Mull postal services have 'completely collapsed' claim staff

The problems, they say, begin before the post even reaches the island.

 

Mail arriving from Oban does not land on Mull until the 10.45am ferry, leaving conveyance drivers in a race against time to deliver and collect mail across huge rural areas before making the next sailing back to the mainland.

 

For north Mull, that means covering around 60 miles of mainly single-track road - including Salen, Tobermory and Dervaig - in barely two hours.

 

The Ross of Mull van has the same rush for the Craignure, Bunessan and Iona runs.

 

Drivers say they do not even have time to stop for the toilet.

 

Another postie told us that although they have never missed the ferry, they have had to skip pick-ups to get to the sailing on-time.

 

Conditions inside the sorting offices are also increasingly stressful.

 

At Salen, we saw staff try to sort mountains of letters and 20 approximately 10kg bags of parcels in a cramped room they complain is barely large enough to work in.

 

Similar issues are seen in Bunessan and Tobermory, where workers say mail is regularly sorted outside or piled in the street when space runs out.

Sorting takes one to two hours, so deliveries do not start until after midday.

"If post was on the first ferry in the morning, we would be able to get it to the sorting offices in a sensible time, and every Postie would be much happier," Postie #2 said.

 

Another issue lies in the postal rounds themselves, which staff complain are too large and busy.

 

Postie #3 said: "It’s the increase in parcels that has made it worse. It’s all due to the rise of Amazon.

 

"It got really bad after the pandemic, people could only buy things online, and they never stopped. It’s become unmanageable."

 

Unlike the mainland, most islands like Mull do not see Parcelforce or Amazon vans carry out deliveries.

 

A member of Post Office staff tells us that one of Tobermory’s three rounds has increased from 107 to 300 houses since 1999. Yet no new rounds have been added.

 

Postie #2 said: "They rely on people feeling guilty and bending over backwards, busting a gut to get it all done. I know if I don’t get it all out the way then a colleague has to pick it up."

 

Postie #3 said: "The central management on the mainland don’t understand what the island is actually like."

When we asked Royal Mail when it last assessed the postal rounds on Mull, a spokesperson said it looks at "the number of addresses, how routes are structured, the equipment needed and how many posties are required" all part of an ongoing route management process.

 

The postal crisis on Mull is now beginning to impact staff’s physical and mental health, according to the workforce.

 

Postie #5 recently faced the prospect of handling all three Tobermory rounds over several days due to vacancies and sickness absence.

 

Asked how they will manage, Postie #5 said: "I won’t."

 

Postie #5 continued: "The number of parcels has gone from about 100 to 180 on an average day and absolutely nothing has been implemented.

 

“The only reason I am here is because I love the community.”

 

Postie #6, says that due to shortages, they were given just two days training.

They said: “They need to be more real about what we can manage.

 

"All the posties seem so stressed."

 

Postie #7 tells us that when they come home they often collapse into bed straight away.

 

They said: "I don’t know what it’s like not to be stressed unless I’m off work.

 

"We’re against a brick wall at every angle. I have been begging for a fix for years but we keep getting ignored.”

 

Despite the pressures, staff said camaraderie among colleagues is the only thing keeping the service running.

 

"We’re all in this together and don’t want to let each other down, and that is being exploited,”Postie #1 said.

 

Asked how long the service can last, they added: "It’s already completely collapsed."

 

When they raise complaints with management, staff all report getting the same reply:

 

Staff have a number of things they want improved, including a dedicated sorting facility in the centre of the island, reworked rounds, post on the first ferry of the day and more staff. 

The Communication Workers Union has been informed and is working to resolve the issues.

Bosses at Royal Mail have moved to defend their position.

 

A spokesperson for Royal Mail said in response to these concerns: "We know how important a reliable postal service is for communities on Mull and we recognise that service has not been where it should be.

 

“We are taking action to improve. We are actively recruiting for vacancies on the island, with interviews already taking place, and we have introduced a welcome bonus to help attract new recruits. In the meantime, we are using agency workers to assist with deliveries.”

 

Royal Mail was also asked to respond to the staff requests. It said that it was limited by ferry timetables in when it can deliver mail to the island, but did not respond to the other points.

 

It was also asked why no new routes have been added despite the increase in mail volume and addresses, but did not respond.