Royal Mail has been accused of failing to replace postal workers when they take annual leave, leaving customers without deliveries for more than a week. One Surrey resident said her mail was not delivered for ten days while her postman was on holiday, and she missed an important letter from her doctor as a result.
Union warns of 'brink of collapse'
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) claims around 400 postmen and women are leaving the service every week since the introduction of a new delivery system. The union warns Royal Mail is on the "brink of collapse" due to severe operational pressures and the disputed delivery model, with a "nightmare Christmas" predicted amid recruitment and retention problems.
The customer, who asked not to be named, told The Mirror: "I had a knock on my door earlier this week and it was our postman, who is a lovely man. He gave me a bundle of my mail and apologised that our post had not been delivered for so long."
"He had been on holiday and Royal Mail had not bothered to reassign his houses to another postman or postwoman. It sums things up. A similar thing happened for three days this summer. It's out of control," she added.
Missed letters and bills
The resident said a first-class birthday card sent to a friend 50 miles away took nine days to arrive. She also missed an important letter from her doctor and bills she needed to pay because the shift was not covered.
Royal Mail, which plans to cut up to 2,500 jobs as part of a restructuring, said it is unable to comment on incidents without specific detail of the full circumstances. The company says the reforms are part of its plan to deliver a more "efficient and financially sustainable" service.
Union calls for emergency summit
The CWU has called for an emergency summit with the company and the government, claiming Royal Mail faces a "ticking timebomb". CWU General Secretary Dave Ward said: "We are calling for a summit between stakeholders and the government to address the ticking timebomb that is Royal Mail."
"A light has been shone on the harsh pressure postal workers are facing, and the price paid by consumers for the historic mismanagement of Royal Mail. Royal Mail has been in structural decline for well over a decade, and the continuous failure to deliver quality of service is killing the brand, demoralising the workforce, and letting down the communities that postal workers are proud to serve," he said.
The new delivery model, DM26, introduced earlier this year, allows second class post to be delivered every other day during the week, with the aim of guaranteeing first class mail and parcels are delivered every day by grouping workers into threes and changing walking patterns. But postal workers speaking anonymously to the BBC say parcels are still prioritised, letters are left behind, and time is wasted sorting mail into first and second class.
