A disgruntled senior postal clerk claims the new hours at the Airport Air Mail Facility are causing mail delays.

The clerk, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Royal Gazette the public was being "shortchanged'' by the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. work hours.

Workers started two hours earlier -- instead of 9 a.m. -- in an attempt to cool the temperature off a dispute that saw postal workers at the air mail centre in St. George's walk off the job.

The work stoppage was based on poor working conditions -- including poor air-conditioning.

"Everyone is making 7 a.m. and therefore the truck drivers' last pick up is 1 p.m., rather than 4 p.m.,'' the clerk claimed. "So mail which comes in after 1 p.m. today (Friday) will not go out until around Tuesday. They will spend Monday sorting it.'' He added that express mail was also not expected to leave the Island until Monday.

The clerk questioned why the drivers were making the same hours as the staff who work inside the building.

"The drivers do not need any air-conditioning,'' he pointed out. "They can let the drivers come in and pick up the mail.'' And the clerk added: "When they pick it up at 1 p.m. it is very light. The bulk of the mail usually does not come in until 4 p.m. All the sub post offices will have mail just sitting around.'' The Postmaster General, he said, should allow the drivers to go back to their regular work hours.

"They work outside in the heat anyway and they don't mind,'' the clerk said.

"People are paying a whole pile of money thinking it (express mail) will go out the next day. This is not right.'' When contacted yesterday, Postmaster General Clevelyn Crichlow said disgruntled postal workers should "call their union'' with complaints.

"There is nothing I can do,'' Mr. Crichlow said. "The hours were agreed upon by the unions.'' He added the post office was not experiencing a mail delay due to the new work hours and suggested that the clerk was "just trying to be a nuisance''.

Sinclair Swan, chief shop steward for the Bermuda Public Service Association (Post Office Division), told The Royal Gazette he had no knowledge of any employee complaints regarding the new work hours.

"We have had no reports or calls,'' Mr. Swan said. "I got a report yesterday that, in fact, the mail was moving quicker. I don't know where this is coming from.''