Age and affects of long delivery spans

[Puppetmaster]

I wish to ask a Question of the CWU .

Walks in most offices are getting bigger and absorption added to this means the stress on the body definitely takes it toll .At one time after a lengthy time on deliveries one could take a easier life by going on Nights doing IPS, or going to the local mail centre for a easier job, all this has now gone from most offices.

It is a fact RM seems to be recruiting young fit guys who are happy to run around these walks and make many walks appear very easy and not taking to long. By contrast, and this is a generalisation Posties over45 are not as quick as the young guys ,possibly by 40 minutes or more .

So what happens to the over 45 who are struggling on these Everest size rounds, and the young guys who make the same round appear to be a walk in the park .

As a general rule the fitness level of someone 45+ is not on par with a 22 year old ,let alone a guy who is 56.

Managers just see 1 Postie who is working normal and can Finnish their round no problem ,so their is no problem with the round size ,and see another Postie struggling either as he is trying to get his round reduced or ,he is just lazy or trouble maker.
Whilst this is a generalisation ,I am sure many of us will recognise this issue except the senior CWU officials, and the question needs to be answered with retirement ages increasing rounds increasing .sickness in many offices increasing what is going to be done long term with older staff.

How many footballers are over 45?

[Busterbear]

We have a 63 year old in our office who after been harassed for taking to long on his duty has had to gone on sick with stress . He's been a postie 20 odd years . And now with the new retirement age some of the younger guys could be working till 69 . Scary !

[Thixty]

the "older" guys in our office are usually left alone by the Dom but this then puts the onus on the "younger" guys which is BS the way the older guys are treated is how the whole office should be, not add more work and pressure to the younger members! im 27 and i feel wrecked from this job now after 2 years of the revision and im considered "young"! i feel 87 !!

[RedBagMan]

Older guys might be a touch slower ... but I bet you'll find in most offices that they're a damn sight more reliable ...

[Jamesethefirst]

I was told the other day that CWU has/is commissioning a study on the effects on the musculoskeletal system ,of all this extra walking,.
Here is a good idea , why not try some bicycles, to see how they work on delivery..........oh wait.......

[celerycelery]

I've definitely seen an increase in sick for back/knee/feet issues. Plantar fasciitis is popping up alot now.

[fatmike]

We actually have a few in our office who must be mid to late 40's, and they're still some of the fastest people I've worked with!

I'm late 20s so I can probably go a fair bit faster than some, but you can't judge the length of a round by the fastest person. I'll always take my break and slow up a little bit if I think I'm making a round look too easy. And if a manager asks how long a specific round takes, I'll usually add 30 minutes on top of how long it would take me. Not that I'm being dishonest, but it would be horribly unfair if all ages had to work to the speed of the youngest.

At the same time, the younger ones shouldn't have to do extra work just because they are faster. We still have bodies to look after.

[Chelseablue]

Seen my body deteriorate in the last cpl of years knees ,and hip pain , this job ends up destroying you're body ,wdnt wish this on anyone .

[krussel]

There's not a lot you with the longer deliveries other than try to find another job. Its what the business has become and it certainly takes its toll once you get older. The only advice I can give is try to rest as much as possible away from work, esp your legs.

[IloveMYredTROLLEY!]

Not much point talking about fitness and age in relation to delivery spans, when far too many OPGs are not using the correct equipment and/or doing things they should not be doing like "doorsteping" parcels.

[fishtank]

The business has a big problem as only 9.9% of operational staff are under 30,54.6% are 30-49 and a frightening 35.5% are over 50.
That's a demographic nightmare with no longer any default retirement age and a physical job getting more and more difficult at least in terms of length of delivery.
Somebody should have thought about this long before now,you would think the union would have....but it's all about protecting full time subs...I mean jobs.

[DB1100]

The business has a big problem as only 9.9% of operational staff are under 30,54.6% are 30-49 and a frightening 35.5% are over 50.
That's a demographic nightmare with no longer any default retirement age and a physical job getting more and more difficult at least in terms of length of delivery.
Somebody should have thought about this long before now,you would think the union would have....but it's all about protecting full time subs...I mean jobs.

Hardly about protecting full time jobs as any full timers that leave or get sacked are replaced by 20hr people and what does the union do about it? a big fat nothing,we had our revision about 3 years ago,at that time 5 people were made up since that day we have had 7 retire and 3 sacked all full timers,we have had a couple of p/t sacked as well

[Sergeant Blast]

The business has a big problem as only 9.9% of operational staff are under 30,54.6% are 30-49 and a frightening 35.5% are over 50.
That's a demographic nightmare with no longer any default retirement age and a physical job getting more and more difficult at least in terms of length of delivery.
Somebody should have thought about this long before now,you would think the union would have....but it's all about protecting full time subs...I mean jobs.

The union has totally let us down over this. I know RM care nothing about are well being. The union however are supposed to represent our interests. Surely our health should be their number one priority but you hear very little from them on this. Rounds are too long and we are walking on hard surfaces in inadequate footwear. Let a company like Ecco supply our footwear to provide a bit of cushioning, not the cheap crap they supply us with, My office had outdoor revisions about 3 years ago and we've had numerous guys off sick with 'wear and tear' injuries. Do the majority of us have to end up in wheelchairs before somebody takes some initiative on this?

[Lincox]

As a person in my sixties I am managing only because we still have bikes. These are going in the new year and the thought of doing a walk with a trolley (non driver) is making me feel extreeeeeeeeeeeemly stressed.

[Edward Hunter]

Very good question puppetmasterWe have only recently had a revision (miserably failed btw) which means even during normal times people can go over by an hour.My walk (hct) has taken me 5 hours the last 2 days. It is ridiculously hard on the body - in a cumulative way.Sickness will soon rocket in my unit i am sure. Really think the wallington weeks need to go as an extra day off a week would certainly help recovery. An extra hour or two off the working week should also be made more of a priority than pay rises in subsequent negotiations with the employer. I know that would lead to more revisions all over the country, but lets be honest here, "the planners" need not be in on it as they must be the most incompetent bunch to ever be on RMs payroll (and thats saying something!)