Secret depot of strikebreakers

[baldrick]

SECRET DEPOT OF STRIKE BREAKERS
London Evening Standard, Thursday 22 October 2009.

Benedict Moore-Bridger
and Dick Murray

A secret sorting office used by Royal Mail to deal with millions of items caught in the post strike is revealed today.

The Standard found the huge warehouse in Dartford, Kent - staffed with about 100 agency workers - being used as a "pop-up" depot to cope with the industrial action.

The temporary base is being run around the clock by workers paid the minimum wage to help clear an estimated 15 million parcels and packages caught up in the nationwide strike.

This is sure to infuriate union members fighting to save their jobs feared at risk from the modernisation of Royal Mail.

The Standard was today passed a picture taken from inside the warehouse, taken by 22-year old agency worker, Wayne Gatland. He was dismissed instantly after managers saw him on CCTV cameras taking photos on his mobile phone.
He said "It doesn't matter - it was a rubbish job anyway, getting up at 4am every day. I only did it because my parents were complaining I was lazy. It's just a massive over-reaction. They are paranoid."

The temporary workforce has been in place at Dartford for the past four and a half weeks to deal with the backlog of items caused by local disputes in London and the pre-Christmas increase in post.

But a Royal Mail spokeswoman admitted today that the "special sorting facility" would also be used to tackle any backlog that resulted from the national strike.

Some 8,000 of the 30,000 temporary workers being recruited nationally by Royal Mail have now been vetted and will be available to begin work from Monday - with some joining the Dartford staff if necessary.

The Dartford workers take home about £37 a day for sorting thousands of items by hand, working three shifts.

Managers have told staff that more than half a million items are being cleared at the depot. However there were no deliveries today as a result of the strike - and promised extra workers also failed to materialise.

Worker Joe Burford, 21 from Dartford, said: You don't get paid extra for overtime, we don't get paid for the half-hour
break that we get either. It is slave labour."

standard.co.uk

[mailman337]

Worker Joe Burford, 21 from Dartford, said:(QUOTE) You don't get paid extra for overtime, we don't get paid for the half-hour
break that we get either. It is slave labour."

Harbinger of things to come, for opg's ?? STAND FIRM BROTHERS !!!! :cfo :cfo :mfo :mfo

[Sparrowhawk]

"The Dartford workers take home about £37 a day for sorting thousands of items by hand, working three shifts."

That's a total disgrace ! If they are working an 8 hour shift that works out at only £4.62 an hour ! Ok , that will be after tax from the National Minimum wage of £5.80/hour based on a person aged 22 or over. Even so , it's disgusting that RM (I believe) pays the Agencies £15/hour per person.