The agreement, confirmed by multiple reports, will see second class letter deliveries moved to every other weekday. Royal Mail has also agreed to allow around 6,000 part-time postal workers to increase their average weekly hours if needed as part of these reforms. According to Alistair Cochrane, chief executive of Royal Mail, this agreement with the CWU paves the way for Universal Service reform rollout and represents a significant investment in people.
The deal includes a 4.75% pay rise and better terms for workers who joined on or after December 1 2022, while those on legacy contracts will receive a 3% salary hike, though the specific terms of the better conditions have not been detailed. Royal Mail has agreed that new starters will have contracts based on standard 37-hour working weeks.
Regulator Ofcom last year gave the green light to Royal Mail’s plans to scale back second class letter deliveries, starting from July 28. Royal Mail launched the changes across 35 delivery offices as a pilot, but has yet to expand this nationwide due to a disagreement with the union. CWU members will now be consulted on the agreement, but the timeline and method for this consultation remain unclear.
According to major media, the Universal Service reforms will be extended to 240 more delivery offices as part of a wider trial before being completed across the full 1,200 UK network by December. Under the Universal Service Obligation, Royal Mail must keep Monday to Saturday deliveries for first class post and maintain the target for second class letters to arrive within three working days.
Royal Mail has argued the changes to second class deliveries are crucial to helping it maintain the letter delivery service and ensure it is sustainable for the future. Cochrane added that moving ahead with reform will make a real difference to Royal Mail’s quality of service, supporting the delivery of a reliable, efficient and financially sustainable postal service for customers across the UK. However, Royal Mail has continued to fail to meet delivery targets set by Ofcom, though the exact targets have not been specified.
There are MP concerns over practices in the postal service and worries that parcels are being prioritised over letters. In a cross-party Commons committee session last month, the CWU told MPs the postal service had become chaotic with Royal Mail workers being told to leave doctors’ and hospital letters on racks to prioritise parcels.
Royal Mail’s owner Daniel Kretinsky, who was also giving evidence to the committee, insisted there was no management decision for parcels to be prioritised over letters and argued the service cannot be fixed until plans for reform of the USO are put in place.
Royal Mail kicked off intensive talks with the CWU at the beginning of February to resolve the dispute. The shift to alternate weekdays for second class deliveries may affect delivery times and customer service, but the precise impact is not yet known.