RM workers and union launch bid to save delivery office....

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Royal Mail workers and union launch bid to save delivery office...

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POSTAL staff and union officials have launched a campaign to save Heckmondwike’s closure-threatened delivery office.

The Press revealed in March that the Oldfield Lane site is due to be axed at the end of August, with work relocating to Batley, but this week Royal Mail staff began a petition in a bid to keep the delivery office – and 38 jobs – in Heckmondwike.

Under Royal Mail plans the building would be sold off and instead of using the Heckmondwike depot, situated conveniently in the town centre, customers will have to collect undelivered mail and parcels from the Batley office – which is out of town up Grange Valley Road.

Buses travelling near the Batley site are few and far between, meaning anyone travelling from Heckmondwike, Liversedge or elsewhere without a car could potentially face a long walk or an expensive taxi ride.

Posters have appeared in local shops urging residents and workers to support the campaign, and staff and Communication Workers Union (CWU) officials will be holding a petition-signing event in Heckmondwike town centre on Saturday June 2.

Royal Mail has blamed ‘declining mail volumes and increasingly tough trading conditions’ for the closure, but the post office itself in Market Street is not affected. Pub chain JD Wetherspoons have denied that they are interested in turning the OIdfield Lane building into a town centre bar.

The campaign has the support of Heckmondwike's three Labour councillors, David Sheard, Viv Kendrick and Steve Hall.

“Apart from the issue of jobs, at a time when more and more items are being ordered online and delivered to our homes, it’s the wrong decision to make people travel all the way to Batley to pick them up,” said Coun Sheard.

“For people without their own transport it’ll be disastrous, and I fully support the campaign to try and reverse the decision.”

Coun Hall echoed his Labour colleague’s sentiments and added: “It’s pretty damn silly. If there’s any way of keeping Heckmondwike delivery office open then I’m all for fighting for it.”

A number of Royal Mail employees at the delivery office this week confirmed that they opposed the plans, and Coun Viv Kendrick said she hoped to join them for the town centre event on June 2.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) claim that the move was announced without any consultation.

Branch secretary Andy Lee said: “In my opinion closing Heckmondwike Delivery Office would effect the quality of service offered to local residents and businesses, and would would be an unnecessary disruption to our members’ current working life.

“There appears to be no rationale behind Royal Mail’s announcement, other than the money they will gain by selling the site.

“For residents in Heckmondwike and Liversedge if the closure goes ahead, it may mean a potentially costly trip to Batley will be required to pick up parcels or access other services.

“We believe that this will disadvantage the local elderly and infirm residents who would potentially not have the means or ability to travel to Batley. Plus there is very limited parking up there.

“Royal Mail delivery staff are not happy either, since most have worked at the office for nearly a decade and live locally.

“While receiving travel allowances for up to five years, ultimately they will have to pay more and travel longer to get to work.

“While Royal Mail has stated that nobody will lose their job, some workers are worried they may not have a place at Batley delivery office, and are unsure where in the Wakefield area they may end up working.”

Royal Mail spokesman Heulyn Gwyn Davies said: “Faced with declining mail volumes and increasingly tough trading conditions, Royal Mail now handles around 59 million items a day (down from around 80 million in 2005-06) across the UK.

“We must modernise our operations for a more effective and efficient Royal Mail and this is why we have decided to move our operations in Heckmondwike Delivery Office to Batley Delivery Office.

“We appreciate that this move will impact on local customers and Royal Mail makes every effort to deliver mail to customers first time. If customers are not at home when we deliver, they will not need to travel to Batley. They can arrange a redelivery free of charge.

“We can arrange for the item to be redelivered to the same address on a day that is more convenient for them, or we can arrange for the item to be delivered to a different address within the same postcode area if that is more suitable.

“In terms of staff, we will be working with colleagues to make sure these changes are implemented effectively. We are confident that these changes will improve working conditions and practices and enable us to continue providing a consistent, high-quality and six-day-a-week service to our customers in Heckmondwike as across the UK.

“We will be keeping staff and customers informed of developments leading up to the move."