Sunday's

[DGH]

What about when RM eventually bring in new duties to replace all existing duties and the new duties include Saturday and Sunday working (probably on rotation)????

We'll just stay in denial about that possibility. Wishful thinking is the great strength of those employed in delivery offices, where a surprising number of people who have decades of experience of RM f***ing them over seem to believe we are going to enter a golden age in which all our dreams come true (huge VR packages for all that want them, Mon-Fri working mornings to early afternoon, no Saturday or Sunday duty, free cake when you scan in, etc etc).

[k979aaa]

We were promised how we shape our duty structure with the introduction of 5 day weeks back with the way forward agreement since then we cannot have four day weeks or 5 six day weeks and a week off or nine day fortnights. Why should we trust them now about this? and why should we all believe the CWU will back us as they did not back us over this last time?

[renrag40]

We were promised how we shape our duty structure with the introduction of 5 day weeks back with the way forward agreement since then we cannot have four day weeks or 5 six day weeks and a week off or nine day fortnights. Why should we trust them now about this? and why should we all believe the CWU will back us as they did not back us over this last time?

Martin would you like to answer the above? Your silence is deafening.

[postslippete]

At our office RM were paying the agency £18 an hour and there were literally dozens of temps working

Yet RM cannot afford to pay staff £14 an hour for working the Sundays??

[renrag40]

We were promised how we shape our duty structure with the introduction of 5 day weeks back with the way forward agreement since then we cannot have four day weeks or 5 six day weeks and a week off or nine day fortnights. Why should we trust them now about this? and why should we all believe the CWU will back us as they did not back us over this last time?

Martin would you like to answer the above? Your silence is deafening.

Martin! We can’t hear you Martin!! Why won’t you reply to the above Martin?

[2yearpostie]

We were promised how we shape our duty structure with the introduction of 5 day weeks back with the way forward agreement since then we cannot have four day weeks or 5 six day weeks and a week off or nine day fortnights. Why should we trust them now about this? and why should we all believe the CWU will back us as they did not back us over this last time?

Martin would you like to answer the above? Your silence is deafening.

Martin! We can’t hear you Martin!! Why won’t you reply to the above Martin?

or maybe it was boxing day yesterday so he was with his family instead of obsessing about royal mail?

[Martin Walsh]

Royal Mail started these negotiations wanting the union to sign up to a standard 1 in 6 duty pattern. The union refused instead there is an opportunity for an office to select an improved efficient duty pattern.

It was not the way forward which introduced improved duty patterns. The way forward was agreed in 2000. The vast majority of delivery workers were still on a 6 day week. This did not change until 2003 when we introduced a single daily delivery. In exchange everyone got a 5 day week and a £26 pay rise.

In 2010 the union agreed Business Transformation which introduced sequenced mail 6 days per week which meant later Saturdays. In return we introduced a menu of options for improved attendance patterns.

From April when your office introduces a revision you will moved to a 37 hour working week which will without meal reliefs mean you will work 34 hours at the same rate of pay. At that moment you an choose an improved duty pattern.

Remember when I started in 1985 we worked 6 days per week and 43 hours.

[P13]

Royal Mail started these negotiations wanting the union to sign up to a standard 1 in 6 duty pattern. The union refused instead there is an opportunity for an office to select an improved efficient duty pattern.

It was not the way forward which introduced improved duty patterns. The way forward was agreed in 2000. The vast majority of delivery workers were still on a 6 day week. This did not change until 2003 when we introduced a single daily delivery. In exchange everyone got a 5 day week and a £26 pay rise.

In 2010 the union agreed Business Transformation which introduced sequenced mail 6 days per week which meant later Saturdays. In return we introduced a menu of options for improved attendance patterns.

From April when your office introduces a revision you will moved to a 37 hour working week which will without meal reliefs mean you will work 34 hours at the same rate of pay. At that moment you an choose an improved duty pattern.

Remember when I started in 1985 we worked 6 days per week and 43 hours.

A menu of options which were never offered to some offices, and over the last couple of years these innovative duty patterns have been removed from offices which had them , do you really believe managers are going to change

[Martin Walsh]

I know hundreds with innovative attendance patterns. They would be willing to strike to keep them. This agreement allows them to keep them as long as they increase their office productivity.

Additionally I know some offices who did not want a Wallington , 9 day fortnight or 4 day week as they did not want to have long daily duty patterns or work 6 days per week to get a Wally week. The 4 day ,9 day attendance also requires more part time duties in an office so some offices don’t want to go down that line.

Name the offices which have had their improved attendance patterns taken alway and I will look into it !

[DGH]

From April when your office introduces a revision you will moved to a 37 hour working week which will without meal reliefs mean you will work 34 hours at the same rate of pay. At that moment you an choose an improved duty pattern.

Forgive some more questions about this:

The office (presumably) chooses 'an improved duty pattern'. Is that one pattern for the whole office or (as currently in mine), a 'smorgasbord' of patterns including 5 days/6 rotating, 5 6-day weeks/rest week, 4 days/6 rotating (some p/t), 3 fixed days a week (some p/t), etc?

I confess the word 'improved' in there doesn't really fit. Improved for whom? Certainly not improved for a p/t on a 3 day week who finds themselves on a 5/6 or a f/t on a Wallington who loses it against his will.

What about family friendly working patterns that don't fit with the 'improved' structure? Will these still be accommodated as they should be?

Years ago our office had a big push to get people off Wallington weeks. They used all sorts of nonsense to do this: telling people on Wallingtons that they couldn't work more than three days overtime in their week off because of the 72 hour limit was the one that worked best and our local union did sod all, in fact they seemed to actively want people off Wallington weeks. They also point blank said all p/t staff on 4/6 days would move to 5/6. Only those who kicked up a real fuss kept their 4/6 and not one of them had any help from our union (who again seemed to have their own agenda of wanting everyone on 5/6 rotating day off.

Given the way RM have gone about their business over the last twenty or so years at a local level, why do you have any confidence in local solutions (which should be the best, I agree) being done in any way other that what suits the local management best/causes them the least grief?

[SpacePhoenix]

Like it or not Sunday working in deliveries (with Saturday night working in RDCs and MCs to process the mail ready) WILL happen at some point, even if it's just SDs and Tracked that gets delivered on Sundays (maybe oversized packets as well).