WISHART WRITES TO ROYAL MAIL DIRECTOR AFTER SERIES OF COMPLAINTS

Published date : 12 January, 2022

Wednesday 12 January 2022 - For Immediate Release

Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and North Perthshire, has written to the Director of Public Affairs & Policy at the Royal Mail Group, David Gold, to address widespread concerns over the current situation at the Perth Delivery Office.

This comes after Mr Wishart received multiple complaints from constituents regarding the service being provided by Royal Mail recently. Many complaints have centred around items taking several weeks to be delivered. This is said to be causing significant issues for people and businesses across the constituency, including residents in Tulloch, Scone and Kinfauns.

Other complaints have come from staff at the sorting office who informed Mr Wishart that they are working in extremely stressful conditions. They have also stated that postal deliveries are being suspended on occasion in entire areas, and that staff are being instructed to prioritise parcel deliveries, while neglecting the mail backlog. It has been said that included in the undelivered mail is vital documentation such as hospital appointments and COVID-19 test results.

Commenting, Mr Wishart said:

"I am deeply concerned by these very serious reports. As the UK's designated Universal Postal Service Provider, the Royal Mail is duty bound to provide a high standard of service. From these complaints, it is evident that their obligations to the public are not being met, and this is causing substantial disruption across the community.

"Among the complaints is a constituent whose e-commerce business has seen losses as a result of the delivery delays, and another who waited several weeks for a hospital appointment letter.

"I fully appreciate that Covid has had an immense impact on service provisions. However, it is the case that other organisations have been required to work under similar circumstances and have managed to adapt and continue to provide a sufficient level of service.

"It is clear that there is a serious staffing shortage at the sorting office, which is putting unbearable pressure on the staff that are there. I have asked Mr Gold for clarity on what exactly is being done to address this critical situation and urged him to put in place a robust recruitment plan as a matter of top priority."

ENDS

Economy

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