What happens to undelivered mail after post office strikes ends?
JOBURG - Months of industrial action by postal workers across the country have resulted in tons of undelivered post, but what happens to this backlog when the strike ends?
The crippling postal workers strike is entering its third month and undelivered items are being added to the growing piles in South African Post Office’s (Sapo) depots daily.
The post office did not indicate the extent of the backlog of post due the strike, but said operations were gradually improving as more employees were returning to work.
However, the post office refuted public claims that typically undelivered mail never reached its intended recipient once previous strikes ended.
“After these strikes end, no one ever sees or gets the old post; it just seems to disappear,” said Digby Wesson.
Wesson, who subscribed to about 12 magazines and received these via post every month, said he never saw the issues that were posted during the strike, along with all the bills, gifts, vehicle licence renewals and other renewals once previous strikes had been resolved.
“I have not had a single bit of post in the last two months and guess I will never see it… I can truly believe they destroy it.”
However, the post office asserted that the backlog of post would be delivered.
“The backlog in Gauteng should take roughly ten weeks to deliver completely,” said Malusi Fuphe, the post office’s regional spokesperson.
According to Fuphe, during a strike all mail was stored until it could be delivered.
“The Post Office does not destroy mail that is delayed by any circumstances – it is illegal,” said Fuphe.
Customers who wished to trace undelivered mail or parcels, could send the tracking number of the item to customer.services@postoffice.co.za and a track-and-trace consultant would inform the customer of the status of the item, Fuphe said.
Workers in Gauteng had been on strike since 18 August demanding increases and casual workers be made permanent.
The strike was peppered with incidents of intimidation and violence and ongoing negotiations had not yielded a resolution.
Last week, the post office’s board resigned and according to Telecommunications Minister Siyabonga Cwele, the board stepped down voluntarily.
