Sources claim that the Royal Mail is prioritising the delivers of parcels over Christmas cards. According to workers at Royal Mail offices parcels from retailers and big brand names have had precedence over presents, greetings cards and even hospital appointments.

Royal Mail: “Parcels have priority over Christmas cards” sources say: Levels of service across the country have been affected by the pandemic, social distancing and the fact that a great number of staff have been forced to self-isolate. Strict Ofcom regulations state that 93% of first class post nationwide must be delivered within 24 hours of collection which, it is claimed, has started a renewed focus on parcel deliveries.

Postmen from a Royal Mail factory in the East Midlands said “We work in a small delivery office but we’re part of a bigger subnetwork. There’s only six or seven of us, but management has still been out to say that parcels take priority above letters. In the main offices self-isolation has been a big issue. And of course that impacts on the amount of staff to deliver letters and parcels.

It’s been like Christmas since March and now cards have gone through the roof, parcels have gone through the roof. The main priority now is the service that we use that tracks items, and special delivery items. They’re relying on overtime just to keep our heads above the water.” In July the Royal Mail was fined £1.5 million for failure to meet first class delivery targets while in 2018 they received a £50 million fine for a serious breach of competition law.

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