Parcels through the roof!!

[scotchy1962]

Not sure if it's just in Northern Ireland or if it's the mainland as well, we are absolutely swamped with parcels and we are not talking sensible levels we are talking 2 to 3 times what we have ever experienced, amazon seem to have done the usual and dumped what they can't cope with but the amount is scary, there doesn't seem to be any last lorry as they just keep coming and yesterday our special deliveries didn't make it down from the mail centre until the afternoon. I haven't seen anything like it and they have already started asking about sunday working to clear the mail.
I am seeing no way of me delivering any meaningful mail if this continues up to xmas and i don't work sundays or o/t, i will leave it in the hands of my manager to solve this conundrum.
Really just checking it's not just us.

[tramssirhc]

Word on the street is it's chaos everywhere. Not a word from the CWU though. If I was running a company and I didn't want to be tied to work that was governed by legislation I'd create chaos. It'd give me the proof I needed to say to the body providing the work covered by the legislation that it simply isn't possible anymore. Christmas 2025 won't look anything like Christmas 2024, nor will the job. Meanwhile the CWU says nothing.

[Rommagic]

Cwu should update us after yesterday meeting?.

[Idk]

Not just you dude, madness here in the midlands too.

[Mr Rush]

We're down to Specials and Tracked and no time to do anything else. If volumes exceed the current level then we'll be forced to do the unthinkable and start failing Tracked.

We should have been on the [redacted] for the last [redacted]. The MP is visiting tomorrow, presumably blindfolded.

[RHONE]

The C W not with U have packed up for the year 2 weeks off full pay.

[Dingo99]

Nuts here in Kent, although I would say same level as last year, but today was so bad (I am a duty holder of a trolley singleton duty) that I had to ask for help, and chuck out loads of packets as I had a full york just from the first wave! It was worst than yesterday when I had 87 tracked, although with the assistance I only had about 62 tracked in the end. Luckily this week only had 1 door to door, my rest day was Monday so my cover colleague put in just a row and a half and on Tuesday I finished the job (just, with about 2 minutes to spare) as although I had I think it was 52 tracked on Tuesday I got the whole duty in one trolley so it was manageable. Like today, I had to come back to replenish trolley and I lose 30 minutes walking back, loading up with rest of duty and going out again, just lucky no trains slowed me down!

[postslippete]

Parcels coming out of our ears today! When I walked in there was already two full Yorks of parcels waiting to be sorted for just my round. When I got through those, lo and behold, there was another York crammed full of parcels.... A lot of it was oversized which we put aside for parcel drivers as we only have a small combo. There were nearly 300 Tracked parcels that we had scanned for both duties and didn't get out until nearly 11pm.

Fortunately, we have additional drivers coming in and working the evenings taking most of the extra parcels

[Perseus]

Not so long ago people would stay out and complete but those days are gone.
The company don't seem interested in the slightest with engaging with staff to make it happen, instead they pay agency 50% more to do 50% less work, and that's being kind.
There will be few of us left next Christmas.

[Clappedoutpostie]

Company’s have switched their Yodel volume to RM plus Amazon have run out of victims to recruit. We are even failing Tracked everyday but the 24’s must get delivered. Don’t worry it will soon be January and we will be losing a million a day again.

[broughts]

I’m a distribution driver and watch everyday as the parcels and packets get cleared yet there are Yorks and Yorks of manual letters unsorted it’s criminal but yet again will hide behind health and safety and space issue

[Oscar_Grouch]

Not so long ago people would stay out and complete but those days are gone.
The company don't seem interested in the slightest with engaging with staff to make it happen

...

Stay out and complete?!

A good number of us aren't finishing til 5pm, and only getting ½ the duty and all 150+ tracked and specials done.
I can only vouch for singletons, the van shares have been in a much worse mess every day and not just in peak

2 years ago, pre 2023 disaster revision, yes an hour or two each day in December was enough to complete with a small sense of job satisfaction to boot.

No amount of engagement can fix the problem of the vast majority of us having far more to do than is humanly possible.

[Aardvark]

It's a hole Royal Mail management have dug for themselves. They cut staff and made the rounds so big that on a normal day completing was difficult. Now its xmas and they HAVE NOT GOT THE CAPACITY to do it. It is a ridiculous notion for them to think that the job at Christmas is achievable. I for one don't see any reason why I should go way over each day to sort out the mess for a company that treats its employees like cattle.

[heraldmoth]

It's a hole Royal Mail management have dug for themselves. They cut staff and made the rounds so big that on a normal day completing was difficult. Now its xmas and they HAVE NOT GOT THE CAPACITY to do it. It is a ridiculous notion for them to think that the job at Christmas is achievable. I for one don't see any reason why I should go way over each day to sort out the mess for a company that treats its employees like cattle.

Forgetting the whole reason why your customers tip you this time of year, it’s meant to be difficult, fair enough cut off during the year but this has become pathetic, pre covid I regularly did 60 hour weeks in December 2 clear, directionless management, self serving union and now a delusional workforce afraid to be working class

[Acca Dacca]

It's a hole Royal Mail management have dug for themselves. They cut staff and made the rounds so big that on a normal day completing was difficult. Now its xmas and they HAVE NOT GOT THE CAPACITY to do it. It is a ridiculous notion for them to think that the job at Christmas is achievable. I for one don't see any reason why I should go way over each day to sort out the mess for a company that treats its employees like cattle.

Forgetting the whole reason why your customers tip you this time of year, it’s meant to be difficult, fair enough cut off during the year but this has become pathetic, pre covid I regularly did 60 hour weeks in December 2 clear, directionless management, self serving union and now a delusional workforce afraid to be working class

1. The tip is generally given as thanks for your service during the year - its an end of the year thing not just because xmas is tough
2. Well done you doing 60 hours a week - cant call ourselves working class if not prepared to be a hero like you