Time to back the Communication Workers Union campaign to outlaw low level letter boxes

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We can afford to laugh about it. You’re delivering 200 Focii, and you come upon a floor level postbox. Oh dear. Do you kneel? Do you stoop down? Stooping down brings the blood to one’s head and risks back pain. I have about 40 floor level letter boxes on one of my delivery rounds. I usually need an extra shredded wheat in the morning before I do that round.

But there is no reason why new houses and flats should be built with low level letter boxes. British Standard BS EN13724 on mailboxes(which reflects the EU standard) says:

The height of the lowest mailbox aperture should be no lower than 700mm from delivery floor level and the height of the highest mailbox aperture be no higher than 1700mm from delivery floor level. Special circumstances allow aperture heights to be between 400mm and 1800mm from delivery floor level.


Indeed, as far back as 1958, the British Standards Agency has been saying that letter boxes should be at a proper height. The problem is that the standard has never been enshrined in Building Regulations.

Dave Joyce, National Health, Safety and Environment Officer of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) writes on behalf of thousands of postal workers:

The Communications Workers Union has been campaigning to outlaw low level letterboxes for many years. The CWU has been striving for the European Standard (EN13724) to be added to UK Building Regulations – this requires that letterboxes should be positioned at a suitably accessible height, accessible to postal delivery workers, significantly reducing possible injuries such as, dog bites, fingers being trapped or back strain caused when bending excessively to reach ground level boxes.

The CWU is seeking to relaunch its campaign to outlaw low level letter boxes. Mr Joyce has written to CWU members urging them to take action:

…would Branches, Officials, Health and Safety Representatives, Regional Committees and members join together in being vigilant in respect of housing development in your areas and regions in order to react quickly to the fitting of low level letter boxes and consider appropriate proactive action that can be taken by way of representations, discussions, meetings and correspondence with local authorities, builders and developers in your areas and regions requesting compliance with the EU letter box Standard.

Given that we feel a small portion of the pain felt by postal workers on a daily basis as they encounter low level letter boxes, it would be very good for us to show solidarity with those postal workers to press the government to enshrine BS EN13724 in the UK building regulations (in Ireland they have codified the standard into their building regulations). Members should also look out for new developments that have low level letter boxes planned and seek to persuade developers to adjust their letter boxes to a proper height.

As a postcript, Mr Joyce of the CWU emphasises the following:

The Union would stress that it does not expect private householders or businesses to change their doors immediately – our campaigns have always centred on government seeing the merit of our arguments and taking action to minimise the risk of injury to CWU members by passing legislation to cover the manufacture of all new and replacement house doors.

* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist. He is one of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.