Key Highlights
- Royal Mail workers report delays and prioritization of parcels over letters.
- Over 100 UK postcodes are affected by service disruptions.
- Postal union describes Royal Mail as “a company in crisis.”
- Contacted customers share stories of missed hospital appointments due to late deliveries.
- Royal Mail acknowledges some delays but claims most mail is delivered on time.
The Crisis at Royal Mail: Letters Get Lost in the Shuffle
Letters are getting lost in the shuffle as Royal Mail prioritizes parcel delivery, according to more than a dozen postal workers from different offices. “We’re not getting all the mail delivered,” one postman said with frustration. These claims come amidst reports of service delays affecting over 100 UK postcodes due to adverse weather and higher-than-usual sick absence.
Worker Reports: Letters Get Stuck in Depots
Postal workers tell BBC Your Voice that rounds are being missed on a daily basis, with letters sitting in depots for weeks. Juliet from Crawley said she received NHS appointment letters late, causing her to miss important medical appointments. Bernard from Inkberrow echoed the sentiment: “Some first-class letters and appointments take several days to arrive,” he complained.
These delays are far from isolated incidents.
Clive Miller in Oxford backed Royal Mail, saying his first-class letters always seem to arrive on time. Yet, such satisfaction is rare as many others face consistent challenges with their mail service.
Priority Over Parcels: A Controversial Move
The company claims that parcels take up more space and make money for the firm, leading them to be prioritized over letters. One postman shared pictures of full racks of mail left untouched each day, with a tray of first-class mail sitting there for two weeks. “Parcels are always prioritised, provided they’re tracked,” he said.
However, this approach has led to significant backlogs and health risks at depots. During the Christmas period, some offices did not sort any mail for days due to the overwhelming number of parcels. The situation is even more dire now that overtime has been reduced, leaving fewer staff to handle the workload.
The Union’s Perspective: Royal Mail in Crisis
Union representatives describe Royal Mail as “a company in crisis,” with hundreds of people contacting BBC Your Voice about delayed mail. The Communication Workers Union points out that letters are legally required to be delivered daily, except for 35 delivery offices on a slower target. Their spokesperson, Craig Anderson, said, “I’m not confident that the service is going to improve going forward, it certainly hasn’t since Christmas.”
While Royal Mail claims they work to resolve delays quickly by putting in extra support and reviewing performance daily, the reality for many workers suggests otherwise. With parcels taking precedence over letters, and reduced staff due to lower overtime, the current state of affairs is far from ideal.
Closure
For now, Royal Mail insists that things are getting back to normal after the unusually busy period around Christmas. But for postal workers and concerned customers like Juliet and Bernard, the delays continue to cause real-life consequences. Only time will tell if the company can turn things around without a radical shift in their priorities.
