Oxford
LISTEN HERE
 Jessica Goyder is the latest musician to put her singles on our site. Listen here
| THE INSIDER
 Get the lowdown inside the corridors of power in Oxfordshire here.
| SEND AN OBITUARY
Send us a tribute to someone who has passed away
| ON YER BIKE
 Get the view from the gutter with cycling group Cyclox in Oxfordshire
|
|
|
|
Royal Mail sorting will move
More than 400 Royal Mail workers today received final confirmation the Oxford Mail Centre would close as the company shifts its sorting operation to Swindon.
Around 430 staff at the office in Cowley were briefed by senior Royal Mail bosses about the closure more than seven months after Royal Mail signalled its intention to move to a £20m facility in Swindon.
Building work at the new site is expected to be completed this summer with the full transfer of operations from Oxford to be completed by summer 2009.
The announcement ends any hopes the workers had of saving the centre and means from now on even mail posted to address within Oxfordshire will be sorted in Wiltshire.
However, Royal Mail denied the switch would lead to a second class postal service for Oxford. Royal Mail spokesman Richard Hall said: "Delivery and collection operations across the Swindon and Oxford postcode areas will not be affected as a result of this change."
"We believe moving work from Oxford to our extended facility in Swindon, which will be equipped with the latest technologies, will enable us to address an urgent need to improve the reliability of the mail services for our customers in the OX postcode area."
7:00pm Friday 16th May 2008
Print 
Email this 
CommentPosted by: Commie waiter, Abingdon on 8:00pm Fri 16 May 08
Blow the whistle Cullen, all out Bruvs, blow the customers!
Blow the whistle Cullen, all out Bruvs, blow the customers!
Posted by: Mr Ison, England on 8:56pm Fri 16 May 08
The alternative was Mangolore or Edinburgh presumably.
The alternative was Mangolore or Edinburgh presumably.
Posted by: What a farce, Oxford on 9:03pm Fri 16 May 08
So, exactly how is this mail being taken to Swindon? Ah yes on the A420 of course in a fleet of hundreds of lorries belching out fumes and clogging the roads. So lets get this right, the goverment is telling us all to cut our carbon footprints and the Post office has decided that collecting all Oxfords mail, driving it to Swindon to be sorted, and then driving it back is a sensible cost effective way to work. What a complete bunch of incompetant cretins they are.Mind you, pretty soon there won't be any letters to deliver with the way they are closing down post offices. No wonder these idiots are loosing so much money.
So, exactly how is this mail being taken to Swindon? Ah yes on the A420 of course in a fleet of hundreds of lorries belching out fumes and clogging the roads. So lets get this right, the goverment is telling us all to cut our carbon footprints and the Post office has decided that collecting all Oxfords mail, driving it to Swindon to be sorted, and then driving it back is a sensible cost effective way to work. What a complete bunch of incompetant cretins they are.Mind you, pretty soon there won't be any letters to deliver with the way they are closing down post offices. No wonder these idiots are loosing so much money.
Posted by: Mr Ison, England on 9:20pm Fri 16 May 08
The old Royal Mail operated as a monopoly for many years,it was only the shortsighted hatred of the Unions that prevented the company from taking the trade that Fedex,Ups,Dhl and others enjoy today.
That and ministers taking cash for policy.
The Royal Mail of today is very different from that of yesteryear.
People and expectations are the same.
The old Royal Mail operated as a monopoly for many years,it was only the shortsighted hatred of the Unions that prevented the company from taking the trade that Fedex,Ups,Dhl and others enjoy today.
That and ministers taking cash for policy.
The Royal Mail of today is very different from that of yesteryear.
People and expectations are the same.
Posted by: Mupsey, Abingdon on 11:01pm Fri 16 May 08
Well it took from the 14th April to 6th May for a letter to come from Abingdon Town Centre to North Abingdon as it did not have a stamp on it, told it was held up at Oxford Sorting Office for the missing time!
How long would it have taken if it was sent to Swindon possibly about 8 weeks no doubt!
To cap it all they put a £1 surcharge on the letter obviously towards the diesel to send to Oxford and back to Abingdon!
Our post is delayed now God knows what it will be like going via Swindon!!!
Well it took from the 14th April to 6th May for a letter to come from Abingdon Town Centre to North Abingdon as it did not have a stamp on it, told it was held up at Oxford Sorting Office for the missing time!
How long would it have taken if it was sent to Swindon possibly about 8 weeks no doubt!
To cap it all they put a £1 surcharge on the letter obviously towards the diesel to send to Oxford and back to Abingdon!
Our post is delayed now God knows what it will be like going via Swindon!!!
Posted by: Mr Ison, England on 12:01am Sat 17 May 08
Probably faster without the human error.
Probably faster without the human error.
Posted by: How Funny, Oxon on 7:19am Sat 17 May 08
Serves the lazy striking muppets right. So where they all going to ruin next, BMW won't have them back, my bet is they're all going to become bus drivers, so within six months public transport in Oxford will cease to function as drivers go on strike because an inspector asked one of their members to finish his tea and get on his bus which was already ten minutes late. Thankfully after six months intensive counselling the union member is now just about able to drink a cup of tea again and is hopeful of returning to work within the next decade.
Serves the lazy striking muppets right.
So where they all going to ruin next, BMW won't have them back, my bet is they're all going to become bus drivers, so within six months public transport in Oxford will cease to function as drivers go on strike because an inspector asked one of their members to finish his tea and get on his bus which was already ten minutes late.
Thankfully after six months intensive counselling the union member is now just about able to drink a cup of tea again and is hopeful of returning to work within the next decade.
Serves the lazy striking muppets right. So where they all going to ruin next, BMW won't have them back, my bet is they're all going to become bus drivers, so within six months public transport in Oxford will cease to function as drivers go on strike because an inspector asked one of their members to finish his tea and get on his bus which was already ten minutes late. Thankfully after six months intensive counselling the union member is now just about able to drink a cup of tea again and is hopeful of returning to work within the next decade.
Serves the lazy striking muppets right.
So where they all going to ruin next, BMW won't have them back, my bet is they're all going to become bus drivers, so within six months public transport in Oxford will cease to function as drivers go on strike because an inspector asked one of their members to finish his tea and get on his bus which was already ten minutes late.
Thankfully after six months intensive counselling the union member is now just about able to drink a cup of tea again and is hopeful of returning to work within the next decade.
Posted by: Gel, Nr Wantage on 7:49am Sat 17 May 08
Reading sorting office closing too, so putting more misery onto [bold]M4[/bold] and all those emissions.
Reading sorting office closing too, so putting more misery onto
M4 and all those emissions.
Posted by: Jongo, Oxon on 8:13am Sat 17 May 08
Oxford Greenies must be pleased though less carbon emitions in the city from the Bar-b-Ques!
Oxford Greenies must be pleased though less carbon emitions in the city from the Bar-b-Ques!
Posted by: Peter, Oxford on 9:55am Sat 17 May 08
Had the last strike not happened, which incidentally was caused by a serving Police Officer lying, things may have been different.
Read the full story of the strike here because the Oxford Mail are too gutless to publish it but were quick enough to slate the Postal workers.
http://www.iwca-oxfo
rd.org.uk/cgi-bin/ox
iwca.pl?record=11
Had the last strike not happened, which incidentally was caused by a serving Police Officer lying, things may have been different.
Read the full story of the strike here because the Oxford Mail are too gutless to publish it but were quick enough to slate the Postal workers.
http://www.iwca-oxfo
rd.org.uk/cgi-bin/ox
iwca.pl?record=11
Posted by: ken, abingdon on 1:52pm Sat 17 May 08
hah that word gutless reminds me of that nob steve gill who WAS the cause for the last strike,well done steve 430 people owe you big time..
hah that word gutless reminds me of that nob steve gill who WAS the cause for the last strike,well done steve 430 people owe you big time..
Posted by: Mr Ison, England on 3:04pm Sat 17 May 08
It has nothing to do with strikes.
It has nothing to do with strikes.
Posted by: BK, Bicester on 4:40pm Sat 17 May 08
[quote][bold]What a farce[/bold] wrote:
So, exactly how is this mail being taken to Swindon? Ah yes on the A420 of course in a fleet of hundreds of lorries belching out fumes and clogging the roads. So lets get this right, the goverment is telling us all to cut our carbon footprints and the Post office has decided that collecting all Oxfords mail, driving it to Swindon to be sorted, and then driving it back is a sensible cost effective way to work. What a complete bunch of incompetant cretins they are.Mind you, pretty soon there won\'t be any letters to deliver with the way they are closing down post offices. No wonder these idiots are loosing so much money.[/quote] That's right, because people in Oxford will only be sending letters to other people in Oxford wont they??!! Surely it is irelevant where it is sorted as the post is then sent all over the world!
What a farce wrote:
So, exactly how is this mail being taken to Swindon? Ah yes on the A420 of course in a fleet of hundreds of lorries belching out fumes and clogging the roads. So lets get this right, the goverment is telling us all to cut our carbon footprints and the Post office has decided that collecting all Oxfords mail, driving it to Swindon to be sorted, and then driving it back is a sensible cost effective way to work. What a complete bunch of incompetant cretins they are.Mind you, pretty soon there won\'t be any letters to deliver with the way they are closing down post offices. No wonder these idiots are loosing so much money.
That's right, because people in Oxford will only be sending letters to other people in Oxford wont they??!! Surely it is irelevant where it is sorted as the post is then sent all over the world!
Posted by: Dave, Oxford on 11:29am Mon 19 May 08
That's right BK the local hospitals never send out test results to Oxford residents and I'm sure local businesses won't care if delivery and pick up times suffer.
On the bright side a strike in the new sorting office would be even more effective and shut down an even larger area.
That's right BK the local hospitals never send out test results to Oxford residents and I'm sure local businesses won't care if delivery and pick up times suffer.
On the bright side a strike in the new sorting office would be even more effective and shut down an even larger area.
Posted by: Mark Excell, Carterton on 10:48am Thu 17 Jul 08
This might explain why mail is taking more then a week to reach me.
This might explain why mail is taking more then a week to reach me.
Posted by: Postman Pat, Manchester on 11:00pm Fri 15 Aug 08
To right Oxford went on a wild cat strike aswell as the National one.
Liverpool where told when they had there wildcat strike they would be punished oh look there closing down.
London West(paddington) went on a wildcat strike now there be punished as there office is closing and work being moved to London Central
To right Oxford went on a wild cat strike aswell as the National one.
Liverpool where told when they had there wildcat strike they would be punished oh look there closing down.
London West(paddington) went on a wildcat strike now there be punished as there office is closing and work being moved to London Central
What are these links for?
If you liked this article and would like to share it with others on the web who might be searching for good content we've made it easy for you to do it.
At the bottom of all articles, you'll see links to six sites. These sites - commonly called 'social bookmark' or 'social news' sites - have large communities of web users who share and rate interesting, useful and fun things on the web.
Clicking the links will automatically add the address of the story you are reading to one of these sites, letting you share it with others. Each site will ask you to register to share stories. Registration is free and once a member, you can store, recommend and search for stories that interest you.
More on Digg
More on del.icio.us
More on Furl
More on reddit
More on NowPublic/
More on Yahoo!
