Royal Mail announce redundancies at Bristol Mail Centre - workers could strike in protest

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 28 Feb 2020, 14:02

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Royal Mail workers at the West Country’s biggest regional sorting office could be about to go on strike after bosses announced scores of redundancies in an efficiency drive.

The exact number of people about to lose their jobs at the huge Bristol Mail Centre is being disputed, with Royal Mail saying 40 people will ‘receive voluntary redundancy’, while union leaders say the real figure is 100.

The union which represents the 1,000 workers at the huge facility in Filton said they ‘fail to see how the quality of service will be maintained’ with the job cuts.

Staff who are members of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) have agreed to begin the process of calling a strike ballot, which should take place in the next couple of weeks.

The job losses being ordered by Royal Mail are set to happen between now and the end of March.

Shane O'Riordain, the Royal Mail’s managing director of regulation, corporate affairs and marketing, said: “Royal Mail is making changes to the way we operate at Bristol Mail Centre to ensure we can more efficiently and effectively process and deliver the changing mail bag.

“Last year, Royal Mail engaged in a preference exercise whereby a number of colleagues at Bristol Mail Centre expressed an interest in voluntary redundancy. Forty colleagues will receive voluntary redundancy,” he added.

The Bristol Mail Centre in Filton is the largest Mail Centre in the South West and handles mail for the BS, BA, TA and GL postcodes. This covers an area that stretches from Gloucestershire through Wiltshire and Somerset and includes all postal districts in Bristol.

Mr O’Riordain said the changing way people expected orders to be processed and delivered had meant changes had to be made to the way the Mail Centre operates.

“The initiative includes a review of some individual tasks and shift patterns in order for the business to adapt to changing consumer habits,” he said.

“Consumers are ordering parcels later in the evening with growing demand for next day delivery,” he added.

But workers at the Mail Centre said they were furious at the job cuts, and maintained the figure was going to be nearer 100 redundancies in the end.

The CWU said it had been done without agreement of the union who represent workers there, and so the workers have now requested a ballot for industrial action at the depot.

The CWU blasted the job cuts as ‘shocking and irresponsible’.

“Management are forcing through an unagreed revision at the workplace based on figures that are pie in the sky,” said CWU branch secretary Rob Wotherspoon.

“These job losses will mean huge disruption and pressure for those who are left behind.

“Bristol Mail Centre employs many people from across communities in Bristol and the surrounding area on decent terms and conditions. This will mean the replacement of these decent jobs with insecure, casual labour.

“We fail to see how the Mail Centre will maintain quality of service following these staff cuts. If workers in the plant are forced to take strike action this will have a further impact on quality. This is a shocking and irresponsible decision by rogue managers.

“Managers have refused to rule out compulsory redundancies and we have been called by many worried members who fear for their livelihoods.”

One worker at the Mail Centre, who declined to be named, said workers were baffled by the job cuts, because they were busy than ever and short-staffed as it was.

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“We see agency workers being used to fill vacancies on a daily basis. Managers can’t manage and are spending their time doing our work to fill the gaps left by staff shortages.

The two-bob parcel machines they’ve brought in are breaking down all the time. One of them has never worked properly since a dead pigeon fell in it. So we end up sorting the parcels by hand. And yet we are told there is a massive surplus of staff – it just doesn’t add up,” he added.

Post by **rainbowwarrior72** » 28 Feb 2020, 15:13

If its like my MC theres probably alot of vacancies ie natural wastage being included being covered by Agency workers hence where the 100 job losses that are being cut. My MC is going thru another preference exercise on Processing having had one last year and the year before.

Post by **SpacePhoenix** » 28 Feb 2020, 19:27

rainbowwarrior72 wrote:If its like my MC theres probably alot of vacancies ie natural wastage being included being covered by Agency workers hence where the 100 job losses that are being cut. My MC is going thru another preference exercise on Processing having had one last year and the year before.

It's not unusual now to have a dozen casuals every day

Post by **aiden01** » 28 Feb 2020, 20:15

SpacePhoenix wrote:
rainbowwarrior72 wrote:If its like my MC theres probably alot of vacancies ie natural wastage being included being covered by Agency workers hence where the 100 job losses that are being cut. My MC is going thru another preference exercise on Processing having had one last year and the year before.
It's not unusual now to have a dozen casuals every day

Just a dozen somedays infact most days 30 to 40 including weekends.

daveyeff · Post by **daveyeff** » 29 Feb 2020, 17:26

well just one day after one of 'Rico's ambassadors' was at our office(yesterday 28th feb) telling us of their plans up to 2024, the area rep has told us the branch had received a proposal for 57 VRs from RM for Tyneside mail centre. is this the start of it all I wonder?

Post by **aiden01** » 29 Feb 2020, 20:36

daveyeff wrote:well just one day after one of 'Rico's ambassadors' was at our office(yesterday 28th feb) telling us of their plans up to 2024, the area rep has told us the branch had received a proposal for 57 VRs from RM for Tyneside mail centre. is this the start of it all I wonder?

Start of what if people want vr's good luck to them.

Celgar · Post by **Celgar** » 01 Mar 2020, 12:01

I think the eventual aim will be to sort everything in the three superhubs and sell or pass on the letters side of the business.

Post by **SpacePhoenix** » 01 Mar 2020, 13:07

Celgar wrote:I think the eventual aim will be to sort everything in the three superhubs and sell or pass on the letters side of the business.

Would the superhubs have a chance in hell of being able to handle probably a million+ items per day? Timewise I can't see it being viable. Maybe if each hub had a rail link then it might stand a chance as a train would be able to travel faster then a lorry

daveyeff · Post by **daveyeff** » 01 Mar 2020, 19:03

aiden01 wrote:
daveyeff wrote:well just one day after one of 'Rico's ambassadors' was at our office(yesterday 28th feb) telling us of their plans up to 2024, the area rep has told us the branch had received a proposal for 57 VRs from RM for Tyneside mail centre. is this the start of it all I wonder?
Start of what if people want vr's good luck to them.

the start of the 20,000 the union claim will go. how many of these VRs will be replaced?

clashcityrocker · Post by **clashcityrocker** » 01 Mar 2020, 19:23

daveyeff wrote: the start of the 20,000 the union claim will go. how many of these VRs will be replaced?

If there is work then they will be replaced, maybe not on full time contracts but replaced.
If there isn't the work then there aren't any jobs.
If they get to leave on the current very generous VR terms then I am sure they will be very happy.

We have lost about 80 000 jobs over the last 10 years. There doesn't appear to be any great acceleration to that rate of attrition.

Post by **SpacePhoenix** » 01 Mar 2020, 20:20

clashcityrocker wrote:
daveyeff wrote: the start of the 20,000 the union claim will go. how many of these VRs will be replaced?
If there is work then they will be replaced, maybe not on full time contracts but replaced.
If there isn't the work then there aren't any jobs.
If they get to leave on the current very generous VR terms then I am sure they will be very happy.

We have lost about 80 000 jobs over the last 10 years. There doesn't appear to be any great acceleration to that rate of attrition.

Where they are replaced, how many will be replaced my agency/casuals?

the mad woman · Post by **the mad woman** » 02 Mar 2020, 04:20

Does anyone know if there’s going to be any redundancies in delivery

Celgar · Post by **Celgar** » 02 Mar 2020, 09:31

the mad woman wrote:Does anyone know if there’s going to be any redundancies in delivery

A larger DO near us is starting to work out figures for voluntary redundancy but I don't think there will be posties made redundant in the traditional sense of the term. About 9000 leave the business annually so all RM have to do is wait to achieve the staff losses they want. I get the impression MCs are going to see the changes first.

Post by **stodgy88** » 02 Mar 2020, 10:46

A larger DO near us is starting to work out figures for voluntary redundancy ------why would they do that if they are just going to wait for people to leave by natural wastage,seems strange.

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 02 Mar 2020, 12:16

stodgy88 wrote:A larger DO near us is starting to work out figures for voluntary redundancy ------why would they do that if they are just going to wait for people to leave by natural wastage,seems strange.

Its one of the initial stages of the scoping exercise when they are contemplating a major revision.