Royal Mail denies mail backlog - Loads of Articles

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Claims that "mountains of undelivered mail" are stuck in Swindon are "completely misleading", according to Royal Mail.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said it was due to three 24-hour strikes over the past fortnight during which more than 800 workers walked out.

Further industrial action in the coming months has not been ruled out.

But the CWU said some progress had been made in locally organised talks with Royal Mail.

For its part, Royal Mail said 90% of staff were working normally across the UK.

'Scaremongering' claim

CWU official Kevin Beazer said: "There is a hell of a backlog of up to a million items - in trailers, at Reading, and Oxford, and throughout the south west where action took place last week. Offices are stuffed with mail.

"We talk to postmen and women in delivery offices every day and they said they are fed up with complaints from customers and businesses.

"They now hand out pieces of paper with the office manager's number on to ring up and complain."

A spokesman for Royal Mail said: "Whilst it is obvious that some customers will suffer disruption to their mail service as a result of the CWU's damaging strike action, the claims about the operation in Swindon are completely misleading and are in no way a true reflection of the situation.

"We do not have mail stored in vehicles, this is simply scaremongering."

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NORTH Somerset is suffering post delays because of a backlog of more than a million items in Bristol, according to union bosses.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) claims post dating back nearly a month remains undelivered at Filton mail depot following a series of strikes by workers.

The union has been taking industrial action in a row over pay, jobs and services and is set to hold a national ballot next week.

Bristol CWU official Mike Newport said mail had been left 'like a stock pile and in the back of trucks'.

He said: "The strike action has got Royal Mail back on the table trying to resolve the dispute, when two weeks ago they wouldn't even talk.

"But there is still a long way to go and we are planning more strike action to emphasise our concern."

Mr Newport said ballot papers for the proposed national strike action were set to be sent out to postal workers in Weston on Wednesday.

No-one from Royal Mail was available to comment on the mail back-log this morning (Fri).

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ROYAL Mail managers have delivered post in Newport to deal with a backlog caused by controversial changes.

Gary Watkins, regional secretary of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) said there were problems in the Mill Street office because of the introduction of a "revision of duties".

He added this had led to the cutting of jobs and giving bigger rounds to existing postmen and women.

A 24-hour stoppage was staged in Newport last month by Royal Mail employees because the changes were introduced without union agreement.

Mr Watkins said management were brought in from outside the area to deliver post in the city last week and earlier this week.

One of the people affected by the changes was Christopher Iles, of Stow Hill, who runs a small jewellery business.

He said his post - a lot of which had to be signed for - had not been arriving at his home until the afternoon.

"If they are going to make the service so poor then they are feeding those who want to take it away from the Post Office."

A Royal Mail spokesman said they had carried out a re-organisation of delivery walks across Newport as part of its commitment to improving efficiency.

He added it had involved changes to routes and this could take time to settle down.

"We are currently experiencing a few problems in parts of the Newport West area.

However, we are working hard to minimise any short-term disruption.

"None of our postmen or women are being asked to do anything that is not their job and the delivery span in which our customers receive their mail has not changed."

The CWU is due hold a ballot on a national strike this month in the continuing row over cuts in jobs and services around the country.

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LENGTHY delays are still hampering mail deliveries countywide with up to a three-day wait for first class post in and out of Dorset, unions say.

Employees at Poole’s Dorset Mail Centre, where a recent 24-hour walkout crippled the service locally, are working round the clock to clear a “mountain of mail”, according to the Communication Workers Union (CWU).

First class mail sent within the BH and DT postcode districts has been arriving the next day, but a series of strikes elsewhere in the UK has crippled large parts of the national network.

The CWU says 20 million letters are sitting undelivered nationally, but Royal Mail bosses say the number is closer to four or five million.

Bournemouth and Dorset CWU secretary Derek Clash said: “At the moment Royal Mail don’t know where to move these letters to try to clear the backlog. Despite them disputing the amount of this undelivered mail, it’s fair to say there’s a mountain of mail locally still to be cleared. If mail is going out, or coming into the BH and DT area, there is a two or three-day delay.”

All of the Bournemouth conurbation’s mail comes into the Dorset Mail centre on the Nuffield Industrial Estate.

Last week’s action was in response to changes in working practices and the loss of 30 Dorset Mail Centre jobs, phased out through redundancy as part of Royal Mail modernisation plans.

Two more 24-hour strikes, at delivery offices in Poole and Alder Hills, took place last Saturday.

CWU members look likely to ballot for national strike action from September 16 to 30, when no local industrial action will take place.

Mr Clash said: “We are still talking with Royal Mail and there is progress being made, but its just not enough progress.”

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “Unfortunately some customers in Dorset will have suffered disruption to their mail service as a result of the CWU’s damaging strike action. However, we have contingency arrangements in place, including the use of managers to minimise the impact of the industrial action and to return service to normal as quickly as possible.”

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STRIKES are hitting postal services in Tendring.

Deliveries are being delayed by the knock-on effects of industrial action by the Communication Workers Union, even though staff in the CO area are not taking part.

At least five million items of post are waiting to be dealt with in London and walk-outs at the main Essex sorting office in Chelmsford mean it is getting to Colchester later.

CO delivery workers are also getting to grips with a new system called “absorption” where the rounds of absent posties are divided up among their colleagues, instead of being covered by extra staff working overtime.

Mick Pottinger, acting branch secretary of the CWU’s Essex branch, apologised for the inconvenience caused.

He said: "We regret the chaos caused but have told the Royal Mail that we need to sit down and negotiate.

"Things are gradually getting back on track and hopefully people will get their reliability back by the weekend."

Royal Mail urged the union to abandon its wave of strikes.

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A mountain of letters and parcels will build up in Gloucestershire if strike action is agreed by a post office workers' trade union next week.

The national mail backlog is currently bigger than at the height of the national strike of 2007, with more than 20 million items backed up in central London alone.

Communication Workers Union leaders in Gloucestershire are urging Royal Mail to agree to much needed changes for the business.

The CWU has reports of mail backlogs of a million items in the Bristol area, which will directly affect people in Gloucester and Cheltenham as mail coming in and out of the county often goes through Bristol.

Paul Trehearne, secretary of the county CWU branch, believes the ballot will result in a mass walkout.

He said: "We are confident the strike will happen.

"It is the last resort to force Royal Mail to take action to solve this back log of mail."

He added that people in the area will be affected.

"Mail to the county will be delayed in the network," he said.

"It could be over a two to three week period, we're not sure yet."

A national ballot will be held on Wednesday for CWU members to vote for or against strike action, with the result expected on September 30.

Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: "Royal Mail's head in the sand approach to the problems in the mail industry is now severely damaging services for customers with backlogs bigger than in the national strike of 2007. "Management have been attacking our members through bullying, in un-agreed, often unworkable, changes.

"The dismissive attitude to staff at the same time as cuts to jobs, hours and overtime and a pay-freeze has made Royal Mail a dismal place to work."

On Tuesday, Royal Mail operations director Paul Tolhurst said: "It is now more clear than ever that the CWU is focusing all its efforts on strike action and political posturing."

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TENS of millions of letters were left undelivered yesterday after strikes by 20,000 Royal Mail staff brought chaos to the postal system.

Walk-outs being staged on a region-by-region rotation system could be stepped up in the next few days and the Communication Workers Union have announced plans for a national strike ballot.


Members will start voting on Wednesday. The result is expected on September 30. Some homes have not received any deliveries for the last 10 days. Union chiefs claimed the backlog in London alone could amount to 20million items.


They said millions more are stuck in sorting offices in the Bristol area. There are 500,000 in Peterborough, and 250,000 in Leeds.


But a Royal Mail spokesman insisted: “The amount of mail delayed in the capital is absolutely not the 20million figure claimed by the union.


“It is nearer to four to five million letters which we expect to clear in the next few days.”


The last national strike in 2007 cost businesses an estimated £300million.


This one is already hitting some small firms because they are unable to complete orders.


Stephen Alambritis, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “The post has been reduced to a trickle in many areas.

“This kind of dispute makes the UK look amateurish on the world stage, particularly if letters are not being responded to and orders not satisfied.”


People waiting for credit card statements are receiving them so late they incur penalty charges.


Utility bills are being delayed, bringing warnings of disconnection and legal action.


Posties claim they are being “bullied” over cost-cutting modernisation plans.

But Royal Mail say cuts are vital to stave off losses.


They want to end a series of practices including letting postmen go home if they finish rounds early and guaranteed overtime at Christmas.

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MOUNTAINS of undelivered letters are piling up in delivery offices because of staff cuts, postal workers warned yesterday (Wednesday).

The New Journal has seen photos taken from inside the Kilburn depot in Coventry Close which show a heap of untouched mail.

Some of the post contains letters sent more than a week ago.

The workload has got so bad in Kilburn that workers walked out on Sunday and Monday following advice from their health and safety representatives.

They were told by officials that the boxes of unsorted post which are blocking fire escapes were in contravention of the Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations 1992.

Postal workers say they have been given an impossible job of working longer rounds – some routes have been merged – in less time.

The order has gone out that all rounds must be complete by 1pm, much earlier than the previous deadline of 2.18pm.

Unable to get round to everybody’s letterboxes, mail has been left sitting in the sorting offices and delivery delayed.

The situation in Kilburn is thought to mirror backlogs building in post depots across Camden.

Tony Davis, regional rep for Commercial Workers Union (CWU), said: “There are so many items stored up that it has become an environmental issue.

“In Kilburn, we believed it was in breach of health and safety standards. Physically, you can’t carry out the work that comes in each day.

“It was in the fire escapes. Workers can’t even get to their bays. The place was unsafe. Staff walked out saying we’re not coming down until it’s safe.”

He added: “On Monday, management told them they couldn’t come back to work unless they signed a new contract. It would have meant they could pick which days staff could come in. Staff refused.

“On Tuesday, the lads wanted to go into work regardless – they said if you don’t pay us we’ll come in anyway. Management decided they had to pay them – we called their bluff.”

Mr Davis was speaking to the New Journal at an official picket line outside Hampstead delivery office yesterday morning. Around 40 postal workers went on strike in the row with management over jobs and pay.

Retired physician and poet Nobert Hitschhorn, who lives in Greencroft Gardens, West Hampstead, said: “There could be love letters, cheques for businesses and all sorts not getting through. The trouble is, if you send a letter you have no idea if it is being delivered.”

Royal Mail insist the rise of the internet means mail volume has fallen by ten per cent and cut backs to deliveries and sorting staff numbers are unavoidable.
It says the backlog of post is under control and that senders should not stop using the service while strike action continues.

But Hampstead CWU rep John Coater said: “This is not about pay – it’s about service to the customer. I’ve been working here for 23 years and I’ve got up at 4am all my life. I’ve been happy to do it. But these days no one really wants to come to work.”

Hampstead postman Paul Lindon was given a verbal warning for not completing his round – he has recently returned from work following a heart scare.
He said: “That put the fear into me. I’ve been here for 23 years. I don’t need this type of stress.”

Mr Davis said 60 staff across his north London area had gone sick with stress-related problems.

Paul Tolhurst, Royal Mail’s operations director, said: “We urge the CWU to call off its plans for strike action. More CWU strike action will do nothing but damage Royal Mail’s ability to protect the Universal Service and preserve as many jobs as possible at a time when mail volumes are falling by almost 10 per cent year on year.”

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THOUSANDS of packages destined for West Norfolk homes will not be delivered until the end of next week because of the postal workers overtime row.
The packages and letters have accumulated because of recent strike action by the 107 workers who are part of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) Eastern No5 Branch.

Adam Oakes, area delivery representative for the CWU, said: "It is just another example of how Royal Mail cares more about its budget than about customer service."

Letters will be delivered by the beginning of next week.

Throughout the last two months there have been four strikes by the Lynn CWU members over the on-going dispute between the organisation and Royal Mail.

The members accuse Royal Mail of "continued attacks" on their terms and conditions and the reliability of deliveries.

CWU members claim Royal Mail plans will delay business mail in the town if it cancels a round which delivers to the industrial estates, including Saddlebow industrial estate. But Lynn staff say they are hopeful they will not follow through with the idea.

"The workers would rather not take the action but they do not see any alternative at this stage. A lot of our members pride ourselves on the local service and we do not want to see it eroded," added Mr Oakes.

The last strike took place this week at Austin Fields sorting office when postmen were joined by Postman Pat and Peterborough workers. It started on Monday and finished on Tuesday afternoon.

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Mac on postal strike and Derren Brown

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