Royal Mail CEO “misleading parliament” recall tomorrow

COMMUNICATION WORKERS UNION
21/02/2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CEO PARLIAMENTARY RECALL A “SAD DAY FOR ROYAL MAIL”, POSTIES SAY

Postal workers have called for “public accountability” over Royal Mail’s current state, as CEO Simon Thompson returns to face parliament tomorrow (Wednesday 22nd February).

Thompson is due to face the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy parliamentary committee (BEIS) at 14.15, in a hearing that will be broadcast on www.parliamentlive.tv.

It is the second time he will have appeared in front of BEIS this year, having answered questions from legislators in a hearing over the state of Britain’s postal service.

Thompson gained national controversy for his performance, and was widely accused by MPs, postal workers and members of the public of giving wholly misleading answers to important questions.

Shortly afterwards, he found himself recalled to BEIS, particularly after scores of postal workers submitted evidence that threw the veracity of his statements into serious doubt.

Alongside operations development director Ricky McAulay and Royal Mail Group chair Keith Williams, Thompson will be grilled on:

  • Whether Royal Mail uses tracking technology on its employees and potentially disciplines them for not going at a certain speed;
  • Whether Royal Mail is neglecting its universal service obligation (USO) commitments to deliver mail to all addresses, six days a week, by prioritising parcels over letters;
  • Whether Royal Mail’s sick pay policy is being applied in a transparent, legal manner.

A Communication Workers Union (CWU) spokesperson said: “It is a sad day for Royal Mail that Simon Thompson has been hauled back in front of legislators over concerns he misled them during an integral part of the democratic process.

“In the interests of public accountability, we hope for a thorough scrutinising that can present a more realistic picture of Royal Mail than the one Thompson originally offered.”

ENDS

For further press enquiries, please contact CWU Press Officer Marcus Barnett at mbarnett@cwu.org.