03/06/2020 Mount Pleasant Bulletin

[jimallen]

Hi, find below the Mount Pleasant bulletin of the 3rd of June.
The full bulletin in pdf version is attached (with front page editorial).
Comments are welcome, as usual.

WHAT NEXT?
We've already had issues collecting Covid-19 home test
kits. Some people at home don't have them ready or
haven't stuck the barcode on - others haven't even
sealed the box properly! And we're supposed to collect
tens of these per day? When we just had “half-a-minute”
training from RM? This is far worse (and riskier) than
having to deal with the samples we already handle from
the NHS bowel cancer screening.

NOT AT OUR EXPENSE
Obviously, delivering and collecting home test kits is not
what RM is really "proud" of! It's "proud" to be making
money out of it! As for us, there's no pride in getting
sick, so we shouldn't take risks. So masks should be
mandatory. And when managers tells us they're giving
us extra-protection, but then that masks are voluntary,
we can put our feet down. We need full, good quality,
protective gear!

THE MIND BOGGLES
Apparently we’re meant to be reassured that the bosses
have "worked with the Chief Medical Officer" to keep us
safe while collecting these tests… when this Officer has
already shown how trustworthy he is! But management
is reorganising our work for this new service. And we
also see that if there isn't as much demand as they think,
they intend to keep us busy delivering “other premium
products”! Like D2D, maybe...?

COVID-INSECURE CERTIFICATE
So we're supposed to be a “Covid-secure” workplace
now? Despite the fact that there are areas where we still
can't keep the 2 meters social distancing! Management
has done nothing about it. Better still, top managers and
CWU union officials have sent a joint letter patting
themselves on the back, telling us they've implemented
“appropriate controls” to keep us safe... Thanks for that.
We feel so reassured!

WHERE DO THEY SHOP?
Saying that, we don't understand why it took
management so long to introduce PPE and why the
quality of it is so poor. We can guess that the later and
the cheaper, the better? But then RM issued a statement
saying they've spent £40m on PPE... So what
happened? Are they buying masks at £4 each on ebay?

SHIELDED AGAINST COMMON SENSE?
And what we've noticed is this: that some managers
don't even wear masks. Do they think they're immune to
Covid-19? Sure, they don't get their hands dirty but they
do release a fair amount of hot air... So please, for the
sake of the rest of us, keep your masks on!
PS: And by the way, in some workplaces temperature
checks have become standard. Not that it would catch
asymptomatic people, but at least it would catch anyone
developing symptoms and thus help avoiding a new spike
of infections. But bringing this in is probably too much to
expect from managers...

OUR HEALTH FIRST
Thank goodness managers are not following the Public
Health England guidelines for cleaners to the letter -
which says we should clean work areas using warm
soapy water first. When it makes more sense to use the
anti-viral product first and then wash later! But then,
managers are not recommending masks and eye
protection as well as gloves and aprons to be worn at all
times. And given that we've to assume there will always
be asymptomatic shedders of the virus around, we should
err on the side of caution - and wear good protection at
all times.

WHICH HOLIDAYS?
What a welcome we get when we come back from
absence! When those of us who've been stuck in other
countries due to the lockdown finally return, we're met
by management telling us we've no holidays left! And
then they've the cheek to tell us we should be grateful
RM “advanced” the extra “holidays” to us? As if we'd
chosen to be stuck far from home for weeks on end. It
makes us feel like going straight out the exit door again!

CUCKOOLAND
Can someone ask top managers to stop sending letters
saying how much they care about us? The latest says
they're “prioritising the safety, health and wellbeing of
our people across the spectrum of physical and mental
health”... Sure, and the next one will announce that pigs
with masks on have been seen flying past?

NO MORE 318? OK!
Oh dear, managers still can't clear the work despite
making us quite dizzy with their constant pushing and
pulling us from one job to another. But since they've
shown they've no problem giving any of us any duty,
regardless, we see no reason why we shouldn't do the
same - and do which ever job suits us...

WE AREN'T TRACKED PARCELS
So now we're going to be GPS-tracked on our deliveries?
RM's new “Track & Trace” customer service allows both
customers and managers to access our PDA's GPS
coordinates. Of course, we're told that it's been “agreed
that the new development is not being deployed for, or
will be used as, a disciplinary tool”? But we don't feel
reassured. We know DUMs have bad habits and these
bad habits die hard. But hey, no problem. We also know
how to deal with that!

MINUS £ ON THE PAY…
For those of us on the RMPP, our pension contributions
went up by 3.3%, which was more than our last pay
increase (2%)! Well we shouldn’t be paying the pension
increase, if we haven’t got the pay rise. And quoting
chunks from the 2014 agreement at us, as the CWU
does, won’t make it any more fair. So, when are going
to hear about our already overdue pay rise?