Fury at Post Office cuts

40 more branches go to WH Smith

UNION chiefs accused the

Post Office of “privatisation by the back door” after it confirmed another wave of branch closures.

The Post Office wants to shut a further 40 of its own Crown branches and move them into nearby WH Smith stores.

At the same time, WH Smith will take over the running of 33 existing counters in its shops which the Post Office currently operates.

If the plans are approved, it will leave WH Smith running 208 Post Offices on a franchise basis, and leave 170 Crown offices. That’s out of a network of 11,500 post offices.

Around 600 staff in the 40 Crown offices and the 33 counters currently directly managed will be affected. It is expected they will either transfer to WH Smith, be offered jobs in other Post Office-run branches or take voluntary redundancy.

The shake-up came on the same day WH Smith announced plans to shut six stores and to close its 20-strong Cardmarket chain.

Roger Gale from the Post Office said: “WH Smith and Post Office have worked together successfully for more than a decade, and our collaboration helps to secure our services on high streets for years to come.”

But Andy Furey, national officer at the Communication Workers’ Union, said: “This is going to leave the remaining Crown offices extremely vulnerable and this union will mount the most vigorous industrial and political campaign against this catastrophic action.”

Branding WH Smith a “second-rate employer”, he said: “This is a massive slap in the face for our members who will be devastated as they have worked so hard and sacrificed so much to return the Crown network to profitability.”

Gill Furniss, Labour’s Shadow Postal Services Minister, said: “The Government strategy of managed decline means services have suffered, affecting the vulnerable in communities who rely on a high-street post office.”