The Post Office has announced a five-year plan for transformation that could put 1,000 jobs at risk.
The state-owned firm has announced a new deal that, according to the company, will increase postmasters’ salaries by a quarter billion pounds per year by 2030. This is done by increasing their branch revenue share.
Post Office Chair Nigel Railton stated that postmasters can expect to receive up to PS120,000,000 in additional remuneration at the end of the initial year. The plan is to double the average annual branch remuneration to 2030.
Post Office’s 11,500 branch network will not be affected, but it is reportedly looking at whether to close 115 branches wholly owned that aren’t part of its franchise system, which would affect around 1,000 jobs.
Railton stated: “The Post Office is a company with a history of 360 years of public service. We want to ensure that this service continues for future generations by learning from our mistakes in the past and moving forward, for the benefit of postmasters everywhere. We will restore the pride of working for an organization with a service-oriented legacy, not one that is tainted by scandal.
The value that postmasters bring to their communities should be reflected in the money they earn. This Transformation Plan, if funded by the government, could add more than PS250,000,000 annually to postmasters’ total remuneration.
It marks the beginning of a new phase in partnership, during which we will increase the voice of the postmasters and their involvement in the daily running of the business.
The Communication Workers Union, however, said that the timing of this plan was “tone-deaf” and “immoral”, as the public investigation into Horizon IT’s scandal continues.
Dave Ward, CWU’s general secretary, said: “We demand that the Post Office immediately halt these closures.” “CWU members have been victims of the Horizon Scandal – and to fear for their job ahead of Christmas is another cruel attack.”
The Post Office has said that its transformation plan will include a number of additional changes, including:
- Increase revenue by enhancing the commercial offer of postmasters to consumers
- Postmasters can now benefit from a lower-risk IT system.
- Branches can run more efficiently with automation of the cash and mail services
- A “new operational model” in the post office where a “streamlined central organization” provides support to the postmasters.
Elliot Jacobs is a postmaster in the Post Office and a non-executive board member. He said that the last couple of years have been “challenging”.
We have been under cost pressure from the rising price of energy, national minimum wages and National Insurance contributions.
He said: “It is vital that the Post Office embarks upon this major Transformation Plan to ensure that we have a financially sustainable future and that it benefits the thousands postmasters, who work tirelessly, day in and day out, to support local businesses and people who depend on us for everyday essential services.”
The Horizon scandal revealed hundreds of subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted between 1999 and 2015. Computer software had falsely shown that their accounts were insufficient. The investigation is in its final evidence week.
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