why do you bother dingo?

[Rennie]

lets look at the facts.
Most in our office earn in excess of 25 grand a year. our top earner is over 35 grand.
I get 6 weeks holiday and have great working conditions as I do my job as specified by royal mail.
I am an unskilled worker earning good money doing a job that is essentially a nice walk each day chatting to customers as I go.
I work as efficiently as i can each day without any stress whatsoever.
This is all thanks to the CWU who have always tried to shape agreements that can be implemented at a local level.
We are the union. You! me, everybody in the workplace and it is your duty to make sure your working conditions are maintained.
I don't care what i do during my shift. If I was asked to deliver for the entire day that wouldn't be a problem. It's only a nice walk.
When my manager questions my overtime or if I have to cut off for whatever reason my answer is always the same. " I am more than happy for you to test me, I am working to the best of my ability"
Is the new agreement good? Of course it is. It's not about the money it's about protecting my working conditions and that is exactly what we have!
The extra money is a nice bonus. Thanks!
Name me one job that has better working conditions for unskilled labour and I will leave tomorrow.
You know it and I know it otherwise all the moaners would leave and go work for TNT or Home delivery or shop work or whatever!!
Yes we all like to have a moan, but lets put everything into perspective and look at the big picture.
If it really is that bad why do you stay? I love my job and I will do everything to preserve and enhance my working conditions using hard fought national and local agreements. Nothing is ever perfect. Human nature tells us we always want more. But what we do have ain't that bad.
Now I expect a lot of ranting similar to what dingo gets. That's ok.
I don't know why I bothered but I will not allow the moaners to take over this particular asylum! There are happy posties out there! Thanks CWU. Thanks Dingo!

[labbloke]

Very good post mate, I too value what the union does for me and I appreciate Dingo and his inside track. As a union though we have to realise that in some DOs posties are treated like rubbish and that's why we need to stick together.

[silly suffolk]

as has already been said. a lot on here need a reality check.

[genesis]

Although I agree with most points,what if you dont have a nice walk? or walking it isnt nice? steephills, uneven steps , long drives on hills . 5 hours of that for six days and sunday you are knackered ,and when your week comes around to be off your knackered for most of it .I would like a nice walk and I have 25 years service . There are no repicks in our office , and my knees are suffering .No for some the job isnt nice or easy.

[Godric]

as has already been said. a lot on here need a reality check.

I have been dealing with the reality of the jobs for nearly 24 years ... and it is getting steadily worse ... the new equipment is crap and the deliveries are way to big to complete in 4 hrs 15 min which was agreed before our revision went in ... that is the reality that confronts me and as for £25k - £35k ... you must doing some serious overtime .... and at 25p over the normal pay rate they can stick their overtime and it is below the standard pay rate after 10 hours .... I think I would rather cut off at my time and go home and put my feet up

[silly suffolk]

I said to some one today, when we were state owned this deal would be seen as pretty average, in the world we live in today, its good in comparison to other employers in our line of work.

[Rennie]

Why are there no repicks? Any major duty changes would warrant one. So basically after each revision.
If revision done correctly then all walks on same contract should be equal. Otherwise you don't agree the revision
I personally prefer 5 hours steady walking to 5 hours sat behind a desk any day.

[OnAFlyer]

Although I agree with most points,what if you dont have a nice walk? or walking it isnt nice? steephills, uneven steps , long drives on hills . 5 hours of that for six days and sunday you are knackered ,and when your week comes around to be off your knackered for most of it .I would like a nice walk and I have 25 years service . There are no repicks in our office , and my knees are suffering .No for some the job isnt nice or easy.

So if you're on 1 week off in 6, 6 day week and I'm assuming average 7hr 48 days why are you doing a 5hr walk? Ours are planned at 4.15 maximum on a 7.48 average day.

Plus you get an absolute minimum of 12 weeks per year off, I get 5. Yes you work 6 days but I would kill for your shift pattern.

I agree fully with the OP, yes there are some horrible days weather wise but overall we get paid very well for what we do. I actually laugh when I read posts like 'I collapse in a chair at the end of my shift' and 'This job has broken my body'

[dav1524]

lets look at the facts.
Most in our office earn in excess of 25 grand a year. our top earner is over 35 grand.
I get 6 weeks holiday and have great working conditions as I do my job as specified by royal mail.
I am an unskilled worker earning good money doing a job that is essentially a nice walk each day chatting to customers as I go.
I work as efficiently as i can each day without any stress whatsoever.
This is all thanks to the CWU who have always tried to shape agreements that can be implemented at a local level.
We are the union. You! me, everybody in the workplace and it is your duty to make sure your working conditions are maintained.
I don't care what i do during my shift. If I was asked to deliver for the entire day that wouldn't be a problem. It's only a nice walk.
When my manager questions my overtime or if I have to cut off for whatever reason my answer is always the same. " I am more than happy for you to test me, I am working to the best of my ability"
Is the new agreement good? Of course it is. It's not about the money it's about protecting my working conditions and that is exactly what we have!
The extra money is a nice bonus. Thanks!
Name me one job that has better working conditions for unskilled labour and I will leave tomorrow.
You know it and I know it otherwise all the moaners would leave and go work for TNT or Home delivery or shop work or whatever!!
Yes we all like to have a moan, but lets put everything into perspective and look at the big picture.
If it really is that bad why do you stay? I love my job and I will do everything to preserve and enhance my working conditions using hard fought national and local agreements. Nothing is ever perfect. Human nature tells us we always want more. But what we do have ain't that bad.
Now I expect a lot of ranting similar to what dingo gets. That's ok.
I don't know why I bothered but I will not allow the moaners to take over this particular asylum! There are happy posties out there! Thanks CWU. Thanks Dingo!

Brilliant post

[Danelectro]

I said to some one today, when we were state owned this deal would be seen as pretty average, in the world we live in today, its good in comparison to other employers in our line of work.

We were balloted for a no strings pay rise and for an agreement on fair workloads and you are saying we are lucky to have got whats on offer in this agreement and the sub text is that if we had went on strike we would all now be on the minimum wage and they will franchising delivery offices by the summer of 2014 or something, if Royal mail are in that strong a position then why would they even bother with the CWU ? I don't think it was impossible to get a similar deal without tying it to strike clauses and introducing untried mediation with an employer that for many cant be trusted and there could have been some headway made on workloads,so I don't buy that it was some crazy out of reach utopian dream..

[Danelectro]

I agree fully with the OP, yes there are some horrible days weather wise but overall we get paid very well for what we do. I actually laugh when I read posts like 'I collapse in a chair at the end of my shift' and 'This job has broken my body'

Seems you have landed pretty lucky with the delivery office and workloads that you have.I agree that you can only make judgements on whatever office you work in but I live in a major city and know members in all the offices in it and nobody thinks the job is a jolly up any more.There are some folk that breeze through the job while most get by/struggle and it depends on varying factors with the one constant being poor management but theres one thing for sure if every member was onaflyer then more work for the same pay would be coming your way so maybe you need the 'retards' more than they need you.

[Brain Fury]

I said to some one today, when we were state owned this deal would be seen as pretty average, in the world we live in today, its good in comparison to other employers in our line of work.

We were balloted for a no strings pay rise and for an agreement on fair workloads and you are saying we are lucky to have got whats on offer in this agreement and the sub text is that if we had went on strike we would all now be on the minimum wage and they will franchising delivery offices by the summer of 2014 or something, if Royal mail are in that strong a position then why would they even bother with the CWU ? I don't think it was impossible to get a similar deal without tying it to strike clauses and introducing untried mediation with an employer that for many cant be trusted and there could have been some headway made on workloads,so I don't buy that it was some crazy out of reach utopian dream..

So you get a three year above inflation pay deal (and why isn't it 5 years?), guaranteed 5 year protected t&cs and presumably the CWU get to decide whats a fair workload, what constitutes B&H etc and all RM gets is the promise that as soon as there's something else the CWU doesn't like they will roll out the threat of a strike again? And RM would agree to that because otherwise the CWU will wreck the company through strike action? That sounds workable.

[borders]

where the hell does it say all that then Mr Fury ? maybe you missed this part of the agreement -

7. Legally Binding Commitments
The terms set out in the legally binding agreement represent a legally binding commitment to utilise and exhaust these new processes alongside the IR Framework without recourse to unilateral management action or CWU industrial action in accordance with the principles of the existing IR Framework.

[cloherty1976]

Great post rennie

[Godric]

Great post rennie

obviously you don't do a delivery walk so you don't have to face the consequences of this deal