PLANS to cut Royal Mail delivery days and threaten tens of thousands of jobs are already “dead in the water,” the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said today.
The union vowed to engage with businesses and the public to put forward alternative ideas aimed at growing the business prior to the end of a consultation on the communications regulator Ofcom’s plans.
CWU also called for reform of the regulator, saying that it has been left with “no credibility” after making the suggestion without consulting any workers.
General secretary Dave Ward said that Ofcom’s report is not a “credible vehicle for change” and that relations between Royal Mail and the union had improved for the first time in years under the company’s new leadership.
“We will produce our own blueprint for the future and start to develop ideas to expand the business,” he said.
“We need to think about new products and services and an expanding role for workers.
“Royal Mail has the biggest fleet in the country and the greatest presence in every community, which should be seen as an advantage.
“We challenge Royal Mail to join us in properly discussing the future of the universal service obligation (USO), and to reach a position that protects the customers that rely on this company and our members.
“We are not resistant to change, but we will not sign up to a three-day USO, which would destroy Royal Mail as we know it and would impact on thousands of jobs.”
Today an Ofcom review said that Royal Mail could cut up to £650 million if it delivered letters just three days a week and £200m by stopping Saturday deliveries.
It claimed that there was an increasing risk the firm would become “financially and operationally unsustainable in the long term,” given the cost of delivering the USO.
Business and Trade Committee chairman and Labour MP Liam Byrne said the report “demonstrates once and for all that government and Royal Mail must now get round the table to agree how the USO works now and for the future.
“Let’s be absolutely clear: the USO is a vital public service which is why we’ve called for government to get serious about talks with Royal Mail to agree a plan to secure its future.
“We’ve demanded a report from ministers this year about how they’re going to do that and the Ofcom consultation underlines why we were right to make that call.”
