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  • 2 days ago
Pádraig Delargy blasts ‘second-class system’ and '10 day delays', Royal Mail denies claims

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00:00Can I call you how I rise today to raise postal delays in Derry. On a recent visit to Royal Mail's
00:06sorting office in Derry, staff informed me that letters were sometimes waiting nine or ten days
00:11before they were delivered.
00:17Staff have noted that they were told to prioritise parcels, overtime has been curtailed, and that
00:25holiday periods are often uncovered, creating an untouched backlog of mail when staff return
00:30from leave.
00:32The resultant impact of a prioritisation of parcels is constituents missing vital hospital
00:37appointment letters, financial information and other time-bound and sensitive information.
00:43I therefore recently wrote to both the Consumer Council and to Ofcom requesting that they
00:48look into the following six critical issues impacting people in Derry.
00:53To what extent Royal Mail is meeting its public service obligation to customers?
00:58Number two, the potential health impact of missing vital hospital, particularly cancer, appointment
01:03letters resulting in delayed diagnosis and treatment.
01:07Number three, the potential loss of earning financial and impact of receiving financial
01:13and insurance letters significantly later than expected.
01:16Four, the potential judicial impact of missing jury service and pressing legal letters.
01:22Five, the potential financial impact of late bill or fine payments as a result of not receiving
01:28letters in a timely and efficient manner.
01:30And six, the impact on small businesses of not being able to effectively and efficiently
01:35send or receive letters in a timely manner.
01:39There are countless other issues which we could rehearse but this is about changing the system.
01:44It's about Royal Mail firstly recognising the problem and secondly putting in place strategic
01:50and robust measures to change.
01:52People in Derry will not accept a second class system from Royal Mail.
01:58People are often left waiting on vital healthcare letters which mean that they miss appointments, receiving
02:03the letters days after the appointment has taken place and our office has been contacted by
02:09people who are waiting on a cancer diagnosis, obviously and naturally worried about the impact
02:15that this will have on their treatment options.
02:17Ken Colia, it's also deeply unfair that our postal staff who work tirelessly in all conditions
02:25all year round are bearing the brunt of decisions taken by the management of Royal Mail.
02:31Royal Mail need to meet their public service obligations.
02:35They need to get mail out to people in Derry in a timely manner and they need to take responsibility
02:40at management level to make this happen.
02:42Goera maigit.

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