Why did Stuart Simpson not get the job?12 Jan 2021 15:04
The first question I asked myself actually.
He took up the challenge when relations between both sides were at an all time low...a strike looked inevitable. He then went on to oversee a deal which has restored some sort of stability, albeit a fragile one...but then fails to be installed as the permanent CEO.
Why? Simpson seemed to have a working relationship with the CWU...at least he was on civil speaking terms with them. He must feel rather bitter and somewhat betrayed about how all things have turned out to be.
Or could it have been more a case of: "over familiarity breeds contempt"?
In getting rid of Simpson, and replacing him with Thompson, the board have sent a clear message to the CWU: "time for change!"
And its the fast-moving speed of that imperative change that is going to cause the problems between Royal Mail and the union.
Thompson has, obviously, been brought in to do a very specific job...that is why Simpson had to go.
He, Simpson, would have been viewed as having done a very good job (which in my opinion he most certainly did) in bringing the two parties together (in the short-term that is) ...but would not have been seen as the right man to take it forward; would, perhaps, have been labelled as being "far too cosy" with Ward, Pullinger and co.
With the appointment of Thompson you have a man who was not part of the latest brokered deal...which most analysts have described as being "costly" at best.
Supposedly he is being tasked with bringing a "New digital age" to RMG.
That says it all really, concerning job cuts...which, again, most analysts argue is inevitable.
This new digital age which will go hand-in-hand with full-automation will usher in a new era for Royal Mail...and it won't stop there either.
A high-tech underpinned industry with a far smaller workforce (read that as far less "posties") will just be the start.
In years to come the fleet and the drivers will be put under the microscope; truly massive savings could be made here...and the subject is almost never even raised...never mind discussed.
Add to all this the sale of many of RMG's depots; millions upon millions to be made on land sales as the demand for housing increases ten-fold every generation or so.
And lastly, but not least of course -- the big one! The sale of GLS...which looks even more increasingly certain as each day goes by.
Massive, massive change coming. And there will be nothing (make that NOTHING!!) the CWU can do about it.
The very next time the union threatens to walk they will be walking themselves out of a job...and what is more important -- Royal Mail know it!!
Strike? Royal Mail will then be saved the job of handing out redundancy notices. Because after the strike would be over...20,000 jobs would be gone. Simple as that. And I would say 20,000 would be a conservative figure.
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