Ministers urged to ‘save’ Royal Mail as up to 2,500 jobs set to go

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Communication Workers Union deputy general secretary Martin Walsh said that the proposals will affect some 200 CWU-represented jobs in administration and revenue protection.

“We urge the government to confront the reality of a collapsing Royal Mail and intervene to save this national institution,” he said.

Unite blamed years of inaction by the service, the government and Ofcom for failing “to address the serious problems facing Royal Mail, especially high competition from gig economy postal services.”

The union’s Communication Managers Association (CMA), which also represents Royal Mail and the communications sector staff, said that the government “must review the regulatory framework governing the postal industry to ensure positive action is taken.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham warned the cuts will “not improve quality of service and the workforce must not be made the scapegoats for poor decisions made by the company, government or Ofcom.

“Without urgent action, this will happen again. More jobs will be lost, employment standards will continue to fall and customers will continue to be let down. The answer cannot simply be another round of job cuts.”

Unite CMA national chair Gary Sassoon-Hales added: “These devastating job losses have been directly caused by years of inaction. Unite will not stand for our members being penalised for a situation that is not of their making.

“Unite is now supporting our affected members at Royal Mail during this very difficult time and is committed to fighting this decision every step of the way. Firm change, not further job losses, is what is needed to ensure the future of Royal Mail.”

We Own It director Cat Hobbs called on PM Andy Burnham to “step in directly” to halt the “absolutely disgraceful cuts.”

“Andy Burnham must make good on his promise to reverse Thatcher’s legacy by taking it back,” she said.

“He can either buy it back directly for around £3.6 billion — although he could easily negotiate a price cut after the damage done by its Czech billionaire owner — or he can squeeze it with regulation until [Daniel] Kretinsky hands our asset back over.”

Royal Mail said that it was undergoing a “significant transformation” as the business implements universal service reform and adapts to a rapidly changing market.

Letter volumes have declined by more than 70 per cent since their peak while customer demand for faster and more convenient parcel delivery services continues to grow, it said.

A statement said: “As part of its transformation programme, Royal Mail is simplifying processes and functions across the business and today announced proposals for an organisational review of head office and support functions.”

The government and Ofcom were contacted for comment.