Royal Mail Fail

[Gob]

A village postwoman who clung to the bonnet of her van in a ‘courageous’ bid to stop a thief driving off with the mail has been threatened with the sack.

Julie Roberts, 51, held on to the moving vehicle for a mile as it weaved through narrow country lanes in a desperate effort to thwart the crook from stealing her deliveries.

Eventually, the thief halted the vehicle and ran off with only a handful of letters.

But far from thanking Miss Roberts’ for her brave actions, her bosses at Royal Mail have launched a disciplinary inquiry and suspended her.

She fears managers will blame her for the opportunistic theft, after she left the keys in the ignition while she stepped out to retrieve a pen that had fallen a few feet away during a delivery.

Outraged MPs, led by the leader of the House of Commons, Sir George Young, have called for her to be reinstated immediately, rather than punished.

And hundreds of people have written to both Royal Mail and Miss Roberts demanding she returns to her round in South Staffordshire, where she has delivered the post for the past 13 years.

Speaking from her home in Wombourne, near Wolverhampton, Miss Roberts, who has worked for Royal Mail for 21 years, said: ‘Being a postie is not just a job, you’re part of the community.

'I see all the same people every day, say hello and have a chat and get to know about their lives.

‘They’re the same with me, know all about my ups and downs and they are more like friends.

‘So when I saw someone trying to steal the mail of people I care about there was no way I was going to let them.’

After spotting she had dropped her pen while making deliveries in April, she jumped out of her van to retrieve it, only to see a thief had jumped into the driving seat and locked the doors.

‘It was just instinct I jumped on the bonnet and held on for dear life. All the time he was driving I was shouting at him to stop the van,’ she said. ‘I wasn’t really frightened, just determined to hang on.’

But her determination paid off, and the driver finally abandoned the vehicle. A 30-year-old man was later arrested and bailed for aggravated vehicle taking and theft.

‘After he had gone villagers ran up to me to check I was all right. It was a few days later that the whole thing hit me. It was just a bit of delayed shock, but I’ve been struggling a bit since then,’ she said.

‘Colleagues have been brilliant and kept in touch. And I’ve had loads of support from customers. I have had 130 letters and I know people have written to Royal Mail on my behalf. I just want this to be over with so I can move on.’

Unmarried Miss Roberts has no children, risks losing her house if she is sacked by Royal Mail, as she will struggle to keep up the mortgage payments.

Friend Phillipa Day said: ‘It was a snap decision. She dropped her pen and she quickly picked it up and then someone was trying to get in her van.

‘I am quite glad she left the key in the ignition otherwise she would have got beaten up for it.

‘She stopped a robbery and she is being punished for it. Royal Mail have not mentioned her heroism. She has rheumatoid arthritis in her hands, so you would not expect her to hang on to a bonnet like that for that long.

‘All Royal Mail are asking her about is why she left her keys in the van. What they are doing to her is not fair. She deserves better.’

Her views are echoed by Sir George, who said she deserves an award for her bravery, rather than the loss of her job.

‘Julie sounds a courageous lady who was doing her best to defend Royal Mail property,’ he said, adding he would speak to the chairman of Royal Mail to ‘make sure that this lady is recognised as appropriate, rather than penalised’.

South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson said: ‘People in South Staffordshire want her back in work and they want Royal Mail to show some common sense and some common decency.’

A Royal Mail spokesman said: ‘We cannot discuss individuals but Royal Mail takes very seriously the security of its customers’ mail and the wellbeing of our employees.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1Pm6oOHN2

[Lord Jim]

From this and similar articles you've posted Strop, it appears that courage, diligence, and trying to prevent wrong doing have become punishable offenses in the UK....

[Sean]

That's been the case for some time now Jim. It's just lucky they abolished the death penalty...

[Gob]

Depends Jim. Mostly it depends on the size of the newspaper it's printed in....

[Jarlaxle]

This is not at all complicated: She violated a very clear rule by leaving the keys in the ignition. Her actions after doing so have no bearing on that fact. Fire her.

[The Hen]

This is a VILLAGE postie. Of course she left her keys in the van whilst she was just a couple of feet a way. She was reckless in trying to save the mail. She isn't called Pat is she?

[Jarlaxle]

Again: This is not at all complicated: She violated a very clear rule by leaving the keys in the ignition. Her actions after doing so have no bearing on that fact. Fire her.

[Scooter]

This is a VILLAGE postie. Of course she left her keys in the van whilst she was just a couple of feet a way.

Village or not, it was enough time for a thief to jump in the van and drive off. And that's completely on her.

I'm not necessarily saying she should be sacked, but discipline of some kind is in order. If an exception is made in her case because she managed to discourage the thief, what happens in the next case? What if someone tries every bit as hard as her, but doesn't manage to recover the vehicle? What if another postie is seriously injured or killed trying to emulate her after making her mistake, because he/she thinks it will save his/her job?

[BoSoxGal]

I am suspicious of the underlying facts as described - picking up a pen a few feet away (define few?) would be very unlikely to provide enough time for a thief to jump in the vehicle. Maybe she was gabbing at length with one of her friendly supporters?

Any case, even if she clearly violated the rules, surely there is room for disciplinary action (a write up?) short of sacking.

[loCAtek]

Depends Jim. Mostly it depends on the size of the newspaper it's printed in....

It does: a good friend of mine is a postal carrier and what she did was against [US] outlined procedure, by endangering herself and others. Guess this printing couldn't hold all that.

[Guinevere]

Employers have rules for a reason, and they have an obligation to consistently enforce those rule, else they become worthless. The article only says she is being suspended pending an investigation, which is a standard process. I expect (although the article does not say) she is being suspended with pay. Her contract should spell out that process, and if its any thing like public sector contracts in the US, the discipline may be "progressive" -- which generally means no sacking on a first offense (but again, there is may be different starting points for for different offenses).

[Crackpot]

How much less would they be worth?

[Guinevere]

Worthless = "wholly without value." An employer will have a difficult time enforcing at all, what it does not enforce consistently.

(edited for clarity)

[Lord Jim]

How much less would they be worth?

You're a trouble maker CP....

[Rick]

You can tell he enjoys it too...

[Rick]

I bet Jr grows up to be one sarcastic son of his wife...

[Gob]

Update;

A village postwoman who bravely clung to the bonnet of her mail van to foil a thief has been demoted.

Julie Roberts had briefly stopped during her round and stepped out of the van to pick up a pen she had dropped when the opportunistic thief jumped in to the vehicle and began to drive off.

She hurled herself on to the bonnet and clung on for a mile as the man drove down country lanes in Trysull, South Staffordshire. The thief eventually gave up and made off with just a few letters.

But instead of receiving praise for risking her life, Miss Roberts, 51, was suspended by Royal Mail and threatened with the sack... for leaving the keys in the ignition.

At the time her story came to light, she received more than 100 letters of support from members of the public who also wrote to Royal Mail demanding she be returned to her round where she has delivered the post for 13 years.

MPs, including the leader of the Commons Sir George Young, called for the suspension to be lifted. But instead of reinstating Miss Roberts to the delivery job that she loves, the company has relocated her to a sorting office in Wolverhampton. Miss Roberts – who has worked for Royal Mail for 21 years – is appealing against the decision.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1SPFFsf88

[loCAtek]

'Thought so

[The Hen]

Her appeal will be heard soon. With luck she will move back to her village postie position once more.



A win for commonsense.