Royal Mail industrial dispute and the universal service obligation

Motion Text

That this House condemns the actions of Royal Mail which, it believes is threatening up to 10,000 job cuts from the postal service; notes that Royal Mail made £758 million in profit in the year to March 2022, but paid out most of that, around £567 million, to shareholders in dividends and a share buyback; further notes that Royal Mail reported record profits and is concerned of mismanagement of finances as they are now reporting that they are losing one million pounds a day; notes that Royal Mail imposed a 2 per cent pay award during a time of spiralling inflation and a cost of living crisis; considers that postal workers provide an important service to millions of people in every corner of the country and is an essential part of the UK’s national infrastructure; notes that Royal Mail’s business plan threatens the Universal Service Obligation set out in the Postal Services Act 2011; further considers that a cut to jobs will not only harm these workers but the communities that they serve including small business owners; considers that Royal Mail is abandoning mutually agreed plans for modernisation, choosing instead to pursue what it sees as an asset stripping agenda; further believes that this threatens the future of the company and is an unacceptable attack on the terms and conditions of postal workers; and calls on Royal Mail to negotiate a fair offer with the Communications Workers Union that values their service and hard work.