SINGAPORE — In six hours, a postman has to deliver mail items to an average of around 20 Housing and Development Board blocks, or about 2,000 dwelling units.

This was disclosed by Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim in Parliament on Tuesday (Feb 27), responding to a question tabled by Member of Parliament for Nee Soon GRC Louis Ng.

Mr Ng asked whether the Info-Communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) limits the number of letter boxes a postman has to cover per day as well as whether there are regulations in place to safeguard the working conditions of postmen.

Dr Yaacob said the IMDA does not limit the number of letter boxes each postman serves.

“As a licensee, SingPost is required to plan and optimise its operations to meet the IMDA’s Postal Quality of Service standards, namely to deliver 100 per cent of all basic letters within two working days of posting,” he said, adding that IMDA will take regulatory actions such as imposing financial penalties if SingPost fails to meet these standards.

Mr Ng’s question came after a high-profile incident last month involving one such postman caught on video discarding returned letters and direct mail.

The postman, who has since been dismissed, claimed in the video that he had over 2,600 letter boxes to cover in a day.

Dr Yaacob told the House that the IMDA was investigating the issue, and will communicate the outcome to SingPost when it is done.

The minister also noted that SingPost had recently reviewed its postman delivery routes, to ensure that each postman’s workload “is equitably distributed”.

During peak periods where there are higher mail volumes, SingPost may engage temporary postal workers for sorting duties, redeploy staff or request postmen to work overtime to ensure that mail are delivered in a timely manner, Dr Yaacob added.

Postmen who work overtime are also given overtime pay, he said.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, a SingPost spokesperson said the most recent review of delivery routes took place in May, taking into account factors like the number of dwelling units, routing, and geographical spread, so as to redistribute workload among its postmen.

“We plan the routes to ensure our postmen are able to complete their deliveries daily within six hours without compromising health and safety,” the spokesperson added.

On Tuesday, Dr Yaacob said that SingPost has to comply with legislation that protects the welfare and rights of its workers.

“I am told that over the past few years, SingPost has increased postmen’s salary and that the Ministry of Manpower has not received any valid salary related complaints over the last five years.”

The minister also told the House that the IMDA is “fully supportive” of the postal company’s efforts to adopt technology to improve its operations.

For example, in 2013, SingPost invested some S$45 million in a mail sort machine that has automated mail sorting processes. In April that year, it also rolled out Singapore’s first automated parcel stations, he said.