A staff member from the Eccles Royal Mail sorting office has warned that backlogs of mail and delays leave many facing disappointment this Christmas.
The member of staff, who asked to remain anonymous, says the issues are not down to Covid-19 having an effect on staffing levels.
Instead, they claim new working arrangements have left a backlog the sorting office will struggle to clear before December 25.
They sent footage to the MEN showing what they described as ‘chaos’ in the office.
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A Royal Mail spokesperson told the MEN that photos and videos are not a ‘true or fair reflection’ of the current situation.
The also said that the situation had improved since the footage was taken.
But they added that the sorting office has been provided with ‘targeted support’ to make sure residents receive their mail.
Last month the MEN reported that People living in Eccles said they hadn't received any mail for up to a month in the lead-up to Christmas.
Answering complaints about the delay in Eccles, a Royal Mail spokesperson said the issue was due to 'COVID-related self-isolation and high levels of sickness absence.'
The worker told the MEN that the issues the company are facing are not down to Covid or staff shortage, but due to a new system which has seen post workers' workload increased meaning they would have to work overtime to complete their routes.
According to the worker, as a result of this, many posties have refused to work the overtime - leading to a massive backlog of parcels and letters at the sorting office.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News they said: “It’s nothing to do with staffing, it’s to do with these new revisions.
“They have taken walks out and made other walks bigger so it’s impossible to complete your duty.
“One walk would usually last four hours. With these new revisions you’re talking six to seven hours.
“It’s complete chaos, you can see for yourself... It’s not gonna get cleared before Christmas, not a chance.”
The member of staff also said that the Royal Mail have drafted in agency workers who do not have the proper training and knowledge of the routes leading to more important mail being left undelivered.
They said: “They’re getting agency staff in and they’re not training them... The backlog has got so much worse than previous years.
“There are parcels that have been left to stack up and in some cases there are tracked parcels that have been there for over two weeks.
“There are letters that have been left that are over five weeks old.
“This is disgusting as some are people’s hospital appointments and important letters being left in the office.”
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We apologise to customers in Eccles for any inconvenience they may have recently experienced.
“We have provided targeted support to the Eccles delivery office and have been making additional daily deliveries this week on a number of routes to ensure that residents receive their mail.
“We will continue to work hard to ensure that our customers receive the high levels of service they would usually receive”.
