Transfer from a DO to a mail center

[Edward Hunter]

Been doing a delivery for years, but the old body is feeling the strain a little. There is a mail center very near to me that might appeal as a transfer. I am very naive as to what goes on in one of these places.Shift times etc. Is the pay the same as a DO? Is it Monday - Friday? 5 day week. Sorry for all the questions, thanks for any answers.

[springs]

i think to answer your question more fairly you would need to post which mail centre you are looking at as every mail centre has many a different function as regarding shifts , jobs, , mech machines with allowances ,shift allowances .etc

[baldrick]

I believe you work in London. The Mail Centres in London are mainly Monday - Friday attendances, with Saturday and Sunday generally as OT or SA. The bulk of the full time attendances are late shifts around 1345-2145, though there are early shifts (0600-1400), and nightshifts (1000-0600). There are other attendances, but what you get would depend on what is vacant and your seniority.
The work you would most likely be doing, at least until a resign of duties, would be cutting (opening bags), tipping, segregating (seperating letters, flats and packets), facing (putting letters in pods the same way round - probably the most mind numbingly boring job in the MC) and sorting. There are other jobs - going out on van collections, loading and unloading vans, bookroom duties, working on the sorting machines etc, but you would probably not pick one of these up until a resign, dependant on your seniority.
The basic pay would be the same. Your PBS/ICS bonus would depend on which office you transfer to. If you are on late shift you would get the appropriate shift allowance. There is usually some OT available.
The work is fairly boring, but once you get used to it you can do it without thinking too much about it.

[stephen500]

The work is boring, but the pay in my opinion is much better in mail centers.
Working nights as an ex phg doing an average of 10 hr docket a week i earn about £25,000 and others earn more...doing more hours!

[zaphod]

Mail Centres are awful places. Avoid .

[ubb 1689]

The work is boring, but the pay in my opinion is much better in mail centers.
Working nights as an ex phg doing an average of 10 hr docket a week i earn about £25,000 and others earn more...doing more hours!

Working with you probably is boring.

[oldrope]

HI, i work in a MC and would not swop it for the world, we have a canteen, a gym, cooker, micro, ect, the work is easy losds of help if you need it, no pressure or stress just come in and do your bit and go home. The only thing is flyers are very thin so you work till your time. Breaks are 1 hour.

[baldrick]

Don't know what chance you would have of getting a voluntary transfer into a London MC though,
as they are being closed down. Paddington MC is the latest to be closed this Autumn.
Any FT vacancies will probably be kept for those who lose their current FT positions through closure.
You may only be offered a PT job if you request a transfer.
As in deliveries FT staff who leave are only being replaced by PT staff,
and in MC's these are generally 20 hours a week
- usually around 1730-2130 Mon-Fri, though there is some OT available.

[britwrit]

I used to work lates at Paddington until October. Spent about two and a half months at Nine Elms in Vauxhall and just transfered to Mount Pleasant.

It's like everyone else says. It really depends on what shift you work, what job you have and who's your line manager. That being said, just from talking to other people, Nine Elms on lates is a lot more laid back than Mount Pleasant. A lot of the managers actually resemble human beings and it was pretty common to get let go fifteen minutes early. I don't know how the day shift is there but if it wasn't so inconvenient to get to from where I live, I'd definitively prefer Nine Elms.

[baldrick]

Hi britwit.
I'm afraid Mount Pleasant does have a reputation as being pretty regimented with some managers who
seem to think they are prison warders and delight in being petty, though they are not all like that.
We have had people transfer in here after closures at WCDO, ECDO, Mailrail, TPOs, N/NWDO, and now
Paddington DO, and they have all said the same.
Hope you and your colleagues settle in OK.

[Herodotus]

Just before Christmas - I was sent to the Jubilee Mail Centre situated in the TW postal area. I am a delivery postie & CWU unit rep. I was there for 7 weeks - ostensibly on 'Rehab Duties' - but that's another story. I had only worked at my own D.O. & naively assumed that all R.M. employees, CWU reps etc etc were all singing from the same hymn sheet. If you are used to a D.O. then you will find that M.C.s are in a different world. Don't get me wrong - I met some great people & also discovered a bigger picture of how the R.M. operates. The main thing that I missed - was the great exercise that we get as REAL posties. I also found that the time drags a bit on the heavy side - if you are used to the hustle & bustle of delivery life. If you would like to p.m. me - I would explain a bit more about this alternative world.

Just a thought - anyone on here work at The JMC? If so - I'm sure that the Early Shift Process lot - will remember me for a few years to come.............................................

Don't do it mate - they're a strange - strange lot. If yr getting a bit creaky like me - pace yrself & keep yr sanity!

[baldrick]

"Don't do it mate - they're a strange - strange lot."

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Very true - especially the nightshift workers.

[thinktank]

If you are a postman , can you get a transfer to mail centre,indoor sorting only?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

If you are a postman , can you get a transfer to mail centre,indoor sorting only?

You can always apply via the DOM and MCM, might be worth contacting the MCM direct. However with rumours of 50% of MCs being closed/amalgamated I would choose the MC and or give the idea of a transfer some thought first.

[DGP1]

Spending 8 hours a day in the company of managers I really struggle with the 2/3 hours I do at the minute and anymore would drive me to 'Go Postal'