"We must support our local Post Offices" - council chairman

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LAST week I had the pleasure of visiting the Salmon Springs postal sorting office as chairman of Stroud District Council.

I met a hard working group of women and men who sort and deliver our letters and parcels.

This Christmas will see the delivery of millions of cards and presents and we look forward to their arrival.

But all is not well in the post office. On a smaller scale what is happening with our postal service reflects our society as a whole.

On the walls of Salmon Springs are posters that urge the workers to sort large numbers of letters in minimal time.


Teams that do not reach the mark are highlighted for ‘failing’.

Delivery vans are equipped with technology to report on undue acceleration or excessive tyre wear.

Wages are restricted, pension arrangements reduced and unplanned leave tightly regulated.

One person who recently left told me that the whole atmosphere of working in the post office has changed dramatically for the worse.

This is not the fault of the managers. And the postal workers remain cheerful on the surface.

If the Post Office is to survive, tighter working conditions are imposed due to unfair competition from private firms and take-home pay below the minimum wage.

Local post offices are being closed.

We need to support our postal workers against the undermining of a long and valued service.

Norman Kay

Chairman, Stroud District Council