Steve McCabe MP, Birmingham Selly Oak, was up bright and early, but not nearly as early as the staff at Howard Rd Sorting Office many of whom start at 4am, to see how they are coping with the huge pressures of the Christmas rush.
Moseley Delivery Office on Howard Road, which serves a large area of South Birmingham, employs 1010 staff at present and can cope with between 8,000 and 13,000 parcels every day with letters, Christmas cards and business communications on top.
The staff will be working right up till Christmas Day when they get a two day break and then it’s back to sorting and pounding the streets.
Steve was shown round the office by local Delivery Office Manager Martin Rudge and chatted with Colin Pettigrew who has been a postman for over 20 years and covers the Druids Heath area.
Martin told Steve that one common problem at this time of year is confusion with Bolton and the B13 and B14 postcodes which results in a surprisingly high volume of Bolton mail finding its way to Birmingham before being redirected.
Steve said: “It was great to meet the dedicated, hard-working Royal Mail postmen and women at Moseley delivery office who are working hard to make sure people in Birmingham receive their Christmas parcels and cards on time. Postmen and women do such an important job at this time of year, on any given day they can sort through up to 13,000 parcels! I wish them all the best over the busy festive period.”
The recommended last posting dates for mail are:
- Friday 20 December for 1st Class items
- Wednesday 18 December for 2nd Class items
- Monday 23 December for Special Delivery items
The remaining recommended International posting dates for 2013 are:
- Monday 9 December for airmail to Cyprus and Eastern Europe
- Tuesday 10 December for airmail to Canada, France, Greece, Poland
- Friday 13 December for airmail to USA
- Saturday 14 December for airmail items to Western Europe (excluding France, Greece, Poland)