Equalisation

[Pudding1978]

Anyone with any inside knowledge on uso and equalisation agreement

[BenacreNick]

Coming soon, don't stress about it, you will hear soon enough.

[Sean06]

new contracts will be 37 hours not 40..payrise of 3%..4.75% for new starters.

[Smoothbackground]

But losing our 1.25 overtime rate!!

[pm55]

Not only are new entrants losing the 1.25x overtime rate, but the difference between the two contracts has barely changed because nothing has been mentioned about delivery supplement or paid breaks. In what world does equalisation mean a £108 difference a week when you compare hour for hour worked doing the same job?

Lets have a look at the numbers based on a 37 hour week:

Standard contract including delivery supplement (london weighting in brackets)

2025: £556 (£660) x 52 = £28,937 (£34,319) - 180 minutes of paid breaks per week
2026: £573 (680) x 52 = £29,796 (£35,338) - 180 minutes of paid breaks per week

New inferior contract

2025: £483 (£573) x 52 = £25,127 (£29,801) – NO PAID BREAKS
2026: £506 (£600) x 52 = £26,321 (£31,217) – NO PAID BREAKS

Remember, with 3 hours of paid breaks per week, the standard contract works 34 hours out of 37, the inferior contract works 37. So lets see the difference in hourly rate and actual hours worked.

Standard contract hourly over 34 hours worked

2025: £16.35/h
2026: £16.84/h

New inferior contract hourly over 37 hours worked

2025: 13.06/h
2026: 13.68/h

Difference

2025: £3.29/h
2026: £3.16/h

Hour to hour comparison

34 hours worked on the inferior contract is £465 after the agreement, £108 less than the standard contract. Over a year this amounts to £5616 difference in pay if you compare hour to hour worked. This is the real difference between the contracts and why there is no mention of delivery supplement and paid breaks, both of these things hide the fact that new contracts are still making 20% less than the standard contract.

Equalization: the action or process of making things the same in quantity, size, or degree throughout a place or group.

[tramssirhc]

Not only are new entrants losing the 1.25x overtime rate, but the difference between the two contracts has barely changed because nothing has been mentioned about delivery supplement or paid breaks. In what world does equalisation mean a £108 difference a week when you compare hour for hour worked doing the same job?

Lets have a look at the numbers based on a 37 hour week:

Standard contract including delivery supplement (london weighting in brackets)

2025: £556 (£660) x 52 = £28,937 (£34,319) - 180 minutes of paid breaks per week
2026: £573 (680) x 52 = £29,796 (£35,338) - 180 minutes of paid breaks per week

New inferior contract

2025: £483 (£573) x 52 = £25,127 (£29,801) – NO PAID BREAKS
2026: £506 (£600) x 52 = £26,321 (£31,217) – NO PAID BREAKS

Remember, with 3 hours of paid breaks per week, the standard contract works 34 hours out of 37, the inferior contract works 37. So lets see the difference in hourly rate and actual hours worked.

Standard contract hourly over 34 hours worked

2025: £16.35/h
2026: £16.84/h

New inferior contract hourly over 37 hours worked

2025: 13.06/h
2026: 13.68/h

Difference

2025: £3.29/h
2026: £3.16/h

Hour to hour comparison

34 hours worked on the inferior contract is £465 after the agreement, £108 less than the standard contract. Over a year this amounts to £5616 difference in pay if you compare hour to hour worked. This is the real difference between the contracts and why there is no mention of delivery supplement and paid breaks, both of these things hide the fact that new contracts are still making 20% less than the standard contract.

Equalization: the action or process of making things the same in quantity, size, or degree throughout a place or group.

Spot on. Its about the working time. Equalisation is pushed into 2027. What the CWU claim they wanted and would achieve is not what's on offer. The only change is that there will be support for the 3 workers going 4 jobs. This support will come from lone workers who may or may not have spare time to help.

[Perseus]

The support for the '3 doing 4' people was already coming from rural duties in some offices already though wasn't it?
Rural/singleton duties were only doing one half of duty, plus all premium products/tracked/1C on other half, freeing up around 40 mins to help each day, before switching the next.

[Rick91]

I've been wondering whether new starters would be opposed to performance based equalisation. I know our office has lost some really competent posties due to the pay issue. If a person on a new contract had to achieve certain parameters for equal pay then that would offer opportunities to the new starters, and also benefit Royal Mail. I suspect it'd be much more achievable compared to whatever avenue the union are pursuing.

I think I first heard equalisation being top priority in 2024. For the union to now make it a 2027 issue really isn't great.

[Joe2783]

The unions version of equalisation is giving a 1.75% on top of the 3%, which equates to about 23p an hour. And to cut the overtime rate which is worth about £3.25 an hour. They should be ashamed of themselves

[TooManyLoops]

But losing our 1.25 overtime rate!!

Old contracts didn't get that. Gotta be equal and all that...

[Joe2783]

But losing our 1.25 overtime rate!!

Old contracts didn't get that. Gotta be equal and all that...

I get that, but pay us the same before cutting the overtime rate.

[TopperGas]

The unions version of equalisation is giving a 1.75% on top of the 3%, which equates to about 23p an hour. And to cut the overtime rate which is worth about £3.25 an hour. They should be ashamed of themselves

You do realise it's RM who've made the offer not the CWU, if this is all RM are prepared to offer there's little the CWU can do but accept it, as there's no way legacy workers are going to strike for equalisation for new contract workers.

It seems pretty clear now RM have no real intention to equalise contracts, if they were they would have set out a timetable when they hope to achieve it.

[Scointer]

The unions version of equalisation is giving a 1.75% on top of the 3%, which equates to about 23p an hour. And to cut the overtime rate which is worth about £3.25 an hour. They should be ashamed of themselves

You do realise it's RM who've made the offer not the CWU, if this is all RM are prepared to offer there's little the CWU can do but accept it, as there's no way legacy workers are going to strike for equalisation for new contract workers.

It seems pretty clear now RM have no real intention to equalise contracts, if they were they would have set out a timetable when they hope to achieve it.

And with these new jobs being advertised how long before the new contracts start to get to close to equaling the amount of people on old contracts. Then when the company wants to downgrade the old contracts there will be the same thinking about striking for that.
People are quite short sighted and sadly the company are counting on it.

[A2B]

And with these new jobs being advertised how long before the new contracts start to get to close to equaling the amount of people on old contracts.

This is going to happen in our office within the next few months

[thefox]

But losing our 1.25 overtime rate!!

Old contracts didn't get that. Gotta be equal and all that...
Equalisation.