Royal Mail has warned that it may shortly be forced to raise the price of postage to help plug the pounds 4.6bn hole in its pension fund. The revelation comes just seven weeks after the state-owned mail company increased the price of first- and second-class stamps by a penny. It is understood that Royal Mail is considering a further 1p rise – which would generate pounds 170m a year – to shore up its pension fund, which has 400,000 members.
Read MoreThe Scottish Parliament has scrapped controversial plans to privatise its internal postal system after an outcry from MSPs. The service, which is currently operated by the Royal Mail, is instead to be taken over by the parliament itself. The existing Royal Mail employees working at the parliament will be offered the chance to stay on and become part of the parliament’s own staff. There were widespread protests earlier this year when it was claimed an English firm, Business Post, based in Slough, was poised to win the GBP 1 million contract to deliver MSPs’ mail.
Read MoreThe Royal Mail plans to kick off a pilot program to provide Internet access through kiosks at post office branches. The pilots will be launched in partnership with Internet café chain easyInternetcafe in the next two months at some unspecified post offices. A Royal Mail spokeswoman said the Internet pilots would last a year. The pilots are designed to assess the demand for Internet access service at the post office. Depending on the response, the post will expand the Internet access service. It has yet to decide on the number of post offices where it’ll offer the pilots or the pricing during the trial. “We’re still working out the finer details,” a spokesman said.
Read MoreRoyal Mail is speeding up the closure of 3,000 urban post offices by a year. The programme had been due to end in December 2005 but is now being brought forward 12 months to reduce the uncertainty facing sub- postmasters, said Royal Mail’s chairman Allan Leighton.
Read MoreMail bosses are to be asked to stop delivering junk mail by a Glasgow MSP. Tory Bill Aitken said today so many advertising fliers – and unsolicited letters – were being pushed through letterboxes they were fast becoming a “very real nuisance”. He warned they created a security problem when left sticking out of doors because they indicated the householders could be on holiday. Mr Aitken has written to Royal Mail chiefs asking them to reconsider whether they should accept contracts to deliver junk mail. He also urged advertisers to think again about whether the junk mail approach to selling was worthwhile. A Royal Mail spokeswoman said they had a legal obligation to carry mail and pointed out direct mail brought in money and helped keep Post Office workers in jobs.
She said anyone who didn’t want to get direct mail should contact the Mailing Preference Service, which will filter out mailshots which are of no interest.
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