Correos puts the closure of the La Cala del Moral post office on hold

Post office

The decision comes after Rincón de la Victoria town hall voted unanimously to call on the state-owned company to reconsider and the mayor, Francisco Salado, wrote to the government and the president of Correos, Pedro Saura

José Rodríguez Cámara

Rincón de la Victoria

The post office in La Cala del Moral in Rincón de la Victoria on the eastern Costa del Sol is to remain open after the ... Sociedad Estatal Correos y Telégrafos (Correos), had informed the town hall via the official register in June, that it was planning to close the branch.

The state-owned company explains that, although the closure of this centre was scheduled for 30 June, the branch will remain open for the time being. “Finally, the planned closure of the aforementioned branch has been postponed indefinitely, although it will not take place during the summer period under any circumstances,” Correos has said.

Following the announcement of the closure, the mayor of Rincón de la Victoria, Francisco Salado, wrote to Correos and to the Minister of Finance, Arcadi España, explaining that the closure of the post office would "undermine the very foundations of the public service that we both represent’".

The letter went on to say, “I urge you, as the minister responsible for the Treasury, to use your position to prevent this tremendous harm to Rincón de la Victoria, of which I have the honour of being the mayor."

Previously, in a letter addressed to the chairman of Correos, Pedro Saura, a request was made for an urgent meeting to discuss an issue “of enormous significance for the municipality”, although, as yet, there has been no response.

Motion

In addition to these two letters, the town hall voted in favour of a motion to stop the closure which was unanimously approved by all political parties. The text of the motion, which was addressed to the state-owned company, called for the post office to remain open as an "essential service" for local residents, businesses, self-employed people and workers affected by this measure.

The post office in La Cala del Moral serves a population of over 16,600, a figure that rises significantly during the summer months, as is the case throughout the rest of the municipality, which is experiencing rapid population growth and is already on track to reach 55,000 residents.

The town hall’s position is based on the fact that the closure would mean concentrating all the municipality’s in-person postal services at a single location in Rincón de la Victoria, with the consequent risk of overcrowding, longer waiting times and a loss of local access to public services.

Trade union

The Independent Trade Union and Civil Servants’ Federation (CSIF) echoed the town hall's complaint and explained that the management of Correos in Malaga had recently sent the staff representatives a report justifying the closure on the grounds of "efficiency, optimisation of resources and consolidation of units".

“These arguments mask a worrying and gradual dismantling of the public postal network, leading to the loss of post offices and the disappearance of public services for the citizens affected,” they criticised.

The trade union confederation expressed regret that this stance would lead to staff redeployments which, they argued, “are yet another example of how the workforce of the public postal service is subject to unilateral organisational decisions and direct cuts to public services”.