Postman reveals mail chaos after strike

8:20am Wednesday 24th October 2007

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A POSTMAN has lifted the lid on the state of sorting offices and the amount of mail left undelivered each day following recent strike action.

A Dursley postman told the Gazette that last Monday, 80 per cent of mail was not delivered in Sharpness due to staff being forced to work in the office instead of going out delivering letters.

He said it was a "frustrating" situation and that Royal Mail were using the refusal of paid overtime as a tool to stop staff striking again.

It comes as Royal Mail said it had reached agreement with the Communication Workers' Union on Tuesday on a new pay and pensions offer.

It includes a 5.4 per cent pay increase on basic pay and staff cooperation with the modernisation of the company.

The postman, who did not want to be named, said: "What customers won't be aware of is Royal Mail's policy of dealing with delayed mail resulting from strike action.

"On the days the staff strike they get no pay, which is to be expected. On return to work we are told they will not be paying us overtime to catch up with the backlog of mail and must do it within our normal hours.

"So we must sort and deliver say five days' mail for three days' pay."

The postman said that the case in Sharpness was not the only example. Many postal workers were getting half or three quarters of the way through their round, but were then returning to the office with undelivered mail because they were not being paid overtime.

"My opinion is that they should not have to right to withhold overtime because it is the customers who are suffering," said the postman.

"Prior to the strike we worked overtime and we got paid for it.

"It is very frustrating. I am sure some people think why don't you just carry on unpaid to get it done, but they would not work without getting paid, why should we?

"You do end up feeling guilty because you feel you are letting your customers down."

A spokesman for Royal Mail said: "We are paying normal levels of overtime but we won't pay people extra money in the form of overtime to sort any backlog of mail that their actions have caused - it makes no sense to allow people who have taken strike action to recoup their lost income."