daily rest period within royal mail

[whisperstar24]

The working time directive says there should be an 11 hour rest period in any 24 hour period

In our mail centre we seem to use 9 hours as a rule.Managers seem to work on 10 hours. Its a bit of a mess.What happens in deliveries

Is there an official agreement on the daily rest period across royal mail as a whole because i cant find it?

does anybody know?

thanks

[fishtank]

The original agreement on the implementation of the Working Time Directive as part of the overall Way Forward Agreement allowed for a phased move from 9hrs to 11hrs.

http://www.cwuni.org.uk/id35.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

6.2 Daily Rest
From week commencing 2nd October 2000, the minimum daily uninterrupted break from work will be nine hours in any 24 hour period.

From week commencing 1st October 2001, the minimum daily break will be 10 hours.

From week commencing 6th October 2003, the minimum daily break will be 11 hours.

The Working Time Directive section of the Way Forward Agreement probably ranks as the most ignored piece of documentation ever produced by both parties.
What happens in deliveries...same as in Mail Centres...it's ignored by both members and management.

[POSTMAN]

But this is the law of the land is it not?

[fishtank]

But this is the law of the land is it not?

It depends what you mean by law.
It's a right and like all rights you can choose to ignore it.
If management choose to ignore it,you can either swallow it,use the IR Framework or take it to an Employment Tribunal.
It's not as if you can call the cops and get your manager arrested.
I have to say that support from the union over issues like this is usually less than enthusiastic since most of the time members are happy to ignore it if there is money involved and a rep who gets between his members and their earning opportunities isn't normally a rep for long.