I feel I must correct John Duggan's comments about "junk mail" (Letters, June 22).

"Walksorted" mail is not specifically junk mail.

It is mail which is sorted up at the main sorting centre, in our case, Gatwick, which is then sorted into "walks" - what we posties call our delivery routes.

Walksorted mail contains different types of mail, including "live" or stamped mail, rebate, which is junk mail and airmail, such as postcards.

Of course we get paid for doing these - we get paid for delivering all sorts of mail but we certainly don't get a bonus for the number of walksorted bundles we deliver. When we have to deliver 12 or 13 walksort bundles, I wish we did.

What Mr Duggan is referring to is Mail Sort, which is junk mail, such as catalogues and fake competition win notifications.

But he is wrong to say we get paid a bonus for delivering it.

A company which wants to send "junk mail" has to sign so many contracts to deliver a certain amount of Mail Sort mail per year.

This is pretty lucrative for the company involved but not for individual posties.

We have to sign contracts to keep client companies financially viable and more so since the Government decided to de-regulate the postal service.

Again, though, we do not get a bonus for doing this. Only the company reaps the benefit.

Mr Duggan also refers to door-to-door items.

We spend about an hour putting these wretched things together, then taking them out, along with the walksorted mail, Mail Sort mail and everything else, all for an extra £1.67 per item.

Wow. That means I earn about £20 a week, which is taxed.

This miserable pittance in no way reflects the effort we put in to sorting this stuff.

Next time people want to lay into the Post Office, they should get their facts straight first.

It's not all Postman Pat here.

-A serving postwoman, Name and address supplied