Pandemic no longer excuse for missing delivery targets, Ofcom warns Royal Mail

[enskied]

So we will now be told (again) to tie it all up , take it out and bring it back.
Throw it all back in again and again.

OFCOM need to get all over this.

[norris9]

how does ofcom investigate these things, do they rely on posties to whistle blow?

Royal Mail have been purposefully understaffing us for over a year. It has nothing to do with Covid and nothing to do with the strikes. Royal Mail simply aren't staffing us properly to carry out the USO.

Is the CWU informing Ofcom of this?

[Wolf91]

Disgraceful really. It hasn’t been a legitimate excuse for 18 months+ . Getting away with absolute murder are RM.

[BigSacks]

If OFCOM want a real view of what happens on a daily basis all they need to do is get a postie to film a vlog for them for 1 day.

As above, relying on figures that RM report themselves is laughable.

“The Police regulator found that the police only reported 2 incidents of racism in their arrests so no further action is required”

EVERY SINGLE postie in the entire country works or knows of an office who has failed mail this year.
Every one. Most on a regular basis.
Yet there’s only a 3% difference? Behave ffs.

[k979aaa]

The fact of the matter is it's not COVID-19 it is Simon Thompson-22 that is the real threat here of failed delivery targets so he is in effect willfully delaying mail and breaking the contracts of DSA providers? If I did that I would be sacked/dismissed any reason why he can do it ? Woman with felt-tip pen emerges from the shadows and writes YOUR 100% GUILTY OF THIS and he reads it out good ending or what!

[seesred]

It would not entirely surprise me if RM have forced the issue regarding industrial action in order to have something to blame for failing to meet their USO obligations in 2022-2023...

Can RM use industrial action as an excuse to miss the targets and avoid fines? Whether there is industrial action is something in at least their partial control ( by negotiating a fair deal in a timely manner).

I don't know in all honesty, but they are very quick to publicly attribute their present failures to industrial action, rather than facing the fact that their understaffing and gross mismanagement have been degrading our levels and quality of service over an extended period. And the censure from Ofcom regarding their performance in this financial year was sufficiently strongly worded to suggest they needed to raise their performance (not possible under the current cost-cutting at any cost business model) or find a convenient get out of jail card to play.

[tractorboy2]

Social distancing measures haven't been in place for ages , well before March 22.
If RM become a parcel business Ofcom would be obsolete. They only have one business to regulate, and they can't even do that very well.

[Sbutts8182]

Today, purse strings loosened, book what it takes to complete if you want, same in my mates office also. Amazing what a warning from ofcom can do.

[goneaway]

Can someone remind me, under the USO, and the targets that are set by OFCOM to deliver certain percentages of mail within a certain target percentage for specified periods, is there an automatic exemption from OFCOM for the Christmas (or "peak") period, in normal years? I thought I read somewhere ages ago the targets are relaxed, given that there are "last posting" dates each year in the run up to Christmas Day.

If there is any exemption, is this why RM think they can get away with just ignoring letters and just tell everyone to dfeliver Tracked and Special Delivery items and get away with it, scott free?

[norris9]

Can someone remind me, under the USO, and the targets that are set by OFCOM to deliver certain percentages of mail within a certain target percentage for specified periods, is there an automatic exemption from OFCOM for the Christmas (or "peak") period, in normal years? I thought I read somewhere ages ago the targets are relaxed, given that there are "last posting" dates each year in the run up to Christmas Day.

If there is any exemption, is this why RM think they can get away with just ignoring letters and just tell everyone to dfeliver Tracked and Special Delivery items and get away with it, scott free?

In my delivery office Royal Mail management have always prioritised tracked parcels over standard parcels and letters. It's been going on for years and years.

I guess they get away with it as who is going to know that they are doing this outside the business?

This isn't the only way they ignore the USO... they also purposefully understaff us as there is no rest day cover. I work in a large delivery office. The public in my area are essentially getting a 5 day service and have been for almost 2 years.

I do not know how Royal Mail can reduce staff significantly when we are already understaffed across the country and we have a USO to comply to. Once these strikes are over, Royal Mail will have no excuses not to hit Ofcom's delivery targets.

[goneaway]

I do not know how Royal Mail can reduce staff significantly when we are already understaffed across the country and we have a USO to comply to. Once these strikes are over, Royal Mail will have no excuses not to hit Ofcom's delivery targets.

I don't think Simon Thompson or other members of the RM Board care if OFCOM's delivery targets are missed. They probably think it's worth the financial hit from fines, which they think they can more than offset by savings in wages from understaffing the operation. What other sanctions do OFCOM have, other than fines?

Even if fines incurred exceed savings in wages and other costs. maybe it's by design, to help run the company into the ground to crash the share price further, to give their chums who want to increase their share holdings in the company on the cheap.