k66yla wrote:I work in the same office as you Excessive, since the strike I've noticed that the A list has been suspended some days and a lot of agency workers have been bought in. I guess this is the only way managers can get there own back at the moment, they don't want you making your money up to cover strike days.
The casuals are not angency staff. They are Mail Centre Casuals. Ive heard of a few working from 2pm till 10pm (mostly doing DTR then move over to the meter table at about 6pm). Some even work nights.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this to the union rep so far, on average i see 2 more casuals every week!
Dont get me wrong, i dont hate casual staff but they are being used in the wrong way! They should be bought in AFTER regular staff.
I hope the managers are shitting bricks today because of the strike!
xcessive wrote:I understand that a lot of the members on this forum work on deliveries and so are contracted to work 6 days per weeks (i assume all delivery staff have this type of contract) and so you have a 35-40 hour week (im guessing again!)
I'm stuck on a part time contract working evenings in a mail centre sorting mail. I depend on overtime to get my money!
On Monday ill have a word with my union rep and see what he says but i dont think he will be able to do much :(
if u need the overtime that much why not ask your local delivery office if they need you for any overtime
mrlovepantsuk wrote:well tell that to the people who set mortgae rates, house prices and wages then. rm wage is one of the best in our area for unskilled work.
But only if you do 30 hours overtime? That doesn't seem to be right, and more reason to strike for a living wage without the strings and overtime. It is a mistake to treat overtime as part of your wage - one of the main reasons RM is pushing for change is to bring in part timers on 25 hour contracts and make them work 40 for no extra pay.
Our office has now got a few nine o'clockers - coming in to pick up a delivery, without any prepping, people are being removed from IPS to prep it and THAT is a sign of things to come - they will complete that delivery and part of another in their 5 hour 5 day shift using their own transport. Check RMs website for vacancies if you say you cannot drive your application stops there
Beware the Ides - the wind of change is about to turn into a hurricane and although we may think striking is going to change things - at best it will only be delayed unfortunately.
mrlovepantsuk wrote:well tell that to the people who set mortgae rates, house prices and wages then. rm wage is one of the best in our area for unskilled work.
But only if you do 30 hours overtime? That doesn't seem to be right, and more reason to strike for a living wage without the strings and overtime. It is a mistake to treat overtime as part of your wage - one of the main reasons RM is pushing for change is to bring in part timers on 25 hour contracts and make them work 40 for no extra pay.
Our office has now got a few nine o'clockers - coming in to pick up a delivery, without any prepping, people are being removed from IPS to prep it and THAT is a sign of things to come - they will complete that delivery and part of another in their 5 hour 5 day shift using their own transport. Check RMs website for vacancies if you say you cannot drive your application stops there
Beware the Ides - the wind of change is about to turn into a hurricane and although we may think striking is going to change things - at best it will only be delayed unfortunately.
no at £8 a hour that is what i am basing the good wage, average unskilled work where i live is about £6 a hour. i dont do 30 hours ot a week but need to do some to pay the mortgage etc and have a bit left over for a few beers etc. because of the area i live in the house prices are not cheap so that is why i need to do some ot.
"no at £8 a hour that is what i am basing the good wage, average unskilled work where i live is about £6 a hour. i dont do 30 hours ot a week but need to do some to pay the mortgage etc and have a bit left over for a few beers etc. because of the area i live in the house prices are not cheap so that is why i need to do some ot."
Please don't feel that was a personal criticism. I appreciate that some circumstances dictate overtime - my point was lots of people assume it will always be there and that it shouldn't be necessary to work excessive overtime to support a family.
i agree it shouldn`t be a necessity and the reason i do as much as i can is because i know it wont be there forever. my point is for some reason alot of people think we are poorly paid but in reality we are paid very well in large areas of the country, but we do need to do ot just to pay the bills.
mrlovepantsuk wrote:well tell that to the people who set mortgae rates, house prices and wages then. rm wage is one of the best in our area for unskilled work.
But only if you do 30 hours overtime? That doesn't seem to be right, and more reason to strike for a living wage without the strings and overtime. It is a mistake to treat overtime as part of your wage - one of the main reasons RM is pushing for change is to bring in part timers on 25 hour contracts and make them work 40 for no extra pay.
Our office has now got a few nine o'clockers - coming in to pick up a delivery, without any prepping, people are being removed from IPS to prep it and THAT is a sign of things to come - they will complete that delivery and part of another in their 5 hour 5 day shift using their own transport. Check RMs website for vacancies if you say you cannot drive your application stops there
Beware the Ides - the wind of change is about to turn into a hurricane and although we may think striking is going to change things - at best it will only be delayed unfortunately.
This is how Asda work and this is who Leighton is to the bone. Staff are on part time contracts there , to make thier money up they claim housing benefit , tax credits , poll tax rebate etc, they are assessed then if? available they pile the overtime on until the next time they are to be means tested again. Also staff only go sick if they are absolutely dying , otherwise you'd get a overtime ban for a fortnight. Walmart in the U.S. operate in similar manner, 50 law suits were taken out against them. Check out a site called Corporate Watch & the GMB site, this is the shape of things to come.
k66yla wrote:I work in the same office as you Excessive, since the strike I've noticed that the A list has been suspended some days and a lot of agency workers have been bought in. I guess this is the only way managers can get there own back at the moment, they don't want you making your money up to cover strike days.
The casuals are not angency staff. They are Mail Centre Casuals. Ive heard of a few working from 2pm till 10pm (mostly doing DTR then move over to the meter table at about 6pm). Some even work nights.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned this to the union rep so far, on average i see 2 more casuals every week!
Dont get me wrong, i dont hate casual staff but they are being used in the wrong way! They should be bought in AFTER regular staff.
I hope the managers are shitting bricks today because of the strike!
RM's line is that you withdrew your labour and these people are more reliable and flexible!, so you've no cause for complaint aparently!
disgruntledpostie1 wrote:Several months ago I decided to stop doing OT as I did'nt want to miss it when it was gone.
Several strike breakers in my office rely on OT so I'll be the one laughing when all the OT and SA is stopped.
to true this is the key argument - we have 8 vacancies rigth now and its all being done on OT but if we lose (or hadnt fought) it would all be absorbed with 25 hour AGs and team working so thesame people who love all this OT would be doing it for free.
disgruntledpostie1 wrote:Several months ago I decided to stop doing OT as I did'nt want to miss it when it was gone.
Several strike breakers in my office rely on OT so I'll be the one laughing when all the OT and SA is stopped.
to true this is the key argument - we have 8 vacancies rigth now and its all being done on OT but if we lose (or hadnt fought) it would all be absorbed with 25 hour AGs and team working so thesame people who love all this OT would be doing it for free.
We've loads of walks not covered in our DO, they expect them to be covered on overtime. The managers are normally off home by 9am on a Saturday, this morning they had to stay late to throw off all the walks not covered as quite a few phoned in sick
Hello I'm your postie can I read your meters, cut your grass, walk your dog, paint your house, do small operations, do your ironing, do your washing, clean your dishes and if you put a short handled brush up my arse I'll brush your driveway. Oh and heres your post.
Ere ang on a minute - when you're on strike am I goin to be wanderin about in creased, dirty clothes, eatin off grimy plates, waitin for my op and looking out my window at a mucky, leaf infested driveway - no way Jose - I'll be goin to the competition.
to throw off all the walks not covered as quite a few phoned in sick 
wat a hard life theyhave eh