Coms choosing your duty

[Mr Rush]

I do a lot of research through the forum's archives and this rang a bell. Not for the first time has this concept popped up. Very interesting post from Martin in 2015 (then posting pseudonymously) on the history of duty allocation and seniority:

[...] Royal Mail wanted in 1996 personal development plans which mean your interviewed twice s year on your overall performance and then your allocated a job based on these interviews. This is a massive issue in British Telecom at the moment where this interviews are used as a bullying tool.

Seniority, to paraphrase Churchill on democracy, is the least worst system.

[yellowbelly]

Strange your supporting Royal Mail in allocating duties and not the rank and file who work in the delivery units.

The only times when seniority becomes an issue in a resign based on major change which USO would be :

1. If it impacted on someone losing their pensionable allowances which would require Royal Mail to pay for both pay protection for the individual losing and for someone new being paid the pensionable allowances.

2. For someone signing for say a driving duty who could not drive.

This is different. This is a COM selecting those a duty for individuals in a unit knowing in some there will be a surplus of staff including non drivers.

Now if that ain’t a big deal for you then I suggest your not listening to the real rank and file in our 1250 delivery units.

Very strange comment to make yourself Martin - highlighting an issue and saying they're supporting RM? That's the way to win people round!

I myself have experienced and witnessed colleagues be moved off their allocated duties and their day off changed at very short notice for 'operational reasons' to cover a different round and the local and regional rep concurring that there's nothing they can do. What's the difference between a shelf stacker in Tesco stacking the pet food aisle one day and cereals the next? What's the difference between delivering letters on one round to another as long as they're trained? And yes I and others in the DO I'm at do that often - due to 'operational reasons'.

You've frequently mentioned that things have to change as you've seen RM accounts/books whatever. The past 40 years or more have demonstrated that large corporations go for the easiest way to save money which is to cut the workforce. The very fact that CWU have proposed a slightly different method indicates that there is not the work to sustain the current workforce. Do you have a plan that will not involve ANY job losses? Or is it that any method you come up with rely on natural wastage not being replaced and roles being removed?

[Saturn1]

ODM was always stated that jobs would be lost, 25% was the figure? But it was going to be through "natural wastage".

[Oscar_Grouch]

I have reasonable adjustments so I have zero faith in management to abide by that if they’re allowed to pick and choose what I’m doing each day.

My office has some non (never) drivers due to medical/disability.

The question was asked about whether consideration was being made for these individuals in the planning.
The answer was that the plan comes first. and if they can't fit in the individuals will just have to duck off.

Reset of industrial and employee relations is going splendidly

[Pidleypoo]

I have reasonable adjustments so I have zero faith in management to abide by that if they’re allowed to pick and choose what I’m doing each day.

My office has some non (never) drivers due to medical/disability.

The question was asked about whether consideration was being made for these individuals in the planning.
The answer was that the plan comes first. and if they can't fit in the individuals will just have to duck off.

Reset of industrial and employee relations is going splendidly

So constructive dismissal and a disregarding of the law.

[norris9]

Is the plan to group rurals together as part of this, so they'd be van-sharing on rurals? or will they still be singletons?

[SMS1969]

Is the plan to group rurals together as part of this, so they'd be van-sharing on rurals? or will they still be singletons?

From what I understand, they’ll stay single duties.

[Mr Rush]

Is the plan to group rurals together as part of this, so they'd be van-sharing on rurals? or will they still be singletons?

RM are not so stupid that they could ignore how much worse the inefficiency would be to pair rurals. From experience, on town walks I'd say it's 25%+ compared to working solo - it's only gotten worse, and probably nullified whatever savings were made removing duties with the P&L revisions.

[Oscar_Grouch]

Is the plan to group rurals together as part of this, so they'd be van-sharing on rurals? or will they still be singletons?

Rurals have been wrapped in pink.
Pink duties are to remain single duties - everything goes every day
Firms duties are also supposed to be pink but to pish off the duty holders (only logical explanation) one of ours has been redesignated as a town, as has one of our rurals

Everything else is blue or yellow and will alternate.

Problem I see is managers are being given free reign to an extent to allocate things as see fit.
Ours, who has been in the office all of 5 minutes has chosen to completely disregard and alienate the centuries worth of local knowledge.

But of course pairing up duties for the combined days that have several duties between them might just be an absolute genius move

[norris9]

Is the plan to group rurals together as part of this, so they'd be van-sharing on rurals? or will they still be singletons?

Everything else is blue or yellow and will alternate.

Thanks. What is the difference between a yellow and a blue?

[ted_e_bear]

Is the plan to group rurals together as part of this, so they'd be van-sharing on rurals? or will they still be singletons?

Everything else is blue or yellow and will alternate.

Thanks. What is the difference between a yellow and a blue?

Nothing really -

Week one
Blue gets full delivery Mon Weds Fri
Yellow Tues Thurs

Week two
Yellow full delivery Mon Weds Fri
Blue Tues Thurs

And repeat

[norris9]

Is the plan to group rurals together as part of this, so they'd be van-sharing on rurals? or will they still be singletons?

Everything else is blue or yellow and will alternate.

Thanks. What is the difference between a yellow and a blue?

Nothing really -

Week one
Blue gets full delivery Mon Weds Fri
Yellow Tues Thurs

Week two
Yellow full delivery Mon Weds Fri
Blue Tues Thurs

And repeat

So isn't that...

Monday Blue = 3 days' mail. (Last went out Thurs)
Tuesday Yellow = 3 days' mail. (Last went out Fri)
Wednesday Blue = 2 days' mail.
Thursday Yellow = 2 days' mail.
Friday Blue = 2 days' mail.

That is going to be disastrous on a biblical scale.

When we have 2 days' mail it results in us cutting off to do Tracked, resulting in us bringing back a huge amount of 1 round.

With the above changes 3 days' mail will become 4 days' mail. People bodies will turn to dust carrying that amount of mail around, especially on heavy magazine days.

[hero22]

We are a trial office and thats the way we have been working. They expect d2ds completed in two
Days one week and 3 days the next. Along with either double or triple mail and the guts of 200 parcels most days.

The only reason its being cleared is because overtime was no issue so in essence to achieve a clear office more money was being spent on overtime than ever before but now since January there is a complete ot ban and it just gathers up day after day.

Try and see the logic behind some of the decisions made by Royal Mail management and it’s impossible. How some of these managers even find their way into work in the morning is surprising.

[norris9]

We are a trial office and thats the way we have been working. They expect d2ds completed in two
Days one week and 3 days the next. Along with either double or triple mail and the guts of 200 parcels most days.

The only reason its being cleared is because overtime was no issue so in essence to achieve a clear office more money was being spent on overtime than ever before but now since January there is a complete ot ban and it just gathers up day after day.

Try and see the logic behind some of the decisions made by Royal Mail management and it’s impossible. How some of these managers even find their way into work in the morning is surprising.

Who wants to do that kind of overtime everyday.

So if singleton rurals are just staying as they are - taking everything everyday.... then that's the job to have?

Van-sharing with that new way of working will be absolute hell.

[ted_e_bear]

Is the plan to group rurals together as part of this, so they'd be van-sharing on rurals? or will they still be singletons?

Everything else is blue or yellow and will alternate.

Thanks. What is the difference between a yellow and a blue?

Nothing really -

Week one
Blue gets full delivery Mon Weds Fri
Yellow Tues Thurs

Week two
Yellow full delivery Mon Weds Fri
Blue Tues Thurs

And repeat

So isn't that...

Monday Blue = 3 days' mail. (Last went out Thurs)
Tuesday Yellow = 3 days' mail. (Last went out Fri)
Wednesday Blue = 2 days' mail.
Thursday Yellow = 2 days' mail.
Friday Blue = 2 days' mail.

That is going to be disastrous on a biblical scale.

When we have 2 days' mail it results in us cutting off to do Tracked, resulting in us bringing back a huge amount of 1 round.

With the above changes 3 days' mail will become 4 days' mail. People bodies will turn to dust carrying that amount of mail around, especially on heavy magazine days.

It so is that you've just confirmed it above

I explained what the different colours related to in days when delivery is scheduled you've added the obvious extra workload as regards to when the mail previously had a full delivery on either walk.

Yes it will be s**t.