Isle of Wight delivery delays for Evri customers amid driver pay row

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https://www.countypress.co.uk/news/2516 ... r-pay-row/

Courier company Evri has drafted in contractors to deal with huge backlogs in deliveries on the Isle of Wight, amid reports of drivers quitting and lengthy waits for parcels.


Apologising for what it calls 'short-term disruption', the firm, formerly Hermes, said it is 'working quickly' to resolve issues.

However, it maintains "almost all of our parcels are successfully delivered on time".

Despite the claims, the County Press has been contacted by frustrated Islanders who say they have been waiting for around a month for parcels to arrive.

One Islander, Amy Ringer, said: "I have three parcels they have had for between 23 to 28 days, two were out for delivery five days ago even though they said all three were lost.

"One parcel they have was a birthday present for a birthday that's long gone."

A day after the CP contacted Evri, supplying the tracking numbers for Amy's orders, she said all three parcels changed to 'out for delivery'.

Other Islanders say they have been facing waits of up to four weeks.

It's understood a number of drivers have recently quit following a dispute over pay.

Evri dismissed claims that their self-employed drivers are being paid as little as 35p for a small parcel, though, saying the vast majority of items delivered are classified as standard packets.

As well as holiday pay, pension, parental leave and insurance-backed paid sick leave, Evri said couriers are also entitled to a number of additional payments including an £8 service payment per day and new starter payments of up to £1,000.

A spokesperson for the firm said: "Couriers are the heart of our business, and they earn £20.86 an hour on average.

"We have brought in contractors who are working through the small number of remaining parcels and we expect normal service to resume in the coming week.”