It’s not been a good month for Royal Mail. Having announced on 7 October that it was looking to cut 2,500 head office and support-function jobs by the end of 2027, the beleaguered postal service found itself in the news again on 14 October.
This time, it was because the CWU had announced that, thanks to the shambolic new operating service Royal Mail had rolled out, roughly 400 posties were quitting every week.
Royal Mail’s owners, including notorious billionaire Daniel Křetínský, claim that a 70 percent drop in letter-sending since the service’s peak is to blame. Given that the few letters they do get still aren’t getting delivered on time, this probably rings hollow to a lot of people.
The reality is that, ever since its privatisation, Royal Mail has been engaged in a race to the bottom as far as its services and working conditions are concerned.
In order to compete with the likes of DPD and Evri, this once-hallowed institution is seeking to cut costs wherever it can.
As ever, whether this is done by direct cuts, or by ‘attrition’ and failing to re-recruit for positions, that means attacks on Royal Mail’s workers. With many saying that individual postmen and women are doing the jobs of several, it’s no wonder that many are choosing to walk.
The so-called ‘universal service obligation’, which supposedly guarantees a six-day service from Royal Mail, is increasingly clashing with the desire of its private owners to turn a profit. The ‘obligation’ was already cut to five days for standard letters last year.
It’s high time that the Křetínskýs of the world face a job cut – and the communications of the world be taken back by the workers that operate them!
