floating duties

jumper · Post by **jumper** » 28 Oct 2008, 20:57

I have been on a regular PT duty for 9 months now but have just missed out on signing for the walk that i am doing and now face being a floater can anyone tell me if being a floater is as good as any duty or will it p*** me off as i need a bit of consistancy. I am worried about losing money due to no Door to Doors.

DGP1 · Post by **DGP1** » 28 Oct 2008, 21:20

For the past 6 years I've been a reserve, constantly moving duties and never knowing where I'll be or what my day off will be so if you can get a set duty (even if it's a travelling reserve) then it's the best you can hope for at the moment.

ROCKS · Post by **ROCKS** » 28 Oct 2008, 22:17

been on my floating duty for 2 years,good to have a variation of walks even though been doing them for so long,get used to prep them in your own way,and somtimes start at different points to vary them,should still get d2d's as you must do 20% of each walk i think so you shouldn't miss out also come to an understanding with your other posties in your group if you want more d2d's.will be spare myself soon as total resign in wigan and missed out on duties as 25 hour men/women get priority over 32.5 men

Darren Bent · Post by **Darren Bent** » 28 Oct 2008, 22:43

This is what the problem with royal mail. People who want their own walk can't get them unless you apply for 28 hours walk or a walk that nobody want.

axeman · Post by **axeman** » 28 Oct 2008, 23:55

It's called seniority and i'm glad we have it because if we didn't then all the office narks / brown noses would have a field day

morrrany · Post by **morrrany** » 29 Oct 2008, 08:31

axeman wrote:It's called seniority and i'm glad we have it because if we didn't then all the office narks / brown noses would have a field day

well said that man

ad0128 · Post by **ad0128** » 29 Oct 2008, 12:55

seneority is a load of carp

i mean are all walks not meant to be equal.........why would anybody need to choose?

all it leads to are those newer to the business getting screwed whist others go home an hour early

madelin4 · Post by **madelin4** » 29 Oct 2008, 13:44

ad0128 wrote:seneority is a load of carp

i mean are all walks not meant to be equal.........why would anybody need to choose?

all it leads to are those newer to the business getting screwed whist others go home an hour early

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 29 Oct 2008, 14:40

ad0128 wrote:seneority is a load of carp

i mean are all walks not meant to be equal.........why would anybody need to choose?

all it leads to are those newer to the business getting screwed whist others go home an hour early

All walks are meant to be equal - that was a policy dreamed up by a bean counter in HQ as there is no way that all walks can be equal.

Also imho we need seniority in some circumstances otherwise we loose hard earned local knowledge and skill gained from posties working in the same area for years on end. If we did not have seniority, someone who had just started could select a walk over an exoperienced mad who had been doing the same duty for 20 years, and would be given it by the DOM because the new guy was more willing to work OT or use their car. Without seniority selection for duties is far more open to abuse that using seniority.

So you know where I am coming from I am FT with 4 years done and I do have the worst walk in the office but I still support seniority. Give the managers more skills in man management and stop the constant attack on hours and budgets and I might well change my mind on this, but not likely.

steve86 · Post by **steve86** » 29 Oct 2008, 14:54

i have hab my own duty now for 3 years and have it planned out very well i have worked very hard to please the customers and have made a lot of new freinds and i am happy with my duty now we have started park and loop and we have been told there will be a repick based on seneority which means i will probably lose my walk

what a load of crap this is the union pushing for the repick to turn the office into chaos it should be suitability to each position i pay union money as well as them

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 29 Oct 2008, 15:00

But how would you select on suitability - every walk is basically the same no extra skills are needed to do one over the other so not sure how suitability comes into it. If you remove seniority what is happening to you could happen again if you were on a walk for 20 years.

Obviously Callers Office, Locker Room, Business replies, driving, DOM support etc have identifiable skills and there I would agree with you - and so does the Union and they have an agreement with RM on selecting for duties with skill requirements.

With regards to a repick - at our office we are going to have a consultative ballot to decide if we are going to have one, if the majority vote "No" then we wont have one. Suggest this to the Rep.

axeman · Post by **axeman** » 29 Oct 2008, 16:42

Suitability woud be worked out to give those that do the dim dums bidding would get the easiest jobs to enable them to do overtime so as to prevent them having to go out and deliver what the postie cannot do without going over his hours.
Seniority is there to give those that have worked longer and just might have done some hard walks in there time the option of maybe a job with a van so as they age and the joints get a little stiffer they can go for an easier walk then its only correct that they have an option to chose such a job.
those who disagree are usualy those who've been there the least amount of time and perhaps are feeling the strain of 'lateone' and 'craziers' approach to the delivery sections of royal fail but rember if you survive long enough out on a walk one day you too will have that option

ROCKS · Post by **ROCKS** » 29 Oct 2008, 18:14

no problem with seniority,but it not right for a 25 hour man who has been there for 6 months to get a walk before those that have been there 4/5 years then get told that we have to throw their walk up before they come in

Himaggen · Post by **Himaggen** » 29 Oct 2008, 18:28

ROCKS wrote:should still get d2d's as you must do 20% of each walk

I'd be interested to see where this idea comes from. I've heard it several times in our DO too!

Surely if I'm the float that would mean that I'd be delivering 5 (days) × 20 (%) = 100% whereas each of the Walks individual duty holders will then only have 80% left. There would have to be some sort of system in place whereby each walk has a no deliver DTD for the float on a rota similar to the day off schedule. i.e. Floats day off on Tuesday therefore they're exempt from delivering them on a Wednesday and so on.

In our office the floats don't deliver DTD items at all, which was one of the deciding reasons why I took a float as my duty.

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 29 Oct 2008, 18:37

D2Ds are meant to be delivered only from Monday to Friday - hence the 20% per day. No D2Ds should be scheduled for delivery on a Saturday as this is outside the contract between RM and the originator and could in theory lead to a charge of "Delay of Mail" and fines for RM.