British mails in for reduction

People in Great Britain may be in for some upsetting changes next year when the British Post Office is split into two operational sectors -- one for mail and parcel handling, and one for communications networks.

The service had shown profits on its mail operations for three years until early 1980, when pay increases began to erode profits. Now, to stem any future losses, management is considering rearrangements bound to be unpopular with householders.

These include: reducing home deliveries from two to one per day; eliminating mandatory early-morning delivery (mail could come anytime); reduction of street-box collections to one per day from the present two and elimination of infrequently used pillar (collection) boxes. Consideration is also being given to requiring certain home mailboxes to be reachable at curbside, as is done in West Germany and parts of the United States.