Royal Mail is reportedly losing around 400 postal workers each week, according to the Communication Workers Union (CWU). The union claims this figure has risen since the company implemented a new delivery system, DM26, earlier this year.
Before the introduction of DM26, which reorganised routes to improve delivery performance, Royal Mail was losing approximately 330 postal staff weekly from its 83,000-strong workforce. The CWU states that the new system is not functioning effectively in hundreds of offices.
DM26 has been introduced in about 1,000 of Royal Mail's 1,200 delivery offices. The CWU has instructed its members to halt further roll-out of the system until a plan to address problems can be agreed with Royal Mail. The union acknowledges that the system is operating successfully in around 500 offices but has encountered significant issues in hundreds of others.
Royal Mail maintains that the reforms are part of its strategy to deliver a more "efficient and financially sustainable" service. The company states the roll-out is 90% complete and is on track to be operational in all offices by Christmas, expecting service quality to improve as deployment progresses.
The company also confirmed it is hiring an additional 22,000 temporary workers for the Christmas period, as is customary.