Royal Mail summit: government calls in the CWU and bosses over the postal crisis

The government has stepped into the crisis at Royal Mail. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has called an urgent summit of ministers, the Communication Workers Union and Royal Mail bosses for 3 November, as Decision Marketing reported.

The three-way talks come days after Royal Mail halted the full rollout of its DM26 delivery model until at least January, following pressure from industry groups, MPs and the union. Late last week Prime Minister Andy Burnham called service standards “unacceptable” and threatened further regulatory measures if performance did not turn around quickly.

What the union wants

The CWU has long argued that the problems at Royal Mail can only be fixed with ministers involved. Its demands go well beyond delivery rotas. It wants a level playing field so competitors cannot undercut Royal Mail, including an end to what it calls bogus self-employment in the sector, and a new regulatory framework that stops Ofcom favouring competition over the future of the universal service obligation.

The union is also calling for a growth strategy that does more than replace falling letter volumes with parcels, and for a new ownership and governance model, with the government taking a bigger stake in the company alongside the workforce. “There is definitely a will amongst politicians, including the Prime Minister, to look at a new way forward for the company and its workforce,” the CWU said.

Where things stand

DM26 moves second class post to alternate-day delivery and ends Saturday second class services, while first class and parcels are unaffected. Under the pause, the last 107 delivery hubs will not switch until at least 11 January 2027, but the model will still be running in around 90% of hubs this winter, according to Decision Marketing’s earlier report. Royal Mail says first class next-day delivery has improved to 85%, still short of its 90% target.

Why it matters

Many in the direct mail industry backed DM26 at first, on the condition that it made deliveries more reliable. The pause and the Prime Minister’s warning suggest that has not happened yet, and brands planning Black Friday and Christmas mailings are now waiting on talks whose outcome could reach as far as who owns Royal Mail and how it is regulated.

For marketers, the practical step is to build extra time into mailings and catalogues, and to keep an eye on the dispute between Royal Mail and the CWU over the delivery model. The summit will at least show whether ministers are prepared to go further than warnings, after Ofcom stepped in to make Royal Mail cut planned business mail price rises.