Royal Mail today announced plans to price items by size rather than weight alone for the first time since stamps were introduced in 1840. The cost of sending a bulky parcel would increase under the new system, although the price of posting a standard size letter would remain the same or even fall, the company said. Increased automation in the postal service means larger items often having to be dealt with by hand at extra cost.
Read MoreAllan Leighton will receive up to £200,000 a year as chairman of Consignia and may keep some of his 10 other directorships – but he will have to demonstrate performance to earn his pay. Patricia Hewitt, trade and industry secretary, has insisted that 90% of his remuneration must depend on the impact he makes on efficiency at the loss-making former Post Office. Mr Leighton will remain on the basic salary of £20,000 a year he was earning for working one day a week as a non-executive director of the company. The rest of his package will be determined by performance criteria under discussion as part of Consignia’s £1.2bn restructuring plan.
Read MoreHow a monopoly firm turned profit into loss (Table)
Read MoreIt has been a wonder of the past 20 years that large utilities such as telecommunications, power and gas were able to shed about a third of their staff after privatisation with no discernible interruption to service. Now Consignia, the former Post Office, has announced plans to cut 15,000 jobs as a first step in reducing its 220,000 staff by up to a fifth over the next three years. The process will be painful for those involved but cutting costs is essential to ensure a future for an organisation losing Pounds 1.5m a day.
Read MoreThe government’s problems with its backbenchers deepened yesterday as Labour MPs voiced anger at the prospect of job losses at Consignia and met a taxpayers’ bail-out for Railtrack shareholders with surly resignation.
Patricia Hewitt, trade and industry secretary, received a hostile reception when she told the Commons that plans to axe 15,000 Consignia jobs were “the first of several necessary steps” to renewing Britain’s postal service.
This could require another government bail-out of up to Pounds 400m to support the cost of generous redundancies needed to avert the threat of a national postal strike.
Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.
