Mail depot 'may not have enough staff for Christmas' warns union rep amid strikes
"I don't know if we'll have enough people to deliver the mail this Christmas at this rate."
Those were the words of a mail worker on strike, who described the situation as "horrible" as employees once again took to the picket lines.
Staff at the Severn Street delivery depot in Welshpool joined workers up and down the country in the latest strike action - which is over terms and conditions, rather than pay.
Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) walked out yesterday, and will also be on strike today, hitting deliveries of post across the country.
Royal Mail workers have expressed their concern for their households amid timetable changes and a “forced” two per cent pay rise.
So far around 115,000 staff have walked out in protest against the “measly” pay increase, but protesters are now concerned about the loss of family-life.
Danny Edwards, union rep at the Welshpool depot, said bosses want staff to work on Sundays and late into the evenings.
"It's quite bad really, it's horrible," he said. "They don't care about the staff or the customers, they just care about profits."
The change comes as the company attempts to modernise to compete with industry powerhouses Yodel and Parcelforce.
This year Royal Mail posted a £92 million loss, which the delivery service blames on “customer demands” and “the current competitiveness of the market”.
Danny warned: "People are leaving the industry because of this. Christmas is coming and it's our busiest time of year. I don't know if we'll have enough people to deliver the mail at this rate."
More strikes are set to place in the coming months. Talks between the two sides were held on Thursday but there was no sign of any progress being made and the union is planning to step up industrial action in the coming weeks.
A further 19 days of strikes have been announced on different days throughout October and November in a major escalation of the dispute.
