help wanted

[shamrock]

hi people, been with RM for around 3 months now, pretty good job, get on well with everyone in the d.o.
was looking for a bit of outside help, i have a form to join the union, havent filled it in yet, not sure what to do. got a mixed reaction from a couple of other posties over it. Im on a 6 hour contract, so how much would that cost to join up?

can anyone tell me if the wages go up after the 6 month trial at the start of my contract? and how much are we actually allowed for meal breaks. a couple of the guys i work with on a 6 hour day dont take a break and put down an extra 15 minutes at the end of the day, is this wise?
cheers people

[coxie]

union subs would cost you around £3 a week, in my view its always worth having just for the backup of a union rep should you be taken in the office. By law anyone doing a 6 hr shift or longer is entitled to a 20min break, us full timers do 8 hrs a day and royal mail give us 40mins even though by law they only have to give 20. Now i dont know what it says in your part time contract but by law you are entitled to 20mins but i dont know if you get the same benefit of having 40 or , hopefully someone else can answer that.

If you dont have your meal relief and have an accident on duty then you will not be covered and royal mail wont help you out at all. Your meal relief time cannot be taken off the end of your duty time if you dont have it, so if you dont have it and end up working till 2:15 anyway then you have lost it and given them 20mins for free, you can only claim overtime for anything over 2:15 or you can of course cut off. In my view id make sure you sit down each day and have something to eat and a drink, dont let anyone try to rush you into hurrying up, if you want your meal relief its your right, you can do it on a light day if you have time whenever you want or you can do it just before you go out on delivery, and lastly if you have a cafe or something on your walk you are allowed to stop and take your meal relief on your delivery.

[NewPostieUK]

You say you are on a six hour contract. Is that six hours a week? If so, it depends how many hours you work a day as to how much break you get. If you work six hours a day, thats a 30 hour (6x5) contract. If you work six hours a day you are entitled a 30 min break. A lot at my office have no break, and finish 30 mins earlier, or claim overtime.
I'm on a 25 hr contract (25 hrs a week) and pay £1.64 a week union.

EDIT: It's 30 mins not 20 mins for your break, if you work 5 hrs in one day.

[delboy]

The less hours in your contract the less you pay the cwu membership..

[smelly_cat_lady]

Don't both joining the union get another job. 6 hours??! A week?? What's that? 40 minutes a day?? Are you serious?? Its no wonder you're getting mixed reactions from other posties, have you ever stopped to ask why? I'll tell you. you are a walking, talking example of RM doing away with a) another postie or b) 6 hours SA or c) both (delete as appropriate or apply all 3) Do yourself a favour , go get a job in Sainsbugs or MaccieD's, they pay better, the uniform lasts longer and you don't have to go outside...........

[coxie]

well he seems to like the job smelly cat, 6 hours isnt the worst, if he can survive on it plus pick up any overtime he can there is always the hope in the future he might get made full time. If you enjoy it mate stick with it, seems as though the others answered you 30mins break and less subs for the union than the full timers pay.

[shamrock]

cheers lads, meant to say, my contract is 6 hours a week. but at the minute im knocking out round 30 hours plus a week, so goin well for now. enjoying the job too, was in the building trade up until a few months ago, so glad to have a job with rm