EFFORTS to overhaul Royal Mail must be accompanied by better working conditions for staff and improved service reliability, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) warned today.

Regulator Ofcom has proposed plans to axe Saturday deliveries of second-class letters, reducing the service to alternate weekdays, a step it claims would save up to £425 million annually.

Royal Mail’s delivery targets are also set to be cut, with first-class mail going from 93 per cent delivered the next day to 90 per cent, and second class from 98.5 per cent delivered within three days to 95 per cent.