Communication Workers Union fights for Post Office services

12.58.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 23rd May 2008

In response to the government's review of postal liberalisation the CWU has published its analysis of what is wrong with the Post Office and Royal Mail, and how the government's ideological obsession with increased privatisation has damaged the traditional service to the public.

The CWU is distinctly unimpressed with Postcomm, supposedly the Regulator for the industry but in fact more interested in promoting privatisation to the benefit of the companies who cream off the profits and to the disbenefit of Royal Mail and its customers and employees.

"Building a successful future for CWU members and the company requires government, Postcomm and Royal Mail to recognise that their approach to competition has failed," they say. "Without changes to the current regulatory and competitive framework we believe Royal Mail's current business plan is unsustainable."

Royal Mail used to be profitable, but the money was taken by the government and investment was stifled. That plus competitive rules which effectively mean Royal Mail is subsidising its competitors mean the organisation is now in the red. Mail volumes are falling by 1.5% a year, but the union believes this is not an inevitable trend and if Royal Mail were allowed to modernise it could increase its core business.

Royal Mail management have been paralysed in the face of these attacks. "Royal Mail's reaction … has been short-termist: to cut costs from every area of the business, close post offices in record numbers and scale back services to small businesses and domestic users. Instead of embracing its strengths Royal Mail has reacted to its weaknesses. The management's approach to competition has been 'too little too late', with a lack of real forward planning, product and service innovation to exploit commercial opportunities."

The separation of Royal Mail and Post Office Limited has also been counter-productive. "We believe the Post Office is a cherished and trusted national institution which provides a key focal point for rural and urban communities. But since 1984 the UK has lost almost a third of the entire network. Part of the reason for this has been policy decisions by government which have undermined the network's commercial viability." Instead the government should develop a policy to allow the whole network to flourish making post offices a 'shop front' for government services.