A 5 day USO and what it might mean.

[Foxel]

As most of you will now have heard by now in union briefings or seen on CWU socials, there is intent from RM to push through a temporary 5 day USO.

Putting aside the wrongs or rights of this, and any bickering as to whether it is likely or just words with asterix' in, let us focus on what it would mean for your shift patterns, job roles and job security. I know from other threads that a few people are concerned and we have a lot of questions.

I politely ask that if all you are interested in point scoring or shooting down people's opinions, please bugger off!


Let's begin.

If we look at how things currently are; generally speaking we are short-staffed. RM is trying to attract new staff but with the newer contracts, this seems to be failing. Royal Mail is spending too much on agency staff, especially on Sundays. Mail volumes are currently very low. New contracts have been taken for Sunday parcels. And of course, RM loses a million pounds every time the wind changes.

A 5 day USO will reduce the amount of staff needed for a Saturday. Redeploying most of the staff to Sunday could completely remove all Sunday overtime and agency work.

There is no way duty holders will get away with a Monday to Friday week, unless it directly benefits Royal Mail, and it doesn't. They would have to do an enormous recruitment drive for weekend only workers, and they would be stupid to think that would go well.

No instead, initially i'd expect shift patterns to remain mostly the same. I think their first move will be to move the easiest people to move to Sundays from Saturdays. That's the people with contracts from the past few years. They can keep them flexible and move them between the weekend days as needed.

If they need any more to move to Sundays then they will look at asking older contracted staff. A fair amount would be happy to work Sundays over Saturdays.

I'd imagine that would be enough staff to cover weekend demand and also fill gaps during the week with spares.

Wage bill will be massively reduced without the need for redundancies due to reduced overtime and agency. Sunday demand will be met. Holes created by staff leaving will be filled and there will be less pressure on recruitment. Win, win, win for RM.

I don't think there needs to be any panic about job losses, for one there are still many more looking to leave after September.

[Clappedoutpostie]

You forgot to add “in my opinion” at the end.

[plymouth3]

You right it won’t automatically mean Mon to Friday

I guess it would just be an excuse to leave in mail walks and stop recruiting staff.

It would probably mean we are moved to walks with double mail most days. Possibly alternating park and loop walks!

[rubberbond]

You right it won’t automatically mean Mon to Friday

I guess it would just be an excuse to leave in mail walks and stop recruiting staff.

It would probably mean we are moved to walks with double mail most days. Possibly alternating park and loop walks!

We are already at this status are we not.

[SpacePhoenix]

There is no way duty holders will get away with a Monday to Friday week, unless it directly benefits Royal Mail, and it doesn't.

Delivery staff who don't drive will end up Monday-Friday as Saturday & Sunday will be Tracked and packets (SDs on Saturdays)

[ted_e_bear]

You right it won’t automatically mean Mon to Friday

I guess it would just be an excuse to leave in mail walks and stop recruiting staff.

It would probably mean we are moved to walks with double mail most days. Possibly alternating park and loop walks!

That's what I thought, saying temporarily relaxing the uso is as good as saying here's the green light to go ahead with a complete cluster mess up and make it ok to carry on as they already have been but now officially.

If it was "set in stone" enforced mon-fri mail but 7 days parcels then that might be different.

[A2B]

Not sure where you get the idea a fair amount of staff would prefer working a Sunday to a Saturday?

If we go to a 5 day USO surely there would need to be a uniform shift pattern, rest weeks and the like finished. With October fast approaching and 24/25 holidays due to be booked RM need to make their plan known before then as people will book their leave around their current shift.

Also what happens to mail processing, will they carry on as normal and mail will go to offices and be left or will the machines not run and distribution cease for a day.

[SpacePhoenix]

Also what happens to mail processing, will they carry on as normal and mail will go to offices and be left or will the machines not run and distribution cease for a day.

iirc last time we processed the mail as normal (all streams) on the Friday nights and sent it to the DOs as normal

[postslippete]

If Royal Mail are still using creative accounting to suggest that they are still losing a million pounds a day then it is being done to push through changes like reducing the USO. The company are likely to constantly keep pushing the boundaries regarding their obligations now because once these changes kick in and the company can't hide the fact that they are making a decent profit (to please the share-holders), it will be much harder for them to convince both the regulator and the government in the future that it is entirely necessary.

As for Sunday working, there is a large proportion of staff who would rather poke their own eyeballs out but imho if they made Sunday's more attractive then more existing staff would probably do it. There is a Sunday premium but starting and finishing later on a weekend is as unattractive as starting and finishing later during the week.

Royal Mail must be saving a small fortune by having less staff and if they prefer to waste it on employment agencies because they can't get all the work covered during the week because they have made duties bigger then that's up to them. All a 5 day USO is going to do is make Monday's even busier and less likely to be delivered unless they employ more staff or reduce the walks; and I can't see them doing either.

[Foxel]

You forgot to add “in my opinion” at the end.

...or shooting down people's opinions....

[Foxel]

Delivery staff who don't drive will end up Monday-Friday as Saturday & Sunday will be Tracked and packets (SDs on Saturdays)

I forgot to mention that part, there are some very grey areas. There is room for creativity. Track parcels via a trolly, two in a van. Will be interesting to see. Though there are a number of non-drivers who can actually drive and the ones that I know that cannot have the opinion that they will need to learn how to to have a job in the future.

[Foxel]

Not sure where you get the idea a fair amount of staff would prefer working a Sunday to a Saturday?

If we go to a 5 day USO surely there would need to be a uniform shift pattern, rest weeks and the like finished. With October fast approaching and 24/25 holidays due to be booked RM need to make their plan known before then as people will book their leave around their current shift.

Also what happens to mail processing, will they carry on as normal and mail will go to offices and be left or will the machines not run and distribution cease for a day.

I know a lot that would rather work Sunday or don't really care which as long as it's not both. Football fans etc. I suspect the shift pattern to be the same with the rolling day off just with the weekend day varying. Many have never had a uniform shift pattern, I haven't had a Saturday off in over a year and have no idea what I'm working sometimes until the morning of the shift. Just my opinion but I think they will try and change as little as possible.

It's harder for me to comment on processing, but I presume they wouldn't process mail on a Friday night, in the same way they don't on a Saturday. The logistics should be quite straightforward. But this might be where they could then make job cuts.

[Foxel]

There is a Sunday premium

The Sunday premium has gone for new starters.

[SpacePhoenix]

Delivery staff who don't drive will end up Monday-Friday as Saturday & Sunday will be Tracked and packets (SDs on Saturdays)

I forgot to mention that part, there are some very grey areas. There is room for creativity. Track parcels via a trolly, two in a van. Will be interesting to see. Though there are a number of non-drivers who can actually drive and the ones that I know that cannot have the opinion that they will need to learn how to to have a job in the future.

Don't forget that new product that RM have brought in, it's basically Tracked but for stuff going abroad, called "International Tracked Heavier" (Max 20kg, Max L 61cm, x W 46cm, x D 46cm). I'd imagine that we'd start to see ones coming from abroad with a similar size limit. It wouldn't surprise me to see the limit in both directions upped to 30Kg fairly soon.

[LouBarlow]

You right it won’t automatically mean Mon to Friday

I guess it would just be an excuse to leave in mail walks and stop recruiting staff.

It would probably mean we are moved to walks with double mail most days. Possibly alternating park and loop walks!

You can do this easily with town routes, but alternating rural deliveries is more difficult.