absorbtion and lapsing

RTI · Post by **RTI** » 16 Sep 2008, 22:13

We are doing this absorbtion thing at our office, 4 walks everyday need to be "absorbed" (saving 160 hours a week) we are being told that if you get back to the office before your finish time, u will be made to take a bit of the absorbtion duty out or you can take it out with you and then you will not have to return to the office, so as you can imagine, no one is getting back to the office till our finish times. were are being beaten down with "phase 3 national agreement" all the time, thats the answer to everything, but i thaught it was based on local agreements??

As these walks are not being absorbed completeley, our managers are employing casuals to complete the walks instead of asking us to do it on docket and paying double what we would cost, dipping into our budget/bonus fund, that shouldnt be on.
also extended delivery docket has been binned, so if you cannot complete your duty within your time, were being told to bring it back, and the casuals are taking it out. it doesnt make sense to me to do that.

With all this is going on, we havent had any communication from managers in the form of work time learning, and our union rep has been conveniently off sick for the last 2 months (ever since the local agreement was trying to me reached)
we dont know where to stand,and feel like we have no support, backing for the union is low, as is morale.
Is this the same in any other offices, ive heard roumers that all this lapsing and absorbtion isnt working else where either.

Si67 · Post by **Si67** » 16 Sep 2008, 23:12

Ive got to be honest.. That sounds very familuar infact to familuar!! Feels a little like a conspiracy... My union rep been off the last three months. and weird stuff comin through from mangement, you know not regular management, the ones from area office?? The ones that Talk<look and act like Hittler?? Anyone got one of those???? You must have! They are a breeding species from god knows where! But its not this planet!!

DGP1 · Post by **DGP1** » 16 Sep 2008, 23:52

We've been told that we are NOT to bring anything back and that if we're not going to complete then we have to inform the manager before we start

so can anyone tell me (especially if you're continually moved off duties) how to do this.

madelin4 · Post by **madelin4** » 17 Sep 2008, 14:35

disgruntledpostie1 wrote:We've been told that we are NOT to bring anything back and that if we're not going to complete then we have to inform the manager before we start so can anyone tell me (especially if you're continually moved off duties) how to do this.

I would say very difficult if you are moved around duties unless you get to know the ones you are moved to it would be hard to judge if one is going to be over there time or not.

Post by **trythat** » 17 Sep 2008, 16:53

disgruntledpostie1 wrote:We've been told that we are NOT to bring anything back and that if we're not going to complete then we have to inform the manager before we start so can anyone tell me (especially if you're continually moved off duties) how to do this.

If its a duty you don't do very often, I think a good way to judge is, see what time you're all thrown in and done redirections etc, add what you think it will take you to set it in, then add the 3.5hr (or whatever your delivery span is) delivery and traveling time, if this goes past your finish time, then you tell the management, they are then supposed to tell you what they want you do do.

DGP1 · Post by **DGP1** » 17 Sep 2008, 17:06

trythat wrote:
disgruntledpostie1 wrote:We've been told that we are NOT to bring anything back and that if we're not going to complete then we have to inform the manager before we start so can anyone tell me (especially if you're continually moved off duties) how to do this.
If its a duty you don't do very often, I think a good way to judge is, see what time you're all thrown in and done redirections etc, add what you think it will take you to set it in, then add the 3.5hr (or whatever your delivery span is) delivery and traveling time, if this goes past your finish time, then you tell the management, they are then supposed to tell you what they want you do do.

The problem is that it's very hard to just look at some post sitting in trays and decide instantly how long it'll take to prep, bundle up, travel to, deliver and travel back to the office (and this is what we now have to do).

Broxi51 · Post by **Broxi51** » 17 Sep 2008, 17:15

Say your finishing time is 2.15 and you are on a town walk. You should only leave the office at 10.30 am. You should have had your meal relief and everything should be all set for you to walk out that door at 10.30. If you are earlier than 10.30 am and they try to get you to take out some extra then you tell them that you have 3 hours & 30 minutes tied up ready to deliver and due to H&S as well as the national agreement you cannot take out anymore. They cannot force you to deliver more than 3 hours 30 minutes. You need 15 minutes to get back and dump your stuff.

Post by **dvbuk55** » 17 Sep 2008, 18:29

If you have had geo-route then the duties should be spot on using the criteria inputted - any lapsing etc still has to be done within the 3.5 hour delivery span.

PhilthyPhil · Post by **PhilthyPhil** » 17 Sep 2008, 19:00

Perhaps this is a minor point, but lapsing 4 full time duties is actually 192 hrs savings since we have a 6 day week. When our DOM said they needed to make 80 hours savings and hence would be lapsing 2 duties I asked which day we would not be lapsing them on, which was greeted with a somewhat confused look. Explained that 80 hrs savings would come from lapsing 2 duties over 5 days and not 6. In the end we didn't have to lapse them on saturday :)

Izzy · Post by **Izzy** » 17 Sep 2008, 19:16

You're lucky. In our office we have to do our phase III before our own duty. We're so short of both full and part-timers we are begged by gaffers to put it on docket just as long as we do it and don't leave it for them to do.