As I understand things in our MC, because the whole mail centre 'worked by rule' last year over something petty for 4 days, causing a 2 week back log, RM gave in but took away the use of private cars, suspended paid meal breaks - replacing it with an unpaid hour (presumably to make people take it and work their full hours) and overtime payments have to be PROVEN before the claim is signed.
I honestly think, that if you are working to help RM through your meal break, paid or unpaid, they should cough up and pay, I can think of a million other things I could have used that hour for other than sweating my nuts off delivering to ungrateful disgruntled customers, then basically getting a b*llocking because I ask to be paid for helping.
The job I did before, and union I was with, would have lynched the management over this kind of treatment. Its absolutly pathetic, but now I know, and as grateful as I am to be working, and I am, I know times are hard for everyone, but they dont have a hope in hell of me helping or bailing RM out next time, 1st class can become 2nd class unless they open their wallet and play fair.