Coventry mail centre closes

Royal Mail (RM) is on a mission to streamline the business at all costs as it abandons its role as a public service and becomes profit orientated. This has had a drastic impact on workers in Coventry’s Bishop Street mail centre, which will close at the end of the year.

First workers were told they could take voluntary redundancy, but that was withdrawn for many. Apparently Royal Mail couldn’t afford it, even though it made a £404 million profit and paid £3.5 million for Adam Crozier’s departure. Instead many Mail Centre staff are forced to do an 80 mile round trip each night to the new mail centre in Northampton.

Royal Mail try and defend the move saying it has supplied workers with a generous travel package, but this will be withdrawn after three years – leaving workers burdened with high fuel costs. Those that don’t drive will have little choice but to leave Coventry and relocate to Northampton or leave RM.

A Coventry postal worker