Rumour of franchising the walks.

[dvbuk55]

As the Franchisor( Royal Mail) they would want to give the the best jobs to the best man which in cases would not be the senior man, not sure they would ever get it through although it would be great for them.

What would stop them? I'm pretty sure that there would be any number of reasons the CWU would find that franchising would be beneficial to individuals. I too am not sure that it's any time soon but just imagine the small rural offices with just a handful or so duties given the option of a franchise staying where they are or a 10 mile trip to the next large office

[TrueBlueTerrier]

As the Franchisor( Royal Mail) they would want to give the the best jobs to the best man which in cases would not be the senior man, not sure they would ever get it through although it would be great for them.

Its does beg the question though how do you measure who is "best" at a job when 75,000 other people are not only capable of doing the same job but actually are.

1. Is the best the one who gets a duty done the quickest.
2. Or the one who does it most cheaply (not claiming overtime)
3. Or the one that continues to deliver no matter the workload.
4. Or the one that uses all the equipment provided and does the job as expected.
5. Or the one that is so knowledgeable about their duty that they have good customer rapport.
6. Or the one that has a strong enough character that when difficulties arise they can adapt and overcome.
7. Or one that is so aware of H&S that its unlikely they will have an accident because of overload bags, trolleys, or unchecked vehicles.
8. Or the one that will take on anything for money, until fatigue or sickness hits.


Because as sure as eggs are eggs, no one will tick all those boxes as some cancel others out.

[arnold cheshire]

how would a walk be profitable ?

[dvbuk55]

how would a walk be profitable ?

The franchisee would pay his own tax, insurance, provide cover for days off out of his own pocket, no sick pay or holiday pay and rent a liveried vehicle from RM. It would certainly be profitable from RMs point of view. I would imagine initially it would be made to be advantageous until they had hooked as many as they needed to start a stampede. Many may remember when Parcelforce was split off and the bonus was tremendous and attracted many postmen to jump ship but once it was up and running within a couple of years that came to an end. Now of course they have owner drivers who bemoan the fact that employees are doing far less work than they are expected to do.

[rusty nails]

how would a walk be profitable ?

I assume being franchised you would be paid per letter/parcel, therefore a duty with lots of flats or terraced houses would be profitable and worth your time. The question is how do they get the less populated/rural duties covered? Or would there be subsidies?

[A2B]

how would a walk be profitable ?

I assume being franchised you would be paid per letter/parcel, therefore a duty with lots of flats or terraced houses would be profitable and worth your time. The question is how do they get the less populated/rural duties covered? Or would there be subsidies?

Deliver it less frequently

[postslippete]

Nice of Dingo to share his thoughts with us


One wave of mech? Its been mentioned somewhere before, so just keep popping up and mentioning it again and again. It will become reality. And what impact is it going to have? A big one if you are full-time. I mean, who really wants to come in to start work later and then finish later with a far larger delivery span?? Is that what Dingo means? Oh I know, why don't we do a first delivery, then come back to the office and have a break in the middle and then go back out again and do a second delivery like we used to years ago !! Would that not make longer deliveries and later finishes sustainable ??

Everything about the Royal Mail from top management is about cutting costs like its the only way we can make a profit as a business. Reduce the number of full-timers, recruit one or two bag-carriers, lapse more and more duties. The end result is that office resources are stretched and everyday is a constant struggle for a delivery post person, for a delivery line manager, DOMs hellbent on saving hours and further up the food chain. Apart from, of course, those who make plans around the table and who go to bed at night dreaming of ways as to how to make further cuts in costs. This is one that will have a massive impact on full-time jobs at Royal Mail and will probably also be the death of the CWU. What was the ratio of full-timers to part-timers that the CWU wanted?? Just look at the numbers of staff who don't want to do overtime at our depot....leaving line managers running round doing our work on busy days !!

Its our customers I feel sorry for. Royal Mail say they need to cut costs because they are operating in a difficult environment. So what was the operating profit last time round? As everyone knows making a profit at the expense of staff and customer service all Royal Mail are doing is running a once respected and world class service into the ground. So franchising will probably be a reality sometime, but only after thousands more of us have left...