Postal workers struggling to make deliveries:GU

[POSTMAN]

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/s/20878 ... deliveries" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ANGRY postal workers in Guildford have accused bosses of cost-cutting and say recent changes to mail deliveries in the area are not working.

An overhaul of Royal Mail services has now swept through postcode areas GU2 to GU5, with changes to the final GU1 area due to begin during the first week of March.

A postman, who asked not to be named, said changes in the way they work mean he and his colleagues are struggling to deliver mail throughout the area.

“We are all getting a bad reputation for something out of our control,” he said.

“They are taking the number of people doing a delivery area down and we have more work now – not just the regular mail, but all the parcels and special deliveries too.

“Posties are bringing mail back to the office because they have only got an eight-hour shift and they can’t physically deliver it all.

“If someone is off sick, their jobs are not getting properly covered. So the next day, the postman has to do the mail from the day before.

“The vans they have brought in are way too small and they are sending people out when overweight – the vans are rammed full and everything falls out.

“The general feeling is no one wants these changes.”

Vans are now shared by two postal workers who must deliver an increased amount of mail over a larger area.

The postal worker said delivery staff felt let down by management at the Guildford office.

The postal workers’ claims about not being able to keep up with their workloads appear to be backed up by householders’ reactions to the new system.

Penny Anker, of The Common in Shalford, said mail deliveries in her area were irregular and postal workers she had spoken to confirmed the area wasn’t getting daily deliveries.

She said: “Postmen say they can’t deliver all the mail they have in a given time.

“I have spoken to people in Chilworth and in Bramley who are having the same problems. We didn’t get any post for a week, last week, and it’s not just me, everybody on the street has the same issue.

“The main problem is the postmen need to be given enough time to deliver it all.”

In a written response, a spokesman for Royal Mail, based in a London office, denied the postal workers’ claims that mail was being brought back to the office.

“Mail is cleared from this office on a daily basis”, she said.

Regarding overweight vans, she added: “There is no truth in this at all”.

The spokesman also denied that the working atmosphere in the Guildford delivery office was stressful or that management spoke to the workers “like animals”.

She said: “There is no truth in this, and to suggest such a thing is highly inflammatory”.

She also denied workers who were absent due to sickness had to take on extra workload when they return.

She said: “There is no truth in this. When someone is off sick or on leave their duty is covered”.

The Royal Mail did not respond to queries about if and when residents could expect a normal service.

Terry Jackson, south east representative of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), said: “The problem is none of these complaints have come as far as me.

“If there are problems there are processes that should be used.

“I would expect teething problems because it is a new way of working

[POSTMAN]

Does any of this make sense to anyone?

[demon]

it the same every were bud someone needs to come in and save us

[fishtank]

Does any of this make sense to anyone?

It's the same story that's been repeated in all the DM revisions.
The only thing that's changed is "random spokeswoman" sounds more desperate.
There is no truth in this There is no truth in this There is no truth in this

[ldsposti]

.

Terry Jackson, south east representative of the Communication Workers Union (CWU
“I would expect teething problems because it is a new way of working[/quote]

So why mr jackson why dont you get off your ass and stand up for your members. ,

[POSTMAN]

No my point is...
DO peeps saying one thing.
RM spokesdude says another.Par for the course.
But the funny one is the area rep saying something else.

[fishtank]

But the funny one is the area rep saying something else.

Without getting on an anti-union box....is it that unusual now?
You read the posts...you know how much the union needs this deal to work.
Joint comms etc,etc....it's just teething probs..honest.
He's not going to say "There is no truth in this"...but he would be as well.
What a decent area rep would do would be to visit the unit and talk to the members before he spoke to the press.

“The problem is none of these complaints have come as far as me.
“If there are problems there are processes that should be used.

It's pretty obvious from that statement that he hasn't been anywhere near the place..."come as far as me" FFS!

[Fred B]

.

Terry Jackson, south east representative of the Communication Workers Union (CWU
“I would expect teething problems because it is a new way of working

So why mr jackson why dont you get off your ass and stand up for your members. ,[/quote]

Met an old pal who used to work in Runcorn a couple of weeks ago. Their revision has been put back until May because it is "unworkable" and one of the managers has gone off with stress. It seems he was one of the people who worked on it and thinks it is workable. Their rep also thinks it is workable.

[pickaname]

Blame CWU for this.

No backbone when it mattered.

Now reps cant be seen to be anti P&M

[brothermagrew]

Terry Jackson, south east representative of the Communication Workers Union (CWU
“I would expect teething problems because it is a new way of working

So why mr jackson why dont you get off your ass and stand up for your members. ,

Yes but brother you are slightly miss quoting what the south east rep actually said as you forgot to include the lines “The problem is none of these complaints have come as far as me. “If there are problems there are processes that should be used."

Now as has already been mentioned he may indeed never have been anywhere near the place, but it would appear from his statement that nobody has took the time to at least contact him to make him aware of existing problems.

[fishtank]

but it would appear from his statement that nobody has took the time to at least contact him to make him aware of existing problems.

Apart,obviously from the press....

[axeman]

He knows the problems thats for sure ..these upstarts we have at headquaters need to got out a little more and listen to those that pay their wages ..utterly shamefull on the part of the cwu ...ostriches all of them

[POSTMAN]

But the funny one is the area rep saying something else.

Without getting on an anti-union box....is it that unusual now?
You read the posts...you know how much the union needs this deal to work.
Joint comms etc,etc....it's just teething probs..honest.
He's not going to say "There is no truth in this"...but he would be as well.
What a decent area rep would do would be to visit the unit and talk to the members before he spoke to the press.

“The problem is none of these complaints have come as far as me.
“If there are problems there are processes that should be used.

It's pretty obvious from that statement that he hasn't been anywhere near the place..."come as far as me" FFS!

Tbh ,more and more news stories the area bods are slagging it off a bit,i rem mentioning it and saying the tide seems to be turning.
This GU stuff hasn't happened over night,the area rep 'must' of know something or,are the GU guys not telling him?are the GU guys just talking bollox,is the area guy lieing?

Maybe i'm reading too much into it but something aint right. I think the area rep's comments has thrown me off track.

Ther must be some GU guys on here,PM me if you want.

[Post Off]

We need someone on the outside who can categorically confirm these issues to a mostly, non-caring, general public. This Terry Jackson sounds like he is covering his own back, but it's true what most of the comments have suggested, and it doesn't make him look good, at all.

To me, this looks like the handiwork of Moya, but even if it isn't it's a bloody stupid way of trialling a new delivery method.


If there's anything that comes to mind then, I think pm's may become the order of the day...

[fishtank]

This GU stuff hasn't happened over night,the area rep 'must' of know something or,are the GU guys not telling him?are the GU guys just talking bollox,is the area guy lieing?

The area rep must know something?...don't know..couldn't say.
The GU guys not telling him?...don't know..couldn't say.
Is either side talking bollox...again don't know..couldn't say.

What is obvious though is that the press have contacted him about an "alleged" situation at one of the D.O.s that he represents and instead of doing the sensible thing and reserving comment until after he had contacted the rep and members from the D.O. in question he has attempted to cover his back with this "nobody told me" statement.

This shows a complete lack of respect for the members and rep in the GU postcode whether the problems are real or imaginary......it is just a cheap ploy to shift the blame onto the membership.
If a unit has gone through a major revision like this the area rep should be instigating regular contact with both the unit reps and the members...not sitting back waiting for a phone call.
"Nobody told me" just isn't good enough.