Service Interruption and Mail Losses
48. Air mail service to and from Great Britain was suspended due to a postal strike in that country from 20th January to 9th March, 1971.
Christmas Mails
49. Increase in the postings of parcels, packets and cards to countries abroad was maintained. In October/November 1970 28,596 bags of parcels were made up and despatched to North America alone.
50. All mail posted and received by the advertised latest time was successfully cleared before Christmas Day.
ACCOMMODATION
51. The accommodation situation has not changed materially since last year. Work has, however, been progressing in a new hangar for parcel mails on the reclamation opposite the General Post Office and, when complete, this will give relief to the General Post Office and enable the site of the new G.P.O., occupied by the existing parcel delivery hangar adjacent to the Star Ferry, to be cleared for con- struction work.
52. The number of Post Offices in service is 59.
DEVELOPMENT
53. To relieve congestion in the General Post Office and to give postal staff some experience of a mechanized installation a newspaper and packet sorting machine was installed in the G.P.O. It distributes mail automatically through 600 ft. of conveyors to 24 discharge points on different floors of the building.
54. Work has been proceeding on a scheme for introducing Postal Agencies in areas where a full Post Office would not be justified. The scheme involves a contractual arrangement with local shopkeepers to provide postal counter services on their own premises. It is a common practice in many parts of the world, but has not yet been tried in Hong Kong.
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