THE amount of mail delivered on time fell across North Staffordshire as posties walked out on more strikes.

Latest Royal Mail figures show 83 per cent of first-class post was delivered on time in the ST postcode area from September 7 to December 6.

During the three-month period, postal workers all over the country took part in five days of walkouts. The action came in protest at Royal Mail's modernisation proposals, which the Communication Workers' Union (CWU) says is leading to cuts in services, jobs and pay.

The 83 per cent performance compared with 89.4 per cent from June to September, 90.7 per cent from March to June, and 92.8 per cent January to March.

But the latest performance is better than the national average of 78.8 per cent during the strikes.

The Royal Mail target is 93 per cent.

Before the national action, Stoke-on-Trent was hit by a series of local strikes during the summer at Royal Mail depots in Stoke and Burslem.

The latest report reveals the service in North Staffordshire and South Cheshire fared better than other parts of the country.

In South East London, just 38.4 per cent of first-class mail arrived on time from September to December.

The ST postcode's performance put it in 51st place in the table of all 118 postcodes in England and Wales.

Residents in South Cheshire enjoyed a slightly better service, but posties in the CW postcode also failed to hit Royal Mail's target – between September and December, 84.9 per cent of first-class mail was delivered on time.

CWU branch secretary Andy Plant said the ST area's performance was down to members' hard work.

He added that they were still waiting to hear from the union's leadership on the outcome of talks with Royal Mail, which have been on-going since November when both parties reached an interim agreement to stave off further national strikes.

Talks are being overseen by chairman Roger Poole, a former senior union negotiator.

Mr Plant said: "The talks were due to close last Monday, but they said there might be further negotiations if there were still any issues to discuss.

"If they are still in talks, it's a good sign they might be able to agree something that offers stability and a long-term future for our members."

Mark Higson, managing director of Royal Mail Letters, said: "We are clearly concerned customer service was disrupted by industrial action, but strike action ended with the interim agreement reached with the union in early November, and we are now completely focused on restoring quality of service to the record 'above target' level we achieved in the spring of 2009, prior to the strikes."

Nigel Woods, of Consumer Focus, added: "Whether or not these results are down to industrial action, consumers were let down by Royal Mail last autumn.

"The figures are similar to those recorded during the industrial action of 2007-8 and show how important it is for Royal Mail to resolve its industrial relations problems once and for all.

"It also shows Royal Mail's contingency plans have not stopped severe service disruptions taking place."