The Department of Trade and Industry is expected to give its verdict this week on a report by the Royal Mail into its finances over the next five years. The dossier was with the DTI before the General Election and will set the scene for the Government’s own review of the future of the Post Office. The DTI is likely to give its seal of approval to the document’s findings.
Read MorePostcomm, the industry regulator, is to be pressed by small businesses to curb Royal Mail’s prices because of concerns over the postal service. Royal Mail is opposed to price cuts but the regulator has said that it is profitable enough for customers to be able to share the benefits.
Read MorePeople who bank online want traditional paper statements to help them manage their finances effectively, research for Royal Mail today revealed.
The research into banking attitudes of consumers, conducted on behalf of Royal Mail by the Henley Centre, revealed that 74 per cent of online bankers want to receive posted paper statements. It also showed that many study their statements in greater detail than non-online bankers.
Read MoreRoyal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier says the postal operator will scrap most of its business and consumer products as part of a major operational overhaul over the next 18 months. Only first and second class services will escape the axe. Crozier has announced that the postal provider will cease distribution of any products currently available by January 2007. Speaking at last week’s Postcomm forum, Making the Postal Market Work for Customers, Crozier stated: “We are currently in the process of reinventing all our products, particularly on the business side. “Most of them were developed around 15 years ago, and were based around what we do, rather than what our customers wanted.” Crozier also said he has seen first drafts of potential new products, which will be offered to customers for consultation before Royal Mail approaches Postcomm for approval later this year.
Read MoreThe largest union for Royal Mail workers yesterday began its annual conference with a promise to fight attempts to privatise the national postal operator and threatened to break links with Labour if the government sold any of its stake.
The Communication Workers Union, which represents 160,000 of Royal Mail’s 200,000 staff, is concerned about plans for a John Lewis-style partial privatisation of Royal Mail, which is being touted by the operator’s management.
It supported Labour in the general election after winning a manifesto commitment to keep Royal Mail “publicly owned”, but now fears it has been betrayed by senior ministers. Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, said: “We will fight any attempt to sell off or screw up Royal Mail. The CWU values our link to the Labour party . . . but I have no illusions about how that link will crumble if the government breaks its promise.”
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