SORT IT OUT
Stressed posties want bosses to ban junk mail during pandemic over safety fears
WORRIED posties have walked out in a row over delivering junk mail during the coronavirus crisis.
They insist posting non-essential mail and a lack of protective gear is putting them in danger.
One said: “This is about making sure we get home at night to our families.”
WORKERS at a Royal Mail depot have gone on strike over the amount of junk mail they’ve been asked to deliver during the coronavirus crisis.
More than 80 posties and admin staff walked out of the Alloa sorting office at 6am on Monday, warning that posting unnecessary mail through letterboxes could put them and customers at risk.
Deliveries to Clackmannanshire and surrounding areas have been severely hit by the wildcat action, with posties in other depots across Scotland threatening to lay down their bags over the same issue.
As well as junk mail, they claim they are working in unsafe conditions in the delivery room and have not been given sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE).
On the picket line, workers are maintaining social distancing restrictions while they protest.
One postie accused the Royal Mail of putting profit before health as staff are still being asked to deliver junk mail for companies that aren’t open at the moment.
He said: “This action is all about our safety and making sure we get home at night to our families.
“Royal Mail has asked us to continue delivering nonessential junk mail to every household, which not only puts us at extra risk but also vulnerable people in the community as the virus can be transmitted on letters and flyers. They are putting profit over everyone’s health. It is unacceptable.”
He claimed the Government’s strict twometre social distancing guidelines are not being adhered to in the sorting office. He added: “We work on top of each other in the sorting office and it hasn’t got any better since the outbreak.
“The only PPE we’ve been given are gloves and sanitiser. It’s not good enough.”
The insider said colleagues are already preparing to deliver and collect testing kits.
He added: “We’ll play a key part in this fight – from delivering and collecting the kits to distributing Boris Johnson’s letter to every house.”
People in Clackmannanshire backed the posties’ fight on residents’ Facebook pages.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that un-balloted industrial action has taken place at the Alloa delivery office.
“We sincerely apologise to customers in the area for any disruption to their mail services.
“Royal Mail takes the health and safety of its colleagues, customers and the local communities in which we operate very seriously.
“We have introduced a range of social distancing measures designed to protect both our colleagues and customers. We continue to follow public health authority preventative guidance.
“We are doing all we can to minimise this disruption and we encourage our staff to come back to work.”
Craig Anderson, of the Communication Workers’ Union in Scotland, confirmed last night that 15 staff had also walked out of the Royal Mail depot in Lochgelly, Fife.
They are putting profits before health. It’s unacceptable
A POSTAL WORKER ON JUNK MAIL DELIVERIES