Only seven weeks ago, the mail company's chief executive, Adam Crozier, agreed to a one-penny increase in the price of first- and second-class stamps. First class now costs 28p, while second class is 20p.
The Royal Mail is threatening to increase the price of postage once more if it loses a battle with watchdog Postcomm over how much it charges courier firms to use its sorting and delivery network. Postcomm wants the charges slashed.
A spokesman for the state-owned postal service said yesterday: "We're going to fund our pension schemes come what may. Irresponsible prices for access might have to be balanced by price increases for everyone else. The challenge for Postcomm is to avoid setting up that sort of anti-consumer scenario."
Royal Mail plans to pump 拢100m a year extra into its pension fund, which has 400,000 members and a 拢4.6bn deficit. The 拢100m would be on top of the 拢265m a year it is already paying towards pensions.
Crozier, previously head of the Football Association and a former joint chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi, believes the Post Office could justify a price hike to cover its pension costs following a similar move in the energy sector. On Tuesday, the gas and electricity watchdog said its wards could raise domestic fuel bills to help pay for their workers' pensions.
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