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Royal Mail boss vows to eradicate staff bullying

Royal Mail - Gareth Fuller/PA Wire
Royal Mail - Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

The boss of Royal Mail has vowed to eradicate bullying after the five-century-old organisation was hit with a spate of complaints from staff.

Chief executive Simon Thompson said he plans to stop bullying "at source" as part of a plan to shore up conditions for his 140,000 workers.

The former managing director of the NHS Test and Trace App has urged staff to come forward and report the problems amid repeated claims of bullying by middle managers.

The Royal Mail carried out an internal staff survey earlier this month to pinpoint the issues ahead of improving relationships across the business.

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In a video call with workers first reported by the Mail on Sunday, Mr Thompson said: "I don't believe that we've ever put in a job advertisement "bullies welcome".

"I've never met somebody I've thought was a bully, but it goes on.

"Maybe there's something that we are doing that is putting people in the situation where they either feel that's OK or they feel that's what they have to do to get the outcome.

"My overall impression is that people are proud to be here and they're magnificent people, but [bullying] definitely goes on. It definitely needs to stop."

The Royal Mail is reportedly preparing the ground for more electric vans and an upgrade to the handheld scanners used by workers on the front line.

Mr Thompson is also weighing whether to revive the postal cadets, a scheme supporting the development of younger workers that previously ran for quarter of a century.

It comes after the FTSE 250 company rewarded investors with a pandemic payout last month after a surge in parcel deliveries transformed its fortunes.

The business has offered a “one-off” dividend of 10p a share for its legions of retail backers, who include thousands of staff.

Shares in Royal Mail have climbed 45pc since the start of the year, fuelled by an uptick in parcel deliveries from online ordering as lockdown forced millions to work from home.