Tag: Royal Mail

Royal Mail is ramping up payments into its pension scheme in a bid to fill its GBP5.6bn pension deficit black hole, according to reports. An agreement with its pension trustees sees Royal Mail up its payments into its pension scheme to GBP750m from GBP480m, paid annually for the next 17 years, reported the Daily Telegraph. It is not clear how the Royal Mail will fund it, with operating profits at GBP355m last year. Cost-cutting measures have been suggested as a likely strategy to help fund the pension deficit.

Royal Mail is to launch a web-based booking system for its door-to-door division in early 2007 as part of its increasing emphasis on the door drop medium. The system, which is still in development, will replace the email and telephone based scheme that is currently in place, and will allow customers to deal with every aspect of their booking online. The system, which is being developed in consultation with clients, is already in the testing phase and will be trialled on a limited basis before rolling out just after Christmas.
“This is part of the ongoing investment that we’re putting into door-to-door,” said Ross Drake, general manager for Royal Mail door-to-door.

Royal Mail is urging UK businesses to take advantage of a financial rebate that will be available when its new Pricing in Proportion (PiP) system is introduced on 21 August 2006. The rebate is available to businesses that spend more than GBP100,000 on postage annually and expect to experience a rise in costs of over 50 per cent – based on usage from 7th April 2005 to 5th April 2006 – when the new pricing system is introduced. A refund of 40 per cent of the price increase will be available in the first year, and 20 per cent in the second year. Lorna Clarkson, Royal Mail’s director of pricing, explained: “Although 80 per cent of business mail will be the same price or cheaper to send when PiP is introduced in August, we are doing everything we can to support customers with the small proportion of mail that will be more expensive to send.”