Staff issues impact post offices

(CNS): With a number of members of staff who are vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus or have childcare challenges still working from home, the Cayman Islands Postal Service is not able to resume normal service. Postmaster General Sheena Glasgow said the main post office in George Town is still only open for one hour per day and others are on short hours because some counter staff are not able to return to work.

“In order to reopen all post offices, I need counter staff to serve customers. I still have a high number of counter staff who are home because they are high risk for their own personal health reasons, they are vulnerable, or are citing childcare issues which delay their return to work,” Glasgow told CNS in response to inquiries.

“Until I’m advised by officials higher than me that such officers must now report back to the physical workplace in this COVID-19 environment, I’m limited in the availability of my counter staff to serve customers,” she added.

Glasgow explained that the CIPS had notified all of its postal partners through the Universal Postal Union, which has 192 members, that from 6 May the Cayman Islands could again receive mail and how to get the mail here, which included Royal Mail, the USPS and Canada Post.

But she said it was the responsibility of the country sending the mail to deal with the transportation logistics. The local post service has no control over that. 

“This outbound transportation responsibility makes sense if you consider that the sending country also collected the postage paid by the customer and the postage is meant to cover costs, including transportation to Cayman,” Glasgow said.

Many people here in Cayman are still desperate to get mail from the US, but Glasgow said that the USPS tenders its mail transportation contracts annually. 

“The airline contracted by the USPS to bring mail into Cayman, American Airlines, is not yet allowed access with Cayman’s airports still officially closed,” she said. “As this is a USA contractual matter, the USPS is taking some time to get alternate transportation arrangements in place.”

Glasgow said Cayman was not alone in feeling the delay over incoming US mail. “During a virtual industry meeting last month, the USPS verbally advised postal administrations that it was unable to send mail to some 100 countries, and has serious airlift issues to an additional 20 countries.”

Meanwhile, the Royal Mail has been sending UK post via sea freight and the BA air-bridge flights to Cayman.

Little Cayman Post Office is closed this week as the officer had a personal medical emergency off island.

All other post offices are only open for one hour on the respective “open” days to facilitate access to general delivery mail and in the case of the General Post Office, access to the inside post boxes.