Today is postal workers day- but there's no time to party

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If you are feeling frazzled by Christmas preparations – spare a thought for your postie.

Postmen and women are being officially recognised today in the first National Postal Workers Day for their dedication in collecting, sorting and delivering letters, parcels and packets in all weathers.

It coincides with the busiest day of the year in the postal calendar.

Tens of millions of items will be sorted and delivered across the UK in a Christmas rush of cards and presents.

The day will be especially poignant for postal workers at the city’s Royal Mail sorting office in Clifton Road – as this will be their last Christmas before the
office is shut, a move which unions say will result in the loss of 200 manual jobs.

Under the proposal, all mail posted to Cambridge and the surrounding area from other parts of the country will be processed at Peterborough mail centre.
Mark Toner, branch secretary said: “Unfortunately for many of our members based at Cambridge Mail Centre this will be a poignant time to reflect, as the Royal Mail is shutting the office that Cambridge postal workers have spent many a Christmas in, sorting and distributing the Christmas cards and presents for the thousands of families, friends and loved ones.

“Unfortunately however, residents and businesses in and around Cambridge will no doubt in the future be getting a much worse postal service in the years and Christmases to come, as previous mail centre closures in other parts of the country have demonstrated.

“Postal Workers Day is a day to show support for the important service posties provide to our community and the need for this to continue.”

Edward Harbud, 56, who has worked in the sorting office in Clifton Road for almost 16 years, said the postal workers were, however, happy to be recognised for their hard graft.

He said: “At this time of year everyone has a fine layer of glitter on them from the cards.

“I get all my Christmas presents bought and wrapped in September so I am clear to work through December.”

He said there were some unusual moments when sorting through presents.

Mr Harbud said: “Someone decided to wrap up a label with a stamp on it around a completely unwrapped pheasant. That did not stand up very well to the hot atmosphere of the sorting office.”