YORK CWU REFUTE STRIKE TO BLAME FOR RISE IN COMPLAINTS

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Cash call to cure York’s postal ills

http://www.thepress.co.uk/news/3815977. ... stal_ills/

By Gavin Aitchison »


POSTAL workers have called for fresh investment by Royal Mail, to combat falling public satisfaction levels in the York area.

The York branch of the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) today refuted claims that industrial action was to blame for a surge in the number of complaints about mail services.

As reported in The Press yesterday, the number of gripes about Royal Mail services in the YO postcode area shot up by 32 per cent in 2007/8, with thousands more letters being lost, delayed, damaged or mis-delivered. The national rise was 1.5 per cent.

Royal Mail said the increase was as a result of industrial action, and said things were now improving, but the CWU today hit back.

Branch secretary Dave Dowling said: “We totally reject that it’s all down to industrial action.

“The whole country had industrial action last year, and it seems only York has had such a massive increase in complaints. It cannot be just down to that.”

He said Royal Mail had to invest time and money on improving its service, and reduce the emphasis on targets.

“Everyone is under intense pressure and that means people make mistakes and hence sometimes maybe get grumpy and say things they should not have said,” he added.

Mr Dowling also bemoaned what he said was a lack of consultation by Royal Mail.

He said: “Yesterday’s article in The Press was the first that we ourselves knew of the rising complaints.

“They have not been discussing with us, over the past year, the rise in complaints and what could be done to put that right, and we are a key stakeholder in this.”

Royal Mail insisted that plans to move second-class mail sorting from York to Leeds would not hinder the service.

But York’s MP, Hugh Bayley, yesterday said the move should be scrapped and the CWU today said likewise.

Mr Dowling said: “The more remote you make the sorting, the more likely it is for things to go wrong, as people will not have the knowledge or skills to deal with the vagaries of local geography.”

* The Press sought comment from the CWU ahead of yesterday’s original report, but officers were unavailable.

[POSTMAN]

The Press sought comment from the CWU ahead of yesterday’s original report, but officers were unavailable.

[Thorby Bislam]

The Press sought comment from the CWU ahead of yesterday’s original report, but officers were unavailable.

Yet they have a lengthy quote from Dave Dowling, one of these supposedly "unavailable" officers.