The UK Direct Marketing Association (DMA) is calling on the Government to intervene in the current stand-off with UK postal operator Royal Mail and its workers, to put an end to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding strike action. 

After repeatedly warning of the damaging effects of the the current intermittent strike action on UK business, the trade association is now calling on its members to contact local politicians to demand action. According to the DMA’s 2008 Economic Impact Analysis report, UK organisations spent £4.8 billion on direct mail during 2007 and sales attributed to direct mail activity totalled £12.2 billion.

In a letter to Lord Mandelson – the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills – Robert Keitch (pictured below), DMA chief of membership and brand, said: “It is quite clear that businesses cannot sustain these interruptions indefinitely. 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 (Communication Workers Union) strike action will also be counterproductive to reaching their ultimate aim, said Keitch: “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. A significant portion of the Royal Mail’s turnover stems from direct mail. Disruption to the post 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.

“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.”

Robert Keitch