xmas/new year grievance

[ronnie1980]

The Edinburgh mail centre is in the process of putting together a collective grievance against RM bosses
for not giving staff who were forced to work the bank holidays,their proper entitlement of lieu days and excess over the 2 bank holidays
and also so for not remubrsing their lieu-day for the their rest day.

The following is what has been typed up and signed by at present 80+ names

We the undersigned wish to raise a grievance against the Staff Resourcing section for refusing to credit us with the attendance credits that we are due for the public holidays that we are scheduled to work.
In certain weeks containing a public holiday members of staff are not allocated the day off but are instead scheduled to work their public holiday. Therefore in those weeks containing a public holiday, staff are forced to work overtime in addition to their conditioned hours. For a week containing two public holidays (i.e. at Christmas) the conditioned hours to be worked for a five night member of staff are 23h 42m, the actual hours worked are 31h 36m.
Agreements show that for these excess hours (7h 54m) staff should receive an attendance credit which can be exchanged for a day in lieu or paid at normal weekday overtime rate. Staff Resourcing are currently compliant with this part of the public holiday agreement.
However, agreements show that staff are also entitled to receive an attendance credit for the public holiday which has fallen on their rest day (Monday). Staff Resourcing are now refusing to allocate these attendance credits, even though they have been allocated previously.
This only affects certain groups of staff in the building and not others which promotes inequality between different shifts and also inequality within the night shift. This goes against Royal Mails policy of Dignity and Respect which states that:
“It is Royal Mail policy that everyone who works for the company should be treated with dignity and respect and without any form of harassment or bullying or prejudice relating to their age, culture, religion, race or ethnicity, disability, gender, sexual orientation, family status, working hours, or any other matter and this must apply equally and across all grades in business.”

Please post what u think and if you will do the same in other offices.thanks

[roger]

I believe you can`t have a colletive grievance in Royal Mail,according to the CWU site you would have to go through the IR framework route.In my MC there was an issue that affected a number of staff, the union was hopeless on this issue as it was partly their fault.I rang up RM legal dept and found them really helpful,they said that we should put in a grievance for one individual and if that grievance was successful it would apply to the others as well,which was what we did,we won the grievance and the other people who were also affected were also reinstated.Another route which I have also used is to speak to your Regional Resourcing Manager about the issue,If you know someone in the bookroom they will be able to get you RRM`s phone number.I was involved in an issue which covered a number of OPGs regarding allowences we did an Individual grievance which went up to stage3 and lost.Even though we lost I knew we were right according to RMs own rules.I found out who the RRM was, rang him up told him the situation,and also told him that the OPGs were going to see their own members of parliament to try and get help,which seemed to worry the RRM.He came to my office to see me took a load of notes regarding the issue,told me he would investigate the matter.About two months later he contacted me said that the STAGE 3 manager was wrong,and that he has instructed the mail centre manager to arrange for the back pay to be payed £35000 in all.I know I`ve gone on a bit,but I know the situation your in and want to let you know there are ways to get justice.

[pink panther]

Where I work there was also a situation that staff were cheated out of leave over the Christmas and new year. Unfortunately the union hasn't even come back with a reply and thats from 2010. Makes me angry when you read the voice magazine and they seem more concerned about the angard staff than their own paying members.

[pcb]

You need to raise an individual grievance follow the procedure and take it to a tribunal. You should at the same time register a disagreement through the union.

[Talell]

Yeah, no.

The grievance will fail, since RM decided to actually apply the Christmas arrangements agreement from 2004.

You have to remember that Sunday night is a normal working day, therefore to not work it, you would expend a BH credit, either as time, time in lieu or excess.

Monday night, is the same as Sunday, is a normal working day etc.

So, assuming you work Monday-Friday nights (5 day week), you would expend 1 BH credit as time off for Monday, and get the offer of excess or TOIL for Sunday.

Now, assuming the latter half has to do with the pre-midnight starts, you are not entitled to anything for those hours other than BH premium (iirc its essentially an extra penny per hour, not rate), and only for the hours you worked on the BH (i.e. 2300 start would get 1 hour), UNLESS you started before 2200 (e.g. 2100-0700 4day week) then you get the option of BH rate (for the hours you worked on the BH), or TOIL.

Look, it sucked that they only decided this 1 week before the fact, and I know it really sucked first hand because I got shafted as well with it, but let it go, RM worked in accordance with the agreement, we have just been getting it good for the past few years at their expense.