The CCOO, workers uninion for Correos in Alicante states that “due to the lack of coverage for absences during the holidays, the postal service is on the verge of collapse throughout the province, where during the current month of July some locations, such as Calpe, Alcoy, Orihuela, Denia, Ibi, Aspe, Torrevieja and Callosa del Segura among others, suffered a cut of more than 60% of the usual staff, leaving in some cases only 3 delivery drivers out of every 10 regular workers.”
The union criticises the company’s “zero hiring” approach, which hires almost no one and fails to fill in for absences during holidays, instead forcing the remaining employees to shoulder the full task. According to union sources, this business model has major ramifications for both employees and residents of the affected communities.
“The lack of staff forces those who remain in the workplace to assume the entire workload, which, when distributed, requires extending their routes, with the consequent increase in exposure time to the extreme heat experienced in our province, exponentially increasing the risk of suffering from exhaustion, health problems, and even heat stroke, which is potentially fatal.” The CCOO (Working Council of Workers’ Parties) notes that, in general, but especially in some provinces, “alerts for extreme heat waves are increasingly common,” and that the government and the Ministry of Labour require reducing exposure time to heat to reduce the risk of health problems, particularly with the high temperatures experienced during afternoon shifts. However, the report appears to mean little or nothing to firm executives.”
At the same time as these poor working conditions, the union points out that “not having enough staff in delivery and offices leads to a decline in the service given to people, causing thousands of letters, notifications, packages, and other shipments to go undelivered, which results in harm and delays for the recipients, and even missed medical appointments.”
CCOO has decried the situation and sought answers from the company’s management, which undoubtedly includes employing workers to fill vacation absences, as has been done in prior years. However, considering the managers’ attitude—prioritizing cost savings over decent working conditions and public service quality—the CCOO does not rule out publicly highlighting the management’s incompetence, nor does it dismiss the possibility of calling strikes.
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