05/05/21 Mount Pleasant Bulletin

[jimallen]

Hi, find below the Mount Pleasant bulletin of 5 May. You can also download the pdf version, with front page editorial. We appreciate your comments!

LEAKING TEST KITS?
We notice that management has got another big
contract for collecting and delivering C19 test kits -
and of course, H&S has (again) gone out the
window! Yes, managers claim these potentially
infectious kits are processed in a special area, but
the fact is that we see them all over the shop floor,
mixed with normal packets and often in damaged
packaging! We can't touch these, not even with a
barge pole!

ABUNDANCE OF TESTS, AND YET...
And while all these test kits go around, why hasn't
management even bothered to organise testing in
HMP... Of course, we can't trust managers to
organise anything, let alone proper testing in here
(despite the fact that it's paid by the government!).
But that would be the only way to make sure we
stay safe.

BETTER TO TEST
It's true that - if we had on-site testing - we couldn't
trust managers not to use it against us. But the
upside outweighs any possible downside. Including
if we take into account that the quick tests on offer
have a lot false negatives.

IS IT A LOCK-OUT?
Why haven't managers brought back the PSAdisappeared?
The work has returned to prelockdown
levels, but those of us who are here are
now covering two jobs-worth. Or is it these
jobsworth* managers who don't understand that
twice as much work needs twice as many people?
*"an official who upholds petty rules even at the
expense of humanity or common sense." In case
we didn't know...

DOUBLE PAY FOR HALF A WEEKEND
How many times do we have to refuse to do
processing in PSA on Saturdays, until managers get
the message? We haven't done this for years!
Whenever they've tried to include it in their offer to
part-timers, very few sign up. It ruins our weekend
for sure!
PS: Talking of weekends, what would be a bottom
line is the reintroduction of a Saturday and Sunday
double time premium! Yes that's what we meant -
pay for Saturdays should also be at least double!

WE ARE AFRAID OF NEEDLES
So we've seen from a union/management joint
statement that Sunday deliveries are going ahead...
on a voluntary basis. They call it the "Sunday Direct
Injection", is that their jab at a bad joke? Well, it
won't make Sunday walks and van deliveries all the
more likely...

2 WAVES OF RECRUITMENT - AND A 3RD?
We see that RM is recruiting 464 new LGV drivers
from among the existing workforce, offering training
etc., but it seems they're not offering these jobs to
the casual drivers who were taken on to deal with
the parcels surge. Why not? And who will do the
jobs of those who move to driving?

NEED A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO SEE IT
Of course, management couldn't get our pay
increase on time, could they? They even had the
cheek to warn us that they were paying it one month
late - due to the Easter Bank holiday... But at a
miserable 1% pay increase, it was easy to miss...

ELEPHANT FORGOT OUR £s?
How come RMPFS keep paying us short? It's
happened twice this year already. Whoever or
whatever is at fault - we don't care about the
reason, we need this money which is owed to us
ASAP.

A POLITE "NO TA!"
We feel sorry for the JV6 ½ who's been trying to get
that RM survey done by offering to do it with us on
her tablet... She's drawn the short straw this time,
because we really can't be bothered with it.

REHEATED MAC&CHEESE?
One canteen worker during night shift is obviously
not enough. Besides the H&S breach, a chef is
needed to feed us really nice food for our night
"lunch". The chef retired more than a year ago, and
the reheated left over food on offer is good for
nobody.

WHEN IS OUR NEXT STAMP?
By the way, when was our last Work Time
Sleeping? We honestly can't even remember
(October?). Between two short naps, we did get
some useful info. Which is better than relying on
the grinding rumour mill...

[SpacePhoenix]

LEAKING TEST KITS?
We notice that management has got another big
contract for collecting and delivering C19 test kits -
and of course, H&S has (again) gone out the
window! Yes, managers claim these potentially
infectious kits are processed in a special area, but
the fact is that we see them all over the shop floor,
mixed with normal packets and often in damaged
packaging! We can't touch these, not even with a
barge pole!

We don't have a special area on the floor, it's just wherever there's space to set up the bullring. We sometimes get them through with the normal mail. Saying that it's not unusual now to get sleeves and yorks from other MCs that are a complete mix of Tracked and normal, small and large, with the occasional special thrown in. RM need to have a crack down everywhere on Tracked being mixed with non-Tracked

REHEATED MAC&CHEESE?
One canteen worker during night shift is obviously
not enough. Besides the H&S breach, a chef is
needed to feed us really nice food for our night
"lunch". The chef retired more than a year ago, and
the reheated left over food on offer is good for
nobody.

We've only had 1 canteen worker on the night shift for years. Very few people on nights bother with food from the canteen

WHEN IS OUR NEXT STAMP?
By the way, when was our last Work Time
Sleeping? We honestly can't even remember
(October?). Between two short naps, we did get
some useful info. Which is better than relying on
the grinding rumour mill...

Probably not before June 21st when social distancing is supposed to end