NFSP CEO Calum Greenhow on PO Chair Nigel Railton’s future plans for the business

Colleagues may have tuned in to the announcement this morning by Post Office Ltd (PO) new Chair Nigel Railton of his plans for the future of the business. This includes plans to close or transfer wholly owned Crown post offices to third parties. At present, closure plans are limited to these unprofitable Crown offices and do not impact our postmaster network.

However, Mr Railton also talked about “reversing the polarity” in terms of how we as postmasters are treated by the business, with the aim to deliver much-needed increases in remuneration. What Mr Railton said in relation to the business needing a fresh start is so important given the toxic history. In 2019, PO Chief Executive Nick Read stated that he wanted to “reset the relationship with postmasters”. Sadly, we know that was not achieved. As Mr Railton talks about “reversing the polarity”, postmasters stand ready to support the new Chair in helping him and his team to achieve this. However, we will also be quick to highlight if he and his team do not deliver on their commitments. 

As postmasters ourselves, improving our remuneration is something that the NFSP has continually fought for on behalf of our fellow postmaster colleagues. Therefore, it is beyond encouraging that the plan aims to deliver around £250m in additional revenue by 2030 and around £125m by the end of the next financial year.  

Included in the changes announced will be the loss of well over a thousand Post Office employee jobs. It is therefore right that we recognise just how disconcerting this will be for those impacted as they will have mortgages to pay and families to provide for. 

All of this has to be couched as subject to government approval and funding. 

Questions have however, been raised in terms of the timings of the announcement, given today is the last day of the Horizon Inquiry. The NFSP rightly proposews that it would therefore be totally understandable if the Inquiry wanted to review the entirety of the “new deal” prior to implementation as the proposal could sit within the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference.  

Linked to the announcement is the review that government are currently undertaking via the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) into what future ownership models look like. The NFSP back in 2010 proposed that PO should be a mutual business, and this remains our preferred option but only when the financials of PO enable it.

However, what has been clear from the Inquiry is that the governance of PO by successive Boards and Senior Executives simply has not been good enough and that the current Board is dysfunctional according to a review undertaken by Grant Thornton. With that in mind and to prepare for Mutualisation, this is why the NFSP has proposed an Oversight Committee to enable proper oversight of the business today and to ensure that the culture of the business fundamentally changes. It’s this shift in polarity (culture) that Mr Railton seeks to bring in so the Oversight Committee would be the ideal vehicle to help him achieve this and bring about the necessary changes in governance that is required. 

The next few weeks, months and possibly years will be critical to our network, so it is important as colleagues we remain united and engaged with the NFSP so that your voices and concerns are heard within the debate and before the decision makers. Each of us wants PO to be successful and we want to work with the business to enable it to not just survive but actually thrive. 

The NFSP does not forget your investment, nor the important role you play within communities across the country. We do not forget the significant and essential role you played through the Covid pandemic and how you placed yourselves in a position of harm at a time of national crisis. Together, we can ensure that the Post Office and especially government does not forget this either. 

We now have an opportunity to have a “fresh start” with the business and the NFSP will work to bring you, the investing postmaster, into the discussions which will take place so that you can now look forward with hope to the kind of relationship you deserve.

Yours, 

Calum