STRETFORD’s Kate Green met with Royal Mail management this week to discuss their approach to postal issues in the area.
Messenger reported last week the MP is seeking a meeting after residents in Stretford and Old Trafford complained about no deliveries in months.
Although some streets in the area seem to be receiving their deliveries as normal, other streets will not receive them at all due to the lack of essential items such as bank cards and doctor’s appointments.
In a post on social media on Wednesday January 5th, Ms. Green said she had been in contact with Royal Mail for some time and had been told the cause of the problem was illness and staff shortages.
Now the MP has confirmed that reason, given that last week more than a fifth of the postal workers at the delivery office on Norton Street were absent and the postal service is struggling to replace them with temporary workers.
She has been assured that management is taking action to resolve the problem, but she intends to wait and see if those actions work.
READ MORE: MP Seeks Royal Mail Meet Over Black Hole in Stretford and Old Trafford.
In another post on social media, Ms. Green said, “Royal Mail told us that absenteeism rates are now starting to decline.
“They moved some people from other offices and hired additional temporary staff for the delivery office on Norton Street. However, competition in the labor market has prevented them from hiring as many temporary workers as they wanted. ”
The MP said that Royal Mail gave priority to parcels over letters as they took up space in the delivery office.
Swiss Post is handling 35 percent more parcels and 25 percent fewer letters than it was a year and a half ago and is thinking about adapting the tours of the Post employees accordingly.
Ms. Green added: “I am arranging a visit to the delivery office to see for myself the situation and to chat with the posties.
“In the meantime, if you continue to have delivery issues, please let me know so I can assess whether Royal Mail’s actions are improving the situation.”
