Lisbon, Sintra, Barreiro, Aveiro and Águeda all saw at least one post office shut today, January 20th, as part of CTT's restructuring plan which already has led to the closure of the Arco da Calheta outlet in Madeira. In the Algarve, the secondary Post Office in Loulé also was shut down.
A Post Office spokesman said that "services provided at these eight access points are now being provided by other access points that are an average of 1,000 metres from the previous ones."
"These eight closures are part of the 22 that, at the beginning of the month, CTT confirmed would happen as part of its adjustment of the supply network, which will be implemented during the first quarter. 14 new CTT access points will complement this adjustment."
Also according to CTT, the slimming down of the Post Office network, "does not affect postal distribution, carried out by postal workers of CTT, which is a totally autonomous network within the service."
CTT confirmed on January 2nd, that 22 stores would be shut, which, according to the Commission of Postal Workers of Portugal, will affect 53 jobs.
The company claims that as there are nearby outlets, customer demand will be met.
The decision to shut Post Offices already has caused local cries of outrage but as the service has been privatised, it is up to the management to maintain profit levels, service provision being secondary to the short-term needs of the company’s new shareholders.
