DELIVERY UNDER PRESSURE

[Budfrog]

Isn't it independent managers who are supposed to resolve grievances and bully and harassment cases in the first place? What a lot of good that is.

In the case of a grievance being investigated the investigating manager needs to be at least one grade above the manager who is under scrutiny. The problem is that, particularly in Mail Centres, both managers work in the same unit and know each other and it immediately causes a conflict of interest no matter how fair minded the investigating manager wants to be. Add to this the fact that pressure is brought to bear from above to minimise the amount of successful cases, for example it doesn't look great on a Mail Centre Manager's CV to have a unit with this kind of problem, and it's a system that is almost designed to fail as it has more holes than a piece of swiss cheese.

What London office did that Bud ?

I was told it was P*t**y

[fishtank]

I was told it was P*t**y

Is this hangman?
I guess U.

[AnotherLimey]

Just for clarity all these offices will b visited by independent managers to under what has happened , what improvements and learning opportunities for others plus to undertake a PIR. Local and Area Reps will be contacted.

The Offices where this will take place wthn the next few weeks are : Scarborough, Paisley , Ilkley , Livngston , Birch Park , Kilmarmock , Falkirk , Huddersfield , Glasgow SEDO , Newton Abbey , Whitwood , Washington , Oldham , Longton , Moseley , Redfern Park , Kidderminster , Blackburn , Wigan , Altrincham , St Helen's , Wrexham , Dudley , Bury , Cambridge , Basildon , Harlow , Haverhill , Manvers , Sheffield 5 , Glaisdale Parkway , Orton Southgate , Arnold & District , Sheffield 7&8 city , Stavely , Corby , Brighton , Hove , Battersea , Dartford , Barnes , St Albans , Harpenden , Worthing , SE1 , Bromley , Orpington ,Kingston , Bitterne Manor , Exeter , Bristol BS4&14 , Weston Supermare , Taunton , Postmouth , Bristol BS3&13 , Chichester , Mid Rhonda , Portishead , Cardiff and Penarth.

My office is on the list

Wish mine was as i'd like to have my say.

[albebb]

''Dear Colleagues,

Please find attached a diagnostic list for your attention and information.
Management have made us aware of the initiative around Diagnostics to assess whether revision activity has been successfully deployed in the units outlined in the attached list. However, we were not aware of Price Waterhouse Coopers involvement in this exercise. We found this out at a later date. We have stressed to Royal Mail our concern that there may be a hidden reason for their involvement, likely associated with the future ownership of the company.

We have requested further dialogue with the employer on this to try and establish the exact nature of this initiative and ensure that we are jointly involved both in terms of the reviews and any outputs they produce. Therefore, until such a time as we have had our concerns answered satisfactorily, please note that this initiative is not cleared with the Union and we would ask Branches to request that their members do not cooperate on this issue at this point in time.

We will of course update Branches in due course of any developments.

Any enquiries should be addressed to the Outdoor Department at this email address.
Mark Baulch
PEC Member''

the list of offices attached to this email is the exact same list as those that are being independently checked over.

[fishtank]

Says it all really.
A Royal Mail initiative.
Offices picked by Royal Mail.
Accountants brought in by Royal Mail.
Agenda set by Royal Mail.
I await the bone being thrown and the subsequent Joint Statement.

[dvbuk55]

I was wondering myself why you would need accountants. Still the CWU suddenly find themselves on the back foot once again - pretty dismal showing really. Yet the same old faces hobble along with the "big picture" scenario as if they are really involved in any future that Royal Mail has in mind as opposed to just being on the mailing list.

[bexhil palace]

I asked our dom when the 2010 agreement came into affect, if this new much vaunted commitment between Royal Mail,and the CWU, to work together for the benefit of us all, will signal the end of executive action in our office,he just grinned.
I never was any good at reading the signs.

[dvbuk55]

I asked our dom when the 2010 agreement came into affect, if this new much vaunted commitment between Royal Mail,and the CWU, to work together for the benefit of us all, will signal the end of executive action in our office,he just grinned.
I never was any good at reading the signs.

I think that means he likes you

[Lincox]

Perhaps the managers in these units have been digging into the petty cash tin, hence the need for accountants Price Waterhouse to check the Gregs the Bakers receipts

[Phantom]

I'm in one of the DO's listed so i'll keep ya posted on the lies and bullshit we'll get.

[worktotime]

From the Voice....

Back in January, Voice took an in-depth look at how delivery revisions were being implemented and uncovered widely varying experiences from delivery members in different parts of the country. For this edition, we asked Bob Gibson,
CWU national officer for delivery workers, to give us an update from the front line and the news is not good..


We all knew that there was a massive change coming in delivery and that this
would impact on our members in terms of attendances and the way they did their
job," Bob begins.He adds that the union agreed to the "Delivery Transformation" agreement in order to maintain predominantly fulltime employment and at the same time prepare to capture growth markets and fight off competition.

However, the way that this is transpiring gives Bob cause for concern. "I’ve grown increasingly concerned by reports received of managers attempting to force increasing workloads onto our members, and then accusing them of poor performance," he points out.

This is, Bob explains, a consequence of unrealistic targets and severe financial rationing on the part of the business that brings downward pressure on managers and ultimately the members. "On the face of it, our members are being forced to work beyond their time and in the worst-case scenarios for no additional pay, which in essence amounts to compulsory unpaid overtime," he continues.
"Cutting off appears to be a thing of the past and outdoor absorption is a daily requirement even when traffic is above the model week and it is obvious to the people who do the job that they don’t have time to complete their delivery never mind absorb as well. "This is a situation we cannot allow to continue."

Local difficulties are by no means new to this industry. There have always been offices where working relationships have been strained, but the quantity and spread of complaints that the union at national level has received has rung alarm bells at national headquarters.
"What we are witnessing now is quite sinister in its application and can only be described as bullying, harassment and downright intimidation," Bob says.

When Voice asked him if he had experienced comparably widespread bad feeling among delivery members before, he recalled the months leading up to the national dispute in 2009.
That dispute led, eventually, to the Business Transformation: 2010 and Beyond agreement, which the CWU hoped would put the days of conflict behind them.
But the reality on the ground seems to have dashed those high hopes of a couple of years ago - "we thought we were in a new relationship and I suppose we are, the only problem being that this new one appears to be worse,"

Bob notes ruefully.What about the grievances themselves? We asked, to which we were given a small number of quite shocking examples - which, for various reasons, we haven’t featured here - along with a large number of complaints on similar themes of ever increasing pressure being placed on delivery workers, who are starting to find their workloads unmanageable and their workplace unbearable.

"Some managers are driving people into despair over savings they simply can’t achieve," he added, going on to refer to instances of people feeling almost obliged to start early, miss
breaks, use their own vehicles, carrying loads that are too heavy, cut corners, work unsafely, or work beyond their time - "all because they don’t want to upset or attract the attention of the manager.

"There may be thousands of unpaid hours being worked every day out of fear and intimidation," he states.
This article marks the launch of a campaign by the national union to investigate these problems, establish the full facts and root out bad behaviour where it occurs.
In a message direct to delivery members, Bob says: "This edition contains a letter from me asking you for your experiences.
"Please take the time to read it and fill in the attached questionnaire – we’re going to establish exactly how widespread this problem is and then we’ll insist it’s got to change." V Royal Mail - this just isn’t fair

Royal Mail - this just isn’t fair
DELIVERY UNDER PRESSURE
The below are all complaints Bob’s received from postwomen and postmen in every part of the UK.
Names are removed at request of complainants...

My new manager increased my workload and when I couldn’t complete in
the same time, he said: ‘You’re far too slow. I’m going to test your prep’. I've worked for Royal Mail for 25 years, never once cut off and they make me feel like a piece of rubbish. I dread going to work now.
(Isle of Wight)


I am constantly being forced to do overtime by my manager. He has been threatening to conduct me for a ‘deliberately inefficient performance’. I feel that I am being singled out, threatened and intimidated. I worry constantly, I can't sleep properly and feel sick.
(N. Ireland)


You watch Gordon Ramsey screaming at people on TV and don't think that happens for real, but it does in our office. Every day is a battle and it's starting to get me down. And if you do overtime, very often it's not paid.
(Glasgow


I’m a CWU rep and some of our members with more than 30 years of loyal service have been
accused of ‘underperforming’ since the new delivery methods came in and told they are not up to the job anymore by their manager.
(Lancashire)

to be honest its about time the cwu realised and did something about this as weve been (summer) walk collapseing since jan and still doing it now in nov / dec , and the dom was bragging we was £30,000 under budget , weve had arguements with the doms over not haveing time to do this , then we are accused of not working fast enough and youll be tested on your indoor work , and for them that do go over when they get they wage slip the following thursday no o/t paid , another slagging match.

[clashcityrocker]

What clearly isn't working then is the grievance procedure.
If you feel you are being unfairly treated at work you should use the grievance procedure.
This will then alert Area Reps to the problems in the office.
I know people dislike using it because they fear becoming a (bigger) target for management but unless people use it how is anyone to know there is a problem?

There shouldn't be any "slagging matches" over o/t.
If it isn't paid just ask for a grievance form.

[celerycelery]

A relative of mine via marriage is the rep in one of those offices on that list. They tell me regularly about the treatment staff are getting from managers ever since delivery methods revision. Its daily bullying/harassement/threats/intimidation just for wanting to finish on their time. They all have had enough and are looking seriously at what options they have to put a stop to it.

[Lincox]

Clash the greivance procedure does not work, because unfortunately from base management upwards through to Human Resources they should be conduct coded for miserly pace and failing to do their jobs in accordance with Royal Mail procedures. As someone who has taken the procedure right through to the final appeal stage, I can tell you that it took me in excess of 1 year. At every stage I had to deal with managers that refused to set dates for interviews, failed to interview staff in timely manner, passed from pillar to post by human resources, human resources appointed a senior manager who manages the manager I was complaining about as the appeals manager, until both myself and union rep refused to deal with him. Finally my appeal was heard and I was given a crumb of satisfaction in as much that the Appeals Manager agreed that I had been treated differently to my colleagues and put in place actions to sort things out. To date none of these actions have been carried out. No wonder they are getting away with things because they test the patience of the complainant to the maximum, making sure as many as possible never have to be acted upon. And yes, I have sent details of my case to CWU.

[venom]

Just for clarity all these offices will b visited by independent managers to under what has happened , what improvements and learning opportunities for others plus to undertake a PIR. Local and Area Reps will be contacted.

The Offices where this will take place wthn the next few weeks are : Scarborough, Paisley , Ilkley , Livngston , Birch Park , Kilmarmock , Falkirk , Huddersfield , Glasgow SEDO , Newton Abbey , Whitwood , Washington , Oldham , Longton , Moseley , Redfern Park , Kidderminster , Blackburn , Wigan , Altrincham , St Helen's , Wrexham , Dudley , Bury , Cambridge , Basildon , Harlow , Haverhill , Manvers , Sheffield 5 , Glaisdale Parkway , Orton Southgate , Arnold & District , Sheffield 7&8 city , Stavely , Corby , Brighton , Hove , Battersea , Dartford , Barnes , St Albans , Harpenden , Worthing , SE1 , Bromley , Orpington ,Kingston , Bitterne Manor , Exeter , Bristol BS4&14 , Weston Supermare , Taunton , Postmouth , Bristol BS3&13 , Chichester , Mid Rhonda , Portishead , Cardiff and Penarth.

3 offices all near me are getting a visit whilst our office with the worst cases of bullying and harrassment(and ET claims) is ignored as usual.

one near me
not failing as far as i know
we have been on p/l for 18 months and failing still nothing being done and lapsing expected tu and sat