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RESIDENTS have complained of long postal delays that have resulted in missed hospital appointments, invitations, and late Christmas presents.
While the run-up to Christmas is always a busy period for delivery services, significant delays have been reported after Royal Mail strikes took place across ten days from late November.
Calling for strike action last year, Royal Mail workers demanded that wage rises meet the inflation rate of 11%; rather than the current offer of a 9% increase over 18 months.
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A contract worker at St Helens Delivery Office said that the strikes resulted in a “huge backlog” of parcels and letters; made worse by a toxic atmosphere where employees felt “forced to work longer hours and extra rounds”.
The contractor, who wished to remain anonymous, said many staff members went off sick with stress last month, again exacerbating the situation.
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Delays to presents, invitations, and appointments
For people in St Helens, the situation brought about long delays for orders placed before Christmas, with many presents not making it in time for the festivities.
Almost two weeks after Christmas Day, residents are now reporting letters are being delivered that are weeks late.
This includes delayed Christmas cards, invitations, and in some cases, missed hospital appointments and cancer screenings.
Communication Workers Union (CWU) assistant secretary Mark Baulch alleges that this is due to Royal Mail staff being told to “only focus on the delivery of parcels, tracked items, and special delivery” before Christmas.
In response to the complaints from customers, Royal Mail bosses have apologised for the delays and say they are “working hard to getting our service back to where we and our customers expect it to be”.
Statement from Royal Mail
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Every item of mail is important to Royal Mail.
“We apologise to any customer who has been impacted by the industrial action that took place over the festive period.
“We would like to thank all colleagues who helped to keep the mail moving during that time.
“We have been working hard to get our service back to where we and our customers expect it to be and we are making good progress.
“While we have now delivered the vast majority of Christmas mail, we recognise that in some local areas our service may still be subject to some delays, and we are working to fix this as soon as we are able.
“We continue to seek a resolution to the dispute with the CWU so that we can avoid any more damaging strike action in the future.”
There are currently no other Royal Mail strike dates planned in 2023, but there could be more if pay negotiations are unsuccessful.
