Post office managers defend job changes

SENIOR MANAGERS at the Post Office have claimed they are committed to sustaining its 11,600-strong branch network despite facing the threat of industrial action over job losses and pensions.

Thousands of branches have been “transformed”, with 4,000 open seven days a week, leading to shorter queues as people use Post Offices outside office hours, said the organisation.

The Communication Workers Union revealed earlier this month that its members in Post Offices had voted in favour of strikes in a dispute over job losses, pensions and the franchising of Crown offices.

But the Post Office network’s general manager, Tom Moran, claimed that efforts are underway to improve the service.

He said: “Our branch network of 11,600 branches is bigger than all the banks and building societies combined. The extra opening hours we’ve added over the last four years add up to the equivalent of 5,000 new branches – that’s a significant achievement that makes a real difference for our customers.

“More and more people have a local Post Office open early in the morning, late at night, and on the weekend. This sends out the clear message that we are committed to sustaining our branch network at its current size of more than 11,600 Post Offices, and to improving it so we can meet the ever-changing needs of today’s customers.”

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn claimed the “never-ending cycle of cuts, closures and franchises is destroying a much-loved British institution” and called on the Government to intervene and help shape a strategy for the future of the Post Office.