Final mile postal workers could boycott mail handled by private sector firms in the new year, after a consultative ballot of Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) members at the Royal Mail.
The union said that it had concerns that competition in the market for final mile postal deliveries, from the likes of TNT Post, was “undermining the sustainability of the universal service”.
It is calling for postal regulator Ofcom to:
- Protect the universal service and end cherry-picking of delivery services.
- Maintain quality, affordable postal services.
- Prevent competition on the basis of low wages, insecure jobs and poor conditions.
Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said that it was seeing private companies do what they want with little concern for how it affects postal-services.
“For example, TNT is conducting end-to-end deliveries without having to meet any quality standards while paying people little more than minimum wage,” he said. “That will lead to a race to the bottom on pay which will be bad news for the economy in general and postal workers in particular.”
A spokesman for TNT Post retorted: “We disagree with the comments made in relation to TNT Post in this matter.”
