Sir - H Jaeger's letter is right to highlight the almost certain reduction in service quality if Royal Mail RM do indeed go ahead with plans to have our mail sorted in Swindon.

I defy any sane person to rationalize a real benefit from mail posted in Oxon going to Wiltshire, only for it to come back again, the people of Oxfordshire can only look forward to a continuing poor postal service.

Where Mr Jaeger is disingenuous in his analysis is to divorce the CWU from any responsibility in this - they are the chief institution to blame. For too long we have had to put up with Oxford's branch downing tools at the drop of a hat, for too long the CWU have thumbed their collective noses at the people of Oxfordshire and walked out on wildcat strikes à la errant children whenever they have felt in the least bit aggrieved and unsurprisingly the RM have seen an opportunity to give up on the lot of them and close them down - quelle surprise.

RM will no doubt protest and cite reasons of efficiency and in a perverse way they'd be right but only in one respect - any set-up would be more efficient than retaining the current militants of the CWU who have become a running joke to the people of Oxford who are clearly unrealistic in desiring a postal service that simply works efficiently.

The RM is motivated by reasons other than operational necessity in the move to Swindon but the CWU in Oxford are the catalyst and have brought it 100 per cent on their own shoulders. If you spend your whole working life tweaking the nose of your employers, do not be surprised if (when the opportunity arises) that employer takes the chance to tweak your nose back, the words rod and back spring to mind.

B. Cooper, Oxford