Post delays 'caused by cost-cutting' claims residents

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https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/199194 ... residents/

POSTAL delays across Southend are being caused by “cost-cutting” rather than staff illness, it has been claimed.

Homes with SS0, SS1, SS2, SS3, SS4 and SS9 postcodes have been suffering problems with mail deliveries for over a month, which Royal Mail bosses have blamed on a mixture of staff illnesses and the Covid pandemic.

But a resident who visited the Southend Post Office has claimed that the issue has been caused by postal rounds being re-organised to save money.

The Royal Mail declined to address the allegations but did acknowledge that routes had been changed nationally.


The Thorpe Bay resident said: “I have just received the first set of letters and packages since January 29, a delay of nine days, and I have since lodged an official complaint.

“I have been to a Southend sorting office where the staff were run off their feet trying to cope with the backlog.

“There is far more to this story than merely a lack of postmen due to Covid; the problem lies with management who have re-organised traditional rounds in cost-cutting exercises.

“It is not good enough.”

Other residents have told the Echo that mail has taken up to 12 days to be delivered, while council leader Ian Gilbert said he was powerless to fix the issue.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “Over the last 10 years, for situation regarding the rounds nationwide, the number of addresses we deliver to has grown by more than 2 million and many postmen and women’s routes have not been revised in this time.

“This can mean that some routes can be an hour or two longer than others, for example where new housing developments have been built. Jointly with our trade unions, we have revised routes throughout the country to ensure they are fairer and reflect the growth in addresses and parcel deliveries.

They added: “We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week and in the area, we are experiencing some delays to service due to high levels of sickness absence, Covid related self-isolation and resourcing issues.