Royal Mail staff exhausted and concerned for their health as coronavirus cripples Northamptonshire postal service

Coronavirus is crippling the postal service in Northamptonshire, leaving Royal Mail staff concerned for their safety and residents waiting weeks for their post.

Numerous workers are either off sick or self-isolating, putting more pressure on the remaining employees when demand has never been higher.

Staff say they feel they have to come to work despite their concerns for their health...and then they receive abuse for the subsequent delivery delays from the public, some of whom are still waiting for Christmas presents to arrive or go weeks without seeing a postman.

Royal Mail insists it is working hard to deliver as normal a service as it can while every decision 'puts the health of its people and customers first'.

A self-isolating worker at the Crow Lane delivery office in Northampton, who wished to remain anonymous, told this newspaper: "We are exhausted.

"We love our job, we're all really lucky with what we do, but we feel a little forgotten by the top bosses and the public."

Royal Mail confirmed four workers at the Crow Lane depot have tested positive for coronavirus and that 'a number of' others are self-isolating after being contacted through Track and Trace.

The employee this newspaper spoke to claimed 26 workers are self-isolating and two are suffering with long-Covid.

The employee says staff have raised concerns about cleaning practices within the depot and the level of PPE equipment available but Royal Mail says the health of its staff and customers are a priority.

"There has been very little duty of care to staff. The issues have been raised repeatedly by staff but with very little being done about it," the employee claimed.

People living in and around Daventry have been experiencing particularly bad postal delays recently, with Royal Mail admitting there were 'resourcing issues' on Tuesday (January 12).

The town and surrounding areas with an NN11 postcode are on a list of 27 places in England where 'deliveries are likely to be limited' and opening hours at the Vicar Lane delivery office have changed for customers collecting post.

A resident told this newspaper they have only had one postal delivery since December 20, and have been waiting weeks for items to turn up, including Christmas cards.

Postmen are being drafted in from other areas of the county as there were none in Daventry due to a Covid outbreak at the Daventry sorting office, they added.

"I have always found Daventry postal system to be very slow compared to other areas I have lived in," the Drayton resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

"First class mail takes days to arrive and almost seems like it gets saved up in bulk before delivered.

"But it caused a lot of stress worrying about missing payments and gifts sent in the post and urgent letters.

"It would have been nice for Royal Mail to notify customers via the papers or social media and if the sorting staff came down with Covid, then does that mean letters that came through the door up until the outbreak could have passed through Covid-infected people and then onto our door mats?"

Meanwhile Richard Goldfinch, who lives in Drayton Walk, Northampton, told this newspaper that they have had little or no post in since before Christmas.

He has been waiting for several letters and parcels, including a letter from from his electricity supplier about a new direct debit.

The Crow Lane employee said the issues are compounded by the lack of appreciation from their bosses and the public for their hard work during the pandemic.

"I've worked more than 60-hour weeks since the first lockdown with only Sundays as a break - and I know there are people who have worked more.

"All of this has been whilst watching blue light and teaching staff get lots of recognition for being frontline whilst we have been ignored, but we've kept on.

"We've delivered more parcels than any other year on fewer staff, we have been the ones who have been able to check on our customers to make sure they are OK, that they have everything they need and taking items to them from our food bank when they don't.

"All of this has been with very little recognition from anyone."

A Royal Mail spokesperson said its workforce is working hard to deliver as comprehensive a service as possible to all customers in 'challenging circumstances'.

"Despite our best endeavours, it is possible that some areas of the country may experience a reduction in service levels due to higher volumes of mail during the lockdown, the ongoing impact of Covid-related staff absences and necessary social distancing measures at local mail centres and delivery offices," they continued.

"Right from the start of this crisis, we have played a key role keeping the country connected. Every single letter and parcel is important to us.

"Like most organisations, we have a number of employees who are self-isolating in line with government guidance.

"This has a direct impact on our staffing levels, especially in areas where there are higher levels of local outbreaks.

"We are working hard to deliver as normal a service as we can, drawing in extra resource and offering additional overtime where possible.

"We remain grateful to all our customers in these areas for their patience and understanding as our dedicated workforce work hard to deliver these exceptional volumes, whilst also adhering to necessary social distancing measures.

"We always endeavour to keep our customers updated on any changes to our services. We have a dedicated section on our website.

"Throughout the pandemic, every decision we make puts the health of our people and customers first.”