The GCA works on behalf of the industry to protect and promote greeting card sending. The number of card purchases and cards sent are clearly related, and it’s this shared interest that has been at the heart of the historically strong working dialogues and projects we’ve built together with Royal Mail over many decades.
To that end the GCA meets regularly with Royal Mail and is also in contact with the regulator Ofcom, Government and other stakeholders, representing the greeting card industry and ensuring our voice is heard.
More recently, issues surrounding Royal Mail’s performance in line with their Universal Service Obligation (USO) have taken on immense significance and has meant our own approach to this area has had to evolve: The Royal Mail teams we work with continue to be staffed by respected colleagues whose opinions we value, but the GCA now also leverages far more direct communication channels with Government Ministers, the regulator Ofcom, other stakeholders, and the media, to ensure your voice is heard.
February 2023
Royal Mail and GCA held an update meeting, where GCA CEO Amanda Fergusson reported the significant impact the November/December 2022 strikes had had on the greeting card industry. Christmas card sending was discussed, along with a shared ambition to promote the resurgence of card sending for Christmas 2023.
Royal Mail also confirmed that there was currently no agreement with the CWU trade union but that talks were continuing.
Finally, Royal Mail confirmed an extension to the period during which non-barcodes stamps can be used. This is until July 2023, more details here.
January 2023
Any change to the USO needs to be agreed by Parliament and as this is unlikely to be before the next election it is important that the GCA also engage with opposition MPs. In November 2022, the GCA wrote to Jonathan Reynolds MP, Labour shadow business and industrial strategy secretary, about the situation with the USO and the threat to cut Saturday deliveries.
In January 2023, the GCA met with Adam Terry MP, Labour’s head of policy department and currently working on the Labour manifesto for the next election.
During the meeting, Adam Terry shared with GCA CEO Amanda Fergusson, the letter Jonathan Reynolds MP had written to the Government following the GCA’s letter to him in November. This stated Labour’s support for the key elements of the USO. See full meeting report in PGBuzz.
It is important that the card industry continues to engage with their MPs. See How you can help to raise this issue with Government below.
GCA Update December 2022
The GCA has continued to meet with other organisations who are concerned by Royal Mail’s request to government to change the USO and drop Saturday delivery.
CEO Amanda met with Linda Stephens, Head of Postal Policy, at the government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) on 14th December. Ms Stephens was interested to hear about the size and robustness of the greeting card industry and confirmed that:
There are currently no plans to change the requirements of the postal service… [The government are] listening to evidence.
Linda Stephens, Head of Postal Policy BEIS
Any changes to the USO will require further consultation, including assessment on the needs of the population taking into account the needs of those with protected characteristics, and then debate in parliament.
This was confirmed in a response from the Minister Kevin Hollinrake MP on 12th December.
Royal Mail strikes, and the proposed move to lose Saturday deliveries, was raised at Parliamentary questions again on 13th December.
GCA raised Royal Mail at the monthly indie retail meeting on the same day. There was a lot of discussion about the issues and move to 5-day a week and the other associations are now asking their members for feedback, and have agreed to put this on the agenda for a meeting with Adam Terry MP (Labour Head of Policy Development) in January.
The National Federation of Sub postmasters support our position. During December in particular, there was a lot of press interest in any change in Christmas card sending due to the ongoing Royal Mail strikes. Many members and indies are reporting robust sales, and the GCA and members have been working hard to wave the flag for greeting cards and encourage sending, see our Greeting card media coverage Christmas 2022 blog for more. Also see PGBuzz’s Government hears greeting card industry concerns.
Christmas 2022 Last Posting Dates brought forward
During December, Royal Mail announced new last posting dates for 2022 Christmas cards had been brought forward due to the strikes. To ensure that cards were received by Christmas, the last posting date for 2nd Class mail was 12th Dec and 1st Class mail 16th Dec.
Royal Mail’s request to drop Saturday delivery and ongoing Postal Strikes.
The GCA expressed the industry’s concern about the change in direction, on 17th November 2022, when Royal Mail announced they had asked government to move to a 5 day a week postal service.
In addition the on-going strike action continues to effect many and is now threatening to impact Christmas.
GCA Action
Following the announcement the GCA met with Royal Mail (see below), and issued a press release to the media, this is available to download below.
The GCA has written to the government minister responsible for the Postal Service, Kevin Hollinrake MP. A copy of the letter is available to download below. The GCA has also written to opposition MPs.
The GCA is also speaking to other stakeholders such as BEIS, the National Federation of Sub-postmasters and Professional Publishers Association. Also, the US GCA, as the United States Postal Service (USPS) were looking to cut costs in 2020 and proposed continuing package service but removing mail service on Saturdays – much as Royal Mail is doing. Research undertaken on behalf of the US GCA found that different levels of delivery for different types of items (packages vs letter mail) did not add efficiency. In addition, it found that USPS had overestimated its savings that would be realised by eliminating Saturday mail delivery. There was a high level of consumer interest in Saturday delivery in the US too.
How you can help to raise this issue with Government
These are crucial issues for our industry. A reliable postal service, where people can post a card knowing it will arrive for an occasion, is a key part of the reason card sending in the UK has never waned and we continue to send more cards per capita than any other nation.
We are asking all GCA members to write to their own MPs highlighting these concerns for our industry.
If your business is located in a different constituency please write to both – one as a constituent and one as a business owner/leader highlighting the impact on your business.
To find your local MP click on this link.
A suggested draft letter template is available to download below. Please feel free to use the information contained in the other downloads if useful.
GCA Update November 2022
GCA CEO’s Amanda Fergusson met with Royal Mail on 17th November in the wake of press reports that Royal Mail has asked the government to move to 5 day week delivery.
The GCA/Royal Mail meeting was already planned for an update on strike action, but Amanda opened the meeting by expressing the industry’s concern about the announcement today, and disappointment that this moves away from the position discussed at previous meetings, where we were led to believe that Royal Mail was looking for a premium weekend delivery service potentially to be brought under the USO. Highlighting the fact that we both already know there is demand for weekend postal service from consumers and our industry.
Royal Mail said that the huge losses felt by Royal Mail, combined with the continued reduction in ‘letters’ and impact of ongoing strikes, left Royal Mail with no option other than to ask the government to move to 5 days a week. Fiona Hamilton, Head of Public Affairs Royal Mail Group, says they are keen to work with us “to find ways to mitigate the impact on the card sector”.
The GCA Council’s Royal Mail sub-committee is led by Council Member David Falkner, MD of Cardology
Both the timing and content of Royal Mail’s announcement appear somewhat curious, in circumstances where Royal Mail have consistently told us they recognise our customers want their greetings cards to arrive at the weekend, but Royal Mail have yet to develop their promised that would meet this need.
It’s also unclear why Royal Mail appear to be asking the government to use the exceptional strikes as the reason to permanently release them from their current universal service obligation, when only last year they were asking for their record profits to be treated as exceptional items linked solely to the pandemic, and therefore excluded from calculations that directly affect the price our customers pay for their stamps.
As such, we’re looking forward to speaking further to Royal Mail and related parties to understand their plans. We cannot currently see how the government can agree to this change without being able to tell the British public how their card giving needs will be met, particularly in the run up to Christmas.
David Falkner MD Cardology and GCA council member
A further meeting is being planned between the GCA and Royal Mail, which will include the commercial department at the Royal Mail (who are responsible for new consumer products), to talk through both the challenges but also the options for pricing and accessing different products for weekend deliveries.
In response to this announcement the GCA are also looking to form alliances with other interested parties, speaking to government and press all the while hoping Royal Mail will rethink.
Strike action Update:
Talks with the union are progressing at ACAS. They were due to finish on Tuesday but are continuing in an effort to resolve ahead of peak Christmas period. Currently the next strikes are planned for Thursday and Black Friday next week. and the latest on the negotiations with the CWU, here.
Royal Mail assured the GCA that all post was delivered outside strike days, with priority given to parcels and special delivery mail on strike days only.
Bar Coded Stamps
The cut-off date for non-barcode stamps dates has also been extended – for full details and latest information please see our Royal Mail move to QR-coded stamps blog.
August 2022
The GCA met with Royal Mail on 24th August. Royal Mail updated the GCA on the strike action that will take place on 26 and 31 August and the 8 and 9 September 2022.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has called on its members who collect, sort and deliver parcels and letters to take strike action. Royal Mail has said it will do everything it can to minimise disruption and get its services back to normal as quickly as possible. But greeting cards won’t be delivered on strike days. Royal Mail advice is:
- Please advise your customers to post items as early as possible in advance of the strike dates
- Continue to post your items at Postboxes or Post Offices, however collections will be less frequent on days when strike action is taking place
Royal Mail said “We’re really sorry for the disruption that this strike action is likely to cause. We want to reassure you we will do everything we can to minimise disruption and get our services back to normal as quickly as possible. We will be doing what we can to keep services running, but customers should expect significant disruption.”
Royal Mail informed the GCA that they have well-developed contingency plans, but they cannot fully replace the daily efforts of its frontline workforce.
“As a key stakeholder the greeting card industry need to maintain a good working relationship with Royal Mail, and have a forum at which to have our voice heard. These regular meetings are therefore very important.
The clear message to greeting card consumers at this time is to post cards early for occasions around this period”.
Amanda Fergusson GCA CEO
For more detail on deliveries around the strikes visit Royal Mail
July 2022
The July 2022 Ofcom update included some positive news on both the review on Royal Mail services, but also outlined changes to Ofcom’s monitoring of all parcel deliveries:
Royal Mail regulation
As part of the ongoing review into Royal Mail services Ofcom have reiterated the requirement for Royal Mail to offer a six day a week letter delivery service to every address in the UK.
They have also announced they have ‘strengthened our monitoring requirements to gain a deeper understanding of the financial sustainability and efficiency of the universal service’. This is something that the GCA requested both to the Royal Mail and Ofcom, specifically the affordability of Saturday / Sunday Premium Services. We also asked whether there was a clear case for Royal Mail to waive any proposed premium service charges over any Christmas period. We are delighted that Ofcom has confirmed that they are continuing to look into this.
Stronger Protections and Fairer Treatment for all Parcel Customers
Ofcom has also identified the requirement for a better complaints process across all parcel operators, and had now strengthened its guidance to drive improvements in how all delivery firms handle complaints.
Deliveries are part and parcel of our daily lives. But the customer service that some people have been getting when a delivery goes wrong simply hasn’t been good enough. So we’re strengthening our regulations to make sure people are treated fairly by delivery firms.
If we’re not satisfied with how parcel companies respond, they could face enforcement action or tighter rules in future.
Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s Networks and Communications Group Director.
April 2022
Amanda Fergusson, CEO of the GCA, and Council Members David Falkner from Cardology, David Byk from Ling/Great British Card Company and Fiona Pitt from Hallmark met with Royal Mail at the beginning of April 2022.
This is the second meeting in two weeks to further discuss changes Royal Mail believe they need to make because their letters business continues to shrink, as more companies send everyday communications like bills online. The challenges they face are outlined in Ofcom’s Review of Postal Users’ Needs (2020) report.
This means Royal Mail want to deliver most of their mail between Monday and Friday. A 3-day delivery service had been mooted but Royal Mail confirmed that this is not something they will be pursuing.
Royal Mail outlined some proposed changes that could really help our customers, including the ability for our customers to track the letters they’ve sent, also the suggested move to still deliver letters on Saturday if you pay a bit more, and even offer a service delivering letters on a Sunday (again, for a fee).
Whilst we welcome some of these changes, we know customers won’t like higher prices. We’re also concerned a premium service could lead to confusion and therefore further reduce the volume of cards sent.
We’ve therefore agreed we’ll meet again before any changes are finalised, and asked Royal Mail for further clarity on their proposed pricing for this premium service.
We’ve also asked Royal Mail to consider whether such premium pricing is genuinely required at Christmas, when apparently 40% of all the year’s letters are delivered. We’ve suggested flat December pricing could offer a good news story we would all support that could increase volumes of cards sent.
At the same time as speaking to Royal Mail, we’ve explained our concerns to Ofcom, because they are the industry regulator who will ultimately decide whether Royal Mail can make the changes they want to make, so it’s important they understand any issues we see for our customers.
Members, please do contact us to share your thoughts, if you have additional concerns or would like to discuss this further. Please write to Amanda at amanda@gca.cards
Further Information
GCA ensures industry voice heard – a summary of the issues and why we need to be concerned as an industry
Updates on GCA lobbying March 2023 action to protect and promote our industry
For details on Royal Mail move to QR-coded stamps in July 2023.
Downloads
