If many companies will be able to resume normal operation on Monday, at La Poste it will take a few more weeks. Management has presented its deconfinement plan which is to run until May 30. “We are at 584 offices opened in Ile-de-France this week. The goal is to arrive as quickly as possible to open the 856 offices that exist during normal periods, ”said François Laborde, regional delegate of the La Poste group in Ile-de-France.
Priority mail delivered six days a week
On the other hand, from Monday, the distribution of priority mail and parcels will resume over 6 days a week. A new mail delivery service is also offered to prevent vulnerable people from having to travel. It will also be possible to send him his registered mail, thanks to online postage.
This gradual recovery is obviously conditioned by the evolution of the epidemic. "If you have no suspicion of coronavirus, you close the affected office and disinfect it," says the manager.
Other hazards are also likely to thwart these plans. "The sabotage at Orange forced us to close three offices," adds François Laborde. In addition, Swiss Post is still suffering from the effects of the epidemic. "We still have people who are trapped by the babysitters and we have some agents who are sick," he said.
This is what led La Poste to reduce its services at the start of the health crisis. The lack of available staff necessitated a reorganization. "We had to refocus the workforce available at certain post offices," says François Laborde. In most areas, the available postal workers were sent to the main offices.
The objective was to maintain certain essential services such as financial operations. "The first fortnight, it was anything, judge Nancy Balduena, regional secretary of the Federation of postal and telecommunications activities CGT. The employees worked without protection when it was discovered afterwards that there were stocks of masks. "
After adjusting their operation, La Poste gradually opened more offices from April. "We have received gel, masks and gloves for those who wish," says Salimata, account manager at the main office in Montreuil. A special effort was made when social benefits were paid at the start of the month, in priority neighborhoods. Additional means have been put in place these days to deal with this influx of users.
Law enforcement officials called against incivility
The presence of the police in certain sectors has helped to prevent tensions due to the sometimes very long waiting times. That did not prevent the postal workers from facing an increase in incivility, according to Nancy Balduena. "But it is moderate because we had the reinforcement of the police," she adds, hoping that their presence, like that of guards, can be maintained. "We feared them but we did not notice them," replied François Laborde. "Overall, the customers were understanding," adds Salimata. Many thanked us for being there. Some even gave us masks they had made. "
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Post offices will have to work for a while longer with queues at the entrance. Management does not anticipate any change in office traffic on Monday. "Not everyone will be back at the office right away," says François Laborde. I think it's going to be very marginal. Because the people who need to go to the post office today, they go there. "
The same goes for the volume of mail processed. This dropped by 30% at the start of containment, while packages increased significantly. In this area too, the recovery should be very gradual.
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