Tag: Royal Mail

Small business is big loser in UK postal strike

Posted by | Oct 12, 2007 | |

Small businesses are one of the biggest losers in the on-going postal strike, industry leaders said.

As the long-running dispute rumbles on, with postal workers staging a third day of unofficial strike action, the Federation of Small Businesses said its members were being badly affected.

Spokesman Simon Briault said a whole range of businesses, from building and plumbing firms to mail order companies were being hit. The federation said 94 pct of its members exclusively use the Royal Mail – many to send cheques and invoices through the post.

‘The other 6 pct who use alternative mail carriers often rely on the Royal Mail for that last mile,’ Mr Briault said.

In a survey on postal services carried out by the federation, 88 pct of respondents said they send post every day, while 69 pct said they send invoices through the post. The federation said business mail constitutes 87 pct of mail sent and the small business dependence on the postal system in the UK should not be underestimated.

Mr Briault said a lot of small businesses still used cheques to do business and these were being delayed in the post. He added: ‘When that is disrupted it has a direct impact on cashflow. Small business don’t have big profit margins.

‘They have to borrow more money from the bank which results in them paying more interest charges. Small business contribute 50 pct to the GDP. This postal strike is a massive issue.

Talks aimed at resolving the long-running dispute will resume later today in a bid to avert a fresh round of official strikes called by the Communication Workers Union from next Monday. Up to 130,000 union members have held two 48-hour strikes in the past week which crippled mail deliveries across the country.

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European Commission pleased with Royal Mail's efforts in preparing the U.K. for liberalisation of E.U.

Posted by | Oct 11, 2007 | |

Poor service and intermittent strikes continue to spur the company’s customers to patronise competitors such as TNT and U.K. Mail Ltd, as resistance to using alternatives to the Royal Mail erodes as the British market opens to competitors.

The anger among Royal Mail’s customers caused by the disruption should be good news for the likes of Deutsche Post that are eyeing the U.K. market post-liberalization in 2011.

Royal Mail customers have unsurprisingly looked elsewhere for postal services after four days of strike action this week and threats of more disruption to the Royal Mail’s postal service.

It’s 40 pct less productive than rivals such as Deutsche Post, down mainly to the strong labor union that prevents the automatization seen in rivals’ operations. The union’s also ensured that Royal Mail workers are paid 25 pct more than competitors’ too.

Management has a long way to go to get the company ready for full competition.

But as good as the strike may be in the long-term for Royal Mail’s competitors, in the short-term it’s bad for the U.K. economy.

Retail sales are one of the few remaining drivers of an increasingly fragile U.K. economy, after house prices have begun to fall, business confidence has dropped and the official outlook for GDP growth in the U.K. for 2008 has been cut by 50 basis points.
Retail sales over the Internet stand to be hit by the postal strike. That’s worrying because they comprise 15 pct of total sales, worth GBP4 billion in July, according to the Interactive Media in Retail Group.

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Industry demands Govt intervention on postal dispute

Posted by | Oct 10, 2007 | |

The direct marketing industry is urging the Government to ‘sort out the postal strike now’, following a flood of calls from DMA (UK) members – clients, agencies and suppliers – who fear their businesses will suffer irrevocable damage.

The dispute started in June, but the latest back-to-back strike could see the postal system out of action for up to three weeks.

DMA director of media channel development Robert Keitch says: “We need high level input. The Government, as the single shareholder, must sort this out now. It’s not just the direct mail industry that is suffering. Many companies rely on Royal Mail to handle their invoicing – businesses simply aren’t getting paid.

His concerns are echoed by Williams Lea strategic solutions consultant for mail Justin Rabett, who comments: “Not only is Royal Mail causing short term damage to an already troubled organisation, but its current actions will cause longer term consequences in terms of mail consumption across Great Britain. As it stands, Royal Mail’s position as a pre-eminent supplier of mail distribution in the UK is under serious threat. The latest strike is simply providing more ammunition to its critics who have questioned its ability to deliver on its universal service obligations.

The move follows Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s comments that the rolling industrial action is ‘unacceptable’.

Talks between Royal Mail, the TUC and the Communications Workers Union are said to be progressing, although a deal to avert the next wave of action has yet to be struck.

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Brown calls for end to postal strikes

Posted by | Oct 10, 2007 | |

The prime minister has urged postal workers to settle their bitter dispute with Royal Mail over pay, pensions and flexibility, declaring there is “no justification” for further strikes.
His comments came as unofficial industrial action broke out at more than 20 sorting offices across the country, a few hours after the end of a 48-hour national strike.

While deliveries resumed in most of the country, wildcat strikes were reported in Liverpool, Lancaster, Glasgow and east London.

Speaking at prime minister’s questions, Gordon Brown said postal staff should go back to work, and called for a negotiated settlement. He said the dispute should be brought to an end on the terms already offered by Royal Mail.

Postal workers came under further pressure from the Business Secretary, John Hutton, who said the Communications Workers Union (CWU) should accept the “perfectly fair and reasonable” offer from Royal Mail managers and return to work.

Up to 130,000 postal employees were due to return to work last Wednesday 10th October after a strike that crippled services for almost a week, but unofficial action broke out at several sorting offices.

Some workers said they arrived for a shift starting at 5am but were told Royal Mail had changed their timetables without their consent.

By mid-morning, unofficial strikes continued in some parts of London and Liverpool, although postal employees returned to work in Glasgow.

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Statement

Posted by | Oct 10, 2007 | |

Royal Mail got back to work today and is making good progress in clearing and delivering delayed mail. Out of a workforce of 130,000, fewer than 1,900 were not working normally which means that today more than 98% of our people have simply got on with the job of getting mail to our customers.

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