The Future: Saturday 25th Nov 2023

[k979aaa]

They had 30 min flex in the last agreement and I know not one person who does it never in all my time!

[chickenwittle]

They had 30 min flex in the last agreement and I know not one person who does it never in all my time!

Exactly but it’s now up for review, no way Royal Mail are going to accept this being optional anymore and the union know this , which is why they’ve kicked it down the road until they’ve got the yes vote through.

[X_hamster]

Surely in this day in age it will be rechargeable torches, collected with your PDA.

Could be a deal breaker.

[yubin282]

Welcome to the future. VOTE NO!!

[DiamondSmiles]

It's Saturday 25th Nov 2023 around 4:30pm, I've been on delivery since around 10:15am so just over 6 hrs, I should have finished half an hour ago but my COM informed me this morning that due to heavier than expected traffic that he was 'asking me' to flex up by half an hour. It has hardly stopped raining since I started and I'm soaked to the skin. It is dark and I'm not familiar with the area. I've been provided with a torch, but no batteries (was told I have to buy these myself) so I'm struggling to see some of the house numbers. The PDA has given up the ghost being so wet so I'm trying to write down the tracking numbers as I deliver them but due to the rain my pen has stopped working too. I was trying to take photos on my mobile phone but it's raining so hard that I dare not use it. I have just knocked on a customer’s door to pick up a customer collection but they said it wasn't ready and could I come back later, I said No. I’m just trying to get over a heavy cold so unable to go at a decent pace, the last couple of weeks of bad weather are taking their toll on me but can’t go sick because I had a four day absence around eight months ago when I twisted my ankle on delivery. I have three packets left that were attempted yesterday but they weren’t in so I have to re-deliver today, unfortunately due to the rain one of the address labels has got so damp the address has become unreadable, earlier, before the PDA died I was struggling to scan tracked so was putting them in manually, it was hard though because my hands were so cold. Because my hands are frozen I'm using the otherwise useless PDA to knock on the doors. A close call with a dog roaming around the street with no owner, I had to wait in someone’s garden until it got bored and run off. It is completely dark now and I'm struggling to get anyone to answer when I have packets, customers are not keen to open the door in the dark, the conversation is always the same "KNOCK, KNOCK" "who is it?" " the Postman, I have a packet for you!" nothing happens for a few minutes, lots of whispering behind the door, then see someone looking out of the living room window, then after some time the security chain is removed and a little old lady looks out of the crack of the door before taking the packet. Then onto the next house. The rain coming down harder now which is a blessing because a little earlier there was a couple of dodgy looking guys in hoodies who were following me, I was keeping my trolly as close to me as possible. My shoes are full of water due to the constant rain so not bothering avoiding the puddles, my feet couldn’t get any wetter. I still have around 100 calls left but I'm going to stop delivering the mail and just do the last tracked as instructed by my COM and I'm going to call it a day. I can’t write out any cards either because of my useless pen and my P739 cards are soaking wet so I hope they are all in and answer the door. I would have called my manager but he finished and went home at 10am this morning, I saw him getting in his car to leave as I pulled out of the yard to go out on delivery. Obviously my union rep wasn't in today either as he doesn't work Saturdays. It’s going to take me around 40 mins to drive back through the Saturday pre-Christmas traffic, a journey of 2 miles, so anticipate getting back to the office around 5:15pm, ten mins to pouch off and hopefully I can be leaving to clock off around 5:30pm, So I should be home around 6:15pm. I'm lucky I only live around 3 miles away and shouldn't take me too long in this traffic. Looking forward to my Sunday off tomorrow, it’s been a long week, Monday will soon be here again and expect a grilling off my COM as to why I brought back the hundred calls.

Stop whining

[heraldmoth]

Lol a COM in the office on Saturday, pure fiction

[k979aaa]

They had 30 min flex in the last agreement and I know not one person who does it never in all my time!

Exactly but it’s now up for review, no way Royal Mail are going to accept this being optional anymore and the union know this , which is why they’ve kicked it down the road until they’ve got the yes vote through.

An agreement is only as good as those who know that agreement chapter and verse managers hardly know about any agreements we have!

[kazardaimenu]

Back to the future part 2

Mon June 10th 2024


Started work at 10;15am, Theres next to no mail in so the flats have already been sorted by the full time staff, and they are doing the last packets.
Everyone gets out by 11am and its a wonderful sunny day about 21oc.
The mails that light im missing out every 10 houses as we dont cold call d2ds anymore. Most of the customers have twigged on that to get parcels they need to be in or arrange a redelivery or safeplace so theres only 5 redelivers to do and we are now charging for collection so no ones intrested.

Break time half way in at around 12;30pm for 30 mins at a loverly country pub, then on to do the last side of the village, but its only parcels as most of the mail has fallen off a cliff since its £1;50 per stamp.
Due to seasonal flex finish time is 3;30pm so theres plenty of daylight left to take the wife and kids out later.

Hope wifey’s paying! You’d be pulling in sub £60 for that little stroll of a shift.

[Flashman_]

They can’t ask u to flex up on a Saturday because it has to be paid back in the same week unless that changes

They are changing it, using the pda actuals, so if you went under what they determine was your hours at all before hand (including any odd minutes here and there.) they will spring this on you claiming that you already have had the time back.
They already tried this trick on me in the past so there is absolutely no chance they will not do it in the future.

[k979aaa]

They can’t ask u to flex up on a Saturday because it has to be paid back in the same week unless that changes

They are changing it, using the pda actuals, so if you went under what they determine was your hours at all before hand (including any odd minutes here and there.) they will spring this on you claiming that you already have had the time back.
They already tried this trick on me in the past so there is absolutely no chance they will not do it in the future.

Take your time why do people digging holes in the road do the same!

[Flashman_]

They can’t ask u to flex up on a Saturday because it has to be paid back in the same week unless that changes

They are changing it, using the pda actuals, so if you went under what they determine was your hours at all before hand (including any odd minutes here and there.) they will spring this on you claiming that you already have had the time back.
They already tried this trick on me in the past so there is absolutely no chance they will not do it in the future.

Take your time why do people digging holes in the road do the same!

Yes good idea, then you get called into the office for a cosy chat pointing out the pda says you are bone idle. they will then threaten you with ultimate dismissal.

VOTE NO

[midegarelu]

Hopefully the Mail centre workers consider this when voting. Solidarity an all that

FFS.

How many more times?

Delivery outnumber processing by at least 4 to 1. !!!!!!

Any agreement that has ever been brought in was down to Delivery.

Next time you want to blame someone look in the mirror.

[Nickvilla20]

Hopefully the Mail centre workers consider this when voting. Solidarity an all that

FFS.

How many more times?

Delivery outnumber processing by at least 4 to 1. !!!!!!

Any agreement that has ever been brought in was down to Delivery.

Next time you want to blame someone look in the mirror.

I would imagine the ratio is much higher than the last time we voted.

[yellowbelly]

They can’t ask u to flex up on a Saturday because it has to be paid back in the same week unless that changes

don't think so. in the blurb somewhere it states paid back with next 10 days as far as I remember

No this is all still up for review, so nobody knows what they are voting for regarding flexi time.

Flexitime (CWU term) or flexibility (RM) - are they the same thing? Are we getting
mixed up between what was a new 'flexitime' proposal by RM and the 'lorry broke down/unforseen issue' flexibility
agreement?

CWU's briefing document says:

This situation has now been reversed. Annualised hours have gone,
flexitime has gone, and it has been replaced by agreed seasonal
variations - proposals put forward by the union and a legitimate way
to align hours to workload – with you knowing your work schedule
months in advance.

but RM's document says:

In parallel with the Seasonal Variation approach, we will also jointly review the approach to
the use of 30 minutes’ flexibility previously agreed in the 2007 Pay & Modernisation
Agreement and in line with the 2013 Joint Statement covering Fairness, Dignity & Respect in
Delivery. This joint review will be to understand how this approach can address workload
changes at a route level on a daily basis and develop a revised agreement which will support
the efficient delivery of the USO

Whichever it is it's not good for walking the streets at 1600 in the Winter!

[mightyowler]

Hopefully the Mail centre workers consider this when voting. Solidarity an all that

FFS.

How many more times?

Delivery outnumber processing by at least 4 to 1. !!!!!!

Any agreement that has ever been brought in was down to Delivery.

Next time you want to blame someone look in the mirror.

I know this, I worked in a mail centre for 13 years.

My angle is in solidarity with the posties, the ones most affected by these proposals from the start of the dispute.