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Postal deliveries to thousands of homes and businesses across the north west are expected to resume today after Royal Mail carried out a deep clean of its Londonderry sorting office following a Covid cluster.
o mail was delivered yesterday when staff walked out of the sorting office in Great James Street. They refused to drive delivery vans after 17 colleagues tested positive for the virus over recent days.
Communications and Workers Union representative for Derry Charlie Kelly said workers’ health must be paramount, but added this was also a concern for the wider community too.
Although Royal Mail said there had been an “intensive clean” carried out yesterday, Mr Kelly said he was told later a team from England would be arriving in Derry today “to do a complete clean of every van in the yard”.
“Why they feel it necessary to bring a team from England to do a job that could be done here is beyond me,” he told Radio Ulster.
“However, our main concern is that a deep clean is done in the office, so we’re fit to go back in tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.”
He said 15 vans were out of service for 72 hours.
Speaking ahead of the deep clean, Mr Kelly had said: “We had four members of staff test positive over recent days, but from Friday until Tuesday that figure has risen to 17.
“As a result of that we have 46 members of staff off either with the virus or isolating as a result of contact with someone who tested positive.
“Our members felt their health and safety was under threat and they wanted a commitment from Royal Mail that the office and every van will get a complete clean from top to bottom, otherwise they will not go back into the building.
“People need to realise Derry and Strabane is a hotbed for coronavirus, but the sorting office is a hotbed within a hotbed.”
Royal Mail said it takes the health of workers seriously, adding that the building has now been cleaned.
“A number of colleagues have tested positive for coronavirus at the Derry delivery office,” it added.
“We have completed an intensive clean of the building and this has caused a minor disruption to service.
“We are working to resolve any additional concerns.”
Belfast Telegraph
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