FBU and posties Age 60

[Puppetmaster]

The Fire brigades union are in conflict with the government over retirement /pensions to force firemen to work till they are 60.

This to me sounds quite reasonable till you hear what the FBU have to say.
Whilst the Police and Army also have to work till they are 60 their are plenty of backroom jobs for older members ,so they do not need to maintain the fitness levels of the frontline staff.
The FBU say their is not may backroom jobs for their Older members to do ,and their is no way a older member is able to achieve the fitness levels that the younger members can .

Now look at the Posties job ,for men to get our full state pension we cannot retire age 65 and someone in their forties is 68
Someone who has been in the job 25 years but is struggling ,larger rounds planned shortly and now agreed absorption as part of our new pay deal.

Years ago ,the rounds were half the size they are now, ok you had a sort of second delivery but not every one did it properly .Their were also a number of easier job options for older staff

You could have gone to the local mail centre where life was a bit easier.

You could have done a Night shift in your office on IPS,

You may have become a conveyance driver ,

You could have got yourself a cushy factory delivery

All these options have now gone , young guys coming in fresh ,can knock half hour easy of a round ,sometimes a hour !
OK they are not always reliable but we have a attendance procedure to deal with them .

RM is a private company and needs to make sure their staff are working as efficient as possible.
CWU is a union meant to look after Postal workers, I see no natural provision for older staff other than out the door on the scrap heap, OK some older members may be able to get a easy rural round somewhere, but these are rare these days.

I just want someone in the CWU that has a current understanding of Deliveries ,to look at the provision for staff age 55+ on front line deliveries and what if any thing should be done for them.

At the moment it appears rightly or wrongly the CWU Nationaly have no interest in looking at the basic long term needs of frontline delivery staff other than pay.
But pay is no good to you if the Company forces you out of a job as you are not fit enough to do the job any more.

[Spartacus]

A shorter working week is the answer, with mechanisation eating up indoor time the only option is longer deliveries, the only answer to negate longer delivery spans is a shorter week, we should be doing 35 hours including meal reliefs.

[Darren Bent]

and since van sharing come in I think there is fewer 28 hours duties. Which is not good news for posties in mid 50s or higher who want to wind down the hours.

[Lounge Lizard]

A shorter working week is the answer, with mechanisation eating up indoor time the only option is longer deliveries, the only answer to negate longer delivery spans is a shorter week, we should be doing 35 hours including meal reliefs.

But a shorter working week means an increased hourly rate that Royal Mail won't pay or a reduced weekly wage that we can't afford to live on.
Gone are the days of Money For Nothing. Dire Straits from now on.

[Edward Hunter]

A shorter working week is the answer, with mechanisation eating up indoor time the only option is longer deliveries, the only answer to negate longer delivery spans is a shorter week, we should be doing 35 hours including meal reliefs.

As someone approaching 50, im finding the longer delivery spans are definatly leaving me with more aches and pains than ever! I would go along with your solution, and whilst others would not be happy with a wage cut, Its certainly an issue the cwu should look in to. Because however fit you are at 20. flying round 4.30 minute walks will take a toll by the time you are 50, so its an issue for everyone that needs addressing

[N1-22postman]

Recognition of the problems an older postman in deliveries faces needs to be addressed.I am 62 and since park and loop with shared vans came in the job has become a struggle.I know a carrying a pouch is quicker but I insist on using a trolley as I want to avoid back and shoulder problems - it means packets are less of a problem having 2 pouches on the trolley and the "heavy" PDA stays in the pouch .I made sure there was a toilet half way round because you need to go more often as you get older.I bundle up all the work I deliver including the half of my partner`s walk that I do (we swap over frames when we have bundled up our own half).I find this much better because I can put recordeds,tracks and specials up first in the letters for one address,I can make my bundles smaller and less heavy to avoid postman`s elbow (an old RSI problem I had years ago) and I can put a band round multiple letters for one address (I have to use reading glasses on a cord some of the time if the light is not good or the address is printed small) and also doing it myself means I remember when the packets and PDA items are coming up.
All the younger posties tell me they won`t be working at my age but the reality will hit them nearer the time that they need to work on to get the money to enjoy a decent retirement especially as pension age gets later and later.Our union needs to press Royal Mail to recognise the problems that face more and more older postmen in deliveries.

[taxi4leighton]

perhaps dingo will have an answer to this problem,which is going to get worse as time passes.trouble with planned routes is that it is a" one size fits all" policy.doesnt make any allowance for those less able.im nearly 60,with a shared van,4hrs30min delivery,and to be honest i struggled the last 3 weeks,especially when the weather was really bad.god knows what the long term affect is going to be on us posties delivering mail in these conditions over such a long time span

[Lounge Lizard]

perhaps dingo will have an answer to this problem,which is going to get worse as time passes.trouble with planned routes is that it is a" one size fits all" policy.doesnt make any allowance for those less able.im nearly 60,with a shared van,4hrs30min delivery,and to be honest i struggled the last 3 weeks,especially when the weather was really bad.god knows what the long term affect is going to be on us posties delivering mail in these conditions over such a long time span

Yes, we're all doomed.

[mdm]

I think the union really don't give a toss about us in deliveries (London excepted of coure). I'm approaching 54 and it is a real struggle now, especially with this park and loop crap. I'm voting no in the upcoming ballot and after 15 years in the union I'm pulling out.

[mailman71]

Done the job for 40 plus years but now looking to get out,the job is for young guys now its almost impossible for any over 60's to do the deliveries.
To ask posties to work till they are 66 or 68 in the future is crazy,I would love to see George Osborne and his cronies try to do a delivery now never mind in his 60's.

[dvbuk55]

Perhaps we'll get a vote on it, but like last time the pensions issues have been "decoupled" from the negotiations. It seems to me that as soon as there's any conflict the union backs down or side-line the issue.

[daveyeff]

what are us 'oldies' moaning about?? prince phillip is still ''working'' and he's 90 odd. if he can do it we can.

[dvbuk55]

what are us 'oldies' moaning about?? prince phillip is still ''working'' and he's 90 odd. if he can do it we can.

Well when the footman is preparing my uniform before the butler dresses me and the cook prepares breakfast tomorrow and the young lady sees to my personal needs I'll check the obituary column in the Times before I go and help the lady wife govern the nation.

[daveyeff]

make sure he wipes you're arse properly before he puts you're kex on as well

[dvbuk55]

make sure he wipes you're arse properly before he puts you're kex on as well

We royals don't concern ourselves with underwear at least I don't think so