Archive
If you don’t like the 60p stamp, wait till you see Royal Mail privatisation

‘Sixty pence to deliver a first-class letter from the Outer Hebrides to the Scilly Isles: it’s still a bargain by anyone’s reckoning.’ Photograph: Kevin Foy/Rex Features
Royal Mail may be viewed with a high level of affection by the public now, but will that still be the case after it’s privatised?
From the Guardian Comment is free
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Ofcom offers little hope to Royal Mail

Under Ofcom's proposals, 'Royal Mail has a monopoly of the work, while other companies get a share of the profits'. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images
Royal Mail has a new regulator, but its proposals fail to protect the service from privatisation and unfair competition
From the Guardian, Comment is free
Friday 28 October 2011 08.00 BST
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Royal Mail’s ‘neighbourly’ delivery service has a hidden cause

Staff unload vans at Royal Mail's sorting office in Filton, Bristol one of the biggest in the UK. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
The Royal Mail’s decision to leave undelivered mail with neighbours fits in with its policy of closing delivery offices
From the Guardian, Comment is free
Monday 3 October 2011 10.09 BST
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Modernisation has put the snail in Royal Mail

Bikes for postal workers are being phased out by Royal Mail, slowing down delivery. Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian
The amount of lost or delayed mail is no surprise – ill-conceived new working methods have slowed postal workers down.
From the Guardian Comment is free.
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Junk mail – the facts
A Panorama programme on postal junk was compelling, but didn’t mention that the market is skewed against Royal Mail
From the Guardian Comment is free
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Royal Mail is not delivering

'Millions more have been spent on a fleet of new vans to replace the bikes the Royal Mail intends to scrap.' Photograph: Christopher Thomond for the Guardian
As profits dive, it’s clear this management isn’t modernising, it’s running the company into the ground – but why?
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- Roy Mayall
- guardian.co.uk, Monday 20 June 2011 18.30 BST
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Privatisation is the last thing Royal Mail needs

Vince Cable announced his plans for the privatisation of Royal Mail in October. Photograph: Lewis Whyld/PA
Vince Cable needs to look beyond the headline figures and develop a long-term solution to Royal Mail’s problems
From Comment is free.
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The not so jolly postman
Postal worker Roy Mayall loves his job – the fresh air, the early starts, even the Christmas rush. But this year it’s not quite so much fun. The service is being ‘modernised’, resulting in backlogs and delays. So will your cards get through?
From the Guardian.
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No united front at the Royal Mail

Memories of last year's postal workers' strike, which some managers broke, have not faded. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
The thought of striking managers caused hilarity in the posties’ smoking shed this morning. The thought of privatisation didn’t.
From the Guardian, Comment is free.
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Royal Mail staff are trying to save the universal postal service
‘It is Royal Mail postal workers like me who walk along your street and up and down your garden path, six days a week, in order to get the mail to you.’ Photograph: Rex Features
If private companies can pick the best bits of the network, the obligation to deliver to all is undermined. That’s why we’re considering action.
From the Guardian, Comment is free, Thursday 6 December 2012 15.05 GMT
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