Milford Haven postmen lead campaign to stop sorting office closure (From Western Telegraph)

Milford Haven postmen lead campaign to stop sorting office closure

11:32am Friday 10th February 2012 in Milford Haven

IF PROPOSALS to close the Milford Haven sorting office go ahead, ‘quality of service will be affected’, staff have said.

A campaign and petition to save the facility is now being led by staff, who along with supporters and councillors gathered in the town on Tuesday to raise awareness of a petition to keep the facility open.

Royal Mail is currently undertaking a feasibility study into the possibility of closing the Robert Street office and moving the 28 members of staff to its Merlins Bridge base in Haverfordwest.

John Rusinek, a postman in the town for over 24 years, said: “We are asking the kind people of Milford to support our campaign, sign the petition and contact Royal Mail senior management highlighting their objections.

“It is a cost cutting exercise. We are the most efficient office in south Wales and it is going to affect the quality of service.”

Mr Rusinek said if the proposed move was to go ahead it would be ‘a nail in the coffin for Milford Haven’.

Cllr Anne Hughes said she was delighted the campaign was building momentum and Cllr Vivien Stoddart said this was the ‘time to fight’ and urged people to get behind the campaign.

Royal Mail spokesman Mike Norman said there would be no compulsory redundancies as a result of the proposed merger.

“Whenever a delivery office move goes ahead, we would always offer our customers alternative means of receiving undelivered items of mail, including re-delivery to the addressee, to another local address specified by the customer, or to arrange collection from a nearby Post Office branch.

“We also operate an open and honest policy with our staff and any modernisation or efficiency proposals being considered would always involve full discussions with all staff affected by any proposed change.”

Milford Haven Town Council has written to Royal Mail insisting that the ‘largest town west of Llanelli should retain its sorting office’ adding that it ‘does not consider any other alternative to be satisfactory’.

You can sign the online petition at www.gopetition.com/ petitions/save-royal-mail-milfordhaven- from-closing.html or paper petitions are also available to sign at shops and businesses throughout the town.