York MPs postal fears

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.thepress.co.uk/news/3836044. ... tal_fears/
By Mike Laycock »


AN MP has told of his concerns for the long-term future of York’s sorting office following talks with a Royal Mail boss.

York MP Hugh Bayley spoke to area manager Alison Wright yesterday about the company’s decision to move the sorting of all second-class mail from York to Leeds.

Union leaders have said they fear this will be followed later by the transfer of first-class sorting to Leeds, and the closure of the York office with the loss of 350 jobs.

Their fears have grown following reports that dozens of small sorting offices across the country are set to be closed down as part of a rationalisation drive.

The Sunday Times has claimed that a report being drawn up by Richard Hooper, a former deputy chairman of the regulator Ofcom, will recommend to Business Secretary Lord Mandelson that about half of the country’s 69 sorting offices should be axed with the loss of up to 20,000 jobs, and with sorting transferred to the remaining large centres.

Mr Bayley said today he had raised the Hooper report with Ms Wright, and she had said that Royal Mail was waiting to see what the report proposed and it would then “look at all the options.” But she had stressed it currently had no plans to close the York sorting office.

The MP said he was disappointed to have been told that Royal Mail was not going to reconsider its plans to move second-class mail sorting to Leeds.

He said she told him that Leeds currently sorted 1.2 million items a day, compared with 280,000 items currently sorted in York, and Leeds had the capacity to take more business.

He believed Royal Mail needed to understand the geography of North Yorkshire and consult on ways of maintaining a sorting presence in the area.

“I am concerned that the future of the York sorting office could be called into question by the report,” he added.

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said it was waiting for the Hooper report to be published and could not comment on speculation about what it might say.

[dvbuk55]

We're all waiting for the Hooper Report to be published and the longer it goes on I fear the worst it will be.