The National Federation of Subpostmasters (NFSP) said the increased remuneration offer from the Post Office to postmasters ‘does not come close to what is needed’.
Post Office group chief retail officer Martin Roberts has, in a recent communication, reportedly revealed an additional £3 million for processing the Energy Bill Support Scheme and various other government schemes.
The NFSP said the amount may sound like an impressive headline figure but will amount to around £260 per postmaster when spread across the whole Post Office network of approximately 11,500 postmasters.
“The remuneration offer does not come close to what is needed and demonstrates a lack of understanding and desire to address the real problems postmasters are experiencing today,” the NFSP said in a statement.
The organisation called upon the Post Office to recommence talks to provide a settlement for postmasters that “properly reflects their value and ensures financial security for them and their staff.”
The NFSP also urged the government to increase its annual subsidy to ensure that the Post Office can remunerate postmasters fairly and to provide ongoing support for energy costs well beyond the government’s six-month Energy Bill Relief scheme.
The organisation noted that the level of anger and frustration in the postmaster community is unprecedented due to the treatment by the Post Office.
Recent NFSP research found that 70 per cent of postmasters are currently earning the National Minimum Wage of £9.50 per hour or less, from income generated by their post offices. Across the UK, postmasters employ approximately 40,000 staff at minimum wage or higher.
“Neither the current nor the proposed remuneration will cover the cost in paying their staff, let alone the additional and spiralling costs of running a business in the current climate,” the NFSP statement said.
Besides, there are a number of transactions that postmasters have to carry out for which they are not remunerated, it said, adding that "postmasters are effectively often working for free.” The organisation further noted that the 3.7 per cent pay increase offered by the Post Office is significantly below the 6.7 per cent National Minimum Wage increase, and that is before additional costs are factored in.
“As a consequence, they are increasingly relying on the retail side of their business to subsidise the government-owned Post Office,” it added.
