Royal Mail still battling delays

12 January 2021

Coronavirus

Royal Mail: calls for staff to be vaccinated as key workers

Royal Mail has issued a list of nearly 30 areas where deliveries are being delayed due to staffing issues caused by Covid-19, with union the CWU calling for postal workers to receive priority vaccination.

In a service update issued today (12 January) Royal Mail said that deliveries in the areas listed below were “likely to be limited” due to resourcing issues.

Prior to Christmas the group was battling with a huge backlog of deliveries as e-commerce sales boomed. The latest national lockdown measures and the closure of non-essential retail stores means that online shopping remains buoyant.

Parcels wing Parcelforce said it was “continuing to receive high parcel volumes into our network” with “the vast majority successfully processed”.

“To enable us to effectively manage volumes and ensure our people can operate safely, a small proportion will not go out for delivery today and will be prioritised for delivery the next working day," it said.

CWU general secretary Dave Ward has called on the government to vaccinate key workers, including postal workers, and take stronger action to protect people in the workplace.

“The country has recognised the value of key workers throughout this pandemic. With millions of key workers continuing to attend workplaces during lockdown there has to be a renewed focus from the government to ensure their safety at work,” he stated.

“These actions are essential to get on top of the virus and if the government is serious about valuing key workers and levelling up the economy.”

My delivery office has been decimated with the amount of covid related absences. Urgently require the vaccine under the current circumstances or am extremely worried about the consequences
— Steve Carpenter (@Scarpenter_67) January 11, 2021

MP Wes Streeting also voiced concerns that some 500,000 letters being sent out as part of the NHS mass vaccination programme could be held up, and should be treated as priority mail. Vaccine deployment minister Nadhim Zahawi responded and stated: “We will make sure we work with Royal Mail to ensure this happens.”

The places where deliveries are being affected include a dozen areas in Greater London. The full list is: