Southampton Royal Mail staff 'told to prioritise parcels over letters'

Photos taken inside a mail centre in the Southampton area show letters posted several weeks ago left sat on shelves.

Workers at the site said they were told on Friday morning by higher-ups at Royal Mail to "prioritise parcels over letters".

Postmen and women, who wish to remain anonymous over fears of losing their job, said they are "saddened" at not being able to deliver letters. 

They also worry that overstored facilities will cause health and safety issues. 

Royal Mail has responded to the claims saying "every item of mail is important to us".

Leaked guidance for posties (Image: Submitted)

'A lack of honesty'

One worker told the Daily Echo there have been letters sitting in mail centres for over two weeks.

He said: "It's a lack of honesty from Royal Mail. They have said there is no priority for parcels but 100 per cent there is.

"We have got clear instructions to do so. I saw vans filled with parcels go out today (Friday) with letters in the centre since early November.

"You can see they are from the NHS, banks, and birthday cards. God forbid that they have critical information in it or someone misses an appointment.

"I had one man come to the office saying he was waiting for his bank card to be delivered and for over a week he couldn't do his food shop.

"It's soul-crushing for a postman or woman because we can't do what we signed up to do and serve the public."

A letter from the NHS dated November 16 at the mail centre (Image: Submitted)

Health and safety worries

Another employee said that all sites across Southampton and Hampshire are "under the same stress".

He said: "Southampton's mail centre has had a build-up of parcels and letters that has been growing.

"It's the same here as we have seen across the UK and this morning we were told to start prioritising the parcels over letters to tackle the amount.

"It's being stored in other buildings just to remove some from the main site.

"It is piling high and we are worried that it could lead to health and safety issues for us around being able to move from station to station."

READ MORE: Royal Mail staff strike across Southampton and Hampshire

'Every item is important'

A Royal Mail spokesperson said that the company "does not operate a policy of prioritising parcels". 

They said: "We have well-developed contingency plans to ensure our customers are looked after, and minimise delays during the Communication Workers Union’s industrial action to keep people, businesses and the country connected. 

"These images are not unusual for peak season when our mail centres and delivery offices process very high volumes of mail items.

"The images show mail in the process of being unloaded and moved through our systems for onward distribution. Every item of mail is important to us.

"We regularly remind colleagues that the delivery, collection and processing of letters and parcels should be treated with equal importance.

"Christmas is our busiest time of year and we recognise the additional lengths that our postmen and women, and the thousands of temporary workers who support us during the peak season, go to deliver the higher volumes of parcels and cards we deliver. 

"Our managers are trained to support their teams to deliver a consistent and efficient service for their customers, and ensuring that workloads between colleagues are fair and manageable."

The backlog of letters (Image: Submitted)

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