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Concerns about the impact on services of a coronavirus outbreak at Caernarfon’s sorting office have been raised with the Prime Minister.
A number of workers at the Cibyn Industrial Estate depot are self-isolating after nine positive Covid-19 cases were reported.
It has led to substantial disruptions to mail services in the area, with many residents left without mail for the past couple of weeks, leading to concerns over important Covid vaccination letters being missed.
The issue was raised by local MP Hywel Williams at Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions.
The Arfon MP asked if the “now privatised Royal Mail ” is “sufficiently robust to fulfil its duty to the public.”
Questioning the Prime Minister, Mr Williams said: “Important letters, packets and parcels in the Caernarfon area have been delayed by weeks by a Covid-19 outbreak amongst postal workers.
“The Prime Minister will I’m sure join me in wishing these workers a speedy recovery.
“But what steps has his government taken during this health crisis to ensure that the once world beating, but now privatised Royal Mail is sufficiently robust to fulfil its duty to the public?”
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He added: “Frontline postal staff have been working incredibly hard throughout this pandemic, ensuring deliveries and collections are maintained with as little disruption as possible.
“But Covid-19 is having a big impact on the resilience of the service in parts of Arfon, with workers off sick, and others forced to self-isolate. This has inevitably led to a huge backlog in letters and parcels.
“I know that some of my constituents have concerns that they will miss out on their Covid-19 vaccinations, though I have now been reassured that alternative ways of reaching people are in place, such as by phone or through community health workers.
“However, people are understandably anxious, and with more people working from home, maintaining the resilience of the postal service should be a priority for this government.
“With reports of similar disruption across other parts of the UK, it is obvious that whatever the contingency measures, they are insufficient in protecting postal services, particularly in rural areas, from Covid-related disruption.
“The government and the Royal Mail must as a matter of urgency come up with more robust plans so that we don’t face the same issues should frontline staff be off work again in the future.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “I pass on my sympathies to all those affected by the outbreak of Covid that he describes.
“I think the most important thing we can do is continue to roll out the vaccination programme so we can get key workers such as postal workers [vaccinated] as fast as we possibly can.
“We’re already at 10,000,000 across the whole country. We’ve got to get the JCVI groups 1-9, the most vulnerable groups. Postal workers over 50 will certainly be included in that group, but after that we want to get it out to all key workers who come into regular contact with others and who may be exposed to the virus.”
Royal Mail has been approached for comment
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