ROYAL Mail workers in Colchester who are taking sick leave “due to the stress of the job” are told to prioritise “premium” parcels over letters, a whistleblower has claimed.
Serious concerns over the way in which the city’s Royal Mail delivery office is managed and run have been sensationally raised by a long-serving employee.
The staff member, who has spoken to the Gazette but has asked to remain anonymous, has worked for Royal Mail for more than 20 years.
According to the worker, who has “never seen it as bad as this”, the firm’s Moorside site is severely understaffed and employees who choose to leave are rarely replaced.
He has also claimed posties are instructed to prioritise delivering so-called premium products - tracked parcels - over letters, resulting in hefty backlogs.
“We must be running at around 70 per cent full staff levels and it is completely hit and miss as to whether your duty will be covered if you're off sick or on annual leave.
“Sometimes you come back to a weeks’ worth of mail waiting for you and the only things which have been done in your absence are the "premium" products.
“It is only in the past year things have deteriorated to this level and I still hold out some silly hope it will change.
“There are plenty who have gone off sick due to the stress of the job and a lot more who would if they didn't need the overtime - most are just fed up.
“It's all about profit right now, quality of service is irrelevant.”
Bosses at Royal Mail have now disputed some of the claims but acknowledged the firm’s Colchester delivery office is experiencing “very small delays”.
A spokesman said: “Improving the quality of our service is our top priority and we are committed to restoring service levels to where our customers expect them to be.
“We are doing everything possible to ensure mail continues to be delivered on time and steps are being taken to address vacancies at the office.
“Every item of mail is important to us. Royal Mail does not operate a policy of prioritising parcels.
“We regularly remind colleagues the delivery, collection and processing of letters and parcels should be treated with equal importance.
Gazette:
“Due to the amount of space they take up, parcels can restrict the movement of both people and mail, leading to health and safety issues and delays to other mail.
“At particularly busy times we may occasionally clear parcels to free up space so we can keep all mail - including letters - moving efficiently through our network.”
