Cambridge MC

[Stampy]

Got told by one of our Distribution Managers that there will be a decision announced on Friday about the future of Cambridge MC..

Our Processing Managers have denied any knowledge.....

[barbario]

My guess is it will close and go into Peterborough.Royal Mails planners have already got a lot of things wrong, so don't worry,somewhere along the line,the company will pay for it.

[dodger162]

Most likely:-

CB to Peterborough

SY/TF/LD to Chester/NW Mids/Cardiff respectively

[Budfrog]

Was a done deal months ago ... the closure team have already been appointed.

[Stampy]

Was a done deal months ago ... the closure team have already been appointed.

WE (the mere minions on the floor) knew that, but the management keep denying it in our MC.

It's the old addage in our MC - kept in the dark, and fed bullshit.

Thank God for this site.......

[Stampy]

This in the local paper tonight:- LINK

The rumours are STILL being denied at Peterborough MC!!!!


Royal Mail jobs will move to Peterborough as Cambridge centre set to close

By Adam Uren
Published on Thursday 6 September 2012 13:44

Thursday, 1.45pm: A large number of staff could transfer to Peterborough under proposals to move mail processing from Cambridge to the city.

Royal Mail announced today that it intends to relocate the bulk of its processing operations at its Cambridge mail centre in Clifton Road to its centre in Papyrus Road, Werrington, Peterborough.

This means that all mail posted to and from Cambridge would be processed in Peterborough, while mail posted to and from Haverhill and Saffron Walden would be processed in Chelmsford, Essex.

The Cambridge centre employs 200 people currently, and Royal Mail has said that many of these workers could transfer to the Papyrus Road centre provided the proposal goes ahead.

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said: “Should the formal proposal go ahead there will be more work coming into Peterborough mail centre as it takes the mail currently processed in Cambridge.

“Many of these (workers) will move to Peterborough if the proposal goes ahead, but that’s something we are currently discussing with the unions.”

With Peterborough a much larger centre, employing 560 people, as well as boasting better transport links off the Werrington Parkway, it can handle much larger vehicles than the site in Cambridge can.

The proposal has been put forward following six months of consultation with mail centre employees and trade unions, which will continue until a final decision is made this autumn.

But the move has been described as a “disaster” for postal workers in Cambridge by the Communication Workers Union (CWU), as well as having a major impact on the already jam-packed A14.

Local CWU spokesman Mark Toner said: “This plan will be a disaster for Cambridge Postal workers Jobs, the plan will increase traffic on the infamous A14 which already has many issues, now the city’s post will be held hostage to fortune on how the A14 is flowing on any given day.

“We are very concerned that this plan will result in up 200 manual jobs lost in the Cambridge area, in conjunction with a negative impact upon the postal service on offer to Cambridge residents and businesses alike.”

Royal Mail said it would look at traffic patterns to minimise any impact of having more vehicles travelling between Cambridge and Peterborough via the A14, but added again that with Peterborough able to handle more large HGVs than Cambridge, it could reduce the number of trips required.

Ricky McAulay, processing and collections director for Royal Mail East, added: “Any change to our mail centre in Cambridge will, unfortunately, impact on some colleagues.

“Our agreements with the Communications Workers Union set out an agreed approach to managing these changes and we will be working very closely with the CWU and Unite to support our people during what will, inevitably, be a period of uncertainty.

“This review is part of the ongoing modernisation and investment in our business. This is vital in order to put Royal Mail on a sound, secure and sustainable footing for the future.”

Royal Mail has said that the growth in electronic communications, which has affected business nationwide, has resulted in a reduction in mail volumes, with items posted in Cambridge reducing by 39.7 per cent over the last five years.

As a result of this shrinking market, rival operators now carry more than one in three letters and more than half the business mail in the UK.

Mr McAuley added: “Change is absolutely essential to meet customers’ expectations of a world class postal service, ensure we operate efficiently and provide a great quality of service in a smaller and radically changing market.”

The Cambridge mail centre is one of six across the Anglia area, with others in Chelmsford, Ipswich, Norwich, Romford and Peterborough.

Financial issues prompt change

Modernisation brings profit:

• Royal Mail’s core business of letters and parcels returned to operating profit in 2011/12 following a loss of £120 million the year before.

• The Cambridge mail centre processes mail posted to and from Cambridge, which is then sent out to 39 delivery offices.

• There are 200 based at the centre, but 560 based in the Peterborough centre which processes mail for the PE area.

[The Backbone]

This looks like the same scenario as facing Shrewsbury. Royal Mail seem to think that commuting 90miles a day on top of a £70 a week fuel bill is 'reasonable flexibility'. Apparently its being discussed in London exactly what 'reasonable flexibility' is so i think all thes jobs are hanging out on the Unions fighting to keep what has been agreed in London. (1 hr max commute). I think Royal Mail cap travelling expense to £20000. So if my calculations and facts are correct(please adjust if wrong) i see this:
.40p a mile x2 ( 90miles round trip)*5 (per week) *52 (per year)=£9360 per year. So Royal Mail will finance travel for just over 2years then its out of your net pay!!!
Forgive me if my figures are wrong and correct if so-thanks....
I only hope that all staff say they wish to stay with the company so Royal Mail have to prove they can accomodate all staff as per the beloved 2010 agreement!
Good luck to all...

[TheReaper]

The closing of Cambidge has been known over a year now,
was decided at the same time they moved Stevenage ?

[rainbowwarrior72]

Lets be honest no Mail Centre is safe even after 2016 I think there will be alot more reshuffling afterwards as RM sort out the chaos ijn the future that they have casued in the present. I wish all my colleauge around the UK all the best because we are all in it together even if we are working in a "Safe" Mail Centre.

[The Backbone]

This is the most worrying thing when staff are offered relocation to another mailcentre. There is no confidence in any part of the business anymore with these axemen in charge who probably enjoy the hardship they inflict on staff they affect!! I only hope when they have done their 'job' there is a nice shiny axe ready for there job instead of a big bonus.
Dont know why they have so called 'mailcentre review teams''? why not call them the: 'Mailcentre closure squad'-lol..

[dodger162]

There are some more MCs that will be closed, the SW area has escaped so far. The plan is to complete by 2016/17 but after that I don't believe there will be any more closures because of the distances involved in collecting and processing mail. The only likely change is a reduction in the number of offices handling 2nd class bur big MCs wont be affected by this.

[hagrid]

This looks like the same scenario as facing Shrewsbury. Royal Mail seem to think that commuting 90miles a day on top of a £70 a week fuel bill is 'reasonable flexibility'. Apparently its being discussed in London exactly what 'reasonable flexibility' is so i think all thes jobs are hanging out on the Unions fighting to keep what has been agreed in London. (1 hr max commute). I think Royal Mail cap travelling expense to £20000. So if my calculations and facts are correct(please adjust if wrong) i see this:
.40p a mile x2 ( 90miles round trip)*5 (per week) *52 (per year)=£9360 per year. So Royal Mail will finance travel for just over 2years then its out of your net pay!!!
Forgive me if my figures are wrong and correct if so-thanks....
I only hope that all staff say they wish to stay with the company so Royal Mail have to prove they can accomodate all staff as per the beloved 2010 agreement!
Good luck to all...

Under MTSF agreement you are offered 3 years at 50p - 1 year at 25p and the 5th and last year 12.5p per mile.

Your new home to office milage is calculated using AA autoroute. Take off your old home to office milage, times this 5 or 6 times dependant of days worked per week = 52 minus your allocated holiday weeks per year and you end up with your figure. (you need to take off extra for your wallington week) Hope this helps.

[bobbyden]

The Royal Mail know only too well that closing a mail centre and moving it lock, stock and barrel into another will result in a big cost saving for the "business". Staff at Cambridge Mail Centre face a real dilemma. Whilst all this is going on, Moya Greene, plays countdown to the day and date when she triggers yet another scandalous bonus payment for messing up peoples lives.

We are due to be privatised in 2014, another disaster waiting to happen. It really will be meltdown for all of us, except Moya and her callous and uncaring colleagues in high places that is.

[hagrid]

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/So ... 102012.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thankfully some folk in Cambridge are thinking straight!!!!

[Stampy]

This on the news today......

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-ca ... e-20249920

Royal Mail has announced it is to close and sell its processing plant in Cambridge, affecting up to 200 staff.

The bulk of its operations are being relocated to Peterborough with the remainder going to Chelmsford.

The company said the final decision had been taken after an eight-month consultation with staff and unions.

Royal Mail said it was "confident" posts could be found for staff, but the Communication Workers Union said jobs would be put in "serious jeopardy".

The centre is expected to close early in 2014.

The decision to close the office was made in response to the "huge growth in electronic communications and the resulting decline in overall mail volumes", and was part of a review of its business, Royal Mail said.
'Alternative roles'

Figures published by Royal Mail in June indicated the volume of letters in the UK fell by 6% compared to the previous year.

In Cambridge, it said the volume of items posted to and from the city and surrounding areas had fallen by more than 30% in five years.

In the statement, the company said: "Royal Mail has been working hard to identify alternative roles for [staff] and we anticipate collection duties will remain, although they will be located at the Cambridge delivery office.

"We will reimburse our staff for any extra mileage incurred by changes to their place of work.

"We are confident anyone wishing to continue working for Royal Mail will have the opportunity to do so if they are reasonably flexible."

Ricky McAulay, processing and collections director, said: "These changes to our operations in Cambridge will, unfortunately, impact on some colleagues.

"However, change is absolutely essential to meet customers' expectations of a world-class postal service."

The Communications Workers Union (CWU), which represents some of the postal workers at the Cambridge offices, described the closure as "a big mistake".

Branch secretary Mark Toner said: "Our members are fearful to what the future holds for them. If they want a job in Peterborough, this will mean a 90-mile round trip for many."

The union had not ruled out holding a ballot on industrial action, he added.