Maltapost defends new collection times

Domestic letters posted before 7 p.m. will be delivered by Maltapost within 16 hours regardless of the volume of mail, Maltapost chief executive officer Bob Macgregor said yesterday.

New mail collection times just announced by Maltapost form part of a "clear floor" policy being implemented as part of its commitment to consistently high quality of service, Mr Macgregor said in a statement.

The clear floor policy means that all letters in a mail centre or delivery branch must be processed and delivered by a specified time.

Mr Macgregor`s reply comes in response to complaints from business that the new mail collection times, to be introduced next week, will not favour customers.

Instead of collection times being at 7 a.m and 11 a.m., from Monday they will be at 11. a.m. and 7 p.m. Mondays to Fridays and 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturdays. The same-day delivery service will no longer be possible.

Mr Macgregor said the new collection times would mean that mail would arrive at households and businesses earlier than in the past since in most cases delivery staff would be in a position to start their rounds by 9.30 a.m.

"This is definitely an improvement in the level of service that by now most customers will have noticed. However, all this could not have happened without a change in mail collection times and the introduction of an evening shift, which ensures that mail is sorted at the central mail room the evening before delivery," he said.

Furthermore the early collection times will also help to alleviate some of the hardships encountered by delivery staff as a result of the high temperatures in the summer months.

"The change in the mail collection times was not a capricious decision taken by the management or the board of directors. It is the result of continuous monitoring and studies on the amount of mail that is posted between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m."

Mr Macgregor said that the new mail collection times did not affect companies that used the bulk mail system.

With regard to smaller businesses, studies had shown that the majority of their mail is posted by 6 p.m. That mail will be delivered the following day as it has been in past years, the difference being that it will arrive at its destination earlier.

In a statement, the Union Haddiema Maghqudin said that the new mail collection times had resulted in widespread discontent among employees.

Section secretary Joe Morana said that the current summer delivery arrangement dealt with postmen`s health and safety without affecting the service.

The UHM has asked management to revise its decision in everybody`s interest.