Which element of the proposed USO attendance patterns are you most keen on?

[hewittinspain]

Who gives a s**t about having extra saturday off I prefer a wed or thursday off.

Id probably say 70-80% of the workforce given a s**t and want more Saturdays. There are hardly anyone I know that doesn't.
Do you have a family? Don't you like getting away for a weekend to the coast overnight with a partner or doing something special with having a proper weekend off or don't you go anywhere?
What's to do on a Wednesday or Thursday?

[tramssirhc]

The belief that our jobs are a drain on profits, as mickey is sayjng, would be true if every duty was changing to the CWU's profit driven delivery method. Singleton duties will remain largely unaffected by the changes. So are our jobs really the problem?

Postal services across the world have been attacked in the pursuit of profit. In Europe the service in some countries was deliberately run into the ground and then declared unfit for purpose. If there is any lesson for us from the European experience it's that what we're putting up with everyday is being done deliberately to - declare our jobs unfit for purpose. Mickey of course remains silent on exactly how 7 billion letters is only part of our work. Those letters don't deliver themselves.

The idea that workers should sell everything to create a profit so that a 'union' can beg for crumbs from the table is bollocks. The historical revisionism of Mickey is a betrayal of everything our forebears gave so that we could organise ourselves and fight capitalism.

The CWU is the guilty party here, simple as.

[Mickeybrowneyes]

It seems plain to me the new system is all about reducing the costliest part of RM "the final mile" delivery.

Reduce the delivery staff while getting the same output is the goal and yet again we will be tasked with upping our game to stop the company going under.

It isn't the same output though because our overall call rate will go down from delivering second class letters every other day.
It isn't about getting us to do more.
Our days will maxed out, I'm not denying that but you still have the same working hours over the week.
It's down to management and the reps to get reform right so its achievable.
It can be achievable and also create savings.

[Mickeybrowneyes]

The belief that our jobs are a drain on profits, as mickey is sayjng, would be true if every duty was changing to the CWU's profit driven delivery method. Singleton duties will remain largely unaffected by the changes. So are our jobs really the problem?

Postal services across the world have been attacked in the pursuit of profit. In Europe the service in some countries was deliberately run into the ground and then declared unfit for purpose. If there is any lesson for us from the European experience it's that what we're putting up with everyday is being done deliberately to - declare our jobs unfit for purpose. Mickey of course remains silent on exactly how 7 billion letters is only part of our work. Those letters don't deliver themselves.

The idea that workers should sell everything to create a profit so that a 'union' can beg for crumbs from the table is bollocks. The historical revisionism of Mickey is a betrayal of everything our forebears gave so that we could organise ourselves and fight capitalism.

The CWU is the guilty party here, simple as.

Don't get me wrong I'd rather the company was still publicly owned and a service rather than a business but the reality is that it isn't anymore.
You have to deal with the cards you are dealt.
Sevon billon is a substantial amount of work, I'm not denying that but it isn't 22 billion or so like I think it was a few years back.
The changed proposals are not that drastic, they are necessary to adapt to the workload and how we process it.
It would have happend if we were still publicly owned.
Better to have a strong union and reps on every shop floor, especially when in the private sector so the union are not your enemy here, and without them the profit driven private billionaires would have complete reign.

[hewittinspain]

I'm gonna see how it goes but I'm already on borderline to go out and get my HGV licence and just leave within a year or so.
I'm on a singleton rural duty and have been for a few years but I just know someone more senior to me will pick that when the changes come in. Sucks for everyone when you know your customers by name and you get to know customers on a personal level too which will all be taken away.

Maybe this might be the push I need at 52 years old. This job is not much better than minimum wage, my arches under my foot have been hurting for weeks now and don't seem to be going away and these new changes are just gonna make things worse.

I don't like the fact we are monitored on duty via the PDA and Trimble. A colleague of mine got took off driving yesterday because her trimble showed her idling, talk about shooting themselves in the foot because they were now a driver short!!

This won't be a job for the older staff soon and at 52 I can still do something about it. The grass hasn't always been greener in the past but I think a lot of people will change their view on that in the coming months. This is what RM wants unfortunately but if you value your health then I'd seriously look at other options at some point.

[tramssirhc]

The belief that our jobs are a drain on profits, as mickey is sayjng, would be true if every duty was changing to the CWU's profit driven delivery method. Singleton duties will remain largely unaffected by the changes. So are our jobs really the problem?

Postal services across the world have been attacked in the pursuit of profit. In Europe the service in some countries was deliberately run into the ground and then declared unfit for purpose. If there is any lesson for us from the European experience it's that what we're putting up with everyday is being done deliberately to - declare our jobs unfit for purpose. Mickey of course remains silent on exactly how 7 billion letters is only part of our work. Those letters don't deliver themselves.

The idea that workers should sell everything to create a profit so that a 'union' can beg for crumbs from the table is bollocks. The historical revisionism of Mickey is a betrayal of everything our forebears gave so that we could organise ourselves and fight capitalism.

The CWU is the guilty party here, simple as.

Don't get me wrong I'd rather the company was still publicly owned and a service rather than a business but the reality is that it isn't anymore.
You have to deal with the cards you are dealt.
Sevon billon is a substantial amount of work, I'm not denying that but it isn't 22 billion or so like I think it was a few years back.
The changed proposals are not that drastic, they are necessary to adapt to the workload and how we process it.
It would have happend if we were still publicly owned.
Better to have a strong union and reps on every shop floor, especially when in the private sector so the union are not your enemy here, and without them the profit driven private billionaires would have complete reign.

Collectivism is not our enemy right enough. The CWU in its current phase absolutely is our enemy. Since my very first day the CWU has colluded with the industry. I've been involved in the trade union movement from the moment I started working. Other unions do not behave like the CWU. Last night Tony Boulch stated that delivery workers have not changed the way they work for twenty years. We will both agree Tony is chatting s**t. That's not strong trade unionism. Tony needs kicking out and he's not alone.

I don't agree that the CWU's profit driven delivery method is not a drastic change. It's less of us doing more work. In the pilots the combined duties are placing huge strain on the worker doing that duty. The call rate is way above the recognised rate for attendance calls. Yet the CWU wants to measure the fatigue in foot steps. Footsteps are one part of the fatigue.

It doesn't have to be like this and you can ask the dealer to reshuffle the pack. Tell your rep your not putting up with it. Demand a new set of cards.

[Mickeybrowneyes]

The belief that our jobs are a drain on profits, as mickey is sayjng, would be true if every duty was changing to the CWU's profit driven delivery method. Singleton duties will remain largely unaffected by the changes. So are our jobs really the problem?

Postal services across the world have been attacked in the pursuit of profit. In Europe the service in some countries was deliberately run into the ground and then declared unfit for purpose. If there is any lesson for us from the European experience it's that what we're putting up with everyday is being done deliberately to - declare our jobs unfit for purpose. Mickey of course remains silent on exactly how 7 billion letters is only part of our work. Those letters don't deliver themselves.

The idea that workers should sell everything to create a profit so that a 'union' can beg for crumbs from the table is bollocks. The historical revisionism of Mickey is a betrayal of everything our forebears gave so that we could organise ourselves and fight capitalism.

The CWU is the guilty party here, simple as.

Don't get me wrong I'd rather the company was still publicly owned and a service rather than a business but the reality is that it isn't anymore.
You have to deal with the cards you are dealt.
Sevon billon is a substantial amount of work, I'm not denying that but it isn't 22 billion or so like I think it was a few years back.
The changed proposals are not that drastic, they are necessary to adapt to the workload and how we process it.
It would have happend if we were still publicly owned.
Better to have a strong union and reps on every shop floor, especially when in the private sector so the union are not your enemy here, and without them the profit driven private billionaires would have complete reign.

Collectivism is not our enemy right enough. The CWU in its current phase absolutely is our enemy. Since my very first day the CWU has colluded with the industry. I've been involved in the trade union movement from the moment I started working. Other unions do not behave like the CWU. Last night Tony Boulch stated that delivery workers have not changed the way they work for twenty years. We will both agree Tony is chatting s**t. That's not strong trade unionism. Tony needs kicking out and he's not alone.

I don't agree that the CWU's profit driven delivery method is not a drastic change. It's less of us doing more work. In the pilots the combined duties are placing huge strain on the worker doing that duty. The call rate is way above the recognised rate for attendance calls. Yet the CWU wants to measure the fatigue in foot steps. Footsteps are one part of the fatigue.

It doesn't have to be like this and you can ask the dealer to reshuffle the pack. Tell your rep your not putting up with it. Demand a new set of cards.

It's not more work, if it's done properly then it shouldn't be more work. The extra days off counteract the longer deliveries due to the increased call rate.
We should have enough work now to take us to time.
Granted we will have longer deliveries in the future anyway because of new indoor methods and a higher full time ratio.
That would have happened anyway.
Our outdoor delivery span may increase but out indoor will decrease
I think they will have to add some additional hours back when the trails are done. Maybe support drivers on busier days.
This isn't about given us more work and expecting us to all of a sudden up our speed.
It's about delaying some mail so less staff are required on any given day.
If you had 2nd class mail for an address Mon/Tue/wed now you will going there Mon/Tue/wed.
New of working they will get a delivery Mon/Wed.
The call rate for each office will decrease over the course of a week so it's not more work, it's a more efficient way of working.

[chickenwittle]

The USO in its current format is financially unsustainable
If we can have a revised format that increase the profits of the company the union have a better position to negotiate from in regard to our pay and conditions.
That's just a reality

Correction - the business has made the USO look financially unsustainable because they want rid of it. These reforms are the thin edge of the wedge for more cutbacks in future. The company stands to save millions from not delivering the mail. And It's more than just about pay - we need rid of these daft seasonal variations and a shorter working week to make these longer outdoor spans bearable, especially if we have longer days.

Can you honestly say letter volumes haven’t fallen off a cliff last 5/10 years ?

[chickenwittle]

The USO in its current format is financially unsustainable
If we can have a revised format that increase the profits of the company the union have a better position to negotiate from in regard to our pay and conditions.
That's just a reality

Correction - the business has made the USO look financially unsustainable because they want rid of it. These reforms are the thin edge of the wedge for more cutbacks in future. The company stands to save millions from not delivering the mail. And It's more than just about pay - we need rid of these daft seasonal variations and a shorter working week to make these longer outdoor spans bearable, especially if we have longer days.

So the company hasn't been losing money consequetively for the past few years then. If we carry on delivering all types of letters to every door for six days week the chances of us getting decent pay rises and improved conditions diminish considerably.
Seasonal variations have been halted for now.
Most other European countries have had some sort of USO reform because of letter decline.
At some point we were going to have to change to deal with the decrease in that sort of workload as the revenue from letters has fallen rapidly.
Or is that all a big conspiracy?

Finally someone that speaks a bit of sense on here rather than the bury their head in the sand doom and gloom merchants.

[norris9]

So the company hasn't been losing money consequetively for the past few years then. If we carry on delivering all types of letters to every door for six days week the chances of us getting decent pay rises and improved conditions diminish considerably. Seasonal variations have been halted for now. Most other European countries have had some sort of USO reform because of letter decline. At some point we were going to have to change to deal with the decrease in that sort of workload as the revenue from letters has fallen rapidly. Or is that all a big conspiracy?

Some people want to have their cake and eat it.

If the company was close to going bust those people wouldn't care - they'd still want every term & condition in their favour, a big pay rise and the company to make very little change.

I don't understand why people need letters even 3 days a week. It is an absolute waste of money paying us to go to the same houses day after day after day with letters that aren't even important or urgent.

[kazardaimenu]

It certainly is. But having us go round with treble mail will be way too much on current rounds so there needs to be a balance.

[chickenwittle]

It certainly is. But having us go round with treble mail will be way too much on current rounds so there needs to be a balance.

Which is what the pilots are supposed to be for.

[tramssirhc]

The belief that our jobs are a drain on profits, as mickey is sayjng, would be true if every duty was changing to the CWU's profit driven delivery method. Singleton duties will remain largely unaffected by the changes. So are our jobs really the problem?

Postal services across the world have been attacked in the pursuit of profit. In Europe the service in some countries was deliberately run into the ground and then declared unfit for purpose. If there is any lesson for us from the European experience it's that what we're putting up with everyday is being done deliberately to - declare our jobs unfit for purpose. Mickey of course remains silent on exactly how 7 billion letters is only part of our work. Those letters don't deliver themselves.

The idea that workers should sell everything to create a profit so that a 'union' can beg for crumbs from the table is bollocks. The historical revisionism of Mickey is a betrayal of everything our forebears gave so that we could organise ourselves and fight capitalism.

The CWU is the guilty party here, simple as.

Don't get me wrong I'd rather the company was still publicly owned and a service rather than a business but the reality is that it isn't anymore.
You have to deal with the cards you are dealt.
Sevon billon is a substantial amount of work, I'm not denying that but it isn't 22 billion or so like I think it was a few years back.
The changed proposals are not that drastic, they are necessary to adapt to the workload and how we process it.
It would have happend if we were still publicly owned.
Better to have a strong union and reps on every shop floor, especially when in the private sector so the union are not your enemy here, and without them the profit driven private billionaires would have complete reign.

Collectivism is not our enemy right enough. The CWU in its current phase absolutely is our enemy. Since my very first day the CWU has colluded with the industry. I've been involved in the trade union movement from the moment I started working. Other unions do not behave like the CWU. Last night Tony Boulch stated that delivery workers have not changed the way they work for twenty years. We will both agree Tony is chatting s**t. That's not strong trade unionism. Tony needs kicking out and he's not alone.

I don't agree that the CWU's profit driven delivery method is not a drastic change. It's less of us doing more work. In the pilots the combined duties are placing huge strain on the worker doing that duty. The call rate is way above the recognised rate for attendance calls. Yet the CWU wants to measure the fatigue in foot steps. Footsteps are one part of the fatigue.

It doesn't have to be like this and you can ask the dealer to reshuffle the pack. Tell your rep your not putting up with it. Demand a new set of cards.

By the CWU's own admission it is more work, the call rate increases. Many workers are reporting that they can't complete now, let alone have sufficient work to take them to their time. Under the CWU's method that is only going to get worse.

The claim by the CWU that more full time duties would be created has been undermined by the caveat that the changes 'may not increase full time positions'. An example of this is the duty agreed by the CWU for a 'day off cover' which is part time with no rota'd day off. This part time duty covers the full time duties.

The idea that it was all inevitable would be true if all duties were converting fully to the CWU method. Singleton duties remain largely unaffected.

Martin Walsh said it had to all be right before any pilot happened. Seeking additional hours after the method comes in and making up jobs like 'van assistant' is not getting it 'right'.

The method absolutely is about making us work harder for longer with less of us. There are no time values for the call rate of the combined duty. Workers are being given workloads based on an unproven, nor agreed, amount of items per minute. That's a speed up.

The CWU are trying to achieve the demands of the regulator which wants the USO to make the profit demanded by the industry.

The CWU may claim that the method is about altering the traffic profile. That claim does not translate into a method whereby the work fits the worker. It's a method where the worker fits the work and if they can't then they'll be managed out. The CWU has repeatedly told us we have to change and Martin Walsh has said that if we can't fit into this way of working this job isn't for us.

[Mickeybrowneyes]

It certainly is. But having us go round with treble mail will be way too much on current rounds so there needs to be a balance.

The longer days with more days off should counteract some of that but yes fatigue may be an issue, I'm not denying that.
It's going to be trail and error for a few months.
The USO reform they are trialling is allot less drastic than other models which were spouted prior, or other European models.
I really hope it works because it isn't drastic in terms of job cuts as it could have been but will give the company the savings to keep our ts and cs decent.

[Mickeybrowneyes]

The belief that our jobs are a drain on profits, as mickey is sayjng, would be true if every duty was changing to the CWU's profit driven delivery method. Singleton duties will remain largely unaffected by the changes. So are our jobs really the problem?

Postal services across the world have been attacked in the pursuit of profit. In Europe the service in some countries was deliberately run into the ground and then declared unfit for purpose. If there is any lesson for us from the European experience it's that what we're putting up with everyday is being done deliberately to - declare our jobs unfit for purpose. Mickey of course remains silent on exactly how 7 billion letters is only part of our work. Those letters don't deliver themselves.

The idea that workers should sell everything to create a profit so that a 'union' can beg for crumbs from the table is bollocks. The historical revisionism of Mickey is a betrayal of everything our forebears gave so that we could organise ourselves and fight capitalism.

The CWU is the guilty party here, simple as.

Don't get me wrong I'd rather the company was still publicly owned and a service rather than a business but the reality is that it isn't anymore.
You have to deal with the cards you are dealt.
Sevon billon is a substantial amount of work, I'm not denying that but it isn't 22 billion or so like I think it was a few years back.
The changed proposals are not that drastic, they are necessary to adapt to the workload and how we process it.
It would have happend if we were still publicly owned.
Better to have a strong union and reps on every shop floor, especially when in the private sector so the union are not your enemy here, and without them the profit driven private billionaires would have complete reign.

Collectivism is not our enemy right enough. The CWU in its current phase absolutely is our enemy. Since my very first day the CWU has colluded with the industry. I've been involved in the trade union movement from the moment I started working. Other unions do not behave like the CWU. Last night Tony Boulch stated that delivery workers have not changed the way they work for twenty years. We will both agree Tony is chatting s**t. That's not strong trade unionism. Tony needs kicking out and he's not alone.

I don't agree that the CWU's profit driven delivery method is not a drastic change. It's less of us doing more work. In the pilots the combined duties are placing huge strain on the worker doing that duty. The call rate is way above the recognised rate for attendance calls. Yet the CWU wants to measure the fatigue in foot steps. Footsteps are one part of the fatigue.

It doesn't have to be like this and you can ask the dealer to reshuffle the pack. Tell your rep your not putting up with it. Demand a new set of cards.

By the CWU's own admission it is more work, the call rate increases. Many workers are reporting that they can't complete now, let alone have sufficient work to take them to their time. Under the CWU's method that is only going to get worse.

The claim by the CWU that more full time duties would be created has been undermined by the caveat that the changes 'may not increase full time positions'. An example of this is the duty agreed by the CWU for a 'day off cover' which is part time with no rota'd day off. This part time duty covers the full time duties.

The idea that it was all inevitable would be true if all duties were converting fully to the CWU method. Singleton duties remain largely unaffected.

Martin Walsh said it had to all be right before any pilot happened. Seeking additional hours after the method comes in and making up jobs like 'van assistant' is not getting it 'right'.

The method absolutely is about making us work harder for longer with less of us. There are no time values for the call rate of the combined duty. Workers are being given workloads based on an unproven, nor agreed, amount of items per minute. That's a speed up.

The CWU are trying to achieve the demands of the regulator which wants the USO to make the profit demanded by the industry.

The CWU may claim that the method is about altering the traffic profile. That claim does not translate into a method whereby the work fits the worker. It's a method where the worker fits the work and if they can't then they'll be managed out. The CWU has repeatedly told us we have to change and Martin Walsh has said that if we can't fit into this way of working this job isn't for us.

Yes, your call rate on any given day will increase as you will have belated mail in your bundles.
However a delivery span is a delivery span.
Right now on a four day week delivery spans are anything from 5.15 to around 6 hours.
If your delivery stays the same but you are in less days then and your delivery becomes longer in the days you are in, your not necessarily doing more work because you are in less to counteract that.
If the delivery is unachievable with belated mail they may have to add a couple of duties in.
It's the same concept.
Work smart and work your hours