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  "path": "/money/royal-mail-scraps-second-class-saturday-deliveries",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-16T14:57:31.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Royal Mail reveals heartwarming tribute to late Queen 100 years after birth",
    "Royal Mail hikes stamp prices as Britons forced to 'dig deeper into pockets for a failing service'",
    "Royal Mail alert: Households in 28 postcodes hit by delivery delays - full list",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\nRoyal Mail has reached an agreement with the Communications Workers Union to axe second-class letter deliveries on Saturdays across the United Kingdom.\n\nThe postal service will instead shift these deliveries to alternate weekdays, ending a prolonged dispute between the company and the union over reforms to second-class post.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe announcement follows a stamp price increase earlier this month, with first-class stamps now costing £1.80 and second-class stamps priced at 91p.\n\nAlistair Cochrane, Royal Mail’s chief executive, said: \"This agreement with the CWU paves the way for Universal Service reform rollout and represents a significant investment in our people.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHe added the changes would support \"a reliable, efficient and financially sustainable postal service\" for customers nationwide.\n\nThe Universal Service reforms will now be expanded to an additional 240 delivery offices as part of a broader trial programme.\n\nRoyal Mail aims to complete the rollout across its network of 1,200 offices by December.\n\nUnder the new arrangements, second-class letters will be delivered on either Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or Tuesday and Thursday, following a fortnightly cycle.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nFirst-class post will continue to be delivered six days per week.\n\nRoyal Mail had been trialling the revised delivery schedule at 37 offices since February, with regulator Ofcom estimating potential annual savings of between £250million and £425million.\n\nThe company previously provided Saturday letter deliveries as part of its six-day service, with items typically arriving by approximately 4.30pm.\n\nThe agreement also introduces changes to pay and working conditions for Royal Mail staff.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:\n\n\n\n\n  * Royal Mail reveals heartwarming tribute to late Queen 100 years after birth\n  * Royal Mail hikes stamp prices as Britons forced to 'dig deeper into pockets for a failing service'\n  * Royal Mail alert: Households in 28 postcodes hit by delivery delays - full list\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nEmployees who joined the company on or after December 1, 2022, will receive a pay increase of 4.75 per cent, while those on older contracts will see salaries rise by three per cent.\n\nNew recruits will be offered positions based on a standard 37-hour working week under updated contractual arrangements.\n\nAround 6,000 part-time postal workers will also be given the option to increase their average weekly hours.\n\nThe deal follows extended negotiations between Royal Mail and the CWU over changes to second-class postal services.\n\nThe reforms come as letter volumes continue to decline, with deliveries falling from a peak of 20 billion in 2004-05 to 6.6 billion in 2023-24.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nRoyal Mail’s letter revenues have dropped from £6.9billion to £3.7billion since 2008, and recorded losses of £348million in 2023-24 despite a series of stamp price increases.\n\nOfcom has fined Royal Mail three times since 2020 for failing to meet delivery targets, including a £10.5million penalty in 2024.\n\nConsumer group Citizens Advice said: \"Woeful track record of failing to meet delivery targets, all the while ramping up postage costs.\"\n\nTom MacInnes, director of policy at the organisation, said Ofcom had \"missed a major opportunity to bring about meaningful change\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Royal Mail scraps key Saturday deliveries despite stamp price rises"
}