Tag: Royal Mail

Industry backs rethink of zonal pricing

Posted by | Jul 27, 2007 | |

Celebrations over the rejection of Royal Mail’s zonal pricing plan were shortlived, with most people agreeing the scheme will be implemented eventually. But at least now it will not be rushed in

When Royal Mail first mooted the introduction of zonal pricing (PM July 14 2006) it was intended as a pre-emptive strike to prevent competitors from cherry-picking major business clients, by bringing in a pricing structure that offered major discounts for city deliveries.

Designed to charge more for delivering to outlying areas, it was part of the postal operator’s strategy to introduce cost-reflective pricing, affecting all mail sent through Mailsort 3 – the most popular service for direct mail – and magazine-delivery scheme Presstream.

But the benefits evaporated almost overnight when Royal Mail revealed that deliveries inside the M25 were also to incur a surcharge.

One of the main voices of discontent was the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA), which condemned Royal Mail’s zonal pricing plans, as “benefiting no one but Royal Mail and being hugely damaging to the magazine industry”.

Only last week the PPA was claiming that pressure from its members had led to Royal Mail revising its application.

Seven days on and the scheme is doomed, following Postcomm’s decision to force Royal Mail back to the drawing board once more.

A PPA spokeswoman comments: “It is in everyone’s interest that we have a healthy Royal Mail but the impact of these proposals would have led to a reduction in all mailing volumes, including those of magazines. We don’t dispute price-reflectivity but it is not easy to implement without competition in the market.”

Meanwhile WWAV Rapp Collins Group chief executive Marco Scognamiglio says: “While we believe that Royal Mail should have greater flexibility when dealing with business customers – to compete effectively with rival operat- ors and with other media channels – this zonal pricing proposal was clearly not the way forward.

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Royal Mail to sponsor Green Awards direct category

Posted by | Jul 26, 2007 | |

Royal Mail is to sponsor the direct mail category of this year’s Green Awards, as part of its endorsement of environmentally friendly methods of marketing.

The Green Awards, which take place on October 26 in London, were held for the first time last year to recognize businesses that make an outstanding contribution to sustainable development, recycling, resource efficiency and waste awareness in the marketing industry.
Royal Mail said its endorsement of the Green Awards’ Best Green Direct Mail category was part of its commitment to environmentally friendly practices, which include its carbon neutral door to door scheme, corporate social responsibility, and responsible mail programmes.
Other award categories include Best Green Press; Best Green Integrated Campaign; Best Green Packaging Design, sponsored by Asda; Best Green PR Campaign; and Best Green Outdoor, which is being sponsored by Clear Channel.
Matthew Neilson, head of media solutions at Royal Mail, said: “Royal Mail firmly believes that a high quality direct mail campaign can still exist, and the key to this is careful targeting and sensitive use of materials, to avoid pollution and excess waste.”

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Postal strikes 'threatening small firms'

Posted by | Jul 26, 2007 | |

Small firms are being caught in the crossfire in the row over jobs and pay at Royal Mail, a leading business group has warned.

The Federation of Small Businesses said strikes by postal workers were putting jobs at risk and urged the Government to intervene to end the dispute.

Last night, members of the Communication Workers Union launched a fresh wave of industrial action, which will be staggered over the next two weeks. The union said the aim was to hit Royal Mail hard at minimal cost to its members.
But FSB spokesman Matthew Knowles said: ‘Our research has found 94 per cent of small firms use the Royal Mail exclusively because the other mail providers do not see small businesses as lucrative,’ he added. The cost for small businesses of mail being delayed has been estimated at £2.5m for each postal strike.

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Royal Mail: Business as Usual

Posted by | Jul 26, 2007 | |

According to Royal Mail’s payroll figures, 80 per cent of Royal Mail’s workforce was working as normal last Friday (26th July) and collections and deliveries are taking place as usual throughout the UK.

12 mail centres – the large sites where mail is processed before being sent to delivery offices – are working normally throughout today, including sites in Belfast, Southend, Liverpool, Carlisle, Peterborough, Glasgow, Hull, Aberdeen, Gloucester, Portsmouth, Crewe and Gatwick. Large numbers of colleagues have also reported to work at the remaining 59 centres and are working alongside management volunteers. No mail centers are expected to be closed.

A spokesman for Royal Mail said:” We are grateful to everyone who has chosen to work as normal and to get the mail to our customers as quickly as possible in spite of the Communication Workers Union call for industrial action.”

“The union’s publicly stated aim of causing maximum damage to Royal Mail, and therefore its customers, is completely at odds with its claim to support the postal service. Strike action will inevitably drive customers away from Royal Mail to rival operators and to the internet.”

Royal Mail says it remains “ready to meet the union leadership yet again at any time to explain its position and the tough reality of the completely open marketplace in which we now operate.”

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Start of Royal Mail strike looms

Posted by | Jul 25, 2007 | |

A two-week campaign of staggered strike action throughout Royal Mail is set to begin at 1900 BST.

Each division within the firm has been allocated a different day to strike, in a move designed to cause continuous disruption throughout the period.

Union members are protesting over pay and job losses which they say will come from the modernization of the firm.

Royal Mail says the changes are needed for it to stay competitive and vowed to keep delivering mail during the action.

The first action will see staff at Post Offices and Royal Mail sorting offices walk out in a 24-hour strike.

Royal Mail called the Communication Workers Union’s (CWU) decision “hugely disappointing”, but said it could not change its position. It also said it would have contingency arrangements in place.

The strikes will see each section of the company, from the sorting and collection centers to those who make the deliveries, walking out for two separate 24-hour strikes over two weeks.

The move is designed to cause continuous disruption to the nation’s postal service throughout the period at a “minimum cost” to CWU members, union officials say.

The union says the action reflects its growing frustration with the Royal Mail for its failure to take worker demands for job protection and increased pay “seriously”.

The CWU fears 40,000 jobs will go as a result of increased mechanizations of the system. It is also objecting to a 2.5 pct pay offer.

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