Cameron praises Royal Mail staff
UK Prime Minister David Cameron sent a letter of thanks to staff at Royal Mail who battled December’s severe weather to fulfill deliveries. Cameron paid homage to staff members for their “excellent work” despite heavy snowfall and icy conditions hampering the operator’s delivery programme during its busiest time of the year.
Royal Mail said it processed almost 2bn items over the Christmas period.
The fallout from the severe weather still means that thousands of letters are yet to be delivered, with hundreds of Royal Mail postal workers taking to the streets last Sunday in a bid to clear the backlog.
In the letter – published in-full in Courier, Royal Mail’s internal publication – the Prime Minister said: “I would like to thank all of you for the excellent work that you did right across the country to deliver Christmas letters, cards and parcels.
“Christmas is always a very busy time for you. The freezing conditions that you have faced – the last few weeks have seen the worst start to the winter in living memory – have made deliveries this year particularly difficult. Despite this, you did everything possible to keep the service going and to make sure that the vast majority of people got their cards and their presents before Christmas.”
There was also praise for staff from Royal Mail chief executive Moya Greene, who remarked in her column: “What a Christmas that was! Thank you to everyone for pulling out all the stops and doing everything humanly possible to deliver festive mail for our customers – despite the snow!’
The Communication Workers Union (CWU) warned the government that privatising Royal Mail would be a disaster for Christmas post deliveries.
Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, said: “Postal workers at Royal Mail [went] out delivering in the snow to get Christmas mail to families and businesses.
“In contrast, supermarkets and private couriers [were] canceling or refusing to guarantee deliveries. This is the difference between a public service and private companies which are more interested in their profits.
“If the government gets its way and privatises Royal Mail, then delivery standards will undoubtedly slip away as the expensive universal service is left at the mercy of privateers who care only for profit.”
