Tag: UK

UK postal deregulation only six months away – but business awareness still low post watchdog tells leading charities

Posted by | Aug 10, 2005 | |

The UK’s postal service is being liberalised on 1st January 2006, but many businesses and organisations are still unaware of the opening-up of the market to competitors to Royal Mail early next year. Matt Ward, Deputy Director of Competition and Regulation at Postcomm, the postal industry regulator, outlined the implications for the deregulation of the postal industry to over 60 delegates from major charities and other membership-based organisations at a key industry conference. Delegates at the conference, held at on Friday, 10th June, discussed what customers should be doing to prepare themselves for an overhaul of the postal service, one of their most fundamental communication channels.

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UK Royal Mail and Postcomm cross swords over price control

Posted by | Aug 9, 2005 | |

Royal Mail and Postcomm have again clashed over the regulator’s proposed price control, with job losses at the postal service under the media microscope.

Royal Mail is disputing Postcomm’s proposal that it can increase the price of first-class stamps from 30p to at most 34p by 2010.

Chief executive Adam Crozier, speaking on Monday’s ‘Today’ programme on BBC Radio 4, said the proposals were a backwards step.

“The proposals would take the company back to where it was three years ago, when we were losing GBP1.7bn,” he said.

Royal Mail is pushing for a bigger increase and has previously said that the control would lead to 40,000 job losses.

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Postcomm seeks consent from UK mail operators for licence changes

Posted by | Aug 9, 2005 | |

Royal Mail’s rivals have been asked by Postcomm to consent to its final proposed modifications to their existing licences ahead of the introduction of full postal competition in January.

Postcomm has come up with a new standard licence for alternative operators to Royal Mail after industry-wide consultation.

The licence would replace those it has already issued to 10 operators and take effect from January 1 2006, but all those operators need to agree to the changes.

Postcomm said it would talk to the operators informally to get their consent, but if not all of them give it, it would mean referring the proposed changes to the Competition Commission for it to rule on them. This could potentially delay full market opening.

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Tentative steps towards (UK) competition

Posted by | Aug 8, 2005 | |

Postwatch, the watchdog for postal services, notes that Postcomm has published further details of its postal market licensing system. From 1 January 2006, licensed operators will be able to collect, sort and deliver mail to customers. Postcomm, the postal services regulator, today set out in three decision documents details of the licensing framework that will apply to postal operators other than Royal Mail; a code of practice protecting ‘mail integrity’, for example security of post, and staff recruitment; and common operating procedures, such as how competing companies should work together on a number of issues, such as misdirected mail. Commenting on the announcement today, Peter Carr, Chairman of Postwatch, said: “Opening up the UK postal market to competition will bring benefits to customers, including increased choice, improved quality of service and the possibility of lower prices. Essential to consumer confidence is that all postal operators – including Royal Mail – are reliable, with rigorous employment policies, taking all necessary steps to safeguard against theft and loss of mail.”

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UK Royal Mail may have to lay off 30,000

Posted by | Aug 8, 2005 | |

The British postal service, faced with losses of as much as 8 billion dollars in its pension fund, may have to dismiss up to 30,000 workers.

A study commissioned by mail regulator Postcomm and conducted by LECG found that competition and other factors have created a big shortfall in the pension fund of the Royal Mail.

Up to 30,000 post office jobs could be at risk, the study concluded.

The Royal Mail has about 165,000 employees.

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