Midcounties Co-operative planning to end newspaper deliveries in Shropshire
Dozens of paperboys and girls in Shropshire are facing an uncertain future after a major retailer opened a consultation into the future of the delivery service.
The Midcounties Co-operative said it has opened a 90-day consultation period with a view that the paper delivery service may "cease" on January 6.
Every paper delivery assistant, regardless of their age, would be "appropriately compensated", according to The Midcounties Co-operative.
A letter that was given to employees and paperboys on Monday said that the review is due to "concerns about the profitability of the operation, at a time when the demand for the service is in continual decline".
The letter adds: "Discussions about the proposed closure are on-going and at this stage, it is likely that this part of the business will close."
It says that during the 90-day consultation period the society will have regular meetings with the trade union and affected workers.
The letter adds that workers over the age of 16 will receive a redundancy payment if they are made redundant, but that those under the age of 16 are not technically employees, so will not be entitled to a redundancy payment but will be offered a "goodwill payment".
It also says that those who are under the age of 16 will not be eligible to apply for any other roles in the business due to minimum age requirements.
Beth Meads, spokeswoman from The Midcounties Co-operative, said: “We have operated a home news delivery service for many years, but demand for it has unfortunately been declining in line with the overall reduction in newspaper and magazine sales in the UK.
"We’re currently exploring options to discontinue the service and have entered a 90-day consultation period with our paper delivery assistants to review our proposal, with a view that it may cease on January 6 2018.
"It is not our policy to discuss the terms of our conversations with our paper delivery assistants, but we can confirm that every assistant, regardless of their age, would be appropriately compensated for their service.
“In the interim period, we are committed to providing the best possible service and we are actively seeking other local providers of home news delivery to ensure the continuation of the service and to protect the positions of our paper delivery assistants.”
* If you have any concerns over the delivery of the Shropshire Star, please call our customer services team on 0800 174064.
