Postkontor för att lossa alla direktägda filialer

The Post Office has said it will offload a remaining 108 branches it directly owns and will move to a fully franchised network.About 1,000 staff working in these branches will be offered a choice to move to work for any new owner or take voluntary redundancy.It is understood the Post Office has received interest from potential retail partners including Tesco and Ryman, as well as sub-postmasters, to take on the loss-making branches. Communication Workers Union (CWU) uppmanade regeringen att ingripa omedelbart och undersöka alternativa alternativ. CWU: s generalsekreterare Dave Ward sa: ”Postkontorets påstående att dessa samhällstjänster kommer att upprätthållas av deras misslyckade franchisemodell är skrattande för alla som har sett sina lokala postkontorstjänster reduceras till baksidan av en butik.” Säljningen av WH SMITH förra veckan visar hur bräckligt och dåligt uttömt denna modell är. This is the full privatisation of the Post Office via the back door.”The Post Office confirmed last November that the future of the these sites would be under review as part of a five-year plan to overhaul the business.A decision on who will take them over will be made in the coming weeks. The Post Office will stop running them by the autumn, subject to government funding. Post Office chairman Nigel Railton said the 108 branches will either stay in the same location or be relocated nearby so customers continue to have access to the services.He said moving to a fully franchised network was one part of enabling the Post Office to deliver a new deal for postmasters.”By franchising these branches, we are protecting access to our services for communities right across the UK and realising £40m worth of savings that will enable us to uplift postmasters’ remuneration by up to 10%,” he said.He said over the coming months the Post Office would continue to work with unions to consult with staff in the 108 branches and support them through the transition.The Post Office said it would work with franchise partners with a clear track record of successfully running Post Office services or similar customer-focused retail to ensure customers continue to receive a high level of service once the branches are franchised.The company said it remained committed to meeting the current requirement to have a minimum of 11,500 branches across the UK and to meet the six access criteria set by government.Further details on proposals will delas med lokala samhällen och intressenter för enskilda filialer under de kommande veckorna.