Mims Davies MP recently visited the local Royal Mail team:
"It will come as no surprise, that I have received a number of very concerned enquiries from constituents regarding frequency of postal deliveries and the Royal Mail Haywards Heath Sorting office.
My team and I have been making enquiries to the Senior Management team of Royal Mail and to the Minister, but I was resolute I wanted to see the situation for myself.
As hearsay was being fuelled by local TV coverage and social media. My constituents are worried and frustrated at the lack of insight to what is happening and why the service has disintegrated, and it was important to get to the heart of what’s going on.
Last Thursday morning, 14th December, I arrived around 7am at the Haywards Heath Sorting Office to meet Customer Operations Manager, Steve Groombridge, and to talk to his dedicated team.
We got straight to the point; it’s obvious staffing is an issue.
It was explained they have multiple vacancies and yet no one is coming forward to fill these roles. I was assured every effort has been put into recruitment but, far from being a local issue, nationally it’s a problem. Haywards Heath has been hit particularly hard, they were down 23 staff members to cover the 56 rounds after Covid and have sadly still not fully re bounded to the numbers they need.
The Royal Mail, like other businesses, has had to evolve and where primary letters were previously their main delivery function, this has been swiftly overtaken by online shopping and bulky parcels which now make up the larger share of their daily workload. Sorting large objects, in a dated building has its own challenges in Haywards Heath but other sites do have more space. Their priority is getting the delivery done and with the usual Christmas uplift and seasonal sickness, this has added its own pressures. The Royal Mail are committed to deliver to every address, unlike delivery companies that can cherry pick the areas they cover.
During my visit I was struck by the number of years’ service each of our local posties had and was in awe of the steely determination to do the best job possible under extremely difficult circumstances. They are part of our community, love what they do and are really keen they get the items to their customers.
It was obvious from our conversation, it’s not the service this committed and dedicated team want their customers to receive, but each one of the men and women I met are doing their very best to support our community, getting post out to all and aiming for every other day on uncovered rounds, whilst still having to prioritise signed for, next date delivery etc. I was I awe of the work they do and was reminded by Steve the average age for a Postie was 51yrs old. This is a physical and challenging role at any age.
So, this is a loud and encouraging call to arms to come work for the Royal Mail. It’s a great way to get fit, lots of fresh air and the opportunity to get out into our beautiful county and make a real difference to people’s lives: www.jobs.royalmailgroup.com
Additionally, to all the Royal Mail sorting Offices across my Constituency, Burgess Hill, East Grinstead & Haywards Heath I send my very best wishes and thanks to the committed workforce of this essential service.
Rest assured I will be keeping this issue front and centre and dropping in again to check that improvements are being made and support the team who are determined to see this issue resolved to the satisfaction of all."
