NFSP Statement on January Remuneration

NFSP Statement on January Remuneration 

The latest Remuneration to post offices throughout the UK is down by approximately £4.5m in January. The NFSP CEO, Calum Greenhow has released a statement in response to the alarming downward trend in payment to post offices which casts doubt of the viability of the network and could deprive our communities with vital services. 

Like the rest of the Post Office network, the NFSP board is made up of postmasters. Key members of its staff have been postmasters and remain dedicated to the Post Office network. We all fully understand the extent of the damage to ours and your businesses following the remuneration received in January which includes transactions done through December. It is quite clear that the strikes had a profound impact on remuneration and income to colleagues' retail businesses. As an illustration, having consulted with NFSP Board members, they report their earnings are down 13% from last year.  

The impact of the CWU industrial action has led to a sharp decline in footfall, at the busiest time of the year and will leave many colleagues with a gaping fiscal gap as they forward plan for 2023. The NFSP have written to Royal Mail and the CWU urging them to find a resolution as quickly as possible. To date, neither organisation has responded to or acknowledged the impact the ongoing dispute is having on Postmaster remuneration. This tells us all we need to know about the low regard both organisations have for businesspeople such as yourselves, who collectively generate around £2bn of revenue for Royal Mail. 

Collectively, the remuneration we need to help us pay the costs, to keep providing vital services to our communities is down £4.5m on last January. Unfortunately, the increases we all received in September remuneration has been almost neutralised due to the ongoing strikes. Now we have the impact of the cyber-attack on Royal Mail which affects our ability to provide international parcel services to our customers, further restricting our income. Despite this happening over two weeks ago, the restoration of these services does not seem to be any closer. Colleagues have asked whether any compensation is available, and I want to assure you that I have written to Nick Read about this to which he confirmed that he has asked the commercial and legal teams to look into the possibility.  

 I want to thank all those colleagues (around 2000) who have written to their elected officials whether at Westminster or the devolved Governments to highlight just how much of a predicament the Post Office network is in due to rising costs associated with the cost-of-living crisis, rising wage increases and the restrictions on banking deposits. We urge colleagues who have yet to contact their elected representatives to do so as a matter of urgency. Information on how to do this is on our website. The NFSP have been taking your narrative to BEIS, the Post Office and the FCA along with other key stakeholders. 

Quite simply, Government must recognise that if they want a network of 11,500 Post Offices around the country, then the subsidy provided to Post Office must be increased. Whilst £50m is a significant amount of money, in fiscal terms, it is the loose change down the back of the sofa. So, Government needs to do far more to work with us as their defacto business partners to enable our strengths to develop the opportunities that are available to generate extra footfall and therefore income. It cannot be a case that Government over rely on your retail to prop up the Post Office and prevent your voice from having a real say in the strategic decisions within Post Office. 

We need to keep working together to push the Post Office and Government to do better. 

Yours 

Calum Greenhow