Royal mail timeline

News 19 10 2009: Last-ditch talks in Royal Mail postal dispute

A Royal Mail boss said that a 30,000-strong recruitment blitz was not designed to "break" a union as last-ditch talks aimed at preventing this week's crippling strikes went ahead. Operations director Paul Tolhurst - told GMTV that "he hoped there was hope" that the strikes on Thursday and Friday could be avoided, but said the company was gearing up for industrial action. "We are not trying to break the union…..” while the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said they believed the recruitment of temporary staff during a strike was illegal and they received backing from other union leaders.

 

In 1987 British Airways was privatised under Sir John King (Chairman) and he shed over 23,000 jobs in 1983 while reported losses were of the order of some £545 million at a cost to the TaxPayer. In Comparison Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier has shed some 45,000 jobs while closing down some 2,500 Post Offices to earn his salary. What is more interesting in the Royal Mail issue is how the British Government keep making reference to the RM Pension Fund – (2006) at some £3.4 billion; (Dec 2008) Likely to have doubled by next year; (24 Feb 2009) In a letter to Business Secretary Lord Mandelson it was disclosed that the fund's deficit was "significantly higher" than the estimated £5.9 billion envisaged in the Hooper Report into the postal service's future; while on the (28 Feb 2009) Gordon Brown states there is an £8 billion deficit appearing in the pension fund of the Royal Mail.

In 1993 Norman Lamont (Conservative Chancellor (1990-1993)) cut the ACT rate and tax credit to 22.5% - thus reducing the tax reclaimable by Pension Funds while Mr Brown himself as Chancellor in 1997 abolished tax credits altogether for Pension Funds with immediate effect. Mandelson announces in Feb 2009 that legislation is being published under which the Government would take most of the pension liabilities yet failing to announce that New Labour itself was responsible for Pension funds being starved in the first place!.

Come the June Mandelson advises the BBC that the government would not now hold a spending review before the next election - but claimed they would outspend the Conservatives. Ed Balls, one of Gordon Brown's closest allies, denied future cuts were inevitable during an interview two days later on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.

The previous paragraph basically sums up the demise of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Britain’s ailing finances as Political battling strips out the Nations Assets in maintaining its spending.  

 

Old News:

00 00 1993: Budget of Norman Lamont [Conservative MP and Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1990-1993 ]. Cut the ACT rate and tax credit to 22.5%. The change had bigger effects on pensions and non-taxpayers. EX 1: A pension fund receiving a £1.2 m dividend income prior to the change would have been able to reclaim some £400,000 in tax, giving a total income of some £1.6 m. After the change, only some £300,000 was reclaimable, reducing income to some £1.5 m, a fall of 6.25%.

30 04 2004 Royal Mail boss criticizes claims. A television documentary allegedly showing fraud and theft taking place in a London Royal Mail sorting office was "exaggerated", said the firm's boss. Chief Executive Adam Crozier said the Channel 4 programme did not represent a fair reflection of the service. In particular, he was concerned at the use of temporary staff from agencies. Disciplinary investigations have been launched against a number of postal workers as a result of the Dispatches programme, broadcast on Thursday night. The Royal Mail's chief executive added that the programme had been made last autumn when London had been affected by industrial action, while the organization's modernisation programme began to take hold last January.

18 08 2005 Letter size to affect post cost - ‘Pricing in Proportion’. The cost of posting letters and parcels will depend on their size and shape as well as weight from September 2006 - approved by regulator Postcomm. Prices on around 30% of post are expected to be affected but overall revenue to Royal Mail will not change. The move would allow Royal Mail "to bring its prices much more closely into line with its costs", Postcomm said. Post offices will have templates so that customers can measure their mail to find out the cost. The Royal Mail's 350-year letter delivery monopoly comes to an end on 1 January next year. Similar pricing regimes already operate in countries including Australia, Canada, Japan and the US

21 08 2006 POSTCOMM Pricing in Proportion. Royal Mail's new pricing regime - "Pricing in Proportion" (PiP) - was launched on 21 August 2006.

00 00 1997: Gordon Brown's summer Budget. THIS ENDED the ability of pension funds and other tax-exempt companies to reclaim tax credits with immediate effect [ also individuals from April 1999 ]. This stealth tax rise has been blamed for the poor state of British pension provision - Member of Parliament Frank Field describing it as a "hammer blow" while the Sunday Times describing it as a swindle. See EX 1 (News 00 00 1993) – At this date the reclaim of Tax dropped from some £400,000 to some £300,000 on a £1.2 m dividend income however Gordon Brown has now declared that no Tax can be reclaimed.

31 03 2008 Many may be Hit by NZ Post ‘Pricing in Proportion’. The cost of sending domestic letters and parcels through New Zealand Post has just changed. For some businesses a foolscap sized parcel item under 500g in weight and between 21-50mm thickness, is increasing from the previous $2.00 Packet Post price to a new $6.00 Parcel Post price – a staggering 300% increase!. “These increases from NZ Post have the potential to hit New Zealand businesses hard at a time when they can least afford it,” says Freightways Managing Director Dean Bracewell. These price hikes close the gap between standard post pricing and courier rates, many companies will look to increase the business they do with courier-service providers. Express courier products and services may now be a viable option for us, where they were not the most economical option before.”

15 05 2008 Post watchdog demands shake-up. The postal regulator has called for a "radical transformation" of the Royal Mail. Postcom said the Royal Mail needed access to private funds to help it restructure, raising the spectre of privatisation, which would prove hugely unpopular among Labour MPs and trade unions. Postcom chairman Nigel Stapleton said: "Postcom's primary duty is to protect a universal postal service. Mr Stapleton said nobody wanted to see the universal service becoming an ever-greater burden on the taxpayer. Postcom pointed to postal services in Denmark and Sweden as possible models for the UK, where the state and employees own part of the company.

24 05 2008 Royal Mail –Anger over Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier’s package of some £3m. He received some £3 million in pay, pensions and incentives in the last financial year. Figures for the 2007/08 financial year showed that Mr Crozier's basic salary remained unchanged at some £633,000, but this was increased to some £843,000 because of an annual performance bonus and other benefits. He also received some £1.99 million for a long-term incentive plan covering three years and a cash supplement in lieu of pension of some £208,000, according to the report. Some 2,500 post offices were closed . But Dave Ward, deputy general secretary of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said: "The actions, wages and misjudgements of Royal Mail management demands closer scrutiny. They have got a business plan that is in crisis. They are always shifting the blame and yet they reward themselves with obscene amounts of money.". "This is immoral. They are rewarding themselves fantastically for failure. This comes at a time when they are cutting jobs and pensions and closing post offices."

16 12 2008 Royal Mail could face part sell-off. An independent study by Richard Hopper, a former deputy chairman of media watchdog Ofcom, is expected to call for a major overhaul of the firm which faces a multibillion-pound pension deficit. A warning will be made about the Royal Mail's pensions deficit, which was £3.4 billion in 2006 but is likely to have doubled when a new valuation is made next year.

07 01 2009 Brown sell-off of UK's gold reserves 'cost £5billion. Gordon Brown's decision to sell off part of the country's gold reserves 10 years ago cost the public purse nearly £5billion, official figures show. In 17 auctions, Mr Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer sanctioned the sale of 395 tonnes of gold. The news comes as the Government considers whether to sell major public assets, including a stake in the Royal Mail and the bookmaker the Tote, to raise funds for public finances. Philip Hammond, shadow secretary to the Treasury, said: "Gold traders confirm that it was because the Government announced in advance that it was planning to sell such a large quantity of gold that the markets became depressed. "The low price Gordon Brown got for selling our gold wasn't caused by bad luck. It was a staggering display of economic incompetence that has landed taxpayers with a £7 billion black hole."

15 01 2009 Opposition grows to Royal Mail plan. Opposition from Labour backbenchers was growing, with more than 70 MPs backing moves to reject plans to sell a minority stake in the postal group, threatening Gordon Brown with his biggest Commons revolt. General secretary Billy Hayes said plans backed by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson to sell a minority stake in Royal Mail posed a "serious threat" to the UK's postal service Lord Mandelson insisted the Royal Mail needed a new partner to bring in the "hundreds of millions of pounds" it needed in new investment as well as a "gale force of fresh air" into the organisation's management and culture.

24 02 2009 Royal Mail pensions deficit warning. Royal Mail staff have been warned they face having their pensions slashed unless part-privatisation plans go ahead. In a letter to Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, Ms Newell disclosed that the fund's deficit was "significantly higher" than the £5.9 billion envisaged in the Hooper Report into the postal service's future. The comments were leaked as the Government attempted to head off a major rebellion on the issue. Lord Mandelson is due to publish legislation on Thursday setting out the changes, under which the Government would take most of the pension liabilities, a £3 billion stake would be sold to a likely foreign investor, and there would be radical "modernisation" of the service.

28 02 2009 Face facts on Royal Mail – Brown. Gordon Brown has taken on critics of Government plans to part-privatise the Royal Mail - urging them to face facts about the massive problems facing the postal service. The Prime Minister, who was heckled by protesters as he arrived to speak in Bristol, said he recognised the concerns of unions and many Labour MPs and would listen to them. "I ask you to consider the facts we have to face: there is an £8 billion deficit appearing in the pension fund of the Royal Mail; there is a loss of business of sometimes 7-8% each year as a result of new technology; there is a race to keep many of the very big customers who provide the majority of the work that the Royal Mail does." He went on: "I do say to you that guaranteeing a £25 billion pension fund, spending £1.9 billion on the post office network, maintaining a universal service obligation can be achieved if we make the investment that is necessary to secure the Royal Mail for the future. Lord Mandelson published the Bill paving the way for a partial sale of the Royal Mail this week, insisting it would remain in public hands even though up to 30% could be sold to a foreign firm.

01 03 2009 Mandelson signals no retreat on Royal Mail sale. Business minister Peter Mandelson warned unions and party rebels on Sunday that their opposition to the part-privatisation of the Royal Mail could cost Labour votes at the next general election. Mandelson paved the way for the sale of up to 30 percent of the state-owned postal services firm last week in return for the government guaranteeing a universal service and taking over the company's 8 billion pound ($11.4 billion) pension deficit. Prime Minister Gordon Brown mounted a vigorous defence of the plan on Saturday, despite being jeered by more than 100 postal union workers as he arrived to speak at Labour's National Policy Forum in Bristol. Billy Hayes, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, accused the government of nationalising the pension fund and privatising the profit. "Why fix the pensions, take on 27 billion pounds of assets and then give the benefit of that to a company like TNT?" he said to Sky News.

14 03 2009 Postal workers march over sell-off. General secretary Billy Hayes said: "This march is an important demonstration of our determination to keep Royal Mail in the public sector.". Deputy general secretary Dave Ward added: "Privatisation by instalment is privatisation by any other name. We would have liked to have marched in Lord Mandelson's constituency, but, unfortunately, he hasn't got one."

10 05 2009 TNT's big investors reject Royal Mail plan. Shareholders in TNT are warning the Dutch postal firm against buying a stake in Royal Mail. Concerned that the British Government would prevent TNT from cutting thousands of postal workers' jobs to make Royal Mail's letters business more profitable. Gordon Brown is facing a growing backbench revolt over his plan to part-privatise the service. TNT also faces industrial action in the Netherlands after workers rejected a pay offer. Jan Keuppens at Dutch firm Robeco - "Buying a stake in Royal Mail would be a distraction," Keuppens said. "They should not do it, unless they can agree a really good price and conditions. Many investors are saying that, even at a cheap price, TNT should not do a deal.". Billy Hayes, General Secretary of the CWU said: "There is no political or public support to part-privatise Royal Mail.

29 06 2009 Royal Mail sale 'facing delays'. Lord Mandelson has said plans to sell a minority stake in Royal Mail to a private company may be delayed. In an interview with the Financial Times, the business secretary said the plan was being "jostled for space" in the government's legislative programme. And he told the BBC that the government would not now hold a spending review before the next election - but claimed they would outspend the Conservatives. On Friday, Environment Secretary Hilary Benn appeared to suggest that his department would have less to spend after the next election - the first minister to publicly acknowledge this - but No 10 rejected his claims. To reinforce this, Ed Balls, one of Gordon Brown's closest allies, denied future cuts were inevitable during an interview two days later on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show. The schools secretary said ministers would have to be "defter and smarter" when it came to public spending.

07 08 2009 Postal workers begin massive strike. Up to 25,000 postal workers are taking industrial action in a row over pay and jobs that is threatening huge disruption to mail deliveries. Dave Ward, deputy general secretary of the CWU, said: "Postal workers are sick and tired of an INCOMPETENT MANAGEMENT running their business into the ground. The union's executive has also decided to HOLD A NATIONAL BALLOT OF ITS 160,000 postal members in September which could lead to nationwide strikes in October.

10 10 2009 TNT unit to create Deutsche Post rival

The German unit of TNT (TNT.AS) is building a mail delivery consortium in Germany to RIVAL Deutsche Post (DPWGn.DE), weekly magazine WirtschaftsWoche said. The new company, to be named Mail Alliance, will include Berlin-based Pin Mail and distribution companies belonging to Stuttgart-based publishers Georg von Holtzbrinck and Hannover-based publishing house Madsack. Currently independent mail delivery firms command only a 10 percent market share in Germany.

18 10 2009 30,000 postal staff to be recruited. Royal Mail is to recruit up to 30,000 temporary staff to cope with strikes by postal workers and deal with the Christmas rush, it was announced. The company, facing two national strikes next week, said it was hiring twice the number of extra staff it usually takes on in the run-up to Christmas.

 

Adam Crozier (Born 26 01 1964 – Falkirk ) – Father was a manager for Lord Bute, Mother Secretary to the Managing Director of the Scotsman. Brought up on the Isle of Bute. Graduated with a Business Organisation BA from Heriot-Watt University.

Chief Executive of the Royal Mail from 00 02 2003

He joined Pedigree Petfoods as a Graduate trainee in 1984 moving in 1986 to the Daily Telegraph working in Sales. He formerly worked for Advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi from 1988 becoming Joint Chief Executive in 1995. In 2007 the Daily Telegraph reported he had received some 26% pay increase in base pay taking out some £1,256,000 in 2007. His achievements in this year included shedding a workforce by some 45,000 and closing some 4,600 Post Offices in the name of profitability. In 2008, the BBC reported that the Royal Mail’s Trading position had worsened dramatically to an annual loss of some £279 Million in the 2007 Financial Year. His remuneration is said to have tripled to some £3 Million.

 

TNT Website:

TNT part of the TNT Group - Headquartered in the Netherlands - serves more than 200 countries - employs around 161,500 people - reported revenues of €11 billion for 2007 - publicly listed on the stock exchange of Amsterdam. embraced under the TNT Post name and in the UK comprise the former organisations, TNT Mail and Circular Distributors. reaches 26 million households in the UK.

TNT Company History

1946 33 -year-old Ken Thomas establishes K.W Transport in Australia with a single truck

1958 K.W Transport changes its names to Thomas Nationwide Transport - TNT is born

1978 TNT expands into the UK with purchase of Lancashire-based Inter County Express

1980 UK door-to-door nationwide next day delivery service launched

1982 The introduction of TNT Sameday - same day door-to-door delivery anywhere in Britain.

1986 LAUNCH of TNT Retail Express - garment distribution for major fashion companies

1986 LAUNCH of TNT Logistics UK - to blue-chip clients

1987 LAUNCH of TNT Supamail next morning door-to-door delivery services for urgent business post, documents and small packages.

1988 LAUNCH of TNT Printline, a service for the distribution of printed and promotional material

1992 LAUNCH of TNT Meditrans to meet the needs of distributors of medical, healthcare and associated products

1992 LAUNCH of TNT Autoparts Express and TNT Technology Express - specialised handling and distribution services for the automotive and information technology industries

1992 LAUNCH of TNT Sameday Strategic Storage and Distribution (formerly Storapart) offering storage and rapid replenishment of products and spare parts through a nationwide network of secure stockholding points

1994 TNT - first major transport provider to be accredited to Investor In People status

1995 LAUNCH of TNT Mail Services to carry internal mail for major blue-chip clients.

1996 Acquisition - KPN (Dutch mail and telecoms firm)

1997 LAUNCH of Electronic Proof of Delivery (EPOD) - to collect a consignment anywhere in the UK & Ireland within just 30 minutes of a customer request. Network in-cab system connected directly to the company's central computer system. Customers can access the TNT website to gain proof of delivery within seconds of the consignment arriving at its final destination.

1998 Demerger of KPN. Formation of TNT's parent company, TPG (TNT Post Group)

1999 TNT UK Ltd subsidiaries now become TNT Express Services UK and Ireland. It is the largest business within the TNT UK Ltd portfolio. TNT International UK is a market leader in provision of on demand worldwide door-to-door express delivery services.

2000 TNT ARCHIVE Services created. Document storage, indexing and data management.

2000 TNT FINANCIAL Services created. Tailored logistics and end-to-end mail and distribution services to financial sectors - Lloyds TSB and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

2000 Opening of the £22m Kingsbury Link sortation hub, near Tamworth

2000 TNT Express Specialist Services (TESS) encompasses TNT Sameday, Managed Services, Financial Services and Archive Services.

2002 Opening of the £4m Lount sortation hub, at Lount in Leicestershire.

2002 Acquisition - TNT Retail Express acquires the Netherlands-based Bleckmann Group NV to form TNT Fashion Group signaling a major expansion of its clothing distribution activities in mainland Europe

2002 The LAUNCH of advanced track and trace system - Customers can track shipments via the Internet, SMS, WAP-enabled mobile phones, PDA devices and through an e-mail tracking service.

2002 Awarded British Safety Council's 5 Star Accreditation and four Swords of Honour for its occupational health and safety management system

2003 £10m investment to upgrade the Atherstone hub

2003 Acquisition. TNT Archive Services acquisition of ADS

2003 Contract: 25-year agreement between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and TNT Archive Services for archiving. Other customers: Universal Music where TNT are the guardians of original master recordings by famous artists including Elton John and Bob Marley,

2003 Rebrand: TNT Mail Services rebrands as TNT Managed Services - manages the internal mail systems for organisations such as Department of Works and Pensions (DWP), The Inland Revenue, Employment Services and HM Customs and Excise as well as GlaxoSmithKline, KPMG, Lloyds TSB, Warner Brothers, Hewlett Packard, Marsh and CRESTCo to name but a few. Offer clients digital imaging, reprographics and confidential document disposal.

2003 LAUNCH of the £1.3 million Make It Happen customer care training scheme

2003 Award - five Swords of Honour - British Safety Council (BSC)

2004 Opening Depot opens Birmingham - TNT Express Services - 68 loading bays-cost of £8.2 million

2004 Opening. TNT Archive Services - £11m facility at Swadlincote in South Derbyshire

2004 Award - TNT Express Services - seven Swords of Honour from the BSC

2004 Charles Clarke (Secretary of State for Education & Skills) announced TNT as one of only 16 organisations in the UK to be awarded the title of Investor in People Champion. TNT will work with IiP to share its expertise ( Learning independence Project ) with other employers to promote best practice in all areas of people development.

2005 Rename. TNT TPG changes its name to TNT NV

2005 Acquisition of Cendris UK to form TNT Document Services

2005 Opening. National Customer Contact Centre opens at Team Valley near Gateshead– cost £4.5 million.

2005 INTENDED SALE announced. TNT NV sale of TNT Logistics

2006 Delisting - TNT NV delisted from London and Frankfurt Stock Exchanges

2006 Opening of new £7m, 67-bay depot at Leyland, near Preston

2006 Opening of a new £7m, 70,000 sq ft TNT Archive Services facility at West Thurrock in Essex - doubling storage capacity

2006 Opening of new depot in Paisley, Scotland

2006 SALE - TNT Logistics to US private equity firm Apollo Management

2007 Acquisition. TNT acquires Mercúrio, the express market leader in Brazil

2007 Acquisition. TNT completes the acquisition of Hoau - the leading freight and parcels delivery company in China

2007 Investment. £1.5 million investment at TNT Document Services in Basildon and Cardonald, Scotland.

2007 Opening. Depot at Liverpool John Lennon Airport - £6 million

2007 LAUNCH. TNT Media and Entertainment Division created - capitalise on the UK's multi media and entertainments market.

2007 LAUNCH. Planet Me a Global environmental initiative – aim/reducing the company's carbon footprint and CO2 emissions.

2007 TNT N.V. topped the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) for the first time.

2007 Opening. TNT opens a 36-bay £3 million depot in Swansea.

2007 AWARD. TNT achieved the ISO14001 accreditation. Acknowledgement on Carbon.

2007 John Denham MP (Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills) awards the title of Investor in People Champion status. National Training Award -a record-breaking sixth time.

2008 Investment - £7m for 100 7.5-tonne zero emission electric vehicles

2008 Launch - 50-strong fleet of environmentally-friendly zero emission vehicles.

2008 Launch - A new corporate strapline 'sure we can' is introduced to reflect the TNT can-do approach and commitment to its people and customers alike.

2008 Award. Motor Transport Awards take TNT to 26 wins in 22 years.

2008 apprenticeships - The first group of graduates under the TNT Vehicle Technician Programme complete their five-year apprenticeships.