Changes are afoot.
The extending a posties walk is broken down like this.
Parcels are the big profit maker. When Parcelforce became the Royal Mail parcel arm it wasn't always the case. The new CEO has figured that to make the mail profitable loading up on parcels is the way forward. Mail is down roughly 3% year on year. What can be done?
Posties should go out as a pair in a van doing roughly 6 loops (Loop = leave van with bag and return) each. This varies per round/ area but it's a good medium to work with. The proposal is to add an extra loop to each walk. This will free up 2 postmen in every 12 walks to delivery that areas parcels. Anything over a shoebox size will be taken from the postie and given to them. In theory freeing up space and time to do the extra walk.
The trouble is attended calls (where you have to knock and get a signature for a letter/ parcel) are also on the rise as people want more accountability for their precious meaning walks take longer already. Adding an extra loop will extend this.
We also have to factor in Christmas. It's started already with those oh so lovely catalogues that no-one seems to want but can't be arsed unticking the "send me loads of shit in the post starting right after I've completed this transaction" button. This adds to the workload. Immensely. Including the parcel drivers.
They also want the van drivers to work a more "Amazon" style. Staying out later and later into the afternoon. This has already been trialed in a few DO's across the country with next day deliveries.
So you can see the anger. Mix in the wiping out of the four pillars means there are a lot of disgruntled posties about. Strike is one option. Though this has a habit of not really achieving anything. Look at the Four Pillars agreement.
That said, there is room for cost savings in the Royal Mail. At the moment you can, theoretically, run round like a loon, finish early, take another loop as overtime and still finish before your allotted hours are up. So days wage plus overtime and finishing an hour early. Plainly this is madness. A lot of delivery offices have signing in books which are not checked. So you could write in a start/ finish time that is totally false. All that matters is the walks are covered.
It does need to change. But not in the way that the CEO is trying to do. Ripping up signed agreements, zero hour contracts etc etc will mean a lot of posties will leave. Say what you like about posties but 99% of them are honest and hard working. Replacing them with the kind of delivery system that Amazon employs will mean the service will disintegrate.
