Related Articles
Royal Mail bosses have blamed an ‘unexpected’ increase in demand for the parcel service resulting in major delays for mail.
Both Greenock and Inverclyde MSP Stuart McMillan and Inverclyde’s MP Martin McCluskey have been flooded with concerned local people forced to wait on NHS appointments and legal documents as well as Christmas cards as the crisis continued.
Last week it was reported there were queues outside the sorting office as people tried to locate mail.
Following separate visits to the depot, both politicians met with Royal Mail about the delivery failures and were reassured action was being taken.
Mr McCluskey said: “I visited the sorting office and it needs to be made clear that local staff are working round the clock to reduce the backlog and make sure everything is delivered in time for Christmas.
“This is not the fault of local staff, it is national management which is to blame for bad planning.
“They say that the backlog is a result of a 25 per cent increase in demand for parcels, but this should have been anticipated.
“I have spoken with the minister for postal services to see what more can be done.
“We need to make sure that nothing like this happens again. I have also written to the Royal Mail chief executive as well.”
He added: “This is a problem that Royal Mail are well aware of and should have been prepared for. I have spoken to MPs across the west of Scotland who are experiencing the same problems in their constituencies.”
Mr McMillan, who visited the sorting office last week, says that they have now had more than 120 people contact them with issues.
The MSP was first made aware of the issue in November when trying to get mail out from his office and is now seeking meetings with Royal Mail bosses.
He said: “We’re approaching 120 with many people unfortunately missing important letters relating to health appointments, legal documents, and jury citations.
“There are of course lots of people who’ve also sent, or were due to receive, mail which included gig tickets, gifts, and sim cards which weren’t received in time.
“As a result, I visited the the delivery office and presented management with a list of addresses affected (as of 3:30pm on Thursday afternoon) but many more have since come in.
“I highlighted all the instances where someone missed an NHS appointment, jury citation, bill etc. to emphasise how significant the issue has been for many people.
“Management were apologetic and took on board my feedback, which included highlighting that my office have raised issues with the Royal Mail HQ in November and in some instances, are still awaiting responses.”
He added: “They gave me an assurance that this year’s operations would subsequently be reviewed and taken into account ahead of next year.
“As anticipated, management assured me that everything that needs to be delivered, will be delivered – and they did show me bundles of parcels that were ‘failed’ i.e. weren’t delivered within the target, in order to prioritise letters.”
The MSP also raised the issue of extending opening hours because of difficulties with collections but was told this is set nationally.
In response, a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We know how important letters and parcels are, especially in the run-up to Christmas. This is our busiest time of year, with mail volumes more than doubling, but the vast majority of items continue to be delivered on time.
“Where a delivery office is under pressure, we put additional support in place and work to keep services moving and resolve any delays as quickly as possible.
“Last year, 99 per cent of items posted by the last recommended posting dates were delivered in time for Christmas, and our teams are working hard to deliver the same level of service again this year.”
