10/02/21 Mount Pleasant Bulletin

[jimallen]

Find below the Mount Pleasant bulletin of 10 February and attached the complete bulletin (with the front page editorial). Comments are welcome!

A SELL OUT IS A SELL OUT
So only 52.4% of us turned out to vote "for" or
"against" the RM "Pathway down the drain" deal
which CWU leaders recommended. Out of that low
turnout, 53,998 voted to accept. That is, just under
50% of those eligible. So no, this was not a good
result for TeePee&Co and their RM bedfellows.
Because if the 5,033 who voted against is added to
those abstainers who're utterly fed up with CWU
betrayals, then no, the majority did not accept this
agreement!

WE COULD DO WITH SOME CHANGES...
Said TeePee about those of us who opposed the
deal, "some of those people are people who don't
deal with change very well". OK, maybe. On the
other hand what he's signed up to is just the same
old crap. That is, selling our Ts&Cs for another pat
on the back. In fact we think it's time we did have
some change around here. And we probably don't
have to spell out where to start.

...AND THE STRIKE BALLOT?
The union leaders were pleased with this result,
despite the turnout. It hardly reflects any
endorsement though. They should remember that
when 97% of us voted to strike in October 2019, the
turnout was over 75%. That's our response to an
invitation to FIGHT!

WHEN WE NEED IT THE MOST
The Kiddycare nursery next to MP is being closed by
RM next month. But it wasn’t so long ago that Moya
Greene was patting herself on the back for keeping it
open. It doesn’t just benefit us, but provides cheap
childcare for workers in the local area as well. Well,
we kept it open last time and we can do it again. An
online petition [on megaphone.org.uk search
kiddycare] has gathered more than 1,200 signatures
already!

WAVE AFTER WAVE
We're very busy on Lates, with the daily tsunami of
packets - and the wave is always higher on
Mondays... Of course, we know that some of our
workmates are on sick leave or have taken deserved
annual leave. But the fact that this creates such
mayhem, just goes to show that we aren't enough
hands to share the work... And yes, we could find a
way to be more in here, while keeping a safe
distance - there's enough space in HMP!

PS: And by the way, can anyone tell us why Angard
workers on Lates are not given permanent contracts?
We've had enough of seeing precarious, low paid
jobs spreading like a virus!

CALL 3-1-8!
So management think moving us all around HMP on
Nights is okay? Yes, it might be okay for them to ask
us to move from the basement and go upstairs, but
have they even thought that this is the best way to
help us catch Covid? Of course they haven't. All they
have in their heads is how to fill the gaps left by such a
shortage of hands!

THREATENING US?
Did we hear them right? On Nights, managers told us
that if we don't agree to jump from duty to duty, they'll
bring in more casuals. Is that some sort of threat?
Because we don't mind seeing more hands in here to
share the work, but we do mind having workmates on
precarious contracts.

THE COVID TOLL
All of us were very sad to hear about the death from
Covid of Johnny from PSA. And so many of us are
still getting sick - 21 at the last count. So obviously all
is not well here in MP. And as regards the safety
measures being taken - well, they can never be
enough. But shouldn’t we have FFP2 masks from now
onwards, since the new “British-Kent” variant prefers
to multiply (more than ever!) in the lining of the nose -
and these higher quality masks offer much better
protection?

OUR LUNGS ARE MANDATORY
We're told that the extraction system on the platform is
supposed to get rid of the lorries' fumes. But it's pretty
obvious that the smog here is pretty dense. Managers
say that this is because the construction work isn't
finished, and therefore air can't circulate properly. But
whatever the excuse, we're having to breathe this sh*t
into our lungs. Since they don't supply gas masks,
they'd better sort this out. We can't work like this.

DELAYS? GUESS WHAT...
In typical RM style, we agency drivers are given lorry
keys, HMP's postcode and have to figure out the rest
for ourselves. But how are we meant to find a way to
get to the entrance on Farringdon road, when a right
turn coming down Rosebery Avenue is impossible?
So obviously, many of us get lost, when all it would
take is for managers to give us simple instructions on
how to get there... But of course, they couldn't
organise a piss-up in pub...

WALKING SLOW IN THE SNOW
Oh dear, this isn't nice weather for us on deliveries, to
say the least... And we can just imagine how it must
be for our mates up North! We'll just have to take
more time than usual to do our walks/slips&slides.
Management have made our rounds longer and
longer, so if we can't finish, it's their problem, not ours.

[SpacePhoenix]

CALL 3-1-8!
So management think moving us all around HMP on
Nights is okay? Yes, it might be okay for them to ask
us to move from the basement and go upstairs, but
have they even thought that this is the best way to
help us catch Covid? Of course they haven't. All they
have in their heads is how to fill the gaps left by such a
shortage of hands!

THREATENING US?
Did we hear them right? On Nights, managers told us
that if we don't agree to jump from duty to duty, they'll
bring in more casuals. Is that some sort of threat?
Because we don't mind seeing more hands in here to
share the work, but we do mind having workmates on
precarious contracts.

Managers should and will be moving people around different work areas on a shift, depending on which areas have got work. I don't know why you expect to not be moved around

[Cafcant]

More boring self centred rubbish, come out on delivery and see the real world

[SpacePhoenix]

More boring self centred rubbish, come out on delivery and see the real world

Long term deliveries will probably be just about where all the jobs are as the work in MCs gets more and more automated, that is if RM haven't gone over to using owner-drivers by then. In the long term I wouldn't put it past RM to contract out all class 2 and class 1 (or at least class 1) driving work

[postslippete]

Managers, they have got an army of postie's on standby at our depot!! Don't know if they are on the same pay as us but it wouldn't surprise me if we are working in a 2 tier workforce.

Our rep would know but he's about as useful as a chocolate teapot