Post office, the hell of working at 32 degrees: “It was suffocating”

Barcelona“Is it closed? Why? What time do they open?” These questions have been repeated every second for two days in front of the 35 post office branch, located on Calle Calabria in Barcelona, ​​by users who find that it is closed and that they cannot deliver or collect packages and do not know where they have to go The closure of the branch, in principle temporary, is due to pressure from the unions after the six workers in that office complained for weeks that the cooling system was damaged, with temperatures that “exceeded 32 degrees”, the representatives explain unions of CCOO, UGT and CGT.

“We were forced to act and go to the Labor Inspectorate to apply article 21, which contemplates the closure due to imminent serious risk,” explains CCOO’s risk prevention delegate, Pablo Rosa. “There were high-risk people and it was impossible to work in these conditions,” he adds. As explained by the CGT prevention officer, David Vicente, Correus has been working on this branch for almost a year, which has forced the workers to move to a small part of the premises where the air conditioning system is old and has stopped working. According to the technicians, the air conditioning machine has been disassembled “for weeks”, waiting for a spare part that has not arrived.

During the morning of this Thursday, the Labor Inspectorate visited the branch to review the situation, and now the unions are waiting for the labor authority to ratify the closure and determine the necessary measures to be taken by the Post office for its reopening.

Work at 32 degrees

“It was suffocating, completely unsustainable”, explain the union representatives. “The temperature was around 32 degrees and at some points it even exceeded 33”, they reply, while ensuring that the workers had to go outside to get some air and escape “the unbearable heat” of the office in full heat wave. On average, around 30 people per hour go through this office every day to complete procedures. “People waiting in that temperature, babies and elderly people, and significant condensation … it was unbearable.”

Among the six workers, there were at least two at risk: a worker with a very advanced pregnancy and an employee with cardiovascular problems. “We’ve been asked if they could refuse to work because of the heat,” the unions explain, “and that’s when we saw that we had to act yes or yes.”

During the closure, the company has relocated the six workers to other offices in the neighborhood.

No informants

One of the most shocking things is the lack of information from Correus to users. During the couple of hours that the ARA newspaper was in front of the branch this Thursday morning, more than fifty people who wanted to do some management at the Post Office, and did not understand the closure, passed through the office. Correus has not even put an informer at the door to give users alternatives, and this, as the unions remind, “is a public company”.

The company’s communication is limited to a sign that says packages can be picked up at a nearby office, the one on Carrer Còrsega. Nothing more. “It’s outrageous, and now how do I make this payment?” complained a neighbor. “Do I have to go all the way to Letamendi to send this letter?” replied an old woman who could barely walk.

The Post Office’s intention, however, is to open no later than next Tuesday, August 9, but the unions prefer to “wait to see what the Department of Labor says” to announce the reopening.