Mail piles up as postal strike hits (From York Press)

Mail piles up as postal strike hits

11:00am Thursday 2nd August 2007 in News By Jeremy Small

THOUSANDS of items of undelivered mail are stacking up at York's main delivery office amid the latest wave of postal strikes that are rocking the city.

The backlog of post at Leeman Road, which could include important mail items such as hospital and other appointments, credit card bills, travel tickets and passport applications, is believed to stretch back as far as several days.

John Thompson, branch secretary for York and district amalgamated Communication Workers Union (CWU), said staff were struggling to cope with the mail, and that the backlog would get worse before it got better.

Mr Thompson said: "This is another massive inconvenience for the people of York. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused."

Up to 750 postal workers at the Birch Park delivery office, off Huntington Road, York, are on strike until 3am tomorrow, which means people in certain areas of the city - such as Heworth and Huntington - received a limited amount of mail today.

Mr Thompson said outlying areas of the York catchment area - such as Pocklington and Easingwold - were also hit by the strike.

He said it would contribute to the backlog of post to be delivered to those parts of York.

Mr Thompson said CWU was discussing the possibility of further strikes nationwide and in York at a meeting in London yesterday.

He said any such action could make the backlog in York worse.

CWU members have now staged five strikes in the last month or so, in a bid to secure a settlement from Royal Mail over terms and conditions.

About 600 postal workers walked out at Leeman Road, from 3am on Tuesday until 3am yesterday. Although this has not yet affected mail deliveries in York, Mr Thompson said it has made the backlog Royal Mail is now trying to clear "a lot worse."

He said that the lorries which carry the bulk of the mail up and down the country had been on strike from 3am yesterday until 3am today.

"The business is trying its best to get the mail sorted, bundled up and ready to go, but the majority of the stuff is not going anywhere - it's sat waiting," he said.

A spokesman for Royal Mail insisted the backlog in York would be cleared by lunchtime today. "We're working through the backlog of mail at York Mail Centre as quickly as possible, using all the resources available to us, and hope to be clear by the afternoon."

Royal Mail's statement about Tuesday's strike said: "Strike action does not change Royal Mail's absolute need to modernise, as all our major rivals have already done, if we are to be able to compete successfully in an increasingly challenging marketplace and continue to provide great customer service into the future. The union's stated position that it wants to cause the maximum disruption to Royal Mail, and therefore its customers, is completely at odds with its public stance of supporting the postal service."

Len Cruddas, chief executive of York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, said he urged Royal Mail and the CWU to resolve their dispute as soon as possible, because: "This has a serious affect on business in York and a disproportionate affect on small business - because it's often that which struggles to cope."

Mr Cruddas said it was hard to say whether the strikes would harm business in the city financially, but that the industrial action would have a "negative affect" on enterprise in York.

Steve Galloway, leader of City of York Council, said the strikes had not had any noticeable affect on council business yet - and that he thought even further industrial action would not seriously harm it. "There may be some delays in us receiving applications of one sort or another, but increasingly people use the website for the return of applications and the reporting of issues," he said.

Coun Galloway added: "But it does inconvenience some residents in different ways and I hope the management and staff will manage to find a resolution to the problem in the near future."

Business chief's post anger

THE chairman of Selby Chamber has hit out at the postal service delivered to businesses in the town.

Geoff Gordon, who is a senior partner at Swat Security, said mail had regularly been arriving after lunchtime over the past two months.

He said: "For months the service has been getting worse and worse. I am already aware that more and more post is just not arriving at its destination.

"This is just another burden businesses both large and small have to bear.

"I am certain that many will see it as the final straw and cease trading as the flow of information and cash is the life blood of most business - and a large percentage rely on the Royal Mail."

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "Royal Mail now operates in a competitive market and is always looking at ways of improving efficiency.

"In common with other delivery offices across the country, Selby delivery office has recently made some changes to the way it works. These include starting deliveries later to take account of mail arriving in the office later due to new traffic directives which limit speeds on HGVs.

"Every effort is being made to maintain deliveries to main business customers as at present and all deliveries will still be completed within specification - that is by around lunchtime in towns and by mid-afternoon in rural areas.

"Obviously deliveries may have been affected on some days by the continuing industrial action."

Royal Mail helpline for customers

Postwatch, the watchdog for postal services in the UK, said: "The impact of the strike on consumers is difficult to gauge exactly, but customers in York may experience some delays, and mail for a few days after strike action might take longer to arrive as backlogs in the system are worked through.

"Even a 24-hour strike will mean that important mail items such as hospital and other appointments, credit card bills, travel tickets and so on could be severely delayed. Customers expecting important mail should contact senders to discuss ways of getting around the postal problems - for example, by finding out how much is owed on a credit card and organising payment so as to avoid extra charges.

"Royal Mail is operating a helpline 0845 7740 740 for customers. But it recognises this could be heavily used and asks that customers be patient."