Union claims of ‘unrealistic’ schedules branded ‘nonsense and untrue’
12 December 2008
Postal workers are being forced to walk at “unrealistic” speeds to meet financial savings, unions have claimed.
The Communication Workers Union has warned that a new software system used by Royal Mail to plan routes has set impossible delivery targets. Postal workers are expected to walk at four miles an hour if they are to complete delivery rounds within normal hours, the union claims.
A new software system called Pegasus was recently introduced to plan rounds without agreement from the union. Previously, delivery staff were expected to walk at 2.4 miles per hour to complete their routes on time.
Bob Gibson, CWU national officer, said: “Royal Mail is using this system to meet financial savings without considering the physical realities of delivery rounds. This is putting pressure on delivery workers and leading to bullying and harassment.”
Gibson added that the new routes were “having disastrous consequences on services in some parts of the country” and urged the company to review the software system.
But a spokesman from Royal Mail denied the union’s claims.
“Royal Mail carefully plans every postman’s and postwoman’s walk so that no-one is asked to cover a greater distance or deliver more mail than they are capable of doing and it’s complete nonsense and completely untrue to suggest otherwise.
“The speed at which we ask our postmen and women to walk is around two miles per hour and the systems we use to help us plan the most effective delivery walks are used in many other countries and have been successfully used nationwide in the UK since 1996,” he said.