MP's fury at 'negative reaction'

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.crewechronicle.co.uk/crewe-n ... -22533678/

ANGRY Crewe & Nantwich MP Edward Timpson has hit out at the negative reaction of Employment Relations and Postal Affairs minister Pat McFadden to the plight of 600 Royal Mail workers in Crewe.

At a Department for Business meeting in the House of Commons on Thursday, Mr Timpson said the Wolverhampton South East MP “dismissed out of hand” the thought of stopping the closure of the Weston Road sorting office and re-engaging with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) to hammer out a proper national strategy for mail centres.

Mr Timpson said: “He said ‘This is a decision for Royal Mail; I will not dictate’ and when I asked him what his message for the workers at Crewe mail centre was he said coldly, ‘The strike is a mistake’ and nothing more.”

Mr Timpson highlighted the huge problem the closure would cause, adding consultations had been handled “atrociously”.

Mr McFadden told the Chronicle: “I understand that Royal Mail’s proposed closure of the Crewe mail centre has been a difficult decision. But, as this week’s Hooper Report on postal services shows, most Western European postal services are more automated and efficient than Royal Mail.

“When mail volumes are falling year by year because of new technology, it is essential that Royal Mail modernises. If that did not happen, the ‘one price goes anywhere’ service obligation, which is already loss-making, could be put at risk. The Government will not let that happen.”