Royal Mail deliveries under threat as union leaders urge workers to call in sick rather than risk contracting coronavirus while postmen say slam lack of protective equipment
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Royal Mail deliveries could stop as postal workers complain of delivering ‘pointless junk mail’ during the coronavirus lockdown.
It comes as union leaders are encouraging staff to call in sick, rather than risk catching coronavirus during their daily rounds, The Telegraph reports.
Royal Mail workers were designated as key workers to keep deliveries flowing during the pandemic, but ministers have stopped short of accepting a Communications Workers’ Union to become the country’s ‘fifth emergency service’ and deliver only essential supplies such as food, testing kits and medicines’.
A Royal Mail delivery man does his rounds in Richmond on Tuesday. But the Communications Workers Union is encouraging its workers to call in sick rather than risk catching the coronavirus
‘It’s not right that postal workers should be risking their lives to deliver pointless junk mail, shopping offers and water pistols,’ a CWU spokesman told The Telegraph.
‘If the Government doesn’t accept our offer, in three weeks we will have to look again at our support for the key worker status.’
Royal Mail has introduced new rules to keep staff apart in depots, sharing vans has also been put on hold during the pandemic.
Rico Back, Group Chief Executive Officer, Royal Mail, said: ‘We are focused on protecting our people, company and the communities we serve during this unprecedented crisis. We are putting the health and well-being of colleagues and customers first.
‘At the same time, we are delivering the parcels and letters that are a lifeline for those who cannot leave their homes.’