CTT wants to reduce the opening hours of several post offices located in parish councils, a measure that is generating controversy among mayors. At issue is the change from current hours of between six and seven hours a day to just three and a half hours, with a reduction in compensation paid to parishes from October onwards.
The company justifies the decision with the “sharp structural drop in demand for the traditional postal service” and with the levels of demand and traffic volumes recorded at each post. Questioned by the agency, CTT stated that, in the vast majority of cases covered, these services serve an average of less than 15 customers per day.
Despite the justification, several mayors consider that the measure represents a loss of proximity for aging populations, many of them without effective transport alternatives and accustomed to resorting to local offices to pick up renovations, parcels or registered mail.
Parishes contest reduction of working hours
In the municipality of Torres Vedras, the parish of Maxial and Monte Redondo is among those covered by the CTT proposal. The reduction should affect the service installed in Monte Redondo, a location located approximately 12 kilometers from the city.
Nelson Aniceto, president of the parish assembly, considers that the measure represents a reduction in an essential public service. The mayor highlighted to Lusa that the population is mostly elderly and depends on the post to carry out renovations or orders.
Also in Campelos and Outeiro da Cabeça, in the same municipality, the reduction proposal affects Campelos. The president of the board, José Damas Antunes, recognizes that the service no longer has the same centrality as in other times, but argues that it continues to be useful for the population.
According to the mayor, the reduction in working hours will be penalizing, especially for those who use the post to deal with registered mail or to take advantage of the concentration of services existing in that location.
Sobral de Monte Agraço and Lourinhã also affected
In the municipality of Sobral de Monte Agraço, the Sapataria Parish Council also disagrees with the decision. The president, Cláudia Santos, recalls that the parish is around 15 kilometers from the municipality’s headquarters and that many people use the post to receive renovations, pick up packages or deliver mail.
The mayor contested the measure with the CTT administration, but states that, in response, a new timetable between 9 am and 12 pm was imposed on her from July onwards, and not just in October, as had been initially informed.
In Lourinhã, the parishes of Marteleira and Miragaia are in a similar situation. The postal service operates at the Miragaia facilities and the president of the board, Mónica Severino, considers the reduction unfair and penalizing.
The mayor argues that many users avoid going to Lourinhã because in Miragaia they find a faster, more personalized service that operates at lunchtime.
Elderly populations may be more penalized
The reduction in working hours mainly concerns parishes with aging populations and less access to public transport. This is the case of Moita dos Ferreiros, also in the municipality of Lourinhã.
The president of the board, Rui Perdigão, states that the population is used to using local support services and that the lack of effective transport makes it difficult to go to alternatives in the towns of Lourinhã or Bombarral.
According to the mayor, these locations are approximately 10 and seven kilometers away, respectively, which makes the reduction of the local post particularly sensitive for many residents.
For Rui Perdigão, the measure represents the withdrawal of a service of great importance to the community and also penalizes the accounts of parish councils, due to the reduction in the financial compensation paid by CTT.
CTT say there will be alternatives nearby
CTT guarantees that the planned reductions take into account the existence of alternative access points within a short distance. The company ensures that the measure does not put the population’s access to the provision of postal services at risk.
The company frames the decision within the evolution of the postal sector, marked by a structural break in traditional mail. Fewer letters and less postal traffic lead, according to CTT, to the need to adjust schedules to the effective demand for each location.
Still, the mayors dispute that the analysis is made solely based on the average number of customers. For parishes, the social value of the service must weigh as much as demand indicators.
Some mayors showed willingness to maintain full working hours, even with less financial compensation, as the general service of the councils continues to operate throughout the day.
Measure may affect parishes at national level
According to the mayors interviewed by Lusa, the reduction in working hours is not limited to the municipalities of Torres Vedras, Sobral de Monte Agraço and Lourinhã. The measure will affect other parishes in the region and also across the country.
The discontent has already been transmitted to the National Association of Parishes, which is negotiating with CTT. The boards hope that the process will allow the application of the measure to be reviewed or adjusted, especially in territories where the post office continues to play an important social role.
The discussion brings two realities into conflict: on the one hand, the drop in demand for the traditional postal service; on the other, the need to maintain proximity services in locations far from urban centers.
For many mayors, the problem is not just the number of appointments per day, but the impact that the reduction could have on populations that depend on these posts for simple, but essential, daily tasks.
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