BT 2010 UPDATE:SCOTLAND NO5 BRANCH

[macphee1]

An interesting report on progress so far in our area.Reps were given it today and it's up on our notice board already.

COMMUNICATION WORKERS UNION
SCOTLAND NO5 BRANCH

AREA DELIVERY REPORT – SCOTLAND NO5 BRANCH

BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION 2010 UPDATE

15 main delivery offices plus satellite offices and SPDO’s.

1 office - £800 payments and shorter working week triggered
2 offices - £200 self-starter revision payments

As you can see out of a total of 25 delivery units only three have received any form of payment under BT2010 and only one has triggered the shorter working week.

The office which has had £800 of payments and triggered the shorter working week is Dundee East (approx 115 staff). The revisions in the office have not worked and the problems associated made local and national headlines for a number of months.

The two offices which received the £200 self -starter have had no futher revision activity.

One of our offices – Perth DO (approx 150 staff) has exhausted the IR framework. The members in the office wish to perform less Saturdays but the business have refused the minimum one in four off agreed as part of BT2010 due to financial implications. The situation has been raised directly with Rob Jenson by Bob Gibson as Royal Mail will not abide by the national agreement. Since Bob’s intervention new talks are now scheduled but should the matter still not be resolved a Rule 13 ballot will be requested.

In all other units reps are eager to engage with Royal Mail to undertake revision activity but the business has no interest in any discussions. In some offices revision activity has been started then abandoned, in others no activity at all has taken place. The business has realised that there are no savings to be made in these offices (in some cases investment of hours are required) and therefore has no interest in any discussions on revisions.

Three CSS machines were installed in the Distribution/WBC site in Perth to sequence mail for Perth DO and the three Dundee delivery offices. Even though these machines are operating they are only sequencing Wave 1 traffic for the Dundee offices then walk sorting Wave 2. This means that the biggest office -Perth DO can get Waves 1 and 2 sequenced without having to change the start times or office plan and therefore not require a revision to take place. The Dundee offices are benefiting from Wave 1 being sequenced, again without the need for a change to the office start time or plan, so no revisions have needed to be implemented.

From Royal Mails perspective, they are generating savings through the use of CSS equipment but have not needed to make transformation payments or incur costs from implementing the shorter working week.

All delivery office managers have aggressively used lapsing to reduce costs and make the budget savings they have been targeted. Unit reps are faced with arguments on a daily basis, never mind weekly IR/Resourcing meetings, about the degree of lapsing. Managers will manipulate figures, harass and bully reps and members to any degree required to ensure lapsing takes place and keeps the budget down. Most reps have had no training on IWT/flexing tool and have not agreed the model week traffic figures used by the manager to justify, when questioned, absorption or lapsing proposed. Most reps struggle to have weekly resourcing meetings where they sit down and discuss IR/resourcing issues – many conversations are just taking place on the office floor. Reps have reported managers changing minutes of IR meetings when sent to the DSM and, and in the case of one rep, the manager falsifying minutes for meetings which never took place.

Thre are issues in some offices, notably Dundee East, where managers have tried to use individual performance standards to try and bully members by continually testing them. The staff normally singled out for testing are ones who cut-off their duty or don’t take out absorption traffice due to walk traffic volume.

Still issues with members taking their cars on delivery, not taking breaks, starting early, finishing late and not claiming overtime. All reps and branch officials have tried to explain that these members are not helping themselves or their colleagues but these perennial problems continue to exist.

Most delivery members in the branch view the delivery aspect of the BT2010 agreement as a failure. They do not see the consolidation of allowances and D2D monies to a delivery supplement as being a positive step although they understand the rationale behind it. The biggest issue is that most branch members do not believe they will ever see a penny from the agreement or the shorter working week. Most delivery members feel they are being asked to deliver more mail than before due to absorption but feel they have not benefited from new delivery methods or any financial benefits.

Reps and branch officials have explained to members that it is Royal Mail that are not fulfililng their responsibilities in relation to the BT2010 agreement but all the members respond with is “what are you lot (the CWU) doing about it?”

It is getting harder to give the members an answer.

area delivery report.doc

[Fluke]

All the points raised sound familiar. How many offices have had the revision go in without the members benefiting from the 1 in 4 Saturday option? There is an office in my area where the members have been made to ballot 4 times and told that they cannot have the extra Saturdays off. This has gone to a stage 3 disagreement and CWU HQ are aware that members are being bullied into staying as they are. I thing HQ should Pol those offices that have gone through a revision to find out how many have really benefited, if they have stayed as they were, then why?

[drb]

Those bastards!

[POSTMAN]

AREA DELIVERY REPORT-ALL THE OTHER BRANCHES PLEASE.

[drb]

Coming up!

[TrueBlueTerrier]

AREA DELIVERY REPORT-ALL THE OTHER BRANCHES PLEASE.

Just a thought but why aren't ADR situation reports made public. It would help members understand the current situation and help local reps inform and disseminate their concerns. More importantly it would help tackle the disinformation that comes from Royal Mail giving them no place to hide, and just as important, it would members gauge how well their branch officers are doing. Reports should be public and should reveal warts and all, however, I think "vested" interests may not like it.

[hans solo]

ayr irvine kilmarnck area same no extra sat no shorter week no monies
all benefits to rm css machines running walk seq 2 waves laspsing still continuing
other offices in revision failing troon killwining largs etc all on ot to cover duties

[fishtank]

It's a good,honest report.
I'm not sure how many Area Reps would be that upfront about difficulties.
The question has to be asked...how much control does RM have over it's management structure?
Senior managers appear to be telling the CWU one thing and local managers appear to be doing the complete opposite.
Either RM in London cannot and will not control these managers or they are telling Dave and Bob a pack of lies.
Neither option fills me with much hope.

[hubbahubba]

It's a good,honest report.
I'm not sure how many Area Reps would be that upfront about difficulties.
The question has to be asked...how much control does RM have over it's management structure?
Senior managers appear to be telling the CWU one thing and local managers appear to be doing the complete opposite.
Either RM in London cannot and will not control these managers or they are telling Dave and Bob a pack of lies.
Neither option fills me with much hope.

Bit like Murdoch telling the press inquiry he had no knowledge of phone hacking.
The bigboys always make sure they have a fallguy a couple of layers below them in the foodchain to take the fall if needs be.............

[Tamsky]

A very accurate assessment of the situation in Delivery Offices. I believe we should ballot the whole delivery function in Scotland.

[fishtank]

I believe we should ballot the whole delivery function in Scotland.

Seconded.

[macphee1]

Something needs to be done.

[P13]

A very accurate assessment of the situation in Delivery Offices. I believe we should ballot the whole delivery function in Scotland.

Completely agree with you on that. I asked the area rep in Dundee East for a ballot, I got told no chance

[Cut Off King]

Maybe its in the CWU HQ's intrests that the members are pushed to the limit again, then if they have to ballot, they'll get a yes vote

Because at the moment most people are p*** off with the 2010 agreement and they blame the CWU for pushing members / reps with the "Deal of the century" "sell it to em" roadshow

[taxi4leighton]

we have known all this for over a year.when are we going to take action.the first course is take them down the Health and Safety road,risk-assesssment for every walk,weight off back,no cars on deiivery,toilet-breaks,etc etc.then drag them back to ACAS who were suppose to be monitoring things.but reallly the best approach is to balllot members for Industrial Action due to RMs refusal to implement agreeements.i feel though that the main problem is management in scotland who are greedy B*******s who cant see past their next fat bonus