Royal Mail losing 400 postal workers a week, says union
The CWU says more posties are leaving since a new delivery system was brought in, that it claims is not working in hundreds of offices.
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) reports that Royal Mail is losing about 400 postal workers each week, a figure that has risen since the company implemented a new delivery system called DM26 earlier this year. Prior to the rollout, Royal Mail was shedding approximately 330 staff per week from a workforce of 83,000. The CWU claims that the new system is failing in hundreds of offices, and staff have expressed concerns about a "nightmare Christmas" ahead as the volume of parcels increases.
Royal Mail maintains that the reforms are aimed at delivering a more efficient and financially sustainable service. The new DM26 system involves delivering second-class post only every other weekday and prioritizing first-class mail and parcels. However, postmen and women speaking anonymously to the BBC claim that parcels are still prioritized, letters are left behind, and time is wasted sorting mail into first and second class categories.
Some workers have reported an increase in their workload, with an average step count rising by a quarter to a third since the system's introduction. The CWU has urged Royal Mail to pause the rollout of DM26 until a plan can be agreed upon to address the issues, as the union believes the new system is exacerbating rather than resolving the problems.
Royal Mail, however, asserts that the system is on track to be fully operational in all offices by Christmas and is delivering to 95% of addresses every day across the UK.
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