Posties warn households face 'nightmare' Christmas because of Royal Mail delivery changes

Posties warn households face 'nightmare' Christmas because of Royal Mail delivery changes The Communication Workers Union claims Royal Mail has become a "ticking timebomb" because of claimed problems with a new delivery model which posties say prioritisies parcels over letters Posties claim households face a "nightmare" in the run-up to Christmas because of delivery changes introduced by Royal Mail. They say parcels are still being prioritised over letters, leading to more late deliveries, an issue for which Royal Mail has been widely slammed. The Communication Workers Union has called for an emergency summit with the company and involving the government, claiming Royal Mail was facing a "ticking timebomb" and even going as far as to warn the company was “on the brink of collapse”. Relations between the union and Royal Mail have broken down since the introduction of a new delivery model, called DM26, earlier this year. To see more of the stories you love from The Mirror and to find them easily in Google then make us your preferred source. Free and easy-to-do, just click on the link here to find more from The Mirror at the top of your feed. It allows for second class post to be delivered every other day during the week, with the aim of guaranteeing first class mail and parcels are delivered every day, by putting workers into groups of three and changing the walking pattern of rounds. But posties who have spoken to the BBC anonymously say parcels are still being prioritised, letters left behind, and time wasted in sorting and dividing mail into first and second class. One from the West Midlands said: "I didn't take any first class mail out on my last shift because I was on a road that's been behind for weeks. But I'm sure a manager would have ticked a box to say all first class mail went out." Several warned this Christmas coud be a "nightmare". A postie from the East Midlands said: "We all think this Christmas will be the worst ever, for us and our customers." Royal Mail has already left customers fuming because of its poor track record on late deliveries, for which it has been heavily fined by regulator Ofcom. Over 100 MPs are set to tell Ofcom that the quality of service for letter delivery must be improved. The BBC also claimed the delivery issues wer being made worse by about 400 postmen and women are leaving Royal Mail every week. Royal Mail last week announced plans to slash as many as 2,500 jobs by the end of next year. The privatised postal giant said the proposed staff cull was focused on its head office and support functions. There would be no reductions in operational frontline roles in delivery and processing, including posties and drivers, it insisted. The CWU has called for the rollout of the DM26 delivery model to be paused, citing severe operational issues and unmanageable workloads. General Secretary Dave Ward said: “We are calling for a summit between stakeholder and the government to address the ticking timebomb that is Royal Mail. “The BBC have shone a light on the harsh pressure postal workers are facing, and the price paid by consumers for the historic mismanagement of Royal Mail. Royal Mail has been in structural decline for well over a decade, and the continuous failure to deliver quality of service is killing the brand, demoralising the workforce, and letting down the communities that postal workers are proud to serve. “At this stage, it doesn’t matter what delivery model is adopted: unless the company faces up to its self-inflicted recruitment and retention crisis, the company is on the brink of collapse. For years, we have had select committees, promises of £500million improvement plans, a broad array of agreements and threats to improve from Ofcom. "Yet nothing has changed, every agreement reached has never been honoured, and Ofcom's only role has been to favour competition over improving Royal Mail, with its universal service obligation. Royal Mail is in serious need of a business vision that provides dignified work for employees and quality service for consumers and communities." Appearing before MPs in March, Royal Mail's billionaire owner apologised for the postal giant's late deliveries - but denied it was getting worse. Czech tycoon Daniel Kretinsky told MPs: "Of course I am deeply sorry for any letters that arrive late." However, he insisted: "It is not perfect, but it is not catastrophic." A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “The rollout of our new delivery model is now 90% complete across our c.1,200 delivery offices and we are continuing to see positive results – delivering on average to 95% of addresses every day across the UK, up from 88% before deployment. The rollout continues across our network and we expect quality of service to improve as deployment progresses. These reforms are an important part of our plan to deliver a more reliable, efficient and financially sustainable Universal Service for customers across the UK." The company added that it was hiring 22,000 temporary workers over Christmas to help transport, sort and deliver the additional mail it expects over the festive period.