POSTIES with minor injuries or illnesses who can’t do delivery work should be given different tasks indoors instead of being signed off sick, postal workers have said.

Delegates at the CWU’s conference in Bournemouth voted overwhelmingly to ask their leadership to negotiate a deal with Royal Mail to formalise this.

Workers are often instructed to take time off work when there is different work that can be done.

Workers say that this means that colleagues are often forced to do overtime to complete this work.

Wessex delegate Rob Hayhurst said: “It can’t be considered business-savvy to send people home when you have to pay to bring people in. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

“All they do is they move that individual’s pay from one budget to another budget.

“The only win the managers get out of it is they can give someone an attendance warning.

“It’s completely morally disgusting.”