Mail workers in talks as changes hit firms

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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TALKS are taking place among Royal Mail workers to prevent postal chaos from hitting Sevenoaks.

The negotiations come after a new way of working was introduced to the town's delivery office.

The "modernisation" system introduced to the London Road delivery base on January 10 has fuelled fears small businesses in the town will suffer late-arriving business letters and cheques.

Cliff Brookes, a Sevenoaks postal worker and representative for the Communication Workers' Union, is concerned about the impact of new delivery times on the public, warning post could take two days to arrive.
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He said: "It's a modernisation programme to bring the Royal Mail back into the modern age – the union agreed to it.

"But as Royal Mail always do they rush things through and the consequences always seem to be the public suffer

"The major impact is going to be on businesses as they are going to get their mail later. The public always seems to suffer."

But he said talks were in progress with management to resolve the issue.

In the new system, the first delivery to the sorting office in London Road arrives at 4.15am and a second arrival is at 9am.

Mail used to be delivered at 3.30am, 4.15am and 6.15am under the old method.

Mr Brookes explained the later delivery times causes the post to be "rolled over", as postmen are sent out before some of the day's post had arrived.

Another change is the reduction of deliveries to the Sevenoaks sorting office from four to three times a day.

Businessman Graham Brookes, who runs Dectech, a building business in Main Road, Knockholt, said he fears the repercussions of the change.

"After the havoc caused by snow and Christmas, I've noticed even more of a delay since January 10," he said.

"It's always the bills that make it through and never the cheques. I'm concerned it's going to get worse."

Andrew Aves, regional organiser of the Federation of Small Businesses, said the new system had already proved a concern in Herne Bay and that any disruption has 'serious implications' to firms.

He said: "The Royal Mail is an incredibly important service to small businesses.

"Any disruption has serious implications.

"We hope that the Royal Mail management will have learned the lessons of what went wrong in the implementation of this new work schedule."

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "Operational changes are being made across Royal Mail as part of our modernisation to place our business on a more efficient and sustainable footing for the future.

"These changes, based on a national agreement between Royal Mail and our union and endorsed by postmen and women through a national ballot, will allow us to achieve this aim and improve service to customers."

[ziko]

David Cameroon wants to rebuild this country from the bottom up but by privatising Royal mail he will be leaving most rural and sub rural businesses to the dogs - You can just imagine the daily mail heading ' Royal mails new owner TNT say's ''WERE NOT GOING THERE TO DELIVER ITS JUST NOT WOTRH IT!'' Thus leaving every single business outside a city or large town well and truely Fu3ked!!

[stokes11eg]

EHH? so C.W.U are now R/M union--'Royal mail and 'our' union'