16/10/24 Mount Pleasant bulletin

[jimallen]

Hi, here's the Mount Pleasant bulletin of 16 October. Comments are welcome, as usual!

ANOTHER GALAXY...
There are still two months to go before Xmas, but it
feels like we're already there! It only takes a few
workmates to be away for things to become totally
chaotic! And we're told there are still too many of us - a
so-called "surplus"? Which planet does management
live on? Or rather, which planet should we send them
to?!

THEY WOULDN'T ADMIT IT
Managers are running around like headless chickens,
trying to bring workmates from one area to another, but
only making it all worse. It's a funny sight! Doesn't it
cross their minds that their recent (and in fact, on going)
resign is a total cock (and hen)-up...?

"GOOD" ADVICE...
We wonder if any managers have stopped to read the
new "Change for Good" posters which have been stuck
up at the entrance? That's who these posters must be
targetting, given what they say: "Business standards are
here to help guide you in doing the right thing - comply
with the law... behave the right way... treat those around
us with respect...".

KING ETCETERA BARKING FOR ATTENTION...
(See cartoon in the pdf attached)

AND MASSAGE CHAIRS?
Not so long ago, distribution drivers had a mess room
with soft chairs we could stretch out on, to rest, in
between delivery sessions. Then they were replaced
with horrible plastic. Well, we need comfortable
armchairs, and even better, sofas so that we're properly
rested before we go back on the road!

PROPER R&R
In the meantime, when we take our breaks, some of us
have to do so in the cab, and try to get one of those
"power naps". But how do you sleep in a cramped
position in a 7.5t? And how do we keep warm against
the cold window? Surely there's a better way of
organising our driving hours?

NELLY, BETTER CLEANER PLEASE!
Managers' money-saving means us cleaners have to
use a cheaper, weaker, and less effective toilet cleaner.
With the old stuff, we just had to put it in, let it do its
work, and flush. Now the toilets are meant to stay dirty?
The new manager needs to sort this out.

HOW MANY DOES IT TAKE...
Then there's the old problem, that toilets are being
blocked by too much toilet paper being stuffed down
them... This causes flooding, a disgusting smell, and a
huge mess. It's really too much for us cleaners to cope
with. Management wants flooded toilets cleared? We
can give them the number of a 24-hour emergency
clean-up team...

FLUSH THEM?
Talking of floods: a tsunami of Amazon Prime packets
seems to have swept across the distribution network.
Managers can't find enough of us drivers to deal with
it... We could have told them this was bound to happen,
since they've been spreading us all so thin, but do they
even care?

SHOULD BE MOVING UP!
Why has our union classroom been shunted downstairs
to make way for yet more management offices? We're
now expected to attend union training, and classes like
English, in a tiny area that is more like a corridor! The
union needs a decent space, upstairs...

PAPIER MACHE
We've heard from one DO where yorkie space was so
full, that management had the bright idea of putting the
yorks outside without cover. And since the liner bags
were also in short supply, we can only wonder what
condition the letters and parcels were in, if and when
people received them...

WHAT'S "GOOD" ABOUT IT?
We've got a letter from the union telling us that we might
see changes in our pension payments from 7 October
onwards... Yes, management's introduced the new
"Collective Defined Contribution" pension scheme, but
the document that was circulated on WhatsApp to
explain the changes is so complicated, there is no way
for us to understand what it means. The only thing we
know, is that it is (still!) based on the ups and downs of
the stock market... Not good.

IT'S NOT ON
We hear from other DOs that part time Delivery mates
who want to increase their hours to full time, are told
they have to move onto the new (worse!) Ts&Cs. They
would be on a lower hourly rate, and be forced to work
all hours and weekends. Yes, this is the second tier we
are all against!