Universal Postal Service At Risk

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30207387

I predicted this when the Royal Mail was privatised a few months ago. So why was it hived off in the first place ? Not even Mrs Voldemort would touch it and yet dave did ! What a shambles !

[DTCwordfan]

okay I quote the Parcel side (which also had revenues shrinking in the last Q) but my point holds for the letters as well. How many folk from the junior postie or envelope pusher or toilet cleaner (if not spun out on that latter one) to the CEO? I'll come back on this when it's answered as this sort of benchmarking I have been extensively involved with in the past......

Actually in toilet cleaning, they were jobs for the Union officials in Ford and GM in Detroit and they would command salaries of $125k a year - and then subcontract the actual work out, mainly to Iraqi immigrants!

[DTCwordfan]

And divebuddy, you have mentioned the very reason I would spin the delivery and pick-up to local postmen on a quasi-franchise basis, the issue being the (excessive) overheads the front-line are currently bearing.

[DTCwordfan]

We could also move to a system of collection points, like pubs and village shops, akin to what's happening with parcels - and how the Canadians have gone, the key thing being to 'help a neighbour out' which are values that we in the country hold, and more than the townies.

[DTCwordfan]

Yes - and why not? Times change you know - what was good for Victorian and Edwardian times isn't necessarily the right model for Carolean times when QE2 conks out....

[jourdain2]

Collection points possibly - but it would have to be on a daily basis. The modern world moves so fast that days lost in receiving mail can have drastic repercussions - also rural areas are the ones struggling with intermittent or non-existent internet access.

[DTCwordfan]

I agree on that, jourdain, and with encouragement in rural communities to help a neighbour, perhaps a local deliverer supported by the RM if the demand is there.....

[Bazile]

You may have noticed that the government have seperated Post Office Ltd , ( the counters business -which remains publicly owned and is currently going through a network transformation programme ) from the rest of the Royal Mail Group .

I wonder why they are not flogging PO Ltd - (lots of mp's losing their seats at the next election and beyond , i hear you say ?)

Privitisation of the counters business remains a political hot potato and a step too far , for our politicians

[mikey4444]

Bazile...there is nothing that is a step too far, for our politicians ! ! !

[jourdain2]

I think the colloquialism is 'Right on', dct!