part-timing

[jamie]

I just want to express my concerns about part-time work.

When I applied for my part-time position at royal mail, I was in need of a job and part-time seemed better than nothing and I even thought it would be a foot in the door to full time work.

I had no knowledge of the politics behind the recruitment of part-time staff at the time. I now realise that the policy of recruiting people on a part-time basis is to save money: they dont need to pay you as much and if you are needed, for overtime, you are paid at the standard rate. It also reduces the amount of demand for full-time staff. In effect they have a postie who does eighty to ninety per cent of the work of a full-time postie for less than fifty per cent of the pay.

Putting aside the economic disadvantages of full time work, you also suffer from a sort of employment apartheid. Coming in at a later time means you do not mix with colleagues very often. I have only ever set foot in the tv room two or three times in my whole year of employment. Its not that I want to sit and watch tv, but it becomes difficult to develop any sense of comradery when your work is so detached from your colleagues.

In terms of the work, you are a spare part. Totally expendible and are thrown around like a rag doll. Put on walks youve never done before at the very last minute, even sent to the other end of the city or town to work in another office. the hours soon mount up but theres never mention of a break despite the fact you know youll be working well into the afternoon.

Personally, and maybe its cos im relatively inexperienced when it comes to work, but i found the first six months of this job too much. every day was a mystery with only stress guaranteed.

with the contracts being made even shorter, the future of royal mail will be one of casual workers. workers exploited to the hilt and who leave after short periods. full time staff will be undermined to the extent that unless they can accept the same shoddy contracts and poor treatment, there will be no room for them at royal mail. this is why, and correct me if im wrong, i dont think the union has grasped the significance of the part-time worker scenario.

there should be a facet of the union who fights on the issue of rights for part-time workers. this is not separate from the wider dispute that rm workers are engaged in, but nonetheless this is an issue that must be highlighted and acted upon, not buried amonst everything else.

ideally all part-time workers who wish to go full-time should be able to look forward to a realistic possibility of this happening, and we should fight for this.

however, if part-time workers must remain, i think certain standards should be established.

i would argue for modest reforms along these lines as a minimum:

a 27 hour week conract, preferably with one full day a week with meal break entitlement.

a cap on the amount of walks that a part-timer must do in a month. i would suggest no more than four different walks a month so familiarity with the walks can be developed.

a ban on part-timers being sent to another office more than once a month, it at all.

i believe the union should hold an induction session lasting more than a few days for all part-time workers explaining their rights and what sort of malteatment they need to be wary of. a questionnaire anf feedback form should be offered every few weeks for the first year to draw the unions attention to any difficulties part-timers face.

improving the situation for part-timers would mean people are less likely to quit at an early stage, and would improve their performance due to better working conditions and familiarity with their tasks. the less part-timers are exploited the less likely they will be used to undermine full-time colleagues. cos we are colleagues, and we need one workplace not two or three or four.

[dvbuk55]

If your employment began after 31/03/07 then there has been no agreement to extend the employment of part time staff.

However you can see the problem. Once it was introduced, and it was in an effort to increase pay by way of a bonus for hours saved, it is difficult if not impossible to turn back the clock.

The sum total of the savings you have had to the tune of £1.25 per week!!!! Obviously the intention of self financing any increase was a non starter in hindsight and we should not be drawn in to any future deals of this sort. I am perplexed as to why the CWU has not been more vociferous on the obvious erosion of full time hours by part time recruitment. IMO it is a RM policy to extend the part time hours employment and to further delay the start time to beyond 9 am - thereby allowing housewives with domestic responsibilities and pensioners to become deliverers of mail with a further erosion of conditions of employment.

I honestly have a great deal of sympathy for those able bodied young people caught in RMs trap of offering part time employment without the hope of full time work and the attendant problems of getting a mortgage and maintaining a family. This is an issue which should be brought up at the next conference.

[jamie]

and if your employment began before 31/03/07?

[dvbuk55]

and if your employment began before 31/03/07?

Well unfortunately you would come under the umberella of the "savings" agreement after that the agreement ceased and there could be a case for full time employment but as I've said it is a difficult situation - because what would happen to those taken on during the scheme?

I would have thought there was some discussion at the interviews about the probability of full time employment was there not?

[jamie]

Unfortunately I dont understand any of this.

[dvbuk55]

Unfortunately I dont understand any of this.

In a nutshell there is little chance of full time employment.

[nelson]

Unless your face fits .

[dvbuk55]

Unless your face fits .

It would be helpful if you had an instance of a full time contract being handed out - that would be a precedence to quote.

[side_door]

What about the "apprenticeships" Royal Mail offers?

Are the young people taken on under these schemes given an entitlement to full-time work at the end of their "training" or are they shoved into part-time contracts. A two year apprenticeship for a potential job of only 20 hours a week doesn't sound attractive to me. Then again, if these apprentices are offered 40 hour contracts, isn't this discriminatory toward the hoards of part-time workers waiting up to ten years for a full-time job?

I'd be interested to know exactly how this apprenticeship scheme works.

[DGP1]

Is this not one of the reasons why we are/were striking????

a cap on the amount of walks that a part-timer must do in a month. i would suggest no more than four different walks a month so familiarity with the walks can be developed.

I'm a full timer and I'd like to do only 4 different duties sometimes I do more than that a week

[madelin4]

Is this not one of the reasons why we are/were striking????

a cap on the amount of walks that a part-timer must do in a month. i would suggest no more than four different walks a month so familiarity with the walks can be developed.

I'm a full timer and I'd like to do only 4 different duties sometimes I do more than that a week

If i was to be doing 4 different walks in a week i wud be off with stress!! i have my own walk but be i had my own walk after i was put of my old walk for about 3-4 months i was all over the place, i got thro it at the time but the walks were 2.5 hours then. If i had to do that now i wud struggle very much.. i wud be off sick!!

[DGP1]

Is this not one of the reasons why we are/were striking????

a cap on the amount of walks that a part-timer must do in a month. i would suggest no more than four different walks a month so familiarity with the walks can be developed.

I'm a full timer and I'd like to do only 4 different duties sometimes I do more than that a week

If i was to be doing 4 different walks in a week i wud be off with stress!! i have my own walk but be i had my own walk after i was put of my old walk for about 3-4 months i was all over the place, i got thro it at the time but the walks were 2.5 hours then. If i had to do that now i wud struggle very much.. i wud be off sick!!

Do you think I should take out B&H grievence against my DOM?

[theflyingpostman]

Unfortunately I dont understand any of this.

In a nutshell there is little chance of full time employment.

Or you move to an office were there is a full time position.

[smokerjim]

Unfortunately I dont understand any of this.

In a nutshell there is little chance of full time employment.

Or you move to an office were there is a full time position.

Try asking for a transfer to Hen's Teeth DO or Rocking Horseshit MC

[madelin4]

Is this not one of the reasons why we are/were striking????

a cap on the amount of walks that a part-timer must do in a month. i would suggest no more than four different walks a month so familiarity with the walks can be developed.

I'm a full timer and I'd like to do only 4 different duties sometimes I do more than that a week

If i was to be doing 4 different walks in a week i wud be off with stress!! i have my own walk but be i had my own walk after i was put of my old walk for about 3-4 months i was all over the place, i got thro it at the time but the walks were 2.5 hours then. If i had to do that now i wud struggle very much.. i wud be off sick!!

Do you think I should take out B&H grievence against my DOM?

I wudnt say it wud be B& H case but it wud be stress!!unless u feel that its always you that is moved.. happend to me with a driving duty, i kept being moved when other rural men knew the duty! But if i was to be moved walks i wud be stress big time, a guy in my place a non duty holder this was happening to a lot and he is off with stress.. and the DOM knew that it was stressing the guy and done nout to help him so he was aware.