Tag: Royal Mail

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.

Read More

Rural businesses are hit by postal dispute and the threat facing post offices

Posted by | Oct 19, 2007 | |

Postal strikes across the country have hit rural businesses hard and look set to put a number of people out of business.

Two one-day strikes, as well as subsequent wildcat strikes saw postal services disrupted for over a week – causing rural communication networks to come to a standstill.

Charles Trotman, chief rural economist for the Country Land and Business Association, said the strikes had been devastating for rural business.

In the South West alone, the strikes are expected to cost the rural economy up to GBP 10 million, according to Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council.

Mr Jones said the strikes could not have come at a worse time after rural businesses had already been hit by foot-and-mouth restrictions, fuel charge increases and the recent Northern Rock credit crisis.

The problems faced during the strikes are just the latest in a long line of problems faced by rural communities.

Plans to close many rural post offices have been met by fierce opposition from those who rely on the service.

Mr Trotman admitted that a compromise had to be found so that the service could continue to run as well as offer value for money.

One idea he and others have suggested is opening one-stop-shops for all Government services in rural areas, offering a postal service as well as assistance with tax and other issues.

Read More

Cross-border mail going round houses' to get there

Posted by | Oct 19, 2007 | |

Residents living in border areas have been left asking if they are receiving a first class service after it emerged that letters sent to destinations just yards away are traveling hundreds of miles.

Barry McElduff, Sinn Fein MLA for West Tyrone, said he cannot understand why letters and parcels must go on such long journeys, even though “you could throw a paper aeroplane” between some of the border towns involved.

Letters between places such as Lifford in Co Donegal and Strabane in Co Tyrone – just hundreds of metres apart – travel to Athlone, Dublin and then Belfast before arriving at their intended destination, postal chiefs have confirmed.

A spokeswoman for An Post in the Republic said that mail posted in Lifford and meant for Strabane travels from Lifford to Athlone Mail Centre, from there to Dublin Mail Centre, then to Belfast and then on to Strabane for two-day delivery.

Mail from Strabane to Lifford makes the same journey in reverse.

“An Post sorts mail at its automated hubs for onward despatch to all national and international destinations,” the spokeswoman explained.

“The main hubs are located in Athlone, Portlaoise, Dublin and Cork.

“There is a next day delivery between Dublin and Belfast.”

Royal Mail defended their arrangements too.

“Royal Mail and An Post have special operational procedures in place to ensure that mail flows as efficiently as possible on a daily basis between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

“Items for either destination are handled separately in the mail centres of both Royal Mail and An Post where sorting machines are capable of processing mail at a rate of 30,000 plus items per hour, which is clearly much quicker than manual sorting.

“Mail is then transported in bulk by road between the two postal authorities for onward delivery.

“This arrangement is the most effective way of ensuring that cross-border mail is handled as efficiently and as effectively as possible.

“Royal Mail carefully monitors performance in this area as with every other aspect of our operations.”

Read More

Rival services take advantage of Royal Mail’s troubles

Posted by | Oct 19, 2007 | |

Royal Mail has announced that its service disruption is over for the moment, but for many small businesses in Bucks, the damage has already been done and confidence has been badly shaken.

With SMEs forced to make alternative arrangements for vital aspects of their day to day running, many businesses have been left wondering if they can trust the postal service anymore.

And one competing postal business has already seen a major upturn in fortune in the wake of Royal Mail’s troubles.

DX Network Services was originally set up to serve the legal community, during the industrial action of the mid to late seventies. With so many important documents to move, such as deeds, mortgage information, invoices and cheques, the legal profession was particularly sensitive to postal disruption. But now the company provides a service to a wide range of businesses.

James Greenbury, chief executive of DX Network Services, said: “As the only end-to-end competitor to the Royal Mail, we have seen a substantial increase in new customers since the first rumblings of proposed industrial action in June – in fact we took on more customers over the summer strike period than we did in the whole of 2006.

He noted that delayed postal payments could easily spell cash-flow disaster for a small business. DX’s core service is document exchange, where customers drop off and collect their mail from dedicated mailboxes at more than 4,500 exchanges across the country. At present, only commercial facilities can currently send mail, although residential addresses can accept deliveries.

Read More

Royal Mail sweeps the board at payroll giving awards

Posted by | Oct 18, 2007 | |

Royal Mail Group has swept the board at the National Payroll Giving Awards 2007, winning the ‘best re-launch of an existing scheme’ category and being highly commended in the ‘best employer and charity promotion’ , ‘best promotional partnership’ and ‘best overall campaign’ categories. Royal Mail was presented with its award by the Right Honourable Jane Kennedy MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury at a prestigious event hosted at HM Treasury on 17th October. The event was introduced and compared by broadcaster and ‘money saving expert’ Martin Lewis.

Royal Mail Group Ltd has been recognized not only for its scheme but for increasing its overall participation rate by adopting an active approach to Payroll Giving. It has also succeeded in partnering with Charities Trust and Help the Hospices to carry out its Payroll Giving initiative.

The Payroll Giving Awards are designed to showcase the best Payroll Giving schemes from employers in the UK. All applications are marked against specific criteria by a panel of impartial judges; entries are restricted to those employers that have received 2007 Bronze, Silver or Gold Quality Mark Awards.

First launched in 1987, Payroll Giving enables employees to donate to any UK charity straight from their gross salary, giving immediate tax relief. Latest figures show that this year Payroll Giving has distributed almost £90 million to good causes.

Read More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

How ready do you feel for the de minimis changes coming in July?

Thank you for voting
You have already voted on this poll!
Please select an option!




View ResultsHide Results

Post & Parcel Magazine


Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

Subscribe to the Magazine

 

Pin It on Pinterest