Royal Mail is losing almost 400 postmen a week, the Communication Workers Union claimed today, as it warned that the postal service was on the “brink of collapse” ahead of Christmas.
The CWU, which represents more than 100,000 postal workers, said the 510-year-old service urgently needed to address the wave of resignations, which it linked to dissatisfaction with new working conditions. Royal Mail has around 83,000 postmen.
The union said the departures raised the prospect of widespread delivery delays this Christmas. Royal Mail is recruiting 22,000 temporary workers to handle the additional workload during the festive period.
Royal Mail is introducing a new delivery model as part of reforms to its universal service obligation, which requires it to deliver letters six days a week. Ofcom approved changes in July 2025 allowing the company to deliver second-class letters on alternate weekdays, and as part of the reforms Royal Mail will stop second-class letter deliveries on Saturdays.
The CWU, which has long resisted the changes, cited staff warnings of a “nightmare” Christmas as the new model is introduced and parcel numbers rise. It pointed to “severe” operational issues and workloads it described as unmanageable.
Union leaders said the company was struggling to recruit and retain workers, and called for urgent talks with executives and the Government to resolve the situation. The CWU has also called for the rollout of the new delivery model to be paused.
Dave Ward, the CWU general secretary, said: “Royal Mail has been in structural decline for well over a decade, and the continuous failure to deliver quality of service is killing the brand, demoralising the workforce and letting down the communities that postal workers are proud to serve.
“At this stage, it doesn’t matter what delivery model is adopted: unless the company faces up to its self-inflicted recruitment and retention crisis, the company is on the brink of collapse.”
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “The rollout of our new delivery model is now 90pc complete across our [approximately] 1,200 delivery offices, and we are continuing to see positive results, delivering on average to 95pc of addresses every day across the UK, up from 88pc before deployment.
“The rollout continues across our network, and we expect quality of service to improve as deployment progresses. These reforms are an important part of our plan to deliver a more reliable, efficient and financially sustainable universal service for customers across the UK.”
Royal Mail has pledged to invest £500m over the next five years to tackle late letter deliveries, committing the money to improving staffing levels.
The union’s warning follows Royal Mail’s announcement last week that it would cut up to 2,500 jobs as part of a review of its head office and support functions. The cuts will not affect front-line postmen.
The company, acquired by Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský in a £3.6bn deal last year, has recorded almost £800m in losses over the past four years.
Annual letter volumes have fallen by 70 per cent to six billion, from a peak of around 20 billion two decades ago.
Royal Mail is also under political pressure over the quality of its service, with households reporting lengthy delays to letter deliveries. More than 100 MPs are poised to tell Ofcom that quality of service for letter deliveries must improve.
Research by Citizens Advice estimated that around 16 million people experienced post delays last Christmas. Ofcom has repeatedly fined Royal Mail for missing its delivery targets.
