The chair of the Isle of Man Post Office has defended the decision to ask postal workers to take unpaid leave when Storm Eowyn forced closures while office staff were able to work from home.
A red alert weather warning and state of emergency was declared for a time on January 24.
Asked about the issue in Keys, Post Office chair Stu Peters pointed out that the advice issued to the general public and in the interest of the health and safety no mail operations took place.
He said: “Those who could work from home were asked to do so, while studies with roles that did not make this possible were given the choice to either take annual leave, unpaid leave, or to make up their time on their return in line with business needs.”
Fairness
Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Jason Moorhouse challenged the fairness of the policy asking “is there any concern that all staff weren’t treated equally?”
Mr Moorhouse said that |it’s quite clear that some of the higher echelon people were receiving pay as usual, whereas the delivery people weren’t being paid at all”.
Mr Peters dismissed these concerns, responding: “Thankfully, extreme weather is not common, despite the claims of climate alarmists.
“Isle of Man Post Office has an obligation to deliver mail items in line with agreed contracts and service level agreements. A flexible workforce is essential in order to recover when there’s a disruption.”
Mr Moorhouse pressed for figures on any cost savings from the closure, with Mr Peters stating: “I’m not aware that there was any saving at the post office. I may be wrong, and I’ll ask a question, and if there was a saving, I’ll make sure that that’s circulated to the honourable member.”
Mr Peters also confirmed that despite the questioning in Keys, no formal staff complaints were reported about the incident.
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