Tag: UK

Sunday & Bank Holiday Collections

Posted by | Aug 1, 2007 | |

Postwatch has recently given its agreement to an application by Royal Mail to stop collecting mail on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

Royal Mail state that collections take place from only 18,000 of the 115,000 postboxes and that only a very small amount of the usual mail flows are posted on a Sunday. Royal Mail have stated that the cost of providing the service, which includes opening mail centers to sort the post on a Sunday, is significant and not proportionate to the number of people requiring the service. A link to Royal Mail’s application can be found here:

Postwatch undertake a survey of customers views on this issue, which it did in May this year. Over two thirds of respondents said they ‘seldomly or neve’ put something in the post for collection on a Sunday which required delivery on a Monday.

Royal Mail now needs to apply to Postcomm, the regulator, for formal approval. If approved, Royal Mail has asked that collections stop on 30 September. Postboxes will of course still be able to receive mail on a Sunday, but it will not be collected until Monday (or the next working day in the case of Bank Holidays).

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Migrant workers prompt postal boom

Posted by | Jul 31, 2007 | |

The large number of migrants from Lithuania working overseas are responsible for a boom in the country’s postal service, Lietuvos Paštas has confirmed.

Since Lithuania became a member of the European Union, the amount of international letters, postcards, and small parcels has grown hugely, with the most traffic coming from Great Britain, Ireland and Spain, where the majority of Lithuanian currently live and work.

By the end of 2006 the amount of outgoing mail correspondence to Great Britain had increased by more than 220 percent and stood at 96.13 tons per year, accounting for more than a quarter of outgoing correspondence, and the amount of incoming mail had improved by 25 percent to 60.1 tons per year.

Last year, the volume of outgoing parcels to Ireland had increased by 39 percent to 23.9 percent, the amount of incoming parcels from Ireland had gone up by 18 percent to 12.9 tons.

Communication with Lithuanians in Spain is livelier than ever, as well. In 2006, the amount of mail sent from Spain to Lithuania was as much as 23 times greater than in 2004 (6.6 tons), and the volume of outgoing correspondence to Spain had risen by 26.1 percent to 5.86 tons.

In 2006, the Lithuanian post office delivered 5.9 million items or 457.25 tons of foreign mail to addresses in Lithuania, and the amount of outgoing mail from Lithuania stood at 4.73 million items or 369.1 tons.

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Statement – Update On Further Strike Action By The Communication Workers Union

Posted by | Jul 31, 2007 | |

Royal Mail said last Thursday that payroll figures show that 80 per cent of our people are working as normal. Collections and deliveries are taking place as usual throughout the UK.

12 mail centres – the large sites where mail is processed before being sent to delivery offices – are working normally throughout today, including sites in Belfast, Southend, Liverpool, Carlisle, Peterborough, Glasgow, Hull, Aberdeen, Gloucester, Portsmouth, Crewe and Gatwick. Large numbers of colleagues have also reported to work at the remaining 59 centres and are working alongside management volunteers. No mail centres are expected to be closed.

The action last week was not on a national basis but involves strikes at different Royal Mail sites at different times.

The union’s publicly stated aim of causing maximum damage to Royal Mail, and therefore its customers, is completely at odds with its claim to support the postal service. Strike action will inevitably drive customers away from Royal Mail to rival operators and to the internet.

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5000 postal workers wildcat in Glasgow

Posted by | Jul 31, 2007 | |

Thousands of Glasgow postal workers walked out of delivery offices today in a dramatic escalation of industrial action.

Strike-hit Royal Mail was plunged into deeper chaos after 13 workers who had refused to cross a picket line were sent home and union officials claim up to 5000 colleagues walked out in support of them.

Around 1100 staff at the Glasgow Mail Centre in Springburn were already on official strike today and the wildcat action added to the disruption.

The Communications Workers Union claims a deal was offered to bosses who would have averted the unofficial action but it was rejected

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Telecoms companies turn away GBP165 million a month by not accepting cash

Posted by | Jul 31, 2007 | |

Major telecoms companies could be losing over GBP165 million in revenue every month by failing to offer customers the option to pay in cash, reveals new research from the Post Office.

Almost six million UK households use cash or cheques to pay their bills, either through choice or lack of access to banking services. But many major telecoms companies – such as those offering combined broadband internet, telephone and digital TV packages – are excluding these people by limiting payment to direct debit only.

There are 2.8 million1 UK adults (1.9 million households) without a bank account who rely on cash payment methods to pay their bills. A further six million people with bank accounts (four million households) actually prefer to choose cash over direct debit when paying their bills.2 Combined, these people represent 14.6 per cent3 of the UK population.

With an average monthly telecom and entertainment package subscription costing GBP28 per month4, this equates to a potential GBP165.2 million in lost sales per month for businesses who fail to accept cash or cheques.

Post Office marketing director Gary Hockey-Morley said: “Failing to offer a cash payment channel means that businesses are restricting the size of their potential market, with some telecoms companies ignoring customers worth over GBP165 million per month.

“With 14,000 branches across the UK, and 99 per cent of people living within three miles of a branch, the Post Office offers an easy route to bill payment services for people who choose to pay their bills in cash and can also ensure that companies are socially inclusive in offering their services to people without bank accounts.”

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