Leeds No1 Amalgamated Branch of the Communication Workers Union

13/08/2026

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02/07/2026

24/05/2026

The gig economy in parcel delivery is largely unregulated. There are no minimum standards for how courier companies treat workers, no requirements around pay or conditions, and no regulator with the power or mandate to intervene.

The Business and Trade Select Committee now wants that to change.

In its new report, The Regulation of Postal Services, the committee has put two specific mechanisms on the table:

A levy on rival operators, to reflect the benefit they get from Royal Mail's universal service network. Companies like Amazon cherry-pick profitable urban routes but rely on Royal Mail to deliver to the areas they won't touch.

The CWU told the committee that competitors "free-ride" on that infrastructure, and the current wholesale pricing "is nowhere near enough to cover the losses." A levy would force them to contribute to the network they depend on.

The second is minimum employment standards across the sector, covering both consumer service and worker conditions.

Royal Mail's owner Daniel Křetínský told MPs that Royal Mail's labour costs are double those of competitors using gig economy models. The committee is now explicitly saying that undercutting through self-employment structures shouldn't be a competitive advantage.

This isn't legislation yet.

But it's a select committee putting specific policy tools on record and giving the Government a six-month window to act. If Ofcom doesn't deliver, these are the options the Secretary of State has been told to bring back to the committee.

14/05/2026

FYI

11/05/2026

The political officer for the Leeds No1 Amalgamated Branch of the Communication Workers Union and Political Lead Asghar Khan spoke at The Communication Workers Union conference to oppose motion 45 which sought to disaffiliate from the Labour Party. After much careful consideration our union has voted to remain affiliated to the Labour party.🌹photo courtesy of Joanne Shaftoee 😊