...asking him to intervene in the current stand-off with Royal Mail to end the ongoing strike action, which the DMA says is damaging direct mail.
The trade association, which has warned of the damaging effects of the strike action on UK business and specifically on direct mail, is also calling on members to follow its lead by contacting their local MPs to demand action.
News of the letter comes as postal workers are due to vote on a national strike. Members of the Communications Workers Union have already started strikes in some parts of the country.
In the letter to Lord Mandelson, the DMA's chief of membership and brand Robert Keitch writes: "It is quite clear that businesses cannot sustain these interruptions indefinitely."
Keitch points out that "a significant portion" of Royal Mail's turnover "stems from direct mail". The strike will "drive companies away from using mail to sell their products, which will not be particularly helpful to the Royal Mail and its employees when mail volumes are already down year-on-year".
"Should relations deteriorate further and a national postal strike take effect, this would have a significant impact on businesses that rely on issuing invoices and receiving payment via post.
"We are seeing evidence that the economy might be staging a recovery from the recession and yet strike action could be the final blow for many struggling companies."
The CWU strike action will also be counterproductive to reaching their ultimate aim.
"Like the management of Royal Mail, the CWU ultimately wants the same thing; namely, a successful, vibrant Royal Mail. However, these strikes will only serve to undermine the commercial value of post as a communication channel.
"As an industry, we have developed a good working relationship with Royal Mail and meet regularly to resolve operational problems and discuss how we can work together to improve the service customers expect of us. We all appreciate that the service can and needs to adapt to the changing times in which we live."
_1.jpg)
.jpg)