06/03/24 Mount Pleasant Bulletin

[jimallen]

Hi, here's the Mount Pleasant bulletin of 6 March. Comments are always welcome!

WHY WOULD WE LEAVE?
Twenty-four of our workmates in Processing left a couple
of weeks ago, on those lousy VR terms. We can
understand why workmates would rather take this cutprice
9-month package than stay here in this madhouse.
But now we hear management is talking about ending
voluntary redundancy payments altogether! So they'll
offer zilch, nothing, nada? Do they not want us to leave,
after all?

(NOT-REALLY) WELCOME TO OUR RANKS?
Imagine this: there they were, both the line manager and
shift manager on Processing Nights, improvising a
sorting frame in a little corner of the shop floor and trying
to sort just like us... A sorry sight, indeed! Yes, now
they are forced to react - no matter how uselessly - given
the amount of work which piles up, thanks to all the
workmates who they let go without replacing them...

BRING THEM BACK!
We hear a Processing resign is coming up in April. But
are the "supernumeraries" who are still here to be
included? Because they need to be reintegrated in
Processing! And brought under MP again: we want all of
our "missing" workmates back with us.

SHIFT'S OVER? WE GO HOME!
On PSA, we've made sure that Mr Witless "gets it": if
items arrive late, it isn't our problem. We will not stay
longer to clear the work. So when they expect us to stay
and help clear after our finishing time, we say, no we
can't and we won't!

TOO BUSY FOR WTS?
What has happened to PSA's Work Time Sleeping
sessions? We have not had one for ages... They say
regular sleep breaks are good for health, so we definitely
need WTS brought back!

WE REFUSE TO PAY FOR THIS
CWU leader, Martin Walsh, informed us that internal
mail flights are being cut by RM, including those going to
Stansted. Apparently RM bosses claim that it is more
"environmentally friendly" to move mail by road(!?) or
train, but we know it's only because it's cheaper for
them! So what about the unfriendly effect on us of later
starts in Distribution and the knock-on effect on Delivery
and Processing start times?

BAD DEAL
Walsh claims that the CWU has negotiated a "good
deal" on our behalf - without involving us or asking us
our opinions first! He said that Delivery start times will
not be as late as RM wanted, but to be honest, nobody
really knows any details yet. What we do know is that
these changes aren't in our interests.

"PLAYING" FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES
On Deliveries, we're getting more of these ParcelForce
packets. And they're getting bigger and heavier. Trying
to fit everything into our vans has become an impossible,
never-ending Tetris-like game! In fact, by the time we've
packed and repacked, our shift is near-enough finished
and it's time to go home!

USE YOUR TRUNK AND SUCK IT UP!
The re-sign for cleaners has been obstructed for 3
weeks now by the Elephant... He thinks RM-PFS is his
own private kingdom, creating reserved "special" duties,
etc., etc., as everybody knows. But our main issue is
that the workload for every duty has increased. In fact,
duties have been merged, so that 1 of us will be
expected to do the job of 2! If anyone in the Mount
notices that a spot of cleaning has been missed, they'll
know who to blame!

THIS NEED TO BE SORTED!
We keep saying this, but us cleaners need to have our
own union rep. The only rep we can contact is off-site,
which isn't good enough. And since we know how the
Elephant behaved towards our previous union reps, we
absolutely need to elect a rep and 2 or 3 deputies for
back-up!

RM MUST SECURE THIS
Our car park, built under the new block of very
expensive flats at Phoenix Place, has a broken door,
meaning anyone can wander in... And there's no
security on duty. We're told bikes have been stolen and
that cars might be broken into. But this is RM dedicated
parking, so RM management needs to ensure that it's
secure - ASAP!

NOT MUCH OF AN "INVESTIGATION"
Last week's BBC Panorama episode entitled "Where's
my post?" was revealing, but not revealing enough...
The reporter posted 51x 1st Class letters, but only 21
arrived next-day, and 2 never arrived at all! The delayed
letters were found to have got stuck in local DOs. But
the programme only told us what everyone knows
already: that "parcels are being prioritised". Not a word
about the cause: RM's drastic job cuts and its policy of
casualisation.

PLANNING AHEAD
It was busy on Monday in Processing and we can only
wonder if this is because people are now sending their
Mothers' Day gifts a week earlier - in the hope that these
will actually reach their destination by the 10th of March?
Indeed, punters already know (without Panorama's
help!), that the post will be delayed at best, and at worst,
completely lost.

GOOD BYE FIRST CLASS
In the last 10 years (that is, since privatisation), the cost
of a 1st class stamp has more than doubled, to £1.35
from this April. At the same time, "1st class service" has
disintegrated, with (officially!) a quarter of letters arriving
late! Anyone with any sense already sends their mail
second class.

[postslippete]

Personally, I think it was a sh*t deal and the CWU leaders bottled it


I saw the video with Martin Walsh and whilst it is commendable that they managed to pause the revisions in 250 units, they have done bugger all about offices like ours that have had imposed revisions. If I can recall the Union at the time postponed giving us the ballot until the company restored quality of service and reviewed those failed revisions yet we are still waiting for this to happen...