Post calls in extra delivery staff

The Royal Mail is today battling to head off a new crisis as it drafts in thousands of staff to deliver the Christmas post on time.

Some 4,440 extra workers are being deployed in London alone in an attempt to get cards and parcels delivered on time, despite the capital's sub-standard postal system.

The challenge is made even stiffer by the huge amount of mail being sent this year. Some 198 million letters and parcels will have been posted in the four weeks leading to Christmas - up five per cent on last year.

Across the country the company will handle more than 2.2 billion cards and letters throughout the month.

In a year when the company has seen thousands of job losses and crippling strikes, it is more important than ever for Consignia that the Christmas post goes smoothly.

Consignia, formerly known as the Post Office, has already suffered the embarrassment of running out of second-class Christmas stamps a full two weeks before the holiday starts.

A spokesman for Consignia's Royal Mail arm said the company was "working our socks off" to ensure that performance standards were met.

However, he admitted that - even with thousands more staff - the massive volumes of mail sent in such a concentrated period was likely to have an effect on customers getting their mail.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "The sheer volume of mail for Christmas cannot be overlooked.

He added: "However, if people do post mail by the last recommended postal date for first-class mail - tomorrow - that mail should arrive by Christmas Eve."

The final delivery date for second-class mail was Tuesday. As in previous years the two daily deliveries are being compressed into one to "maximise efficiency".

Royal Mail is anxious to avoid an embarrassing delivery record over Christmas that could further increase the chances of new licences being awarded to private companies.

Extra staff are being concentrated in the busy WC and EC postal codes. Some 2,000 workers will boost the workforce in the central area, where mail volumes for the month will double from 20 million items to 40 million items. Nationally, some 25,000 extra staff will be called in to help.

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