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According to the Communication Workers Union (CWU), Royal Mail is experiencing a significant weekly departure rate of around 400 postal workers. This figure marks an increase from earlier in the year when roughly 330 employees were leaving per week out of the company’s total workforce of 83,000. The union attributes this rise to the introduction of a new delivery system known as DM26, implemented earlier in 2024 to reorganize delivery routes with the goal of enhancing service performance.
DM26 has now been rolled out in approximately 1,000 of Royal Mail’s 1,200 delivery offices. This new system changes the delivery schedule: second-class post is delivered every other weekday, while first-class mail and parcels are intended to be delivered daily. The approach involves grouping workers into teams of three and altering the walking patterns on delivery rounds. Despite the intended efficiencies, many postal staff have expressed concerns anonymously, reporting problems such as prioritization of parcels over letters, delays in letter deliveries, and inefficiencies caused by sorting and dividing mail into different classes. One postal worker in the West Midlands shared, “I didn’t take any first class mail out on my last shift because I was on a road that’s been behind for weeks. But I’m sure a manager would have ticked a box to say all first class mail went out.”
In response to these issues, the CWU has called on its members to pause further implementation of DM26 until an agreement is reached with Royal Mail to resolve the ongoing problems. The union acknowledges that while DM26 is operating successfully in about 500 offices, hundreds of others are facing significant challenges. Martin Walsh of the CWU summed up the situation by saying, “Put simply, if a boat is already taking on water, adding more passengers is unlikely to solve the problem.” Furthermore, the union reports that most of those leaving are new hires on part-time contracts, although there is also an increase in departures among long-standing employees with legacy contracts.
Royal Mail maintains that the DM26 rollout is about 90% complete and asserts that delivery quality is already improving, with 95% of addresses receiving deliveries daily, up from 88% before the new system. The company describes the reforms as part of its strategy to create a more efficient and financially sustainable service. In preparation for the busy holiday season, Royal Mail is hiring around 22,000 temporary workers. Meanwhile, the organization continues to navigate broader challenges such as declining letter volumes and increased competition. Last week, it announced plans to reduce its head office and support staff by 2,500 positions by the end of 2027. Despite ongoing criticism over slow deliveries, the postal regulator Ofcom has fined Royal Mail more than £37 million in the past three years for failing to meet delivery targets.
Several Members of Parliament are calling for fresh solutions to the postal service’s continuing difficulties. Dave Robertson, Labour MP for Lichfield, Burntwood and the Villages, emphasized the need for innovation, stating, “We need to bring as many people to the table on this to make sure we come up with a long-term solution because what’s been tried up to now clearly isn’t working.” Ofcom has responded by demanding improvement plans and adjusting regulatory obligations for Royal Mail, with a spokesperson affirming, “We will continue to hold it to account using the full extent of the powers available to us.” Postal Services Minister Kate Dearden described Royal Mail’s improvement strategy as “a step in the right direction,” but stressed that it “must deliver tangible improvements for customers.
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