Royal Mail staff in Leeds 'disgusted' as bags of important letters 'left to rot'

The member of staff at Seacroft Delivery Office, who has asked to remain anonymous, has said that staff that have worked for the company for decades are looking to leave due to the “horrendous” working conditions.

He said that one current issue is that staff are being told to concentrate on parcels that are tracked – such as package deliveries from Amazon and ASOS – rather than focus on delivering general mail.

He said: “It’s been going on for months.

"We’ve been telling them that people are asking for their mail and getting frustrated.

"People could be missing hospital appointments and they aren’t getting their bank cards and statements.

"It’s absolutely disgusting.”

He said that there has become more of an emphasis on delivering tracked parcels from upper management as these are more lucrative for the company.

He added: “They are trying to make it a parcel service but it’s not right when people are waiting for stuff.

"The level of management here don’t want this but have had their hands tied by upper level management.

"There are rounds of letters in the office that haven’t gone out all week. It’s just being left to rot and they are not bothered at all.”

He said he expects the situation to “just get worse and worse” when plans to cut overtime pay are put into place.

He said: “I’ve never known it as bad as this.

"There was never a high turnover but now people that have worked there for a long time are leaving and saying they want redundancy.

"I have loved the job but now they are just stripping it down to the bare bones.”

In response, a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “The vast majority of mail is delivered safely and on time.

"Deliveries in the local area are taking place six days a week when there is mail to be delivered.

”Anyone who has concerns over the delivery of their mail should contact the Royal Mail customer service team on 03457 740 740 or via the Royal Mail website www.royalmail.com.”

The issue comes as planned strikes by Royal Mail union members were called off following a challenge by the company.

On the issues in Leeds, a Communication Workers Union (CWU) spokesperson said: “It is saddening to see what out-of-touch company bosses are happy to have happen on their watch.

“This country should have a Royal Mail that offers quality service to communities and treats its employees with dignity - the people chasing mega profits at the top of the company don’t seem to agree.”

Members of the CWU are involved in a long running dispute over pay and conditions.

A series of strikes have taken place in recent weeks and more action had been planned.

The union said that following a letter from Royal Mail's legal team, it had decided to withdraw industrial action notices over the next two weeks.

It added that strikes will resume on Saturday November 12.