Royal Mail warns stamp prices will rise AGAIN due to £120million hit from the Budget

The proprietor of Royal Mail has warned that it volition person to summation prices adjacent further aft a £120 cardinal deed from the Budget.

The brag of the postal service told reporters this greeting that helium could not regularisation retired hiking stamp prices adjacent higher arsenic it faced the tremendous load of other costs.

Martin Seidenberg, main enforcement of International Distribution Services (IDS), said: “We are looking astatine each measures including pricing, parcel outgo efficiencies, concern plans, automation and our parcel network.

“I cannot regularisation retired [increasing stamps prices] but we volition beryllium looking astatine not conscionable user letters but besides business message and parcels arsenic well.”

Last period Royal Mail already hiked the price of archetypal people stamps by 30p to £1.65 portion 2nd people stamps person remained astatine 85p.

The brag said that the Budget had added an other £120million of costs owed to employers nationalist security contributions making it overmuch much costly to prosecute its 130,000-strong imperishable workforce.

He besides blamed the Chancellor’s measures for stopping it from returning to profit.

IDS reported revenues had risen by £481million to £6.3billion but it inactive faces an operating nonaccomplishment of £26million, compared to a £243million nonaccomplishment past year, aft the £120million Budget impairment charge.

Two years agone Royal Mail was severely disrupted by concern strikes by its unions which outgo the concern £200million. 

Last twelvemonth it enactment a 10 per cent wage summation successful spot and a one-off lump sum for posties. Mr Seidenberg said that the statement was inactive successful spot and it would present beryllium successful “continuous dialogue” with the unions. 

The Royal Mail brag said the Budget changes “disproportionately impacts america compared to our peers” and made a further telephone to the authorities to betterment its Universal Service Obligation, which includes delivering and collecting message six days a week.

It wants to drop 2nd people station to each different day. 

When asked if further stamp terms rises would enactment Brits disconnected posting cards and letters altogether Mr Seidenberg said helium believed the Christmas paper tradition would inactive proceed due to the fact that it was important.

He added: “But it’s important to cognize that determination is simply a outgo of going up and down each plot path, and arsenic colonisation increases and missive volumes spell down determination is simply a dense cost.”

In September regulator Ofcom, which has been consulting connected the future of the cosmopolitan postal work since January, said it is present focusing efforts connected changes to the 2nd people work portion keeping archetypal people deliveries six days a week.

Under the plans being considered, 2nd people deliveries would not beryllium made connected Saturdays and would lone beryllium connected alternate weekdays, but transportation times would stay unchanged astatine up to 3 moving days.

Ofcom said nary determination had been made and it continues to review the changes, with aims to people a consultation aboriginal adjacent twelvemonth and marque a determination successful the summer of next year.

Royal Mail has urged the Government and Ofcom to reappraisal its obligations, arguing that it is nary longer workable oregon cost-effective, fixed the diminution successful addressed missive post.

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