Post office to move into WH Smith

The high street retailer is set to enter an agreement that would see the Kingsway branch office moved.

The Post Office said the plan was good news for customers, while a watchdog said more details were needed.

The Commercial Workers Union said staff would have to take voluntary redundancy or transfer to another branch.

The Post Office said under the proposal WH Smith would take over the running of the main branch from its store in the Quadrant shopping centre - 280 yards away from the existing Kingsway site.

Programme director Byron Roberts said: "This partnership between two trusted organisations is good news for customers and will enable us to both safeguard and enhance their post office services in the future.

Via BBC news

The Guardian reported in Union anger over WH Smith deal to run post offices

The initial agreement will cover six crown post offices but if successful many more are likely to follow. There are 14,500 Post Office outlets in the UK but the bulk are sub-post offices. There are 500 crown offices, owned and managed directly by Post Office Limited.

Personally I would say that this is such a blatent strategy by WH Smith to shore up what will be its inevitable decline. I want to see Post offices in the village shop where they support and are part of the local community.

WH Smith is not interested in the community - it has no role to play in the social fabric of our lives - shambolic and irresponsible is what it is.

You can iimagine Kate Swann CEO of WH SMith picking up the phone to mate Allan Leighton Chairman at the PO and saying hey Al I have this cool idea. Stick your post offices in my shops, you save on personnel and rent and we force customers into our shops. Al goes hey thats a cool idea. Lets start in Wales no one will notice.

Back to the Guardian article

The trial will get under way in the autumn. Outlets affected will be closed and up to 120 staff will be offered voluntary redundancy or other jobs within the Post Office. Alternatively, they will be able to apply for jobs as counter staff with WH Smith. Branches of WH Smith will then take up franchises to offer the full range of post office services, including car tax, foreign exchange, passport applications and cheque cashing facilities.

And

In a statement, the Post Office said WH Smith had "the customer focus, appropriate knowledge and retail experience to enable them to continue to provide a high standard of service to our customers". There will be a six-week consultation to gauge customer response.

The Communication Workers Union reacted angrily, describing the closures as "disgraceful and scandalous".

National officer Andy Furey said the transfer to WH Smith was a "blatant privatisation and continuing degradation of the Post Office network". He added: "This is another wound in the death of a thousand cuts ... and is an appalling kick in the guts for our members, who have worked hard at adapting to changes imposed by Post Office Ltd in recent years."

Comments

[Kate Gubbins]

Our general post office is now in WH Smiths And they are useless! You wait for ages in the long queue. Then on arrival at the desk only to be told "We dont do 2p stamps anymore."On going to one of the last remaining local Post Offices I find that "Of course we are still doing 2p stamps" This was only one of many complaints I have experienced.Another item they are no longer supplying are self stick 1st class which in a busy office are a boon. They constantly run out of stamps and no one seems to know what thwy are doing. Who has trained these people? It seems to have been done on a shoe string budget. Which doesn't help when you have limited time in a busy work day. At the old style Post Office the queues were activated rapidly with staff who were efficient and friendly. Nowadays you are met with someone who is obviously harrassed and probably as fed up as you! What I would like to know is who do we complain to? I have been told to report to a young man as the manager who looked as if he should still be in short trousers.

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