Good Friday/Saturday Mail

[dvbuk55]

Our office is clear and we're expecting tuesday style traffic tomorrow.
The upside of working Good Friday I suppose.
Doesn't matter to me though as I'm off tomorrow anyway.

Do you get paid for GF or do you get the 2nd of January instead?

Jan 2nd is our substitution day for Good Friday.
It's the better deal.

If you are going to have an Easter bank holiday weekend make it a real weekend and include the Saturday otherwise don't bother.
I think if you put it to the members that they could work Good Friday and have Saturday and Monday off instead they would jump at that but of course that would take some progressive thinking.

I must admit it seems ludicrous to have Friday off, work Saturday and then have Sunday and Monday off - it must be a better option as you say to link three days together. If it was put to a vote it would be a winner.

[fishtank]

I must admit it seems ludicrous to have Friday off, work Saturday and then have Sunday and Monday off - it must be a better option as you say to link three days together. If it was put to a vote it would be a winner.

If I was cynical I would say that the majority of full release "decision makers" in the union have Saturday off anyway so they always enjoy a full Easter weekend....
Unlikely to be put to a vote then.

[Martin Walsh]

There use to be a delivery on Good Friday outside of London. Royal Mail then decided to cease this , clearly the union wanted to obtain the Easter Saturday off but it is part of the USO and unless Royal Mail declare it a non service day then it is unlikely to change.

In terms of full time release staff having Saturdays off , not everyone does I regularly have to attend meetings and events on Saturdays and was in an mpu this morning discussing a proposed closure and then a picket line for counters. Often I have to do nights as well , most reps do a good job to the best of ability and its easy to criticise maybe you want to walk a mile in their shoes before you do .

[TrueBlueTerrier]

There use to be a delivery on Good Friday outside of London. Royal Mail then decided to cease this , clearly the union wanted to obtain the Easter Saturday off but it is part of the USO and unless Royal Mail declare it a non service day then it is unlikely to change.

In terms of full time release staff having Saturdays off , not everyone does I regularly have to attend meetings and events on Saturdays and was in an mpu this morning discussing a proposed closure and then a picket line for counters. Often I have to do nights as well , most reps do a good job to the best of ability and its easy to criticise maybe you want to walk a mile in their shoes before you do .

When they walk a mile (or 9) in mine like I keep suggesting - I just might

I know its not scientific but we had a poll on here sometime ago that seems to suggest strong support for FTs suggestion.

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... er#p381756" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Would you give up Good Friday to have Easter Saturday off

You may select 1 option

Yes - In a heartbeat 131 (86%)

No 14 ( 9%)

Maybe not convinced 7 (5%)


Total votes : 152

[Martin Walsh]

TBT no one is suggesting that the members would prefer to work Good Friday as opposed to Easter Saturday. The issue is that Royal Mail do not support such a proposal as the union have already tried to achieve this as it has been carried at conferences for years.

The problem is what would the membership be willing to do to achieve this policy ? Would they be willing to work a bank holiday for no extra money that's processing , network , rdcs and delivery ?

Would they be willing to take industrial action to achieve it and would it be a wise move for the union considering all the other issues we are facing.

I won't get into who works harder debate as it is pointless but its all so easy to tar all full time release reps as lazy and worthless ! There are many still in the job thanks to some of those reps .

[fishtank]

I won't get into who works harder debate as it is pointless but its all so easy to tar all full time release reps as lazy and worthless ! There are many still in the job thanks to some of those reps .

The comment about full-time release bods was meant to be light-hearted.
Nobody said anybody was lazy and worthless.
The Good Friday issue isn't a major issue,it's just a talking point.

[dvbuk55]

Working the occasional Saturday is not quite the same as working 46 out of 52 as some of us do.