Part-time post workers accused of dumping mail

Part-time post workers accused of dumping mail
From The Daily Mail June 16th, 2001

BY DARREN BEHAR LETTERS are being dumped on a regular basis by temporary postmen
drafted in to cover a staff crisis, it was claimed yesterday. In one incident, a sack of letters was discovered in a supermarket trolley
close to a railway station in Eltham, South-East London. It had been dumped by one of the many summer workers used by Consignia,
formerly the Post Office, to help with deliveries. Keith Pringle, manager of a law firm in Eltham, said the sack had been found
after he complained about receiving no mail for weeks. ‘I was told that the Post Office had been contracting temporary labour but
some of them were so lazy they had been throwing post away instead of
delivering it,’ he said. ‘They had been unable to find who was responsible because postmen were
employed on a day-today basis.’ Union chiefs and a consumers’ organisation
claimed yesterday that the incident was far from isolated. Roy Vargerson, the Communication Workers Union official for the South-East,
blamed the crisis on staff shortages and mismanagement. He said: ‘Royal Mail brings in casual staff because depots are undermanned. They don’t care if the mail gets there or not. ‘There are plenty of examples whe
re the mail is never recovered and a lot
will simply get dumped.’ The postal watchdog Post-watch added: ‘Mail does get
dumped. ‘It can be a real problem because important items such as tickets and
benefit cheques can go missing.’ Consignia has launched an investigation into Mr Pringle’s complaint but
insists there is no problem with dumped mail. It said: ‘The Eltham incident is hugely regrettable. The vast majority of
our staff are honest and carry out the work they are paid to do.’ * Milkmen could be delivering packages for Parcelforce if plans being tested
on Express Dairies rounds in Northampton are successful.DAILY MAIL, 16th June 2001