Tag: UK

Royal Mail axed by Bristol

Posted by | Mar 25, 2008 | |

Bristol City Council has sparked a row after it was revealed it had axed its contract with the Royal Mail for the bulk of its post.

Former Lord Mayor Peter Abraham accused the Labour-run council of hypocrisy – weeping “crocodile tears” over 29 proposed post office closures in the Bristol area, then taking business away from the Royal Mail and handing it to a private operator.

After next Monday all the city council’s second-class post – which Councillor Abraham (Con, Stoke Bishop) believes is about 90 per cent of all the mail the authority sends out – will be collected by the Royal Mail’s rival, TNT.

This is likely to include council tax demands, letters notifying parents of school place offers and notices to people who may be affected by planning applications.

Mr Abraham said: “I’ve had a leaflet telling me that corporate mail services will be changing for non-first-class posting from March 31.

“The mail will be collected every day from the Council House post room by TNT and delivered within two days.

“We’re told the council will pay 21 pence per letter. I understand the Royal Mail’s rate for franked second-class mail is currently 21p but is due to go up on April 8.

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Royal Mail ups pensions attack

Posted by | Mar 25, 2008 | |

Royal Mail this week threw down the gauntlet to postal workers and their union by deciding to implement its proposed closure of the final salary pensions scheme with just seven days notice.

The company said that there would be no further negotiation with the unions, and that the “consultation” with the scheme’s members was over.

Royal Mail is also spreading scare stories that unless there is “pensions reform” the company could be put in liquidation.

This is nonsense. The idea that the state-owned company that delivers most of Britain’s mail could simply go out of business is politically untenable.

The postal workers’ CWU union is conducting a consultative ballot on whether to accept Royal Mail’s pensions proposals. It will now find that bosses have closed the scheme before their result is even announced.

It is vital that the union moves fast to reclaim the initiative on the pensions issue. The consultative ballot must be followed with a swift announcement of a ballot for national strike action in defence of pension rights – with the demand that the government must be forced to step in to deal with the pensions deficit.

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New drugs and alcohol policy at Royal Mail as LAPC warns against ‘skunk’ dangers

Posted by | Mar 25, 2008 | |

The Royal Mail Group has announced the introduction of a new alcohol and drugs policy following consultation with the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), advice from Alcohol Concern, and the conclusions of a recent TUC report urging employers to address the issue in a non-judgmental way.

The CWU’s national health and safety officer, David Joyce, said: “We are satisfied that the new policy and guidance now being deployed is in the best interests of our members. Simply put, alcohol and drugs problems are always best treated with sympathy and support where misconduct is not an issue, and disciplinary action is a last resort.” The policy will be subject to a 12-month review.

Meanwhile, the London Accident Prevention Council (LAPC) has expressed concern over the growing number of drivers under the influence of high-strength ‘skunk’ cannabis. The council warns that a growing number of drivers involved in road accidents have illegal drugs in their system, a suspicion confirmed by Jacqueline Richards, an emergency nurse practitioner at Queen’s Hospital, London. At recent LAPC meeting, Richards presented results of a casualty audit showing how drivers under the influence of drugs was a significant factor relating to road traffic collisions.

The LAPC says that drivers under the influence of skunk are impaired by slower reaction times, poor concentration, impaired steering control and coordination, as well as feelings of paranoia, drowsiness, and disorientation. The council is urging the government to run educational campaigns, and offer more police officers Drug Influence Recognition Training (DIRT) to conduct Field Impairment Tests (FITs).

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Post office sale to net Royal Mail GBP 20m

Posted by | Mar 24, 2008 | |

Royal Mail is selling off post office premises worth GBP 20 million as part of its closure programme.

A total of 40 post offices, mainly large high-street branches in medium-sized market towns, are up for sale. They are all part of the Crown Post Office network which is directly managed by Royal Mail.

The news follows last week’s back-bench rebellion in the House of Commons when 20 Labour MPs voted to call a halt to the Government’s plans for closing 2,500 loss-making post office branches.

A spokeswoman for the Post Office said of the 40 properties being sold: “These buildings became vacant because last year we announced a deal with WH Smith which was about relocating some of our Crown office branches into their stores. That has been happening over the past year. The Crown office part of the network has been losing GBP 70 million a year and was not sustainable. As we would do with any surplus buildings, we are looking to sell them.”

The Post Office will continue to run 373 Crown post offices alongside branches run by private sub-postmasters and by retailers. By the end of summer 2008 it is expected that 76 Post Office branches will be sited within WH Smith stores.

It is understood that Royal Mail has already received a lot of interest in the buildings, mainly from local businesses. Although they have only just been put up for sale, it is thought that many will be turned into restaurants, bars and shops.

Anyone wishing to buy the former post office buildings must apply for planning permission to convert the properties. Half of the premises are leasehold and half are freehold.

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Ulster post offices now facing the axe

Posted by | Mar 22, 2008 | |

Fears are growing that dozens of post offices in Northern Ireland could be facing the axe.
A major announcement is expected on April 1 – and the mood is gloomy in the wake of a controversial Government cull in Great Britain.

Royal Mail has announced the closure of 2,500 offices across England, Scotland and Wales.

The Post Office is refusing to comment on possible closures here, but an approach similar to Great Britain would result in the axing of 10-20 per cent of Northern Ireland’s 540 branches.

Last night the Cookstown-based Rural Community Network (RCN) said if such closures experienced in Great Britain were carried over to the Province it would have a devastating effect on pensioners.

“Research has shown that older people in Northern Ireland are significantly more reliant on post offices than in England,” said Mark Allen, RCN research officer.

“What the decision-makers may not appreciate is that to able-bodied people with cars, these closures may not seem significant.

“But to vulnerable pensioners or lone parents, and people with literacy problems, the service is like a bank, community centre and general advice bureau all rolled into one.

“Many postmasters have told us that the services they provide to pensioners fall far outside their official remit, such as helping them fill in important forms and advising them on how to access other essential services.

“And the postmasters are also subject to a draconian confidentiality clause which forbids them from discussing who is to close. If they break confidentiality they could forfeit any compensation.”

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