Universal Service Comms

[Smoothbackground]

It's an elephant in the room for the CWU that they want to equalise terms and conditions, but they know this type of thing goes on up and down the country. When I first started, no new entrants would EVER have 3-4-5 days worth of mail on a 1500 delivery point duty to contend with. It's become the norm.

So glad I’m not the only one on here who can see and recognise the disparity in workload and “productivity” expectations for legacy staff and new-entrant staff. And no, I’m not moaning about my own lot — I have it pretty damn good, I think. I suppose the take-home message is that, following introduction of the ODM, this level of expectation will be applied to all staff across the board. Sorry, but that seems fair enough to me.

[Patmanposts]

I think you’ve pointed out there the exact reasons “legacy staff” ain’t happy. How you describe a new starters’ day is exactly how everyone’s day is gonna be day in day out.
The chances are that new starters are younger people without the toll on their bodies from years of doing the job, well if they’re finding it tough then how do you think people in their 50s & 60s are gonna cope? No wonder they’re up in arms, as you reach the end of your working life things should be winding down not ramping up. Humans can’t fight the ravages of age or time and RM know this hence why they’re desperately pushing all of this to rid themselves of older staff - disgraceful!!!

No, I don’t think I have pointed out any such thing. Until now, legacy staff have stuck just to “my duty”, nothing else, and so they haven’t had anything like a taste of what the workload is like for those coming off the street. Old-guard staff might come back to double mail after a day off, perhaps triple mail if they’ve had their “long weekend”, but they are able to clear it and see light at the end of the dark tunnel. I was instead trying to make the point, perhaps clumsily, that us new-starter posties (some of whom — not me — are coming up to almost three years’ permanent service) have been contending with this level of workload since starting.

What you have written here is 100% my experience too. Myself and the other newbies in my office have zero light of an easier/light day. Every day is minimum double mail and packets. I was on double today and i will be on double tomorrow….it’s just the norn for us. And exactly as you said, the long timers do nothing but their smaller easier rounds with majority days being single mail. Our office is having a bit of a QNA session regarding duty resign/repick later this week….. Guess which group is worried and what group is not? you can already feel the atmosphere haha.

[Mr Rush]

When I first started, no new entrants would EVER have 3-4-5 days worth of mail on a 1500 delivery point duty to contend with. It's become the norm.

Once upon a time, without some disaster unfolding management would have been flayed alive for this. The clear office policy was actually adhered to.

After the pandemic the company was like a child looking up from their exam paper and noticing their are no invigilators - let the cheating commence! Rip duties out! Jam the loops onto the bottom of already unachievable duties on the other side of town! Prioritise the Tracked and the panel members, nudge nudge.

[Smoothbackground]

What you have written here is 100% my experience too. Myself and the other newbies in my office have zero light of an easier/light day. Every day is minimum double mail and packets. I was on double today and i will be on double tomorrow….it’s just the norn for us. And exactly as you said, the long timers do nothing but their smaller easier rounds with majority days being single mail. Our office is having a bit of a QNA session regarding duty resign/repick later this week….. Guess which group is worried and what group is not? you can already feel the atmosphere haha.

Exact same at our place too! Interesting times ahead, I think…

[Hitbox]

What you have written here is 100% my experience too. Myself and the other newbies in my office have zero light of an easier/light day. Every day is minimum double mail and packets. I was on double today and i will be on double tomorrow….it’s just the norn for us. And exactly as you said, the long timers do nothing but their smaller easier rounds with majority days being single mail. Our office is having a bit of a QNA session regarding duty resign/repick later this week….. Guess which group is worried and what group is not? you can already feel the atmosphere haha.

Exact same at our place too! Interesting times ahead, I think…

This Practice has been in RM for Multiple years, as far back as 2010's onwards when DO's don't hire enough staff- only hiring a third of what they have lost through either VR, Handing in notice or Retirement - example if 15 people went out, only 5 ever get recruited. It's actually to ween out those who cannot hack the job and those who Can do the job, true test used to be Christmas Pressure but it seems thats every day now haha

Besides, Every Office is like that now, Poor service of Mail thanks to GeoRoute chaos, I see CWU is still burying it's head in the sand The Mess GeoRoute 2021/22 caused the employees and customers and Not focusing on the Actual duties that GeoRoute screwed up any type of workflow, organisation for better productivity and more importantly better workflow equals more chance to cover lapse/absorption.....

[A2B]

If the people you are talking about have long service then they will still get to pick one of the better duties even if the choices may now be smaller.

Talking of picking a duty are your new starts who work Sundays eligible to pick a duty?

[grimshaw]

And what about those so called legacy staff who have been here 20+ years and were taken off their rounds in a revision couple of years back. Part timers with a couple of years in got their own rounds, while full timers made reserves.
Moved from pillar to post and come in to 2,3&4 days mail or which frame is the most urgent. And when you've got that experience you're screwed because you know the rounds andyour the the best man for the job

[Smoothbackground]

If the people you are talking about have long service then they will still get to pick one of the better duties even if the choices may now be smaller.

Talking of picking a duty are your new starts who work Sundays eligible to pick a duty?

Pick is probably the wrong word for new-entrants, but some of us have by default ended up assigned (signed?) to duties no one else wants, staying on them indefinitely (two years in one case). I’m not one of them. They do still have to do their share of Sundays though, as well as general reserve in the afternoon if they are on FT contracts.

[A2B]

I'm afraid everyone had to sign for the duty nobody else wanted when they first started, the trick is to make it look easy then somebody will take the bait.

[Chelseablue]

So these unworkable ,, trials. When it comes to re pick , do you pick one duty and then it comes back to you again and time to pick the second duty. Meaning you could have your old duty and one that maybe nobody wants. Im lost lol

[SMS1969]

So these unworkable ,, trials. When it comes to re pick , do you pick one duty and then it comes back to you again and time to pick the second duty. Meaning you could have your old duty and one that maybe nobody wants. Im lost lol

From what I can gather, 3 people will pick four duties that will be grouped together, I’m guessing but you would have thought they’d be the four closest geographically.

[Chelseablue]

The whole thing comes across as nuts it really does

[sindba]

So these unworkable ,, trials. When it comes to re pick , do you pick one duty and then it comes back to you again and time to pick the second duty. Meaning you could have your old duty and one that maybe nobody wants. Im lost lol

All the duties will be listed. They ask seniority 1 which duty they want, cross it off as unavailable, then ask the next person and the next, and so on.

A duty is a duty. It will show the rota of which walk you're doing and when.

[SkiSunday]

So these unworkable ,, trials. When it comes to re pick , do you pick one duty and then it comes back to you again and time to pick the second duty. Meaning you could have your old duty and one that maybe nobody wants. Im lost lol

All the duties will be listed. They ask seniority 1 which duty they want, cross it off as unavailable, then ask the next person and the next, and so on.

A duty is a duty. It will show the rota of which walk you're doing and when.

The question is how will they fill the vacant duties though? Tabletop revision, no chance. So every senior postie who leaves' duty will be replaced by someone just in the door. Shambolic disregard for seniority by the CWU.

[Perseus]

If there is a resign and duties 1-5 go to the most senior 5 staff, if/when postie 2 leaves after 2 months the duty would go to a reserve, possibly a new entrant. That's always been the case.