You may be right in as much that I have had enough, and probably looking at some problems from a disillusioned point of view. However, having been employed by this business for 11 years , the last couple of years I have seen a massive decline in the way this company operates, both in terms for the customers, recipients, and the employees. For the employee I have seen Managers introduced that are unable to function, make decisions,unable to answer questions,unable to update us on a regular basis on changes, unable to provide holiday rotas in a timely manner. All things that managers from 5 years ago would have the authority and skills to deal with. The standards in which mail is received into the unit has deteriorated especially since walk sort machines were removed from our local delivery office and moved to mail centre. We lose time each day having to primary sort mail that should not have even been sent to our SPDO. Unfortunately we have to do this because there are the odd few bits and pieces that are for us. Walks which have become vacant are not filled. The walk that mine is linked to as a Park and Loop has no permanent cover and I do not know who I will be linked up with on a daily basis. Very often I have to work with someone who has no experience of the walk and this creates problems in terms of time out on delivery plus delivery mistakes for recipients. I could go on but no doubt you will look upon me as a whinging old git.
In terms of delivery span, if Royal Mail is serious about the health and welfare of it,s staff, then a delivery span which takes into account what can reasonably be expected of a person with no underlying medical or physical impairments, and not what we have at the moment which is a system with no span other than each individuals contracted hours. As we know many units now have Longs and Shorts which enables Royal Mail to place us under even more stress on those longer days.
This can easily be achieved by engaging specialists in this field and taking into account ergonomics of the equipment which is used, and the differing weather situations that we have to work in. If a Royal Marine struggles to carry out a 4 hour walk just delivering one slip of paper to each door on that walk, and that was for one day only, how can Royal Mail expect this to be done day in day out, five days a week, pushing trolleys laden with parcels, over longer spans.
In terms of the working day, there has to be a system whereby the indoor and outdoor work can be interchangeable throughout the day, in order that there are longer periods of rest from actual delivery. We now have vans, so it is easier to return to the DO, so for instance if the likes of flats and D2ds can be prepped for the following day, there is no reason why a return to the office to take into account a properly co-ordinated break and to carry out this indoor work is not a suitable way of creating a lengthy break from what at the moment can be a five to six hour torturous slog on hard pavements which is what is causing the amount of injuries the company is dealing with at the moment.
This may not be the only answer to what is a growing problem. It just needs the will of the chief executive and the board of directors to own this problem and seek ideas from the people who are having to do this on a daily basis to come up with the answers.
Ok, what happens when the office can't cope with covering 7 walks? More overtime for extended which equals less profits for RM or more work that doesn't get delivered and back logs? Either way it's s**t street. And I for one won't be busting a gut to get finished early ever again. Go in on time, take your brake and fook em. That's what I say!
before its too late.