Royal Mail has denied that it is planning a move to seven-day deliveries after privatisation inresponse to demand from online retail customers and rising competition, although it is reported to
be considering the idea.In a week when TNT Post confirmed it was expanding its ‘final-mile’ mail delivery service inLondon, the Financial Times reported that Royal Mail CEO Moya Greene favoured the idea ofincreasing deliveries from six to seven days a week, although it said no timetable had been set fora decision. Several other UK parcel firms already offer seven-day delivery and Royal Mailtemporarily introduced Sunday deliveries in some areas last December in the approach to Christmasto cope with high peak-season demand.
However, a Royal Mail spokesman today told CEP-Research: “We have no plans to provide aseven-day-a-week delivery. We do provide it in some parts of the country at Christmas time. Wecontinually seek new ways to provide great service for our letters and parcels customers.” At thetime of writing, he was unable to confirm whether the idea was under informal consideration.
Extending the delivery of parcels – and possibly letters – to Sundays would achieve the oppositeof what some opponents of privatisation fear: that the planned sell-off of Royal Mail could put atrisk the UK’s ‘universal service’, which requires the delivery of mail six-day-a-week at a uniformprice to any UK address.
The UK government plans to begin privatisation of the UK state-owned postal operator later thisyear, probably through a stock market flotation this autumn, and last month appointed severalbanks to help manage the process, led by Goldman Sachs and UBS. The aim is to sell a majority stakein the company, which is thought to be worth £2-3 billion. If market conditions remain strong,insiders say they could try to sell it in one go, apart from 10% that has been promised tostaff.
Meanwhile, TNT Post today confirmed to CEP-Research that it will begin delivering maildoor-to-door next week in south-west London, a year after it began offering final-mile maildelivery in west London to business customers. Together with its parent company PostNL, TNT Post islooking for a partner to help fund a national UK rollout of final-mile mail deliveries, potentiallyinvolving around 20,000 TNT Post workers delivering mail throughout the UK within five years.
TNT Post currently offers UK-wide mail delivery via the so-called ‘downstream access’ model,where the firm collects and sorts post from business customers before handing it over to Royal Mailfor ‘final mile’ delivery to residential and business addresses. The Communication Workers Union(CWU), which represents 130,000 of Royal Mail’s 150,000 staff, says rival companies such as TNTPost are competing unfairly by “cherry-picking” profitable bulk mail contracts, undermining pay andjobs.
Royal Mail is set to seek a court injunction against the CWU if the union goes ahead with athreatened boycott of deliveries of rival companies’ downstream access mail. The CWU isholding a consultative ballot, with the result due next week.
The union has indicated that if, as expected, the result is a “yes”, it will set an early dateto begin a boycott without a formal industrial action ballot. Royal Mail believes the action wouldbe unlawful and is reportedly prepared to act to protect its business. Pre-sorted mail on behalf ofprivate companies such as TNT Post and UK Mail accounts for more than 40% of UK post.
