Union welcomes post reprieve

Union representatives for Royal Mail workers have welcomed the news two of the county's delivery offices which were due to close have been given a temporary reprieve.

Royal Mail delivery offices in Ellesmere and Church Stretton had been due to close on Monday but managers now say the move has been put back until early June after talks with staff.

Once closed, staff and work will be moved to Oswestry or Craven Arms.

Communication Workers' Union representative Pete Kelly said staff were pleased the moves had been put back because they wanted better working conditions put in place before the move took place.

He said staff had initially campaigned against the closures and were now insisting issues over working hours and conditions were resolved in time for June.

"Our view has always been if they are going to move then they have to move under the right conditions, with the job workloads all balanced out," he said.

"We don't welcome the news the offices are moving or closing, but we do welcome the fact they are going to get the workload issue resolved.

"They have promised they will resolve issues relating to the workload and that gives us time to do that."

Mr Kelly held a meeting with Royal Mail at 6am yesterday to discuss working conditions and will continue to meet with the firm's managers and staff over the next three weeks.

He said staff working hours had been an issue for some time and employees feared they would be forced to work unpaid overtime when they move to their new workplaces as they will have to travel further in order to complete their rounds.

He said Royal Mail managers had put the move back to June 8.

Royal Mail spokeswoman, Jaquie Stenson said it had decided to postpone the moving date for the offices after talking to staff in each office.

"The date of the move of work from Ellesmere and Church Stretton delivery offices has been put back to the beginning of June," she said.

"We continue to talk to our people about the changes and each individual has the opportunity to discuss how the change affects them on a one-to-one basis."

By Abigail Bates