Don't shoot the messenger – union

HOUSEHOLDERS and businesses in Warrington, angered by postal delays over and since the Christmas and New Year period have been sent a message by the Communication Workers Union: “Don’t shoot the messenger.”
The union says the problems arise from Royal Mail’s moves to slim down ahead of privatisation – and customers should not take their frustration out on postal workers.
CWU’s North West regional secretary Carl Webb said: “The snow and ice did cause major problems for Royal Mail, but it’s not right to still be delivering Christmas cards and presents the second week of January.”
Hundreds of people in Warrington have complained about mail arriving late in recent weeks.
Christmas cards and presents have been arriving at houses in the last few days – some which were posted two weeks before Christmas
Mr Webb said: “In the North West we would have struggled with Christmas mail anyway because of all the closures and cut backs we’ve had in the past year.
“Royal Mail is slimming down to be more attractive before the government privatises it, but that’s having a major impact on service levels. It’s no coincidence that the places where we’ve had most difficulties and biggest backlogs are where mail centres were closed in the last year, Crewe and Wigan for example.
“Royal Mail hasn’t been filling job vacancies and didn’t hire extra vehicles in some areas meaning we were short on both manpower and logistics when the Christmas rush came. Postal workers have been putting in long hours and had leave cancelled, but there’s only so much they can do without back-up. But that back-up costs money and affects Royal Mail’s profits.
“However, private mail companies failed in the face of bad weather and high mail volumes. We know that many private companies ended up sending their mail to Royal Mail to deliver because they weren’t up to the job, but that obviously increased the pressure on Royal Mail’s operations. Contracts that had been won by private mail companies in many cases reverted to Royal Mail when it was clear they couldn’t do the job.
“We understand that mail backlogs are very frustrating for customers, but I appeal to the public to see the big picture and not to take out their frustration on postmen and women. These backlogs are a sign of things to come if the government gets its way and privatises Royal Mail.”
CWU is opposed to the Postal Services Bill which will privatise the Royal Mail.