Ross-shire posties move to stamp out bike ban

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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POSTIES have been kicked off their bikes by Royal Mail bosses in a health and safety move which has not gone down well with Ross-shire postal workers.

An irate Ross-shire postie has raised the issue with the leader of Highland Council and a Royal Mail staff member in Tain has been allowed to keep his bike because his route involves negotiating many steep hills.

As postal workers across the region enter their busiest period of the year in the run-up to Christmas, the recently-privatised company has confirmed it has axed the distinctive red bicycles.

Staff have been ordered off two-wheels and will now carry out their rounds using delivery trollies instead.

The company has defended the decision and said trollies would protect postal workers’ shoulders as they now handle more heavier goods like parcels than in the past.

But the move has upset some delivery staff and Highland Council leader Drew Hendry - who was approached by an irate Ross-shire postie about the decision – has questioned the new policy and warned a bike could be easier to use in rural communities with challenging terrain.

Union leader John Gunn was aware of the move and said it had already supported another disgruntled postie’s plea to keep his bike on account of the hills he faced on his round.

Mr Gunn, secretary of the 400-member strong Communication Workers Union’s Highland branch, encouraged worried members to contact him if they wanted to retain their bikes.

But he said Royal Mail appeared to be willing to make exemptions, if the delivery route was judged to be too tough to walk with a trolley.

Mr Gunn said the union had accepted the policy but one member in the Tain area had been allowed to keep his bike after he lodged a complaint, although he expected that to be a rare case.

“It is special circumstances only,” he said. “This one particular person, because of the terrain he was covering which included steep hills, a large trolley was not safe. We put our health and safety representative on it for a risk assessment.”

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail would not comment on whether it was easier for staff to use bicycles instead of a trolley in rural areas.

“Royal Mail is making a number of changes to delivery methods as part of a £2billion modernisation of its entire operation,” she said.

“This is part of one of the biggest transformations undertaken in UK industry and enables us to respond to changes within the postal market. As we deliver fewer letters but more parcels than we did in the past, we are removing bicycles from our operations across the UK. They are being replaced with trolleys that enable us to take the weight off the shoulders of our staff and therefore deliver mail more securely and safely.”

But Councillor Hendry said replacing bikes with trollies could mean tougher delivery rounds for posties and wanted Royal Mail to explain the policy change in greater detail.

“I would have thought that a bicycle was preferable to a trolley in a lot of Highland locations,” he said.

“I have now written asking them to explain their policy and how they are going to cope in places where trollies are not practical. We have urban settings in rural areas, but I am concerned that rural conditions are not being taken into account. Bicycles are also a good example for a healthier lifestyle.”

The Royal Mail was controversially sold off by the UK government and floated on the stock market in October.

[Lincox]

I thought the only weight on my shoulders when I am cycling my walk is my head, hair (nearly bald) and cycle helmet. Am I to summise that they will be decapitating me in order to use a trolley?

[Lounge Lizard]

"a Royal Mail staff member in Tain has been allowed to keep his bike because his route involves negotiating many steep hills" - bikes to make a comeback in many hilly areas then ?