MSE News: Stamp prices could rise as Ofcom proposes Royal Mail shake-up

custardy

WestonDave wrote: »

The alternative to across the board price rises could be an enhanced service subscription (probably the norm for businesses).

Apologies to custardy - old memory of sorting leaflets into bundles for door to door - current prices are around 5p per item unaddressed "junk" mail. I don't particularly relish shedding loads of jobs but sometimes life moves on - our railways for example no longer employ two people in the cab, one to drive and the other to shovel coal, because modern trains don't require that. In the same way with our communication networks, there is going to come a time when everyone effectively paying a tax just to keep posties in work shovelling junk mail through our doors will become unsustainable. Whether or not RM is fiddling the figures its presumably cast iron logic that if RM keep bumping up prices volumes will not rise! At some point this issue has to be addressed and we can't indefinitely keep kicking it down the road. Its also going to start coming to a point of conflict whereby councils who are facing increasing rubbish collection charges start getting antsy about RM adding to it!

well RM have increased their profits on D2D items
staff now get a set payment of £20 odd a week.
thats a cut for most on 3 items per week
however the 3 items cap has been lifted
so its more like 5/6 a week

the end result at RM will be a casual workforce employed through the newly sset up RM employment agency.
how we get their is up for debate


many offices in RM are reaching the physical limit of hat a human can do every day.
In my old office its a 'model office' with staff doing long duties,parts of other duties every day.
staff who dare to do such things as take breaks,not work overtime can expect plenty of manager attention.

staff levels drop every year
The RM machine is geared for privitisation
most of the talk of stamp prices (remember all of this is speculation from a change in regulation)will be moot as i expect the whole network to be split in the near future
I have no idea how that will affect the end user

neil9313

All spot from Custard,

from another ex postie................thank god.

k66yla

RM would'nt be in this position if Europe had'nt insisted that the market be opened up to leeches TNT, UKMail, CitiPost etc. The tax payer has been subsidising these firms as RM HAVE to deliver the 'competitions' items at a loss. Now we appear to be delivering their packets/parcels so I wonder how much subsidy the tax payer is shelling out this time.

For all those that say privatise RM, you'll miss it when its gone.

custardy

seemingly at todays Work Time Learning (AKA lying ) session
RM management are keen for their staff to provide feedback

https://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/securing-the-postal-service/howtorespond/form

along with a farcical session on preparing for winter without fitting winter tyres to the vans,plans on dealing with the weather etc

Garudi

Sorry guys, but junk mail will never be dropped. The problem is it just makes too much money.

If Royal Mail didn't deliver it, you get specialist companies hiring people whose sole job would be to chuck junk leaflets through your letterbox.

jojob63

First of all, with the Government in trouble managing its programme on several fronts, I cannot see massive increases for quite some time. It will be moderated.
Not all have nor indeed want electronic information systems and prefer the power available to the written word.
Short term the Post Office should remove their petty rules by disposing of the counter envelope guides.It deters and also hinders and lengthens queues. (Christmas is coming~!)
For an experimental period, restore Sunday collections through use of regional sorting offices. Falling volumes seen at weekends simply because nothing is collected and moved on until monday. Urgent mail does get delivered on Sats but no chance of an urgent response. Planes fly around the world on Sundays so let them carry mail!

custardy wrote: »

the EU demand a basic mail service with USO (IIRC)
hence the 2nd class standard letter price being left alone

its nice you see 10'000s of people losing their jobs as the solution
don't buy into those falling mail volumes storys
mail has changed for sure but posties are still taking out full bags
of course its now more direct marketing mail and bumph.
RM use set figures for measuring mail.
eg 250 letters per machine prepped trays
any office that has done a manual count has found this figure can be more like 350-400 a tray
doesnt take a genius to see the effect that has on figures

where did you get the 2p rate from?

custardy

jojob63 wrote: »

First of all, with the Government in trouble managing its programme on several fronts, I cannot see massive increases for quite some time. It will be moderated.
Not all have nor indeed want electronic information systems and prefer the power available to the written word.
Short term the Post Office should remove their petty rules by disposing of the counter envelope guides.It deters and also hinders and lengthens queues. (Christmas is coming~!)
For an experimental period, restore Sunday collections through use of regional sorting offices. Falling volumes seen at weekends simply because nothing is collected and moved on until monday. Urgent mail does get delivered on Sats but no chance of an urgent response. Planes fly around the world on Sundays so let them carry mail!

Sunday collections wont return
its a whole system aimed to cutting staff levels in MC's/collections

no point telling RM christmas is coming. they block it out until a flashback to the previous year around December 4th

price and proportion maybe unpopular and zonal pricing will be even more so
however you cannot get away from the fact that size affects handling costs.

Magic_Mel

"Falling volumes seen at weekends simply because nothing is collected and moved on until monday."

Ha Ha...!!!

As a Long Distance Logistics Driver whose duty content is now Tues to Sat, and it is very very clear, the number of these duties is increasing to cover Saturday working each time there is a re-sign this statement is erroneous. You might not be moving it.. but we are!!

Mail volumes (letters per york may be diminishing) but parcels are increasing, and you get less per york, so therefore using more cube requires more Artics!

wileycat

Not sure what benefit bringing back sunday collections would do tbh? Surely its just extra expense wasted?

Volumes are falling yes, but the space taken up by volumes is static or rising by the numbers of parcels being posted. Just imagine what would happen to RM if people still shopped in shops in the high street!

wileycat

custardy wrote: »

along with a farcical session on preparing for winter without fitting winter tyres to the vans,plans on dealing with the weather etc

Think you need it up there more than most!