Royal Mail chief quits after wave of strikes - and trousers six-figure payoff

12 May 2023 , 20:26

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Simon Thompson has quit his role (Image: ROYAL MAIL GROUP/AFP via Getty I)

Fury erupted after the boss of Royal Mail quit with a six-figure payoff in the wake of strike chaos that hit millions of customers.

Under-fire Simon Thompson claimed it was the “right time” to go.

His departure comes after a long-running pay dispute with its postal union that threatened to bring the business, founded in 1516, to the brink of collapse.

Royal Mail last month finally agreed a settlement with the Communication Workers Union – after Thompson was slammed by the union and staff for his handling of the dispute.

CWU General Secretary Dave Ward said: “Simon Thompson is one of the key individuals responsible for the financial crisis that Royal Mail Group has created over the past year.”

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Workers deliver their verdict in London in December last year (Thomas Krych/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock)

A spokesman said: “It is outrageous the CEO who led the company into this crisis has been rewarded with huge payouts while hard-working postal workers are dismissed and suspended on trumped-up charges.

“Thompson is gone. Our members now need to be returned to work.”

A wave of industrial action caused huge delays and backlogs of mail, including in the run-up to Christmas.

Mr Thompson will remain in his role until the end of October. As well as being paid in full, he is ­entitled to seven monthly payments totalling almost £300,000. He could also get an annual bonus, from the end of March to May, if any is paid. His annual bonus for the last financial year was £142,000.

Yet while he walks away with a big payoff, striking Royal Mail staff have got the boot without a penny.

The CWU union says workers have allegedly been suspended or even dismissed for using the word “scab”.

The union told the Mirror in February that more than 150 of its members were suspended directly as a result of a wave of industrial action.

Royal Mail said the figure was just over 70 but acknowledged that there had been 375 disciplinary cases since strikes began last year.

The news comes as parent firm International Distributions Services prepares to announce its annual results on Thursday, with the likely focus also on Royal Mail’s poor record for delivery targets.

Graham Hiscott