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Royal Mail has issued an apology to customers in Northern Ireland who have still not received Christmas cards and gifts due to the backlog.
Some customers have reported that they are still receiving Christmas cards and presents that were posted over a month ago while others waiting for orders say they have been given no information about when items will arrive.
It follows recent strike action by members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) throughout December in a dispute over pay and conditions, during an already busy time of year for Royal Mail.
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Some customers in Northern Ireland have been left disappointed at having still not received presents and gifts from loved ones at Christmas and say they have been given no answers from the postal service about when they should arrive at their destination.
When questioned about the ongoing delays, a Royal Mail spokesperson told Belfast Live: “We are very sorry for any disruption and delay that strike action caused to our customers over the festive period.
“After each period of industrial action, we have increased our network capacity and used additional resources to assist with getting services back to normal as quickly as possible.
“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 welcome the CWU’s agreement to recommence facilitated talks through Acas. Royal Mail is committed to reaching an agreement to resolve the current pay and change disputes to secure the company’s future and its employees’ long-term job security.”
Last week, a Royal Mail sorting office in Co Antrim was targeted in a cyber attack. It is understood that printers at the Mallusk Delivery Office began producing large orange documents detailing the hackers’ threat during the attack last Tuesday.
It is understood that all operations at the hub were wiped out as the attack threatened to release data held by the company.
The company later faced severe disruption to its international export services after another “cyber incident” on Wednesday and was temporarily unable to despatch export items including letters and parcels to overseas destinations.
The Royal Mail spokesperson added: “We continue to process mail at the Northern Ireland Mail Centre. We have temporarily suspended the sorting machines in order to carry out an investigation as a precautionary measure.
“We plan to have the machines up and running as soon as possible. We have good contingency plans in place and we anticipate only minor delays to domestic mail.”
Those who are wanting to enquire about their lost mail can contact Royal Mail to enquire on its whereabouts. Otherwise, some customers may be able to claim compensation for any delays, with more information on the Royal Mail website.
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