- Conference
- 2023 National Retired Members Conference
- Date
- 31 May 2023
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
The Royal Mail has a long and proud history. It was founded in the Tudor period in 1516 when Henry VIII established a “Master of the Posts”.
The Uniform Penny Post was established in 1840 and effectively the system continued to operate successfully until, 2013 when the decision was taken to privatise the Royal Mail and float it on the stock exchange.
The situation has deteriorated recently with Royal Mail failing to meet its delivery targets. The problem occurs because of a combination of factors, including competition from other companies. However, one area where the Royal Mail clearly has a great difficulty compared with its competitors is in the requirement for it to provide a universal delivery service for a standard fee from wherever to wherever in the United Kingdom. Since the development of electronic means of communication the use of the postal service has been falling steadily.
This clearly gives a great incentive for Royal Mail to seek to reduce or even try to obtain permission to withdraw the letter service.
A major use of letter post is by older people, many of whom do not use electronic means of communication. It is also the case that many hospital appointments and government communications are via the letter system, which would disproportionately disadvantage older people.
Retired Members are particularly reliant on the postal services and are concerned at the recent direction of these services
Conference calls on the National Retired Members Committee to liaise with the NEC, Labour Link, and other relevant organisations:
1)To use appropriate resources and channels to support the promotion of the policy of bringing the Royal Mail back into public ownership with the aim that the next government has this as one of its key commitments.
2. Use current and supporting information and research in support of this aim.