A 5 day USO and what it might mean.

[guardianangel]

We have been on a 3 day uso since March of this year alternating walks each day,there will not be a reduction in staff in our office because loads have already left and none of our walks have any floats or cover for our day off ,they can't retain any staff either and word gets around how awful royal mail are and we have few applicants applying for vacancies. im afraid a 5 day uso in our office will have no effect on us,maybe its time to attract the working mothers with a 3 day week or a 9 to 3 shift,maybe they could job share ,its no longer a good job for a full timer no work life balance and with the yes vote Sundays for all is coming quicker than you think.

[LouBarlow]

Sunday working has nothing to do with the agreement but sure let’s blame that for everything I guess.

[derricksmyth]

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.

It depends, I joined in 1988. The only requirement was that I could walk or ride a bike. Newer contracts have the drive requirement.

[CRIBMAD]

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.

who cares anymore ? and as for worrying about job losses lol .....BRING IT ON !

[NWpostie]

We have been on a 3 day uso since March of this year alternating walks each day,there will not be a reduction in staff in our office because loads have already left and none of our walks have any floats or cover for our day off ,they can't retain any staff either and word gets around how awful royal mail are and we have few applicants applying for vacancies. im afraid a 5 day uso in our office will have no effect on us,maybe its time to attract the working mothers with a 3 day week or a 9 to 3 shift,maybe they could job share ,its no longer a good job for a full timer no work life balance and with the yes vote Sundays for all is coming quicker than you think.

Not only that up North, Prenton managers have gone and suspended half of the delivery staff for drinking a cup of tea/coffee in a pub, to date 6 have been dismissed and some have been reinstated one with penalties the rest are still suspended, you couldn't make it up, the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

[Cedar_Room]

In my office weekend tracked & SD’s could easily be covered by the docket lovers. Put them on some sort of rota & let them crack on!

Stick the rest of us on a Monday to Friday. Of course the chance of RM doing this are minimal,as they know it’s what a lot of their employees want!

[Jb1969]

If they are “temporarily” disabling the USO in its entirety whats to stop them making another 20,000 redundant?
Deliveries every other day, that’s 50% of the workforce gone.
Because that’s the direction they will take, all about profit, ignore anything else!

[twoloops]

I'm in Monday to Friday

[hazzeem025]

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.

Okay. So everyone who doesn't have a driving licence either learns or looses their job? Wow.

[calsae]

My thoughts on the suspension of the USO, rather than a Mon-Fri, RM could commit to deliver 5 days out of 6 so essentially an area is not covered on the duty holders day off (mostly happening everyday now) That way in the short term they don’t change duty hours but free up any reserves to use as required.

[taurus88]

A lot will depend on your office - as ever there will be 200 different ways of working it through 200 different offices.

If you’re in a smaller office, Monday to Friday may very well become the norm for all but the most recently employed. Saturdays and Sundays probably won’t require as many staff and any shortfall could be made up with overtime - especially as midweek overtime will be non-existent and allocating a small budget to weekend work will probably be tolerable.

Obviously, one-sixth of the staff immediately becoming redundant opens up a lot of members of staff to cover the weekends as well, but this theory only stands up if you’re currently at the proper levels already. At our office, for instance, we’d probably only be left with a couple of spare bodies due to how many people have left without being replaced.

[thefox]

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.

Okay. So everyone who doesn't have a driving licence either learns or looses their job? Wow.

Ha ha aye sounds great maybe r.mail will pay for us to learn

[pieoftheday]

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.

Okay. So everyone who doesn't have a driving licence either learns or looses their job? Wow.

Ha ha aye sounds great maybe r.mail will pay for us to learn

They used to give posties driving lessons and put them through the driving test years ago, all you had to do was sign for a driving duty for a set amount of time,forget how long. Most of the chaps I started with got their license through RM, stupidly I didnt

[guardianangel]

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.

Okay. So everyone who doesn't have a driving licence either learns or looses their job? Wow.

Funny thing is they have just had an influx of agency guys and half cant drive,you couldn't make it up.

[Acca Dacca]

If I didn’t look on this forum I wouldn’t have heard of any of these rumours

Not a peep in my office about it