Execs at top of the tree should look after roots
For nearly 20 years my husband and I have been running our small village shop and post office.
Over these years, we have come to know and befriend the posties who deliver mail to us and pick up our newspaper rounds to deliver them to the residents in the glen.
They are all extremely hard-working individuals, with the pressures of timed deliveries, often delivering off-road to houses down dirt tracks miles from the main road.
In the winter months, they face possible flooded roads, ice and snow.
Moreover, these posties are a lifeline for those living alone whose nearest neighbour may be a mile down the road.
In our minds, they are all heroes. But I wonder if the general public are aware of how these wonderful individuals are being treated by Royal Mail.
Since passing into the hands of the private sector, those at the top of the tree – the chairman and executives, who are drawing fat salaries and bonuses – are callously culling these posties by way of not-fit-for-purpose contracts, cutting their hours and doubling the amount of mail they deliver in a shorter time.
In one office, they must lose 154 hours – which means the already overworked posties are facing possible redundancy or their P45.
What a terrible cloud to work under. It is always those at the bottom on the tree that are hit the hardest.
We live in a rural location and our posties are expected to drive poorly maintained vehicles that are not equipped with the proper winter tyres to handle the weather.
Sometimes they arrive in hire vans because there are not enough working vans to use.
I am told that one postie, who has been a loyal employee of Royal Mail for nearly 31 years, has been requesting a waterproof jacket, but his requests have been ignored.
Like all the other posties, he is being treated with indifference and it’s an absolute disgrace.
I don’t suppose the chairman of Royal Mail has ever spent the day with a postie to see what it is like and the pressures they are under and to feel the stress and angst of possibly losing their jobs or having to sign these wicked contracts.
This is all at a time when the cost of living is rising, the pressure of Christmas is around the corner and having to make ends meet.
I would say to the chairman of Royal Mail – all of your posties have significantly contributed to Royal Mail’s profits; surely you can pay them a fair wage, provide them with proper warm uniforms, equipment and vehicles that are properly maintained.
Give your posties good working conditions so they feel valued.
Surely, out of the millions in profits the Royal Mail makes, you can invest in your posties too as they form the roots of the tree?
If the roots of the tree wither, the rest of the tree will fall and you can kiss goodbye to your fat salaries and bonuses.
Helen Brawn,
Bridge of Cally Post Office
Rafflenetsgrouptoptotal
Dear Editor
Members of the local Macmillan Cancer Support committee and helpers held a very successful raffle in Tesco Blairgowrie over the weekend of November 4 and 5 and were delighted to raise more than £1130.
This is a fantastic amount and we would like to thank everyone who supported Macmillan so generously over the two days.
We are also very grateful to Tesco for allowing us to have the raffle in their store and for the help provided by their staff.
The two hampers were delivered locally to the lucky winners.
Carol Bisset, treasurer, Macmillan fundraising group committee