Are all walks meant to be equal?

[discoinferno]

Can anyone answer me this?, are all normal walks mean to be equal?..could the Royal Mail say that one walk is smaller than another or vica versa?..is this practical or is it against union/management agreements?..anyone?.i had this argument once but was never given an official answer..

[vigilante]

Can anyone answer me this?, are all normal walks mean to be equal?..could the Royal Mail say that one walk is smaller than another or vica versa?..is this practical or is it against union/management agreements?..anyone?.i had this argument once but was never given an official answer..

Yes all walks/rurals should be as equal as possible----it is obviously impossible to get walks/rurals exactly the same due to varients.
The management are actively pushing geo-route although not fully agreed yet.
This is supposed to make everybodies workload as fair as poss--------we shall see.
Yours cynically.....

[staffordtigers]

Surely it also must depend on how fast you walk, if you stop and chat to everyone on the walk, if you get stuck in everyday traffic etc.Various things must be taken into account, not just the same number of drops.

[discoinferno]

Surely it also must depend on how fast you walk, if you stop and chat to everyone on the walk, if you get stuck in everyday traffic etc.Various things must be taken into account, not just the same number of drops.

I see where your coming from but can a manager say to you , you should get around on a certain walk quicker than another because in his view its an easy walk?...

[Spedley]

Our office is divided into duties with associated walks. Some duties do less IPS and more delivery, others are 30 or 33 hours per week with no IPS.
I don't think the duties have to be equal but they should have a defined route and timespan.

[discoinferno]

Our office is divided into duties with associated walks. Some duties do less IPS and more delivery, others are 30 or 33 hours per week with no IPS.
I don't think the duties have to be equal but they should have a defined route and timespan.

mmmmm, it is confusing isnt it?..there are so many different and contradicting rules at the RM its hard at the best of times to know what the right thing to do or who is right..

Ideally though would a manager be able to say to me /postie mate you cant claim overtime on that walk because its easy and you should get around in perfect time, is that a form of discrimination?...

[steviemac]

not equal but fair is a better way of looking at it, seniority usually involves a driving duty of some type and so less physical delivery work which managers (old school) feel a just reward for 20yrs slogging around in the rain. recent developments mean that lots of percieved easy walks(350 drops) have been allocated extra when duties have been re structured and leaving the 600 drops alone. local knowledge also applies as rural duties subject to more delays due to distance and other hazards. No computer can account for all the variables when 1 year a walk will have several businesess based from home each commanding a bundle of mail and the next year these addresses move or retire so affecting volume, social housing has lots of tenants moving in and out with no re directions meaning 6 mths of kill offs but an increasing level of mail for that address. Leave well alone 300 years of experience in duty structuring must have some benefit.

[discoinferno]

not equal but fair is a better way of looking at it, seniority usually involves a driving duty of some type and so less physical delivery work which managers (old school) feel a just reward for 20yrs slogging around in the rain. recent developments mean that lots of percieved easy walks(350 drops) have been allocated extra when duties have been re structured and leaving the 600 drops alone. local knowledge also applies as rural duties subject to more delays due to distance and other hazards. No computer can account for all the variables when 1 year a walk will have several businesess based from home each commanding a bundle of mail and the next year these addresses move or retire so affecting volume, social housing has lots of tenants moving in and out with no re directions meaning 6 mths of kill offs but an increasing level of mail for that address. Leave well alone 300 years of experience in duty structuring must have some benefit.

Are you saying then,based on seniority ,that a manager can place a newbie on a walk deemed tougher rather than give it to an old time long serving postie, that a form of discrimination if you look at it that way isnt it?:hmmmm
Can a manager refuse you overtime on this basis then?....using that very excuse

[vigilante]

not equal but fair is a better way of looking at it, seniority usually involves a driving duty of some type and so less physical delivery work which managers (old school) feel a just reward for 20yrs slogging around in the rain. recent developments mean that lots of percieved easy walks(350 drops) have been allocated extra when duties have been re structured and leaving the 600 drops alone. local knowledge also applies as rural duties subject to more delays due to distance and other hazards. No computer can account for all the variables when 1 year a walk will have several businesess based from home each commanding a bundle of mail and the next year these addresses move or retire so affecting volume, social housing has lots of tenants moving in and out with no re directions meaning 6 mths of kill offs but an increasing level of mail for that address. Leave well alone 300 years of experience in duty structuring must have some benefit.

Are you saying then,based on seniority ,that a manager can place a newbie on a walk deemed tougher rather than give it to an old time long serving postie, that a form of discrimination if you look at it that way isnt it?:hmmmm
Can a manager refuse you overtime on this basis then?....using that very excuse

Seniority dosen't entitle you to a nice easy driving round, driving rounds are as tiring as walking rounds
I have 24 yrs in and im the cwu rep--my rural is the longest in the office.
Every body in my office can put in for a driving duty if they want.

[steviemac]

overtime was not mentioned in the post and as far as i know a rota system is used for people who want to do overtime giving you the option tojump in or out as it suits. generally seniority goes with an easier duty but i'm sure some exceptions out there. Discrimination not an issue as wage and expected delivery times are the same for all ages, races and sexes, any variation will be part of job description which can be accepted or not when applying for the post. Job desciriptions change over time as can be demonstrated by our job description different from one from the 1970's. favouritism is more common and likely to result in preferential treatment which is wrong and unfair but is different from discrimination which is usually associated with age, sex or religious bias and is a policy or act aimed at a specific group or individual.
New entrants are normally classed as floaters or spares and as such will do a variety of walks covering sickness and holidays, managers will often juggle duties when faced with unexpected sickness and put a spare on a difficult walk and an easier walk on overtime as this will make it easier to get covered, managers are paid to get all the walks covered and delivered and somebody down the food chain wil find themselves climbing a hill in the p#####g rain as a result, most of us have gone through the process and do not whinge about it.

[discoinferno]

Discrimination not an issue as wage and expected delivery times are the same for all ages, races and sexes, any variation will be part of job description which can be accepted or not when applying for the post.


MMM, i kinda see what you mean , what im saying is lets say if i was on a certain walk,and you have said that there are walks considered then that are bigger or harder than others,and lets say that i approachd management to inform him that rather than cut off on a heavy volumed day of mail i will complete the round but overtime is required to do so, can that manager refuse me on the grounds that i am A: Part time B: The round is deemed by him as an easy one?....

[slave]

if you stop and chat to everyone on the walk,

Tsk, don't forget we are no longer a public service, merely a business that is run to line the pockets of the management! Stopping and chatting is something you do on your own back and is not part of duty time.

I see where your coming from but can a manager say to you , you should get around on a certain walk quicker than another because in his view its an easy walk?...

Managers are aware (usually) of what walks are easier than others, so they can sometimes be wary and look at you funny when you try booking o/t on certain walks. They can look and grumble all they like, I still book if needs be. If they get arsey and start timing your prep times, checking meal breaks etc etc (as some power-mad managers do) then don't forget - do the job properly, stick to the guidelines and then let them see how long it really takes.

New entrants are normally classed as floaters or spares and as such will do a variety of walks covering sickness and holidays, managers will often juggle duties when faced with unexpected sickness and put a spare on a difficult walk and an easier walk on overtime as this will make it easier to get covered

Try telling that to the useless dom we have, all new entrants (p/t's) are put on the same walk week in week out for months on end! It's true about having easier walks on o/t - can't blame them, it makes sense as they are far easier to cover.


In theory pegasus/geo-route/whatever the f*** its called should even things out a bit - I've had the pleasure of walks based on this already and I must say I was pleasantly suprised - especially when compared to what those walks were like beforehand. I'm not saying it will work on all walks but the few I've sampled seemed more even than they previously were