Royal Mail's future in doubt after delivery targets missed in every postcode

[funkflex55]

Royal Mail’s future in doubt after delivery targets missed in every postcode
Next three months ‘make or break’ for the company, which has lost a tenth of its business to rivals and delivered a £750 million loss
updated
Households in some areas are having to wait up to two weeks for deliveries
Households in some areas are having to wait up to two weeks for deliveries
Tom Witherow
Friday September 01 2023, 2.45pm, The Times
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The future of the Royal Mail is in doubt after it failed to hit its delivery targets in every UK postcode this summer.

Households in postage blackspots are waiting up to two weeks for deliveries, putting the NHS under strain as missed hospital appointments become a “continuous occurrence”.

A cancer sufferer who underwent surgery last month said it was “shocking” that letters from his doctor had arrived after he was expected to attend appointments.

A source close to the company said the next three months were “make or break” for Royal Mail after it lost a tenth of its business to rivals in a year of strikes, and delivered a £750 million loss.

“It could be curtains for the company if they don’t start winning back big contracts,” they said, citing discussions with two major high street chains. They added that the absence of a chief executive, since Simon Thompson resigned in May, had left the firm “rudderless”.

There was a backlash to the 15p jump in the price of a first-class stamp to £1.10 in April, well above the 10.1 per cent increase in the Consumer Prices Index recorded in March.

Amid the crisis, the billionaire shareholder Daniel Kretinsky, known as the Czech Sphinx, has netted close to £100 million in dividends from Royal Mail’s parent company since 2021.

Despite missing all delivery targets, the Royal Mail’s parent company has paid out millions in dividends to shareholders such as Daniel KretinskyDespite missing all delivery targets, the Royal Mail’s parent company has paid out millions in dividends to shareholders such as Daniel Kretinsky
Despite missing all delivery targets, the Royal Mail’s parent company has paid out millions in dividends to shareholders such as Daniel Kretinsky
CHRISTOPHER L PROCTOR FOR THE TIMES
The postal service is now on course to miss delivery targets set by the regulator Ofcom for the seventh year in a row in 2023/24.

Figures published by Royal Mail reveal that it delivered three in four first class letters and parcels within one working day between March 27 and June 25, well below the statutory target of 93 per cent.

In the worst-performing postcode, just 57.5 per cent of first class mail was delivered on time. The standard set by Ofcom, part of the Universal Service Obligation (USO), was not met in a single UK postcode.

Ninety-four per cent of second class mail was delivered within three working days, short of the target of 98.5 per cent and worse than last year, when 96 per cent was delivered on time.

The last time Royal Mail hit the target for both first and second class mail in a single year was six years ago in 2016/17.

Pete Corbett, a married father of three, was diagnosed with tongue cancer ten weeks ago and had several tests and scans before surgery early last month.

After a two-week stay in hospital Corbett, 42, from Chepstow, in south Wales, continues to have regular follow-up appointments.

“I was really fortunate not to miss any appointments given the severity of what I had,” he said. “Hospital staff were following up via the phone. It’s shocking isn’t it. The last time I had post through the door was 11 days ago.”

The retail manager said he had noticed “a lot of agency workers” filling in on the delivery round. “It’s been gradually getting worse but certainly for the last couple of years. It doesn’t seem to be a priority to do the basics,” he said.

One hospital volunteer from west London, whose roles include welcoming patients, said: “There are loads of patients who miss appointments because of late letters. It’s a continuous occurrence. They are piloting a scheme to phone patients up in advance of appointments as so many don’t turn up.”

Joanna Lloyd-Davies from Little Venice in west London said she received post twice a week “if we’re lucky”.

“I’m so hacked off. It is appallingly slow and last week I received quite a large bundle,” she said. “Why does my mail build up to such large quantities before being delivered? It’s just so frustrating.”

Chris Cook, 42, an outsource manager from Bideford, in Devon, said he had not received any mail for two weeks.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a time when I’ve had mail on multiple occasions throughout a week. It’s difficult, I’m ordering things and if they’re sent by Royal Mail they’re not turning up and I’m waiting for a referral for some treatment from the NHS.”

Ofcom launched an investigation in May, and will decide whether to fine Royal Mail by Christmas. In 2019 it issued a £1.5 million fine for delivery failures, but between 2020 and 2022 accepted Covid-19 as a mitigating factor.

Royal Mail has blamed its missed targets on sickness and absenceRoyal Mail has blamed its missed targets on sickness and absence
Royal Mail has blamed its missed targets on sickness and absence
SIMON DAWSON/BLOOMBERG /GETTY IMAGES
Last year postal workers completed 89.4 per cent of delivery routes for each day on which a delivery was required. The figure for the first quarter of this year was 90.4 per cent — still well short of the target of 99.9 per cent.

Unions blame “gross management” for the failure, and a reliance on about 25,000 agency workers, out of a total workforce of 150,000. They claim about 1,000 staff a month are leaving the company because they are “fed up”.

The company claims it is blighted by high levels of absence and sickness. Its bosses have repeatedly said the USO, set out in the Postal Services Act 2011, is out of date after letter volumes fell 30 per cent between 2019 and 2023.

The Department of Business and Trade has rejected calls for reform. In June it blocked Royal Mail’s plan to stop delivering post on Saturdays.

Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distributions Services, has paid £477 million in dividends to shareholders since March 2021.

Darren Jones, the chairman of the Commons business committee, said this week: “It’s deeply concerning to hear from customers that the delivery of letters seems to have gotten worse, not better, since my committee demanded to see improvements. Senior leaders must work more closely with the trade union and postal workers to fix this problem urgently.”

Months of industrial action by the Communications Workers’ Union ended in July, with a deal agreed that includes a ten per cent salary increase over three yearsMonths of industrial action by the Communications Workers’ Union ended in July, with a deal agreed that includes a ten per cent salary increase over three years
Months of industrial action by the Communications Workers’ Union ended in July, with a deal agreed that includes a ten per cent salary increase over three years


The company has been without a chief executive since Thompson resigned in May after disastrous annual results and two bruising encounters with Jones’s committee. The company is yet to announce a replacement.

The battle with the Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) concluded in July, with a ten per cent salary increase over three years, and a one-off lump sum of £500 for union-grade employees. A new sickness policy and working patterns to help the company compete in the parcel market were also agreed.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Improving quality of service is one of Royal Mail’s top priorities and our primary focus is to restore performance and deliver the high standards of service our customers expect. While the majority of mail is delivered safely and on time, service levels are currently not where we want them to be largely due to high levels of staff absence and vacancies.

“Across the business, plans to improve quality are already underway with targeted recruitment drives and a dedicated highly skilled performance team working with local units to improve quality.”

Sauce
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1267 ... c748c3e520

[Moose67]

Stop keep blaming the postmen/women it is all laid at the door of this dysfunctional management who are only interested in paying the shareholder and themselves buckets full of money and then blaming the staff for sickness and illhealth who knows what we will get blamed for next

[funkflex55]

Blaming staff vacancies is equally hilarious as we all know why that is.

[scoobydo79]

“Rudderless “ with out Thompson? It was that clueless idiot that messed it all up

[enskied]

Every single post code :
How odd, when there is someone on here posting that their place clears every day. They wander about scratching their heads looking for work.

[rubberbond]

Until recently when they were replying to articles such as this, quality of service was our priority, now it appears it’s just one of our priorities, I wonder what the others are.

[Surfpostie]

Like I said on a previous post,this company is run by Amateurs! What a mess we are in due to the utter incompetence of this board. Sort it out soon,or we will be like Wilko’s.

[ANDREW CROCOMBE]

Well some 10-12,000 have left. Rounds have been grown to unbearable size. The agency staff are soon to go back. Making new DPR jobs 11-7 inc Sundays isn't attractive to anyone. Thanks for destroying this once glorious company with proud hard working staff. At least shareholders are happy. Says it all.

[dazzler123]

When will ofcom fine them? I want this board to suffer

[Jb1969]

When will ofcom fine them? I want this board to suffer

The fine, if any will be inconsequential to the money they have saved with the reduction in workforce!
It’s a win, win for RM

[yellowbelly]

When will ofcom fine them? I want this board to suffer

But the board don't actually suffer on a personal level for their individual and collective incompetence. The company
would pay the fine. If by some miracle a member of the board is encouraged to leave they'd get a golden goodbye
for all their hard work or get put on gardening leave - I wonder how Simon's garden has been coping with
his interference over the summer!

[enskied]

Simon is still here untill October remember.

[enskied]

So, Lou Barlow has failed as miserably as the rest of us yet he and his office has cleared every day without fail for years .
How then is Lou on the naughy step like the rest of us?
Explain Lou, please.

[Splappy_McSplap]

All but two managers at my office don't care about anything other than tracked. As soon as you say you don't have time to complete it's "Can you manage the tracked?" to which we answer "Sure, but I will have to leave letters instead" to which they reply "That's fine" while already walking away.

It is clearly impossible to make a profit while sustaining the Universal Service. The company should never have been privatised in the first place and the people of the UK never even got a say in the matter.

[pieoftheday]

Sauce?