It's been a while, so what's the news from your office

[pinstripe]

Down here on the sunny South Coast, managements proposed 'summer lapsing' failed. There is no other way to describe it even though they tried. We are now so short staffed that we have casuals in every day and we are carrying 5 f/t vacancies which R/M won't fill. We are now starting a Pegasus Revision which is to take out 80 hours in the office. (Just like every other office in the area, strangely). It has been a struggle this summer, the drop in mail volumes didn't happen, the weather has been terrible and I'm still delivering light bulbs!

[speedfreak191a]

bag checks every morning!

[baldrick]

Management want to have a resign of duties. But they also want to move all the Foreign Inward to HWDC in February,
which will mean the loss of 450-700 duties in our MC. They say they do not know how they are going to deal with the surplus staff. So how do they expect us to sign for jobs which might not exist in a few months time, not knowing how they will deal with us?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

It may not be connected but since they started summer lapsing and longs and shorts our long term sick rate has gone through the roof. On one section of 23 we are down 12 people.

[Phantom]

Same here, sickness has gone through the roof. We've had this banking of hours crap, it has been suspended now because it isn't working. I must say that this has to be the busiest summer I have ever known. Mail volumes are extremely high.

Mail dropping off?????? my arse it is.

[DUNDEEPOSTIE]

Up here on the not so sunny east coast of Scotland we had a team talk the other week (last Tuesday i think) to say that Royal mail is losing a million pounds a week, and that if these losses are not kept in check Royal Mail would be unable to pay our wages by March /April of next year! ( don't know if anyone else has had that one!)
In addition to this the dom wants to remove another 300 hours from our office (where every week you are asked to come in on your day off!) and a Pegasus revision is underway on the entire office, with the management looking at a 4 hour delivery span.

Oh! and we're still delivering lightbulbs! Another 20 yorks came in yesterday!
The thing with these bulbs is you are getting (speaking from personal experience) on average four boxes to every house! You think that surely these people can't get anymore and sure enough there's another two appear in your news bag every day! We'll be wrapping them up as Christmas presents shortly!

[dubdaz]

Absolute chaos in my office.The new trouble shooting dom that was brought in to sort us out ,turns out to be a complete David Brent.All talk at the beginning about how he's going to do this that and the other,but now walks round like he realises he's bitten off more than he can chew We had a full pegasus review that took 3 managers and 9 months to complete which was supposed to even out the walks,but its blatantly obvious the systems only as good as the numpties that programme it in.Some walks only take a couple of hours to complete where others take up to four Our sick has gone through the roof.
On the up side though the screws are being sent out on walks everyday,and the carve up merchants (95% of the office) are being made to take out extra on top of their own delivery

[pinstripe]

"Oh! and we're still delivering lightbulbs! Another 20 yorks came in yesterday!
The thing with these bulbs is you are getting (speaking from personal experience) on average four boxes to every house! You think that surely these people can't get anymore and sure enough there's another two appear in your news bag every day! We'll be wrapping them up as Christmas presents shortly!"



My day off today, so my postie knocks my door with a packet for me.
Guess what, LIGHTBULBS!
You'll never guess who they were from, ROYAL MAIL!
You honestly could not make it up.

[trythat]

Lapsing in our office didn't go to badly, but then again the DOM didn't try and be stupid when taking hours out (I know it's hard to believe), from what I can gather we're £20,000 under budget at the moment.

We have Georoute being done on us now, the bloke doing it, seems to be upfront about the info going in, but we've not really seen any results yet, I gather their ready to spit out times based on the duties as they are now. I think they were hoping to bring it before Christmas, but, everyone is hoping it comes in after, can't really see us having time to look at the output, try and make any changes that are needed, and have a office repick.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Yep its getting to be a thankless job and one where the boss is leant over your shoulder checking everything or cracking the whip trying to get the lapsed walks covered.

I still think that the old system, though far from perfect, did not have so many drawbacks as this new flexibility/modernisation system.

[trythat]

People do seem to be realizing that doing the job 'some what properly' is the way to go, especially if on a town round, we have loads going out in cars still, but other are starting to get on the van, and try and keep to the bag weights. What people have got to realise is that the rule book is there for both sides, not just for management to bully is with it.

[shelanda]

We get more and more stressed managers delivering our "round for absorption" they really are having a laugh thinking we shd run round and do more (and the mad thing is some still are) I get a real kick seeing the managers delivering when I have gone home keep telling them you work to live not live to work.........well Ido anyway! I keep saying it if all these Doms can keep delivering, do we really need them, they obviously don't have enough to do! So there are our savings and leave us alone.

[General Mannerheim]

We`ve been doing the summer lapsing and it was supposed to be coming to an end at the end of August but surprise,surprise,the union rep has caved in and said we will have to do it all the time now,he`s also can`t wait to sign up to cover people when they are off sick,I look forward to seeing him real soon on the management team.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

We`ve been doing the summer lapsing and it was supposed to be coming to an end at the end of August but surprise,surprise,the union rep has caved in and said we will have to do it all the time now,he`s also can`t wait to sign up to cover people when they are off sick,I look forward to seeing him real soon on the management team.

Regrettably this was part of the agreement and has been accepted nationally - I disagreed with it but we got a "Yes to accept vote" and now we are reaping that harvest.

Phase 3 – Transforming the way we work
Both parties are committed to introducing new ways of working throughout the business by April 2008. In order to achieve this there will be a trial in four offices per AGM area covering the following:

*
New arrangements to cover for one another and develop sensible options to absorb absences, and increased workload, where time exists within normal hours
*
To ensure all paid work hours are utilised
*
To creates a working environment where employees, CWU reps and managers feel valued and motivated.

This flexibility could also facilitate arrangements for employees to make their own arrangements to cover and swap duties (subject to approval from their manager) – within contracted hours, providing quality of service is not adversely affected and there are no additional costs to the business.

see full agreement: http://overpaidunderworked.blogspot.com ... chive.html

[k979aaa]

In our office the DOM is trying to impose a 4 to 5 hour delivery span which break's a national agreement ( THE WAY FORWARD AGREEMENT OF 2001) this will be followed by all the unit's in our area and nationwide if it get's in!. WE MUST AT ALL COST'S RESIST THIS IMPOSITION ON OUR WORKING CONDITIONS!.