Waterford post office drowning in parcels
Waterford's An Post depot.
Postal workers are under severe pressure this week to deliver packages that were due to be delivered before Christmas.
One postal worker said that people have been waiting “weeks” for important letters regarding doctor’s appointments.
Several Waterford postal workers spoke to the Waterford News & Star under the condition of anonymity.
According to them reason for the delays is due to staffing shortages.
“It’s absolute chaos”, they said.
According to several postal workers, around ten postal workers took time off during the Christmas period, and only four relief staff were employed to take over the workload.
One postal worker took three days off work – no post was delivered in that area for three days.
Normally, January is a quiet time for postal workers, but now staff are delivering 300 to 400 packages per day, double their usual workload.
Some people have speculated that the recent shutdown of Fastway has increased the workload for An Post staff.
One postal worker told the Waterford News & Star that it was a “disgrace”. They continued: “There’s stuff still up in Dublin that was supposed to be delivered before Christmas.” Another postal worker told the Waterford News & Star that when they do deliver packages, people are “furious” opening the door.
An Post were reached for comment but declined to answer at the time of publication.
