Royal Mail’s Kentish Town sorting office closure prompts jobs fears
Royal Mail attempts to reassure staff and customers as it switches operation
Published: 26th May, 2011
by DAN CARRIER
THE Royal Mail’s Kentish Town sorting office is to close, prompting fears of job losses and late deliveries.
The closure of the Regis Road depot was announced on Monday, confiring sorting offices, delivery rounds and parcel collections will be moved south to the office behind Euston station off Eversholt Street.
The Royal Mail blamed falling business for the closure. It said fewer people send letters and parcels, and said new machines at the Eversholt Street sorting office meant the Regis Road depot was no longer efficient.
Communication Workers Union representative Tony Davis said the news had come out of the blue, and criticised the management of the timing of the announcement.
“This is shocking,” he said. “They waited until our union representatives were away at our annual conference to announce this to the staff on the shop floor. They offered no discussions and understandably the people working here are very worried about this.”
Mr Davis said it could lead to job losses, with more rounds being done by part-time workers.
He added: “Customers will get their post later as the service will be slowed down so much by this decision. Post workers will have to travel that much further to start their rounds.”
He predicted post would arrive in NW5 around two hours later than it currently does.
Kentish Town Road Action Group chairwoman Caroline Hill said she feared the decision would lead to a worse service for homes and businesses. She added: “This will affect everyone in the Kentish Town area.
“They have always offered a great service – the people there are so helpful and nice and so we are also concerned about any job losses.
“We also are worried that for older people who will have to travel an extra distance to pick up their parcels, and how this may affect businesses in Kentish Town Road.”
Around 50 staff are based at the office, which is leased by Royal Mail. A spokesman said they were still thrashing out the details of the move, expected to be completed by October, and may surrender the lease or find a new use for the building.
The spokeswoman said: “We do not think there will be any compulsory redundancies and we are planning to talk to staff about what this means for individuals. There has been a lot of speculation but we are just starting to plan the move in detail and are liaising with the office in Camden Town on where they will move to.”
The spokeswoman said the lease had not expired and that they were still reviewing all the options for the site.
She said they would work to ensure deliveries in Kentish Town were not affected.
“The move of the Kentish Town operation which delivers mail to customers in the NW5 postcode area will provide improved working conditions, secure employment and a more cost-effective operation,” the spokeswoman added.
“We may use this opportunity to look at how rounds are organised. Some people will always get their post earlier than others as they will be at the start of a round, while other people will be at the end.
“We are committed to keeping a high level of service in the area.”
• POSTAL workers this week voted in favour of strike action against plans to close three mail centres including the huge central London delivery office in Rathbone Place, Fitzrovia. Operations from the site, which serves W1, WC1 and WC2, are set to be relocated to the Mount Pleasant mail centre in Clerkenwell. Around 1,000 people work in the Rathbone Place office.