As opening salvo begins in dispute that could reshape a UK institution, group chair does not mince his words
Executives have said the success of its international arm GLS should not be used to fund Royal Mail, unless reforms are agreed with unions,Executives have said the success of its international arm GLS should not be used to fund Royal Mail, unless reforms are agreed with unions,n a summer when picket lines have become a familiar sight, the casual observer could be forgiven for mistaking Friday’s strike atas a cookie-cutter pay dispute.
Royal Mail employees began 24 hours of strike action at 4am on Friday, and will strike again on Wednesday, before further action on 8-9 September. It has been estimated the four days of strikes will cost Royal Mail £100m, with each day worth £10m and £15m in lost letter and parcel revenue respectively. The knock-on effect for businesses will be notable too: eBay has informed buyers that Royal Mail and Parcelforce deliveries may be delayed and advised sellers to switch couriers.
To remain competitive, management want to invest in a series of “super hubs”, such as the massive sorting centre opened in Warrington this summer that can process 800,000 parcels a day. The hubs are designed to process orders made online in the evening, for delivery within 24 hours. They can automate the scanning and sorting processes, which means fewer staff are needed at a smaller number of local delivery offices. Unions representing staff at those 1,200 local offices are concerned.
Executives have said the success of GLS should not be used to fund Royal Mail, unless reforms are agreed with unions. But is it not practical to use the benefits of operating as a group to have stronger divisions support others? Williams says he wants to preserve what has made Royal Mail part of the fabric of British life: posties in shorts whistling up garden paths, Postman Pat-style vans climbing country roads and cheery morning retorts. However, competition for parcel delivery has intensified since the start of the pandemic and rivals including Amazon and DPD have beefed up their services, delivering later until the evening and weekends.
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