With the sell off/privatisation of the letters and parcel side, do we really need 6 deliveries a week, or could /should we just have 3, monday- wednesday -saturday, using part time staff,and possibly on tuesday and thursday, delivering parcels.

sending urgent docs through the post via special delivery- what happens then?

Urgent.
Post.

Does not compute

I thought privatisation was supposed to offer an improvement in terms of both cost and service level? Or has that old Tory myth been debunked?

Urgent letters would be safeguarded by using a premiunm service as happens now.

Next week look at the post that drops through your door. If it has a stamp, 1, 2, or M in the top corner, then Royal Mail have been paid to deliver that. Everything else is put through your letterbox by Royal mail for FREE (ie – Royal Mail sees no revenue from it)
This is why they are losing so much money!
Large companies now have the choice who they decide to send their mail with, but these companies don't do the final mile. TNT can tender for a contract (and undercut Royal Mail because RM has fixed pricing structures set by the regulator that the others don't have to adhere to). The customer pays TNT for the service. TNT then prepare their mail and turn up at a RM depot and leave it for RM to sort and deliver.

This is like me buying discount bike parts online and going to my local bike shop (he has the monopoly in town as he is the only one) and I then expect him to fit the parts for free because he has the network (tools etc) in place.

Re-read what I have just posted and really understand just what is happening. It's beyond belief! No company can sustain itself doing work for nothing and yet the goverment and regulator allows it to happen. There is a general feeling within RM that it is all just one big conspiracy to make the business fail, thus prompting private investment.

Could not have described it better Chase! Just a good excuse to give the CWU a good shoooing!
Looks like it will be a Mon to Fri Delivery and expect to pay a premium on a Saturday.
They say the mail volume is down no **** way, yes the RM items but the Down Stream Access(TNT,DHL) has gone through the roof.

Name one privatisation that has improved service/gave better value for money.
The workers have not got the fight for anymore Industrial action, as we got well turned over on the last pay and mod agreement so expect it to go through with very little fight. 😥

Also with TNT/or whoever handling it they do not take it to Royal Mail until the lorry is full.
Have had personnal experience of this with credit card statement and having to pay because it was past the due date when it did arrive!
Have now heard of many cases like this but of course the credit card provider had got it posted cheaper for as far as they are concerned the same service they would get from Royal Mail but are clearly not getting.
And of course good old joe bloggs just stumps up the extra overdue payment,half the time not even checking there statement.
So possibly 2 winners TNT/or whoever for not providing a 1st class service
and there customer who makes a bit more for poor service by there mail provider.
As I see it Royal Mail is a service and a good one it's only since goverments decided to make a quick buck that the service has gone into a decline.
When it was totally goverment owned they happilly took £500million profit a year out of it never putting any money back into the business to improve just spunked the money away on everything else!

Counting to 10 now ______________breathe———