When mail volume is low, overtime is curtailed, part-timers work fewer hours, and casual workers are discharged. Their earnings are determined through an evaluation of the amount of work required to service their routes. Carriers with heavier workloads generally earn more than those with lighter workloads. Rural carriers also receive an equipment maintenance allowance when required to use their own vehicles. In 1996, this was approximately 36.5 cents per mile.
Postal workers enjoy a variety of employer-provided benefits.
These include health and life insurance, vacation and sick leave, and a pension plan. In addition to their hourly wage and benefits package, some postal workers receive a uniform allowance. This group includes those workers who are in the public view for 4 or more hours each day and various maintenance workers. Related Occupations Other workers whose duties are related to those of postal clerks include mail clerks , file clerks , routing clerks, sorters, material moving equipment operators , clerk typists , cashiers , data entry operators , and ticket sellers. Others with duties related to those of mail carriers include messengers , merchandise deliverers, and delivery-route truckdrivers .