Royal Mail staff battling for lost wages after Storm Eowyn, says union

[POSTMAN]

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/249 ... ays-union/

Royal Mail workers claim they have been left out of pocket after Storm Éowyn forced the closure of delivery offices more than a month ago.

The record-breaking storm was the most disruptive to hit Scotland in decades, sweeping across the country on January 24 with a threat to life warning shutting down areas across the country.

The trade union that represents workers from the Uddingston and Clydebank branches near Glasgow say that the firm’s approach to the storm was not in line with Royal Mail’s own Adverse Weather Policy leaving members “being penalised unfairly via loss of pay or loss of annual leave”.

John Carson, the branch secretary for CWU Glasgow and District, branded Royal Mail’s approach as “confused, contradictory and in breach of existing policy”.

Mr Carson said: “Since Friday, January 24, there have been ongoing discussions with Royal Mail in Scotland to understand its approach to handling Storm Éowyn and limiting the impact of it on our members.

“In the process of this, it has become clear that Royal Mail’s approach to Storm Éowyn was confused, contradictory and in breach of existing policy - leading local managers to make decisions and approaches which have resulted in our members being penalised unfairly via loss of pay or loss of annual leave.”

A spokesperson for Royal Mail said that those who were concerned about the storm ahead of its arrival were told they could take annual leave and that no pay was deducted. They added: “The decision was taken in line with our policy.”


Two postal workers who spoke to The Herald said the events had left them feeling “disappointed” at the way the storm was handled.

One postal worker said: “I’m a bit disappointed really because it’s no fault of our own. It was a threat to life, and we lost out money-wise. I lost six and a half hours but there are some people who lost a lot more than that.

“It’s more the principle of it now for me, the way that it was dealt with. Like, you’re not getting paid and this is it.”

A conversation with a manager over the phone after the incident a week later left the worker feeling hopeless about reclaiming wages.
They added: “I have no idea which way it will go cause I know Royal Mail wouldn’t want to pay it the way this chap was talking to me.

“I expect the same thing will happen [if there is another storm]. The way Royal Mail has been this past year, it’s been crazy the way people are treated and the lack of training and everything that goes with it.
“As a communication business, the communication is non-existent.”

A second worker told The Herald they weren’t aware that coming into the office to be sent home was an option and worried what would happen the next time a red weather warning was put in place.

They said: “It is going to happen again. We know this is going to happen again because our weather is changing. There will be more red weather warnings. It doesn’t give me any faith to think that Royal Mail will handle it any better. I don’t think they will.

“If they have paid some officers, they should do the decent thing and pay the other officers. But it’s Royal Mail and I don’t have much faith in them sorting it out without some pressure being put on them.

“I want people to see how unfairly people have been treated without being given the correct information. It would have made so much difference to the workers if they had been given the correct information.

“The staff were willing to come to work if they could, but they couldn’t. and that’s not their fault. Safety comes first. It could have been handled so much better, but they didn’t.”

Workers were told on January 23 that all employees, regardless of location, were given the opportunity to take annual leave, take unpaid leave or arrange to work time back later with their line manager. Units in the red zone were closed, ceasing operations between 10am and 5pm on the day of the storm.

Royal Mail’s adverse weather policy seen by The Herald states that where alternative work is not available or an office is closed due to worsening weather conditions, “employees may be allowed to go home early and there will be no requirement to make up the time.” It also states: “Employees unable to attend due to their normal workplace being closed and there is no alternative work will not be required to make up the time.”

Mr Carson said: “CWU Officers have made it plain to Royal Mail, and Regional Operations Director (ROD) for Scotland, Mr Ross Hutchison, that our members should not have been penalised due to an extraordinary weather event, and especially not due to Royal Mail’s failure to issue clear and consistent guidance in line with policy. Instead, Royal Mail should have done the decent thing and closed workplaces with no detriment to staff ahead of the threat to life storm.

“Instead, it has now become clear that Royal Mail in the Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Paisley areas are trying to drag their heels on this issue and have been shutting down grievances in relation to Storm Éowyn. This is completely unacceptable. The CWU is calling on Royal Mail to restore what is rightly owed to all our members affected by Storm Éowyn, or we will fully support those members in a collective claim to Tribunal for unlawful deduction of wages.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Some colleagues, who were concerned about the storm ahead of its arrival, were offered the option to take annual leave so they could plan for issues like school closures. “We can confirm no pay has been deducted. These decisions were taken in line with our policy.”

[Mr Rush]

A second worker told The Herald they weren’t aware that coming into the office to be sent home was an option

I said to colleagues, as management were coming round with clipboards the afternoon before, that it was always an option even if unstated. The red weather warning did not commence until 10AM that day after all staff members' starting times. With no prior amber alert in force before then, there was no reason attendance should not have proceeded as normal. They called a lot of people's bluff by implying you'd be trapped in the office until the warning lifted at 5PM if you attended.

I am convinced the farce was executed as part of a greater savings push (alongside the concurrent overtime ban) in the run-up to the sale of the company. As happened with 'The Beast From the East', if a red alert it issued during the course of daily attendance you are released from your contractual obligations with no recourse to clawback.