Post strike bonanza
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• Britain's independent parcels carriers are enjoying a bonanza — thanks to the postal dispute in Yorkshire which has severely affected the Post Office's operations.
Vic Turner, national sales manager at Independent Express, told CM: "We have budgeted to carry more parcels over the period of this strike, but business has risen more than we expected."
At ANC, sales manager Robert Fisher says: "We are seeing an increase in the traffic of parcels and we are also getting a number of inquiries from people about the carriage of non-standard parcels."
TNT's managing director Alan Jones says that business is up by around 15% as a result of the postal dispute. The company's Supapost, Multi-mail and Despatch Post services have received most of the increase in trade.
All the parcels carriers CM spoke to admitted that the effects of the postal dispute are largely local to Yorkshire, but most thought the dispute could have a long-term effect on their businesses.
In an effort to prevent the build-up of huge quantities of mail in Leeds (the centre of the dispute), the Post Office has taken the unprecedented step of hiring an independent contractor to carry mail from Leeds station to post offices unaffected by the dispute.
The Post Office described the move as a one-off step involving fewer than 10 rigid trucks and boxvans to move several thousand bags of mail during the evening of June 2. It was not prepared to identify the contractor, "in case we have to do something similar to this in the future".
The Union of Communications Workers says that the Post Office's decision to use independent contractors is opposed bitterly by the unions. "It does not surprise us that the Post Office is using independent contractors. It makes us extremely angry," a spokesman said.
The UCW now wants to meet with road transport unions to discuss the crossing of picket lines at Leeds station by the independent contracttor's drivers.
British Rail is also trying to garner some benefit from the postal dispute by slashing minimum charge for deliveries of parcels of under 200g to