Post staff to hold national strikes (22+23 oct)

Big_Melons

Does anyone know if Special Delivery items will still be delivered?

I am having a party next weekend and wanted to order some bits for it but can't do it until Wednesday (payday wooo), I was going to order the stuff and have it sent by SD but don't want to do that if they won't be delivering. Also if they did and I wasn't in (school run) I am assuming the collection point won't be open.

Whats a girl to do???

HalfPint

Specials will still be delivered...they become a priority on strike days...though I'd suggest ordering earlier rather than later.

HP x

PS - sorry just re-read and realised you can't order til wed....your local PHG office should still be open...I know ours always is (even if it means the depo manager has to work in there!)

Big_Melons

Thanks for that, I feel better about doing it now, I dont want to use a courier as I find them much much worse then RM haha.

wileycat

HalfPint wrote: »

Specials will still be delivered...they become a priority on strike days...though I'd suggest ordering earlier rather than later.

HP x

PS - sorry just re-read and realised you can't order til wed....your local PHG office should still be open...I know ours always is (even if it means the depo manager has to work in there!)

Posting weds for delivery thurs should be fine.

wileycat

custardy wrote: »

well in MC's this 'modernisation' will end in job losses
in delivery is a bit more complex

eg we are supposed to (well for years and years) be getting walk sequencing machines
these supposedly sort all the letters into the order of the posties frame(They dont do A4 flats though)
RM say this will save X time for delivery posties.
however in trial offices the machines havent saved anywhere near that,break down often and dont handle the levels of mail required

so you can see again if RM say X machine saves Y time how those figures will end in disagreement.
then you have the fact the machines dont do flats/stairs at all
so for someone like myself with all stairs(im in delivery) thewn wheres the saving?
offices where walk sequencing has been trialed have been getting their mail sorted later and getting out later,progress?
then for my own office we were recently moved to a 'larger' office along with another office to be combined.
so we have less space than we had in the old office(RM are selling off delivery offices so this is why we moved)
so where will the machines go?

as you can see from this little snapshot its not a simple answer

oh and to add.right now we get 'coded' bundles first thing in the morning
these are letters mech sorted to the walk order (not sequenced though) however on busy days this mail is 'crash' sorted
because theres no enough staff and the machines cant cope.
so lots more manual sorting
if theres not enough capacity to do coded bundles,what are the walk sequencing machines going to produce
according to RM we will have nothing to do with these wonder machines

We're doing Walk Sequencing now...I've heard of the problems you can get with it, but we don't get them...we sequence and still out the door on time.
Depending on the way its sequenced it can arrive later at the delivery office for prep.
They should never be crash sorting mech mails, thats a waste of time and money.

mazza111

Do you think any of the posties actually want to strike? I know I certainly don't, trying to work as much overtime that's available so I will be able to afford a small christmas this year, to cover what i'll lose during any industrial action.

RM is taking the proverbial out of many of it's employees. Duties that take well over there time. Had one timed last week that was supposedly 3hrs 30 which actually was 4hr 15. I'm pretty sure it's not the only duty in the office that's like that.

Many posties use their own cars to make their deliveries, as it saves needing to wait for transport to get them to their delivery point. Because 9/10 times, if you are waiting for a van to drop you off you won't get out on time.

Royal Mail try to tell everyone that the volume of letters is dropping at an alarming rate. When they say this, they mean stamped mail, like letters, postcards, birthday cards, etc. What they don't say is the amount of catalogues and parcels is rising. What would u rather carry in your bag a letter or a catalogue? Therefore bags are getting heavier by the day.

I do realise this action hurts the customers, but what would you suggest the posties do? Keep going on being treated like we've just been scraped off the shoes of the management? Keep giving the big cheese big bonuses, when we can't get a slight payrise?

I seriously wish there was an alternative to industrial action, but when everything the union takes to the table is rejected, i don't see any other option, and I think you have to have a relative or to have worked for them yourself to know the kinda stuff that a postie has to put up with. Health and Safety is totally ignored and I'm surprised that more posties aren't injured more with bad backs/knees.

An Injured Postie

HalfPint

mazza111 wrote: »

and I think you have to have a relative or to have worked for them yourself to know the kinda stuff that a postie has to put up with. Health and Safety is totally ignored and I'm surprised that more posties aren't injured more with bad backs/knees.

An Injured Postie

Totally agree....and don't get me started on H&S :mad:...OH was bullied out of claim he legitimately had...injury at work and all that.

HP x

Cissi

custardy wrote: »

right so the proposals from RM will have no impact on your service?
if you believe that you are living in a dream world.
the customer is further down RM's list than its staff in its cuts.
Yes, they probably will, which is another reason why I'm now looking elsewhere. Either way, RM workers will suffer when businesses large and small are forced elsewhere.

there have been many profitable PO's shut in central Scotland that were profitable so dont think providing business makes a difference
I'm sure it isn't enough, but it certainly helps - our local PO was the only one in the area that stayed open, because it was the most profitable one.

worked as a chef for over 15 years so this sort of statement cuts no ice with me
I probably didn't express myself very well - I meant in addition to normal working hours of course. Unless you ran your own restaurant you probably didn't pull the same number of hours that I have for the past couple of years, but that's beside the point - I'm simply saying that my family and own employees have to come first, even though I do feel for the RM workers. I don't have a solution for their situation, but I don't think striking is it. And if it hurts the business I've worked so hard to make a success I won't have much sympathy left over.

See my comments above.

custardy

well the fact is RM are not interested
so wheres the option when the company wont listen.the one plus point of the strike is later when it all goes belly up and the service is in shreds postal staff can say they tried.
of course the present execs will be be long gone fully pensioned and bonus'd up

as for your reference on chef hours,you have no idea the hours a chef does
my longest shift was over 30 hours so you really dont want to go there

HalfPint

why is it chef's venture into rm ...OH was a chef too. I know a few posties who were chefs. Sorry Cissi....Chef's work damn hard and long long hours....you put the hours in cause it is your business, cause you want it to succeed and rightly so. Chef's put the hours in cause they have to, to get paid by someone else's business, it's the nature of the hospitality industry....longs hours in a hot kitchen mmmm not for me thank you...sorry I've digressed.

Back to RM....get rid of the dross, stop the execs bonuses...and get them to do a weeks work of the postie...maybe they should do an undercover thing! might open thier eyes a bit as to what the "worker" has to put up with! I bet not many rm exec would last more than 3 days in a normal depo doing a full walk and sort.

Said my peace. HP x