Seniority, is it ageist?

tommyrep · Post by **tommyrep** » 21 Oct 2018, 12:04

Just imagine the situation if seniority was abandoned. Left to the discretion of our unscrupulous management in delivery !
A brown nose, runners, early starters, snoopers, gossips bonanza. Letting management have their pick who does what in a supposedly fair workload would be a massive mistake - you would see bullying in it’s true sense, unleashed mayhem!
I realise people who have less seniority get pissed off, but they have done the time of poor treatment as an earlier poster stated.

cpsteve · Post by **cpsteve** » 21 Oct 2018, 12:08

It matters not how bad or how good you do the job just how long you have worked for the R/M. Makes no sense but in our job most things dont.

Post by **Aquarius** » 21 Oct 2018, 14:29

It's the simplest/fairest most transparent system i can think off - everyone of us started at the bottom and moved up the list.

If you remove that then disaster awaits !

Post by **hothothot** » 21 Oct 2018, 15:17

The people who complain about seniority are the ones with very little seniority , when they have done 20 years plus they will be the same ones defending it.

Woody Guthrie · Post by **Woody Guthrie** » 21 Oct 2018, 15:53

At the end of the day seniority is as much about protecting management and the business from accusations of nepotism, discrimination and bias as it is about us having a "fair" system of allocating duties.

The only other reasonable solution is to throw everybody's name in a hat and pick at random but you would still have half the office moaning.

Seymour Buts · Post by **Seymour Buts** » 21 Oct 2018, 16:06

There's no other sensible way to do it. Imagine the rows and carnage without it. Also to answer the question, no it isn't; we all know the score when we start. Royal Mail also consider all duties the same so it makes no difference what duty you're on in their eyes.

Seymour Buts · Post by **Seymour Buts** » 21 Oct 2018, 16:08

And anyway, a few weeks on whatever new duty you'll get you'll know who to take parcels to ect. I haven't got a duty and know some that well I know where to take parcels to ect!

KEITHLYN23 · Post by **KEITHLYN23** » 21 Oct 2018, 18:03

Simple answer is no ...

arnold cheshire · Post by **arnold cheshire** » 21 Oct 2018, 19:06

Let women have the best duties first

Post by **aiden01** » 21 Oct 2018, 22:02

postietom wrote:And anyway, a few weeks on whatever new duty you'll get you'll know who to take parcels to ect. I haven't got a duty and know some that well I know where to take parcels to ect!

And when some neighbour says they never receieved such parcel how do you explain.

Post by **aiden01** » 21 Oct 2018, 22:04

arnold cheshire wrote:Let women have the best duties first

Post by **unome** » 22 Oct 2018, 06:08

Dingo99 wrote: Why not go by merit?

Define merit

Post by **wacko74** » 22 Oct 2018, 06:51

hothothot wrote:The people who complain about seniority are the ones with very little seniority , when they have done 20 years plus they will be the same ones defending it.

Well I've done 18 years and I still basically have the only option of being a leave reserve or picking one the worst duties in the office.
From what I can see seniority only really benefits those who've done around 30-40 years and their duties have barely been altered in all that time.

Post by **westy23** » 22 Oct 2018, 08:35

Dingo99 wrote:In my office we keep having talk of a possible resign. Now this worries me as I am a duty holder on a okay duty but the fact is I am knowledgable about who is who, where I can get rid of packets etc. Anyway I have been with RM since DEC 2009, but my seniority only runs from I think late 2013 since I was shafted constantly being on rolling contracts with Angard. Anyway I don't see why I should get put on a shi* duty just cause most of my colleagues have been in the job longer. ( I only became a duty holder by the skin of my teeth as my part time colleague had slightly less seniority than me.) Why not go by merit? I have been doing this duty on and off and now continuously for years and can reel off everyone's name practically on my duty, I wouldn't like to get put on the High ST for e.g just because my near retirement colleague has been in the job longer! It sucks and this same colleague thinks that even annual leave should be allocated due to seniority, what a crock!

Quote
(I only became a duty holder by the skin of my teeth as my part time colleague had slightly less seniority than me)

So what you are saying is seniority suited you then and was fair but it’s not now.
Words fail me in this instance.

deltaforce · Post by **deltaforce** » 22 Oct 2018, 15:49

wacko74 wrote:
hothothot wrote:The people who complain about seniority are the ones with very little seniority , when they have done 20 years plus they will be the same ones defending it.
Well I've done 18 years and I still basically have the only option of being a leave reserve or picking one the worst duties in the office.
From what I can see seniority only really benefits those who've done around 30-40 years and their duties have barely been altered in all that time.

How would your Dom justify that to his boss if that is the case, seeing that we have gone from two del per day starting at 5am to where we are now.