Sustainable Development: Postal Industry Challenges and Opportunities will take place on 29 and 30 May, 2008 in La Chapelle en Serval, France. CEOs representing 24 member postal organizations and several selected CEOs from both inside and outside the industry are expected to attend.

Last month, IPC conducted a members’ forum on the subject of environmental sustainability, where it was decided that IPC should take a leadership role in providing the platforms for members to come together to define the way forward for the sector.

IPC has been a leader in providing postal delivery measurement systems for nearly 20 years, we are the natural partner for the postal industry and it makes sense that we are the organization to develop a common system for environmental measurement and research among the posts,” said Herbert-Michael Zapf, CEO and president, IPC.

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Britain's Royal Mail, Union Halt Talks; Postal Workers Want To Scrutinize Deal Terms

Posted by | Oct 19, 2007 | |

Britain’s Royal Mail and its postal workers’ union have agreed last Thursday 18th October to temporarily suspend negotiations on the terms of a new agreement that will end their four-month dispute.

Union officials insisted on closely scrutinizing the details of the deal, including the 6.9 percent pay adjustment over two years for postal workers, before putting the contract to a vote.

The review of the terms effectively delays the signing of the compromise that will finally put the labor dispute behind them.

BBC reported that Royal Mail had agreed to meet the Communication Workers Union (CWU) to clarify outstanding issues, but it added that “the agreement reached and endorsed last Friday by CWU general secretary Billy Hayes and deputy general secretary Dave Ward stands.”

Marathon talks between Royal Mail and CWU last Friday resulted in an outline for a settlement of the dispute. Contested areas included pay, pension fund reform, retirement age and working practices and these were expected to have been ironed out in the settlement.

The union’s executives should approve the deal and thereafter, put it to the vote by the CWU’s 130,000 members. The vote was originally set for middle of this week had the union officials endorsed the agreement.

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