Mount Pleasant Bulletin for 12/03/14

[anna]

Sorry to be late in posting this - latest Mount Bulletin

PANDORA’S BOX
Can this be right? As a result of the new agreement, from the 1st of April, our overtime pay will no longer be pensionable? It seems this is one of the evil gremlins emerging out of the devilish agreement - cutting our pensions!
Of course, with decent pay to start with, we wouldn’t need the overtime and could leave HMP with a half-decent pension, provided it was still based on our final wage! But we’d like to know: how many more gremlins are hiding in that Agreement Box?

A HIGHER PRICE ON THE QUEEN’S HEAD...
Another stamp price rise!! And it’s no April Fool’s joke even if it might be very foolish: from the 1st of April RM is increasing 1st class stamps by 3.3% to 62p and 2nd class by 6% to 53p. If we, like everyone else, have to pay more for stamps, we're sure RM understands that our wages need that extra on top as well? Or should we be more explicit?

...AND A LOWER PRICE ON OURS
EVRs are still being offered (only to RM, not anyone else though!), but the value has gone down. It’s like that ever-shrinking chocolate bar in the vending machine! And how did it happen? They’re now offering a pittance not worth even the paper it’s written on. If RM bosses want to get rid of us, they'll have to pay a great deal more than that!

THIS PLACE IS UNIQUE....
At times it’s like being on a treadmill, working on the CSS machines. Then when the treadmill finally stops you aren’t supposed to catch your breath before being sent to give a hand somewhere else!
And this is supposed to be a quiet period and there is supposed to be a surplus of workers (?) at the Mount? If really so, then there can’t be an office in the world that is so badly organised!

SEEING RED!
Every time it’s the same with managers in the bullring: when the shift comes to an end, we have them on our backs pushing as if there was no tomorrow... But like in a real bullring, you may be able to tussle with the bull for a while, but only until it sees red!

GETTING HIS PRIORITIES RIGHT
We had a good laugh when B the B and other managers had to deal with a double-decker truck that got stuck, and had to climb up a ladder to retrieve the priority mail from abroad... getting Health&Safety all worried... and making them wonder if they should go fetch a net!
We only wish more of these high top trucks could follow this example, keeping the Bees of this world out of our hair!

TESTING OUR PATIENCE!
When cleaners were called to 185 Farringdon Road for a meeting, we expected tea and coffee. Instead, we got a lecture on cleaning standards followed by a test! But we had a lot of fun answering it. What they call a “test” we call common sense... And that’s entirely missing upstairs. Anyway, as fas we’re concerned, if they want to apply “golden standards” they should start with our pay!

WHAT'S THE POINT?
We’re being sent these "Have your say" forms this week. But let's be serious for a second. If we can't name names or use rude words, what the h**l are we suppose to do with this b**l-s**t? More of their annoying b*****s, to go directly into the bin?

BUMPY ROAD
Despite everybody’s anxiety about the Mount Pleasant re-development, there’s probably a long and bumpy road ahead. Local campaigners - and us here inside HMP - have thus got time to get together in order to start putting the whole project into question..!

SORTING FLATS
Actually, we heard that out of the 700 flats, sorry, apartments, planned at the MP site, only 80 would be “affordable housing”, which means they’ll be “available” at hundreds of pounds per week! Affordable for whom?

FREE IT IS, FREE IT STAYS
BTW, if the MP re-development goes ahead, and that is a big “if”, where are we going to park our cars - those of us who drive to get here?
The parking lot is bad, no lights at night (no wonder some cars get scratched… or wasn't that an accident?), no proper parking lines, etc. But it is free. We'll have to make sure it stays that way!

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The WF newspaper for March is on sale for 30p from our distributors. [e-mail:contact@w-fight.org]

[rainbowwarrior72]

Another fine read from The Mount you keep it up. Seriously whatever the job you actually do you are wasted because I think you would make a better journalist/writer

[anna]

thanks Rainbow, it's actually a collective effort from inside and out.