I'm a postman - morale is at an all-time low: What posties REALLY think of Royal Mail...and why you're waiting weeks for post

[SpacePhoenix]

Some offices have plenty of overtime available, some do not.

For DOs near to a MC, staff could always try getting OT at the MC

[enskied]

Food banks were set up for the needy and desperate. They have been hijacked by the government and business to prop up their lack of support.

OK. So now we're off into the realms of fantasy rather than address the idea that someone could take an easier job and top up his supplies via a charitable foodbank?

Job centres (the ones that are left) refer you to a food bank, church groups refer you to a food bank.....etc.
You are given a chitty by the job centre to feed yourself. That is government hijacking the charity sector.

[Tman]

So someone goes to a job centre, says "I'd like an easier job please, and can I have one of those chitties which means I can fill up on pasta and baked beans at my local foodbank?"

Yep, that'd be it.

[enskied]

So someone goes to a job centre, says "I'd like an easier job please, and can I have one of those chitties which means I can fill up on pasta and baked beans at my local foodbank?"

Yep, that'd be it.

It goes like this.
"Well Mr Tman, it will be up to six weeks before we can process your claim sir. Meanwhile, take this chitty to your local church and they will tide you over with stale doughnuts and out of date biscuits."

[Acca Dacca]

Working 9 hours overtime on my day off, Monday. Duty Tues-Friday 600-1515. OT 1515-1830 Collection. Saturday day off, packet delivery 5-6 hours. Breaking 40k again this year on a 65 hour week. With no shift allowances.

Anyone can do it. And I have back ups too, night shift OT, delivery's in another unit.

If you want to work, the work is there. I see more people simply moan that extra hours are not convenient for them. Not earning enough? Get a 7.5 ton class c1/c licence. Go on logistics. Get a weekend duty. The possibilities are endless in a 24hour/ 7day week organisation.

But don't tell me your skint please, if your unwilling to do anything about it.

[enskied]

Working 9 hours overtime on my day off, Monday. Duty Tues-Friday 600-1515. OT 1515-1830 Collection. Saturday day off, packet delivery 5-6 hours. Breaking 40k again this year on a 65 hour week. With no shift allowances.

Anyone can do it. And I have back ups too, night shift OT, delivery's in another unit.

If you want to work, the work is there. I see more people simply moan that extra hours are not convenient for them. Not earning enough? Get a 7.5 ton class c1/c licence. Go on logistics. Get a weekend duty. The possibilities are endless in a 24hour/ 7day week organisation.

But don't tell me your skint please, if your unwilling to do anything about it.

When do get to spend your money ?

[Tman]

It goes like this.
"Well Mr Tman, it will be up to six weeks before we can process your claim sir. Meanwhile, take this chitty to your local church and they will tide you over with stale doughnuts and out of date biscuits."

So it's gone from the morality of someone taking an allegedly easier job and topping up with visits to the food bank, through foodbanks being a tool of the government to questioning the quality of food available from food banks?
Do you actually know anything about food banks?

[mwalker88]

It goes like this.
"Well Mr Tman, it will be up to six weeks before we can process your claim sir. Meanwhile, take this chitty to your local church and they will tide you over with stale doughnuts and out of date biscuits."

So it's gone from the morality of someone taking an allegedly easier job and topping up with visits to the food bank, through foodbanks being a tool of the government to questioning the quality of food available from food banks?
Do you actually know anything about food banks?

People like you just love conflict eh?

You should get yourself over to the Ukraine or the Gaza strip mate, plenty of that going on in those parts of the world.

[ANDREW CROCOMBE]

Stop moaning and do 65 hours a week. That brings some common sense to this forum - initially about low morale and how badly the job had changed. Sorry I couldn't do that out on delivery OR work past 6pm as normal. Fair play to anyone working that hard to earn an above average wage

[qwerty2]

Working 9 hours overtime on my day off, Monday. Duty Tues-Friday 600-1515. OT 1515-1830 Collection. Saturday day off, packet delivery 5-6 hours. Breaking 40k again this year on a 65 hour week. With no shift allowances.

Anyone can do it. And I have back ups too, night shift OT, delivery's in another unit.

If you want to work, the work is there. I see more people simply moan that extra hours are not convenient for them. Not earning enough? Get a 7.5 ton class c1/c licence. Go on logistics. Get a weekend duty. The possibilities are endless in a 24hour/ 7day week organisation.

But don't tell me your skint please, if your unwilling to do anything about it.

When do get to spend your money ?

The family will spend it when he’s dead from working 65 hours a week

[moon71]

Actually the family are off to Florida for 2 weeks after the new year. Thanks for your concerns.

[degsy]

Shame you have to come back

[qwerty2]

Actually the family are off to Florida for 2 weeks after the new year. Thanks for your concerns.

“The family” but not you? Too busy working

[Navalron]

They don’t employ them on short contracts. They employ them on contracts with worse terms and pay but they are all full time, at least in our office. The company is short staffed. They need the labour. As mentioned, you can earn what you want anyway. Overtime is overflowing at the minute.

No one can get made up to full time in our office and many part timers work well over full time hours including overtime. Overtime is all well and good but even if you're desperate for money and have plenty of time on your hands, if you've already pushed yourself up to your physical capacity you just can't do any more. If you're out of energy, your body won't do any more and/or psychologically you're done in enough that you keep walking past houses you need to go to and reading addresses wrong, etc, they could throw wads of cash at you and the answer would still be "I can't do any more, I must sit/lie down soon".

There is a massive unwillingness from the company to face up to just how draining delivery is. You cannot measure effort, energy and physical wear and tear in terms of time and/or money. Damn right they're short staffed, they need more people and they need to offer them a decent package for doing this job or they're going to stay short staffed.

Delivery is undoubtedly tough but if a part time contract means you need a food bank then why take the job in the first place. Surely an extra two hours a day is possible whichever office your at. At ours they are screaming out for people to do extra, work days off etc. I absolutely loath what this company has become but poverty can not be laid at their door.

But most of the part time staff will be claiming universal credit. The more hours they work, the less money they get in benefits. It's an average of about 4.7 hours over your claimant commitment that you start to pay to work as you lose your entitlement. When I worked in that particular section of DWP I was constantly sad, at some of the letters we received from people who are trapped in the system. That will be the case for about 65%/75% of part time staff. And even if they can get a full time job their partner will need to be working but then that brings in all sorts of childcare issues and that's the reason so many RM staff don't want to work later, be made up to full-time or work overtime. BECAUSE,IT DOES NOT PAY.

[Navalron]

Working 9 hours overtime on my day off, Monday. Duty Tues-Friday 600-1515. OT 1515-1830 Collection. Saturday day off, packet delivery 5-6 hours. Breaking 40k again this year on a 65 hour week. With no shift allowances.

Anyone can do it. And I have back ups too, night shift OT, delivery's in another unit.

If you want to work, the work is there. I see more people simply moan that extra hours are not convenient for them. Not earning enough? Get a 7.5 ton class c1/c licence. Go on logistics. Get a weekend duty. The possibilities are endless in a 24hour/ 7day week organisation.

But don't tell me your skint please, if your unwilling to do anything about it.

What's a weekend duty got to do with anything. The new contracts don't get Sunday premium. There on £12.29 per hour paid monthly. They don't get paid for meal relief. I've worked in Glasgow mail centre, Gthe airport, train stations, all for RM but that's when Saturday and Sunday premium was paid. I was earning more 30 years ago doing a Sunday morning, English mail transfer, than what even the opgs get for a sundaynow. And that's when all hours worked between 7pm and 6 am were paid night allowance (nda). And that included all overtime nights. And I was a network driver also. We can all boast like you but the fact is RM are a suit employer and your boasting about working 65 hours for £40 k. You will be one of these posties who retire and see a couple of months of his pension. I hope not but life has got to be more than working your nuts off.