IOMPO expresses its sincere apologies to customers whose service will be affected through the CWU choosing to ballot for strike action, on what will be the lead up to the business’s busiest weekend of the year. Therefore, IOMPO urges customers to post early and order online as soon as possible for Christmas and avoid leaving it until nearer the time. IOMPO will do all they can to work with the CWU to avoid the strike.
Maintaining the flow of mail to and from the Island over the two strike days will be IOMPO’s priority and Post Office management is planning for the worst case scenario to try to minimise disruption to customers and delay to their mail. With potentially more than 200 experienced members of staff out on strike, customers are advised that an Island-wide doorstep delivery of standard post will not be possible. IOMPO will prioritise premium services (Special Delivery and Parcelforce 24), Yodel parcel deliveries and business services for commercial clients. Depending on how many people attend for work on the strike days, IOMPO will try to deliver and collect as much other mail as possible.
Simon Kneen, Chief Executive of IOMPO said: “We will receive both air and sea mail into the Island on the mornings of both strike days as normal and make evening airmail despatches to the UK. We will be contacting our business customers separately to explain our contingencies to try to maintain the flow of mail they need during the two days.”
He continued: “Special Delivery and Parcelforce next–day guaranteed items will be delivered on strike days although may be subject to a small time delay. Meanwhile, the despatch of Special Delivery and Parcelforce items on those evenings will be as normal and the time guarantee for both services will remain in place.”
The customer counter at Postal Headquarters will be open as usual from 07:00hrs –19.30hrs on the strike days prioritising the collection of Christmas parcels. For any other postal transactions, customers are kindly encouraged to use an alternative post office close by to Postal Headquarters such as Anagh Coar, Pulrose or Union Mills. While our Vehicle and Driving Licensing counter will be open normal hours should customers wish to purchase a vehicle or driving licence.
The Retail Network across the Island will be open as normal as will the self-service Pay and Post kiosks located in the Spar, Colby; Strand Street Post Office, Douglas; Sea Terminal; Tesco, Lake Road, Douglas; Shoprite, Victoria Road, Douglas; Station Garage, Castletown; Shoprite, Peel; Shoprite, Ramsey; Postal Headquarters, Douglas and Ramsey Post Office. MiCard customers will be unaffected.
The customer counter at the Southern Delivery Office will be open as normal but there will be reduced opening hours at the counter provided at the Northern Delivery Office of 09.00hrs – 17:00hrs.
IOMPO’s Integrated Mailing Solutions (IMS) division will continue to be open offering printing, fulfilment and scanning services. IOMPO expect to operate “business as usual‟ as much as possible for its premium services and would like to thank customers in advance for their patience and understanding during this unsettling time.
Mr Kneen said: “The full management team will be working over the two days together with other members of staff who choose not to strike. It has been confirmed that some CWU staff will attend work on the strike days. I wish to thank all my staff in advance for their hard work and additional hours they have offered to work to maintain a level of service for our customers during the strike period, which is our busiest time of the year. Every effort will be made to catch-up on any backlog of mail caused by the strike action. This recovery will be a similar experience to those days when the Island’s transport links have failed to bring in the mail due to fog bound weather etc. We will continue to keep our customers as fully up-to-date as possible regarding the latest news.”
Regular updates will be available on IOMPO’s dedicated ‘Strike action updates’ web page www.iompost.com/strike and IOMPO kindly request customers check here for the latest news before calling the Customer Services Team. Alternatively, customers are welcome to register for a service update by emailing the Customer Services Team at customer.services@iompost.com
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