In statements made to Lusa news agency, the mayor of Évora, elected by the CDU, indicated that “significant delays continue to exist” in postal delivery in the municipality and highlighted that there are “complaints of delays of more than a month”.

“It is absolutely worrying”, he said, warning that one of the consequences of the situation is the delay in payments of social benefits to people, especially those who are very vulnerable, who urgently need the money.

Pinto de Sá considered that this service “worked well when it was in public hands” and highlighted that, now, with the management of a company, CTT – Correios de Portugal, there is “a complete failure to comply with a service that is essential for the population”.

“When the regulator and the Government have to evaluate the concession contract, public control over the mail should be resumed, as is the case in most countries in the world, to ensure the quality of the service”, he argued.

According to the mayor, the Évora City Council has already questioned the company about the delays in mail delivery in the municipality and the response, given informally, indicates that the problems are caused by changes in the organization of distribution.

“This is something that, for us, is irrelevant”, because “they can make whatever reorganisations they see fit, but they cannot reduce the quality of the public service that is required and that, in fact, is included in the contract between the State and the company”, he argued.

The municipal assembly also protested and demanded solutions through a motion signed by the 12 presidents of the municipality's parish councils and unions, approved unanimously at the most recent meeting of this body.

The document states that, “in recent weeks, complaints from the population, public and private entities have multiplied regarding the increasing delays and failures in the delivery of mail by CTT – Correios de Portugal”.

According to the motion, cases were reported of places where mail is only delivered once or twice a week, systematic failures in the delivery of urgent mail and ineffective customer service.

“These situations compromise basic citizens' rights, such as timely access to relevant information, justice and health care. They also compromise the proper functioning of local authorities and various entities that depend on the reliability of postal delivery”, says the document.

Almost two weeks ago, the secretary-general of the National Union of Postal and Telecommunications Workers (SNTCT), Eduardo Rita, told Lusa that CTT was implementing a new distribution model in Évora, which was causing delays and discontent among workers.