Royal Mail is losing around 330 postal workers a week, the Communication Workers Union has claimed, blaming the rollout of a new delivery system known as DM26 that has reorganised routes in about 1,000 of the company's 1,200 delivery offices.
Under DM26, second-class post is delivered only every other weekday, while first-class mail and parcels are delivered daily, and staff work in groups of three with changed walking patterns. Workers told the BBC that parcels are being prioritised, step counts and workloads have risen, and some warned customers could face a difficult Christmas as parcel volumes climb.
The CWU is urging a pause to further rollout until problems are addressed, and believes many of those leaving are new starters or part-time staff, though longer-serving workers are also going. Royal Mail says the changes are intended to create a more sustainable service.
The dispute comes weeks after Royal Mail announced about 2,500 head office roles would go by the end of next year in a major transformation programme, even as the company plans to recruit roughly 22,000 seasonal workers for the Christmas peak.
