Tag: Royal Mail

The Telegraph: UK postal strike 'could last for months'

Posted by | Oct 6, 2007 | |

After two days of strikes, up to 100 million letters and parcels are estimated to be stacked up in sorting officers around the country as the worst stoppage for two decades paralyzed Britain’s postal system.

The five-day dispute will cost Royal Mail more than GBP 100 million by the time it ends on Wednesday. Despite more talks about pay, pensions and job cuts at the Trades Union Congress, both sides were far from agreement last night.

The Royal Mail claimed that 50 per cent more people were at work compared with previous strikes in the summer, although this was disputed by the Communications Workers Union (CWU), which said the action was “solid”.

Up to 130,000 postal workers walked out at noon on Thursday for 48 hours and will stage another two-day walkout from 3am on Monday, which will hit deliveries until the end of next week.

The postal strike in numbers:

400 million – Backlog of letters which will build up if strike lasts for five days.

GBP 10 million – Estimated cost of strike to small businesses in lost business and delayed postal payments.

135,000 – Postal workers on strike, out of a total of 180,000.

33,000 – Post Office bicycles standing idle while their riders are on strike.

GBP 790,000 – Oay packet of Royal Mail Group chief executive Adam Crozier in 2005.

8 – Miles travelled every day by postal workers, carrying around heavy mailbags.

5.6p – Loss to Royal Mail every time a stamped letter is sent. The firm loses some £4 million a week.

GBP 4 billion – Royal Mail Group pension scheme accounting deficit.

113,000 – Post boxes in the UK.

40,000 – Jobs the Communication Workers’ Union claims will be lost under the terms of the current pay offer.

27 million – Postal addresses in the UK.

11kg – The weight limit on a postal worker’s pack.

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Charity furious over mail strike setback

Posted by | Oct 6, 2007 | |

The Weldmar Hospicecare Trust booked a special door-to-door mail drop two years in advance so it could ensure that its 132,000 leaflets were delivered to supporters for a remembrance and fundraising campaign.

But it was forced to cancel the mail shot about its annual Light up a Life campaign because of the postal strike and cannot book another slot.

Fundraising director Caroline Nickinson said: “We’re really angry because for us this is a really important way to reach the people who support us and a lot of people will think we just haven’t bothered to ask them.

“This was always our first point of contact to advertise our Light up a Life campaign at Christmas.”

Under the Light up a Life initiative people can dedicate lights on Christmas trees in memory of loved ones.

The Royal Mail workers went on a two-day strike on Thursday after last minute talks failed when the 130,000 members of the Communication Workers Union rejected the pay offer of 2.5 per cent by Royal Mail.

A second two-day strike is planned from Monday causing further disruption to the industry and it is estimated the walkouts will cost the company millions of pounds.

Mrs Nickinson said: “When we tried to find out more we were told we could still send our letters to the headquarters but there was no guarantee they would be delivered and that would also mean losing the GBP 5,300 fee they charge.

“Luckily our newsletters weren’t printed yet so we could cancel the order at the last minute which was due to cost us more than GBP 4,000.

Spokesman for Royal Mail Richard Hall said: “Regrettably we have had to cancel our door-to-door contracts because of the industrial action. We know it is causing a real inconvenience and we apologise for that.”

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Courier companies should 'get out there' during mail strike in the UK

Posted by | Oct 5, 2007 | |

The latest round of postal strikes may be bad news for many businesses, but it is a boon for courier companies.

Speaking to the BBC, Robin Mackintosh of Maidenhead courier firm Fast Lane International said that industrial action at Royal Mail is good news for his business and other couriers.

“It’s beneficial to the courier trade in general when there’s a postal strike and we as a company gain long-term business from that situation,” he said.

“It’s clearly beneficial to us but chaotic for everyone else. Without taking a swipe at Royal Mail, when people see the benefits they reap from speed, traceability and value for money then they often use our services again.”

He said his firm would enjoy a 60 per cent increase in inquiries each day, as businesses look to ensure their post gets through.

A British Chamber of Commerce spokesman gave out the same message.

“Businesses need to get cheques out in the post. What solutions have they got? This is the only solution for the next few days,” he said.

“Our advice to courier firms is to get out there, because you’re knocking on open doors.”

The current dispute at Royal Mail is over pay, pensions and proposed business changes. The Communications Workers Union is worried that the changes “will actually take the service backwards”.

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Royal Mail strikes deal with managers

Posted by | Oct 5, 2007 | |

Royal Mail has reached an agreement with its managerial staff on pensions and pay, although the battle with postal workers, which will disrupt postal services well into next week, is still dragging on.

The deal, which was secured by the Unite union on behalf of its 12,000 members and covers a 27-month period, gives managerial staff a 2.5 pct pay rise, backdated to April.

Under the agreement, Royal Mail’s existing pension scheme will be closed to new members from 31 January 2008 and replaced by a defined contribution scheme for subsequent joiners. The retirement age will increase from 60 to 65 from April 1 2010.

Paul Reuter, Unite’s national officer, said: “Unite has secured a deal with Royal Mail which we believe will protect GBP 1.5bn worth of pension benefits for Royal Mail staff. We now have a pension package that we can take to our members.”

A Royal Mail spokesman said the 2.5 pct basic pay rise recognized “the positive role that managers will play in the modernization of Royal Mail, essential to enable the company to compete in a market open to full competition”.

Managers’ bonuses – which range from 5 pct-9 pct of their annual salaries – will also become pensionable, a detail that helped persuade Unite to accept the terms.

While Royal Mail managed to avert strike action by Unite, postal workers continued to form picket lines in the second day of a 48-hour postal strike.

They are protesting against pension cuts, pay and a modernization program that the Communication Workers Union believes could cut up to 40,000 jobs.

The Royal Mail said in a statement that there were 50 pct more people working today than during previous national strikes, indicating “support for the CWU strike amongst its members [was] weakening”.

A second wave of strikes is scheduled to begin on Monday and last until Wednesday. The CWU has pledged a rolling series of strikes starting October 15 if they fail to reach an agreement with Royal Mail.

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Will strikes signal last post for the Royal Mail?

Posted by | Oct 5, 2007 | |

The postal strike which will freeze all mail delivery until next Thursday is “potentially disastrous”, Welsh business leaders warned last night.

Members of the Communication Workers Union walked out on a 48-hour strike at noon yesterday in an escalation of a bitter dispute with Royal Mail over pay, jobs and pensions, saying another UK-wide two-day strike would follow from 3am on Monday.

Firms were warned there will be no deliveries until late next week and it is estimated the row will cost industry millions of pounds.

The Federation of Small Businesses Wales last night warned of the potentially serious damage to businesses while the Confederation of British Industry Wales said the strike would have “a far greater impact than previous ones”.

But both groups added that the advent of e-commerce meant the strikes would be less damaging than they would have been 20 years ago, and that the more likely effect would be to hasten the demise of Royal Mail as companies looked to bypass its services.

The first signs of this were evident last night, when Royal Mail lost a GBP 100,000 contract with Warranty Direct, which said it would stop using the postal organization to deliver 12,000 letters a month.

A rolling program of strikes will start on October 15 and will continue every week until the dispute is resolved, union leaders warned.

But this could be a case of the union “shooting itself in the foot” as businesses look for alternative ways of doing business, said the FSB and CBI.

David Rosser, director of CBI Wales, said the strike, though disruptive, was still “more annoying than disastrous”.

“Twenty years ago, the impact on business would have been much greater, but the use of e-mail and e-commerce means the effect is much less than it would have been otherwise,” he said.

“The Royal Mail has significant competition in terms of business mail from other businesses and other technologies and a prolonged period without Royal Mail services will encourage companies to look elsewhere.”

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