Postal workers sort mail on north Kensington pavement

[smokerjim]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11249306" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Postal workers have been sorting mail on the streets of west London before delivering them after a local sorting office was closed weeks ago.

Workers collect the mail from a depot in Park Royal before being driven to north Kensington where they arrange the bundles on their trolleys for delivery.

The sorting takes place either at the back of the van or on the street.

Royal Mail said it will investigate the handling of the post during the "temporary arrangement".

A spokeswoman for Communication Workers' Union (CWU), which represents postal staff, said the real issue is the lack of drivers to deal with the extra time it now takes for deliveries.

Depot move 'early'

Once workers are driven to the location from Premier Park depot, the post is emptied from the sacks and arranged in the order of delivery.

This practice has taken place since the local Westbourne Grove sorting office closed about three weeks ago.

Workers told BBC London that bringing the post from the depot to north Kensington cuts into the time for their rounds.


Royal Mail said it will look into the complaint about handling of the post A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said: "Since last autumn we have successfully moved four west London delivery offices to Premier Park and there are no problems with deliveries for any of those areas but following the very recent move of W11 operations we are using some temporary premises and workers to support service during the initial period of change, ensuring all mail is being delivered on time.

"The temporary arrangement at these premises is that some mail is transferred to delivery people's trolleys but we will of course investigate the complaint that mail is not being handled with due care."

CWU spokeswoman said: "We believe the move of the W11 office into Premier Park was taken far too early.

"The additional travelling time out from Premier Park to the W11 deliveries is one of the main issues as we didn't have enough drivers lined up before the move.

"There are some temporary measures in place to work around the problems, but it's unfortunate as we believe this could have been avoided if the move was better planned," she said.

What'll happen if some scrote with a weapon steals the mail while it's being sorted? I don't know, but I bet no manager will be sweating about potential outcomes

[POSTMAN]

You couldn't make this up!

[stokes11eg]

[smokerjim]

You couldn't make this up!

We don't have to - some ( overpaid, underworked ) idiot in a dream factory does it for us!

[stokes11eg]

They 'will investigate mail not being handled with due care' guess who'll get the blame for that!

[DirtyHarry]

Premier Park.
An absolute shambles.

[smokerjim]

Premier Park.
An absolute shambles.

Do you know NW10, or is it just by repute? Either way that bit of it is an industrial wasteland - it was when I worked around there & it never looked like it was going to improve. BTW if you do know the area, is that overpriced lap dancing club still there ( next to the pub on the corner, opposite the Merc dealership )? Oh & the cafe opposite the ozzie was pretty decent in my time....but everywhere else is a s**t hole

[baldrick]

Premier Park.
An absolute shambles.

Do you know NW10, or is it just by repute? Either way that bit of it is an industrial wasteland - it was when I worked around there & it never looked like it was going to improve. BTW if you do know the area, is that overpriced lap dancing club still there ( next to the pub on the corner, opposite the Merc dealership )? Oh & the cafe opposite the ozzie was pretty decent in my time....but everywhere else is a s**t hole

I have to go to the Central Middlesex Hospital for tests a couple of times a year.
Don't know about the lap dancing club, and don't recall a Merc dealership, but the cafe
is still there and I go there for lunch when I have to spend the day in the hospital.

[smokerjim]

Premier Park.
An absolute shambles.

Do you know NW10, or is it just by repute? Either way that bit of it is an industrial wasteland - it was when I worked around there & it never looked like it was going to improve. BTW if you do know the area, is that overpriced lap dancing club still there ( next to the pub on the corner, opposite the Merc dealership )? Oh & the cafe opposite the ozzie was pretty decent in my time....but everywhere else is a s**t hole

I have to go to the Central Middlesex Hospital for tests a couple of times a year.
Don't know about the lap dancing club, and don't recall a Merc dealership, but the cafe
is still there and I go there for lunch when I have to spend the day in the hospital.

Depends which way you're coming from - it's between the ozzie and Ace Corner on the Nth Circ. If you're coming from 'anger Lane, Willesden / Harlesden or Acton, you'll miss it....the pub & Merc dealership is opposite one end of Premier Park ( the canal at the other end - and there's another cafe down that end, which I thought was ok when I tried it )

[johnnyp]

This looks like there bag drops

[baldrick]

This looks like there bag drops

The footage on TV showed them arranging bundles of letters, flats and packets on
the pavement before putting them into hcts. So they weren't actually sorting mail
but arranging the bundles in order for delivery. There were interviews with three
local residents who thought they were actually sorting the mail, and were concerned
about safety, hygiene (what had been on the pavement) and what would happen to
mail if it was windy or raining. Also it just seemed unprofessional - they didn't think
Royal Mail should be operating like that.

[Lounge Lizard]

This looks like there bag drops

The footage on TV showed them arranging bundles of letters, flats and packets on
the pavement before putting them into hcts. So they weren't actually sorting mail
but arranging the bundles in order for delivery. There were interviews with three
local residents who thought they were actually sorting the mail, and were concerned
about safety, hygiene (what had been on the pavement) and what would happen to
mail if it was windy or raining. Also it just seemed unprofessional - they didn't think
Royal Mail should be operating like that.

"So they weren't actually sorting mail but arranging the bundles in order for delivery" - but sorting bundles of mail amounts to sorting mail as far as the public is concerned.