Mystery 'unofficial walkout' by Havant Delivery Office staff leaves customers angry and Royal Mail baffled

The ‘unballoted industrial action’ at Havant Delivery Office caught out the Royal Mail hierarchy which was forced to apologise over the sudden downing of tools by staff.

The reason for the action is not yet known by the company – with a spokesman admitting ‘we’re not sure why they walked out’.

But ‘deliveries were affected’ with the spokesman conceding there was ‘disruption’ over the walkout.

The Royal Mail has confirmed that staff have now returned to work with deliveries back to normal.

However, The News understands the office was still in lockdown after 4pm today – leaving customers angry. ‘I have had no delivery since Tuesday and am expecting urgent parcels (paid extra for next day delivery),’ one resident said.

A statement on the Royal Mail website read: ‘We're pleased to confirm that all staff have returned to work today, Thursday January 16. We'll be delivering as normal in the PO9 and PO10 postcode areas today.

‘However, mail volumes and delivery times may be different to normal as we work to recover from yesterday's unballoted industrial action.

‘The Customer Service Point at Havant is open for you to collect any item of mail for which we've left you a 'Something for you' card. Collections will be taking place as normal today. We're very sorry for any inconvenience caused by this action.’