Making duties bigger and cutting staff?

[Dozen]

In London and many of the other cities, there's a construction boom going on right now with new housing and apartments springing up all over the place. Housing is already in short supply as it is, and yet the population is only increasing. London's population is on track to break its all-time high (which was pre-WW2/blitzkreig) and continue to exceed it year on year. So with more and more people living in the UK, and more and more houses and flats being built, and with more and more parcels which take longer to deliver, the logical choice is to add MORE duties, and make them smaller and more manageable so that we are better equipped in response to customer demand. Yet somehow we seem to be going the opposite direction. Something has to give eventually, and the sooner the better. Call it reactionary, but I honestly believe we are in need of some kind of workers revolution. It's in our interest to stand in solidarity with workers from the likes of Amazon, UPS, DHL and yes even TNT. This is the only way things will change, and drastic change is needed in working practices urgently, across the entire world! After all, it's a global marketplace now. Unions and their members need to start thinking in terms of a global, unified workforce.

This quote from an Amazon boss is telling:

(in response to adding 15,000 robots to their warehouses)
"It's certainly proving out that it's justified itself," Amazon’s senior vice president of operations, Dave Clark, said of the Kiva acquisition. "We're happy with the economics of it."
Amazon insists its robot employees are not stealing jobs from humans, because the company is continuing to grow.
"That growth is driving increased hiring. We continue to add employees, and no employee has been negatively impacted by Kiva coming on board," he said.
"What we've done is automate the walking element. Our focus on automation is to do automation that helps employees do their job in an easier way, in a more efficient manner."
source: http://rt.com/usa/210435-amazon-warehou ... -carriers/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The company is experiencing growth, and re-investing in technology to help its efficiency. Sounds like good news, but then have a look at some of these articles:

Worse than Wal-Mart: Amazon’s sick brutality and secret history of ruthlessly intimidating workers
http://www.salon.com/2014/02/23/worse_t ... g_workers/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Amazon workers face 'increased risk of mental illness'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25034598" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Amazon Warehouse Workers Barely Have Time To Eat Lunch: Lawsuit
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/0 ... 83329.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I especially feel like showing the last one to those who refuse to take their break day-in day-out. A little glimpse in to the future for them perhaps.

Basically the growth Amazon is experiencing is not being reflected in the pay and conditions of its workers. And yet this is a giant of industry which is often held up as a model of the future to us.

I seem to hear the words "it'll never happen" in Royal Mail a lot. People just don't believe we can change things for the better. Reps that feel powerless when even their own members can't be bothered to follow the rules. Who can blame them? If we can't stop people from coming in early and throwing off their walk, what chance do we have in achieving real positive change on a larger scale? I get that view, but I think there's a deeper underlying point. That is the importance of educating yourself about the bigger picture to understand the situation we're in. Following on from that is the importance of communication between staff in boosting workers morale. After that, we can begin to deal with the real issues in a serious way because an educated and unified workforce is what all bosses fear the most.

[Jpro747]

Lol, they will continue to batter down our hours and bleed us dry on delivery, but I bet you WCM will still be going!!

Management = clueless!!