Royal Mail: Performance Debate
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Rebecca Long Bailey
Main Page: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)Department Debates - View all Rebecca Long Bailey's debates with the Department for Business and Trade
Royal Mail: Performance
Rebecca Long Bailey Excerpts(1 day, 10 hours ago)
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Rebecca Long Bailey (Salford) (Lab)
The situation at Royal Mail is a systemic failure, from imposed revisions to delivery offices, to a toxic managerial culture and a recruitment model built on low pay and insecure conditions. The optimised delivery model has failed but Royal Mail is pressing ahead with it regardless, despite the workforce’s suggestions that offer a more viable way forward. There is the underlying resource crisis; since 2022, new entrants have been offered wages barely above the legal minimum, with fewer hours and diminished terms and conditions. The results are stark: thousands are leaving the job.
There is regulatory imbalance in the sector, as we have heard, and it cannot be right that companies like Amazon can benefit from national delivery infrastructure without paying a single penny towards it. The proposal for a USO network fund, requiring all operators to contribute, needs to be taken forward. That is not only fair but essential. Finally, I must address the conduct of the new owner, EP Group. Commitments made to workers have not been honoured. That breach of trust undermines confidence and raises serious questions about the company’s long-term intentions.