The Simon ' news thread

[noggin1969]

https://www.nationalworld.com/news/poli ... on-4044861

[arsenalbob]

Let’s hope so. He’s the most despicable liar that’s ever run a company

[DirtyHarry]

Good.
These things are only a platform on which they are only too happy to display their dishonesty and ineptitude to the whole nation.
The more the public see them for the out and out liars they are, the better.

[Eduardo]

That newspaper seems like a very reliable source.
I'm sure that article is thoroughly researched and not some sort of click bait.
I feel confident in saying this.

[SpacePhoenix]

Roasting Part 3 coming up?

[twoloops]

The gift that keeps of giving, keep sending your emails of activities in your office to darren.jones.mp@parliament.uk

[Acca Dacca]

That newspaper seems like a very reliable source.
I'm sure that article is thoroughly researched and not some sort of click bait.
I feel confident in saying this.

Its not really clickbait puff piece you paint it as though is it?

Its literally reporting what happened, what was said, the reaction to what was said and what could happen next.

[goinpostal]

This won't stop royal mail look how they lied through their teeth last time, but entertainment gold!

[twoloops]

Comedy gold

https://youtu.be/hSbOuUJ-t60

[TrueBlueTerrier]

[gt94sss2]

The chief executive of Royal Mail has been accused of “incompetence or cluelessness” by MPs calling on the regulator Ofcom to investigate whether the company broke legal service requirements.

Parliament’s cross-party business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee has asked the watchdog to investigate a suspected breach of the universal service obligation (USO), which requires the postal operator to deliver letters nationwide six days a week.

MPs have accused Royal Mail of prioritising parcels over letters and claimed on Friday the company had “systemically failed to deliver” parts of its obligations.

Royal Mail’s chief executive, Simon Thompson, gave evidence to the committee in January but, in an unusual move, was recalled last month after he was accused of giving an inaccurate testimony.

Thompson then admitted digital tracking devices carried by postal workers were used to pressure them to work faster, and blamed rogue managers for using the information in breach of company policy.

The chair of the committee, Darren Jones, said that, after the first hearing, he had received almost 1,500 communications, with evidence that showed tracking information from postal digital assistants (PDA) carried by workers was “100% being used” to discipline and performance-manage staff. Thompson has argued that the devices are used to “balance the workload evenly across the whole of the team”.

Jones said: “I find it hard to believe that such widespread breaches of company policy and legal obligations are down to a national network of rogue workers conspiring against management at Royal Mail.”

The Labour MP said the committee had been “inundated” with evidence “challenging the accuracy of answers” given by Thompson. “Frankly, the failures in company policy which Mr Thompson has admitted to can only be due to either an unacceptable level of incompetence or an unacceptable level of cluelessness about what is happening at Royal Mail,” he said.

In a report by the committee, MPs noted Royal Mail had failed to hit first-class delivery targets every year since 2017. The company’s “USO performance has definitely not been good enough”, Thompson told MPs.

Relations between Royal Mail executives and its workforce have been strained during a months-long dispute over pay and working conditions that has led to strikes. Talks with the Communication Workers Union, which represents about 115,000 postal workers, continue.

Royal Mail has threatened to separate its domestic and international businesses if “significant operational change” cannot be agreed with the unions.

The company also suffered a ransomware attack that crippled its deliveries from the UK to other countries. It refused to pay an $80m (£67m) ransom sought by hackers linked to Russia afterwards.

A spokesperson for the company said: “Royal Mail is proud to deliver the universal service, and our policies are clear that parcels and letters should be treated with equal importance. We have informed the committee that we will be reviewing the consistent application of our policies regarding the delivery of letters and parcels across the business.”

The company said it would share the findings of the review with Ofcom and rejected the suggestion MPs were misled.

An Ofcom spokesperson said: “Royal Mail’s recent performance is clearly well short of where it should be. We’re very concerned about this and have asked the company to explain what it’s doing to bring service levels back up as a matter of urgency.”

Ofcom said it assesses Royal Mail’s performance for the previous 12 months each April and added that the regulator would not “hesitate to take enforcement action if required”.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... deliveries

[gt94sss2]

Royal Mail is falling down on its letter delivery obligations, a group of MPs has said.

The firm has been prioritising parcel deliveries over letters, they said, and called on Ofcom to investigate.

The regulator said Royal Mail's recent performance was "clearly well short of where it should be" and said it would consider the MPs' report.

Royal Mail said it had clear policies that parcels and letters "should be treated with equal importance".

Royal Mail must, by law, deliver letters to all parts of the UK, six days per week, as part of its "universal service obligation".

If it fails to do this, it can be fined by communications regulator Ofcom.

There was widespread evidence that Royal Mail "systemically failed to deliver" on this obligation, telling postal workers to make sure they delivered parcels before letters, MPs on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee said.

They referred the matter to Ofcom, calling on it to open an enforcement investigation, talk to postal workers, and report back to the committee.

Data collection

The MPs also said Royal Mail's chief executive Simon Thompson had not been "wholly accurate" in answers he gave to MPs on the use of technology by managers to track and discipline workers.

Royal Mail said it rejected the suggestion that Royal Mail "may have misled" the committee in answering its questions.

It said evidence that technology had been used to monitor workers in the way suggested, was due to some managers contravening Royal Mail policy.

But the MPs said they did not believe that could have happened "without direct or indirect approval of management". The committee said if senior management had not known, then they should be investigated by the board for negligence.

The MPs also called on the Information Commissioner to check whether this data collection was legal.

The Information Commissioner's Office said it would respond to the report.

Enforcement

Ofcom said it was carefully considering the MPs' report into late letter deliveries.

"We're very concerned about this and have asked the company to explain what it's doing to bring service levels back up as a matter of urgency," the regulator said.

It said it would look at Royal Mail's performance from April to March and wouldn't hesitate to take enforcement action if required.

Royal Mail said it would review how its delivery policies were being used and feed that back to MPs and Ofcom.

"The commercial reality of providing the universal service has changed" Royal Mail said.

The company has faced a series of challenges in recent months, including an ongoing industrial dispute over working conditions.

Strikes caused considerable disruption over the Christmas period.

Royal Mail was then hit by a cyber attack that disrupted overseas mail services in January and February.

In 2020 Ofcom fined the firm £1.5m for missing delivery targets.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64972913

[simmo11]

Not before time!

[Beanyjazz]

So they'll get a massive fine....'with this fine we can't give you a pay rise'. They've known this from the start and the CWU dragging their heels on recent strikes has helped them achieve their goals.

Time has been RM's strength, urgency was needed to counteract this and we've had ZERO urgency from the CWU in the last 12 months.

Think I'll be looking for a new job come April.

[pinstripe]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/marke ... ators.html

Even the bastion of impartiality is having a pop