Local MP seeks to ensure it's business as usual for parcels and post
Tue 5th May 2020
The Member of Parliament for Beverley and Holderness, Graham Stuart, has taken part in a conference call with Royal Mail as part of the Communication Workers Union’s National Postal Workers Day, designed to celebrate the work of posties who continue to keep us connected.
The number of people asking for deliveries has shot up since the current restrictions on travelling were put in place, with the postal service now consistently experiencing levels of demand that are between 8-10% higher than it normally sees at Christmas or on Black Friday.
To ease the additional burden faced by postal workers as a result of staff absences and social distancing measures, Royal Mail announced on 28th April that they were temporarily stopping Saturday letter deliveries – instead focussing their efforts on transporting parcels.
Despite this, the service across Beverley and Holderness and the East Riding has so far remained relatively unaffected by the disruptions. There has been negligible impact on delivery times for items sent by either first or second-class delivery, even as posties transport mail to over a quarter of a million addresses with Hull postcodes. Around 5% of regional staff – delivering to East Riding, the Humber and Lincolnshire – are absent due to self-isolation or because they are shielding.
Those who are self-isolating are entitled to full sick pay, and Royal Mail have confirmed that this has been extended temporarily to employees with less than one year’s experience. They have also confirmed adequate stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE) – including over 2 full weeks’ worth of gloves, masks and hand gel – while Public Health England guidelines such as temporarily stopping pairs from travelling together and stringently cleaning working areas are being strictly adhered to.
Speaking after the update from company representatives, Graham said: “I was reassured to hear that not only is good service being maintained for residents in my constituency, but also that they are protecting their workers through social distancing measures and with PPE should they need it.
“At the same time, our postal service is more important than ever as people shop online and stay connected with their loved ones.
“Our posties are doing a great job in very difficult circumstances, and have very rightly been classed as key workers by the Government so their children can still attend school while they’re helping us to keep in touch with friends and family.”
The Government has also announced that it is partnering with Royal Mail, along with Amazon, to deliver home-testing kits to those who are presenting symptoms of Covid-19 as it looks to ramp up testing to the wider community.
