L’Hospitalet post office crisis has reached critical levels as unions warn of overwhelming staff shortages affecting mail delivery across Barcelona’s second-largest city.
According to recent reports, more than twenty postal workers remain absent without replacement, leaving multiple delivery sections operating with minimal staffing.
The situation has been further complicated by the arrival of 65,000 notifications for the new waste tax that must be delivered by December 5th.
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These certified documents require personal signatures, significantly slowing down the delivery process during what is already the busiest period of the year.
L’Hospitalet post office crisis worsens during peak season
Union representatives from both CGT and CCOO have expressed serious concerns about the mounting pressure on remaining staff. Furthermore, they highlight that the notification backlog coincides with increased parcel volumes from Black Friday and the approaching Christmas campaign.
Charo Calvillo, provincial secretary of CCOO’s postal section, explained the practical challenges. “Each certified notification requires the recipient’s signature, which can take up to ten minutes per delivery,” she stated. “A worker might only manage 40-50 signed deliveries in their available four-hour distribution window.”
Postal service management maintains that operations continue “with total normality” in L’Hospitalet. However, union officials counter that the company’s plan to hire only five or six temporary workers next week falls far short of addressing the current emergency.
This staffing crisis comes at a time when Barcelona’s cost of living continues to rise, adding financial pressure on residents who depend on reliable postal services for official communications and bill payments.
Meanwhile, David Vicente, general secretary of CGT Transport in Barcelona, noted that similar delivery delays have previously caused problems for residents facing late payment surcharges on official notifications. Fortunately, the Barcelona Provincial Council has clarified that payment deadlines only begin once residents physically receive their waste tax certificates.
The current L’Hospitalet post office crisis represents an ongoing pattern of staffing issues within the postal service. Union representatives recall similar problems occurring two years ago, though they emphasize that the current situation is significantly more severe due to the additional notification burden.
As the December deadline approaches, postal workers face the daunting task of managing ordinary mail, holiday packages, and thousands of time-sensitive notifications with critically reduced staffing levels.
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