Robert Halfon, Member of Parliament for Harlow and the villages, has taken his campaign to senior managers at Harlow’s Royal Mail delivery office, making it clear that local people deserve better.
On Friday, Robert visited Royal Mail’s delivery office on Post Office Road to raise the concerns of constituents all over Harlow in relation to the poor service that local people have been receiving.
Robert has previously lobbied Royal Mail, written to the Government and raised his concerns with Royal Mail’s regulator, Ofcom. Royal Mail have recently received a record £5.6 million fine for failing to meet delivery targets and the Chief Executive stepped down last month.
Commenting on his visit, Robert said, “Despite the efforts of the hard working postmen and women in Harlow, Royal Mail managers have let down residents across the town for too long - the service they are providing for Harlow people is simply not good enough. It is wrong that letters and parcels which have been sent are not being delivered on time, if at all, despite the correct postage being paid.
“Last week, I met with managers at Harlow’s delivery office to impress upon them the need for urgent action to address their operational issues in Harlow and deliver a postal service in which we can all have confidence. I am pleased to report that Royal Mail have accepted these concerns and have taken action to address the staffing issues that have been causing disruption since June.
“Royal Mail have already made changes to their recruitment processes and have implemented measures to incentivise current staff and increase the number of postmen and women serving Harlow. New shift patterns will be implemented to ensure every postcode area gets a scheduled daily delivery and the number of delivery vehicles based in Harlow has also increased, creating greater capacity for deliveries across the town.
“Whilst there is still lots to do before I will be satisfied with the standard of service from Royal Mail in Harlow, I am pleased that some work has begun on addressing the concerns of local people. Royal Mail must now deliver on what they have promised and rebuild the confidence of local people.”
Royal Mail are currently recruiting more postmen and women and delivery office staff in Harlow. These vacancies can be found online at www.jobs.royalmailgroup.com and anybody considering a new opportunity in Harlow is welcome to apply.
