27/02/2019 Mount Pleasant Bulletin

[jimallen]

Hi, find below the Mount Pleasant bulletin of the 27th of February and the entire back and front page attached. Comments welcome!

THEY’RE ONLY INTERESTED IN MAKING CENTS
We have to wonder why managers are pushing this
Processing resign as if there was no tomorrow? Apparently
they want to sign 50 of us per day! In their haste they’re
pushing some of us off duties we’ve been doing for yonks,
even when seniority should apply. And when it would make
far more sense to leave well alone. But then “sense” isn’t
their strong point, is it?

THREE JOBS INTO ONE WON’T GO
Yes, this is the real objective of their grand, very delayed
“re-sign”. They may claim that after 7 years, “duties have
changed”. But what’s actually changed, is what they think
they can get away with: in other words, more cuts to the
workforce, on top of all the automation-related decimation of
our numbers. And that means trying to force one of us to do
the job of many. When we’re already working to the max.
No, can’t be done.

WHO’S MR or MS “LAPSED”?
So what about these duties which are labelled as “lapsed”?
Are they the duties of our recently retired workmates? They
may have gone, but the work hasn’t! In fact the only real
“lapse” here is on the part of HMP management. Perhaps
they should start thinking about how parcels and letters are
going to pile up - and what they’ll do about it...

THE WORK IS ON, BUT NO-ONE'S HERE?
On top of it, we hear managers are now preparing to offer
even more VRs/EVRs?! And offering 2 year’s wages as an
incentive to go. This is very hard to believe - even from this
lot! If more of us leave, they’re going to have even more
“lapsed” duties on their hands. Well, that’s their problem to
solve. And we won't allow it to be at our expense.

MAKE US FULL-TIME!
We guess this is another reason why HMP bosses have
decided to keep part-timers doing part-time. They think they
can then use us to do all the work that’s left over uncleared
at the end of our shifts, expecting us to be pleased to have
the OT. And if we all said no? What then?

WHERE IS THE “SURPLUS”?
In fact can anyone remember when was the last time fulltime
contracts were offered to us part-timers in any
numbers? Managers have the cheek to tell us that making
us full-time would reintroduce a “surplus of staff”? Maybe
they should look in a mirror if they want to see what “a
surplus of staff” looks like?

IT’S NOT OUR 318
We know RM amended the rules which protect our right to
stick to our own jobs - so they can ask us to be flexible, and
cover any work, anywhere. Their idea is to have a fully
flexible skeleton workforce - “topped up” with temps, when
and if needed. But it seems they haven’t studied human
anatomy. Skeletons are rigid structures, if they don’t have
their muscle, cartilage and connective tissues. And RM has
stripped all of these off.

BONUS FRENZY ON NIGHTS
It was obvious that allocating only 131 night duties was too
few - and we all (including management) knew it! But the
managers are so terrified they'll now lose their bonuses, that
they're working like mad every night to try to make up for
their job cuts! It's a disgusting sight! Of course, after bonus
day they'll be gone - leaving us to deal with their mess... Or
not.

WE’RE ALREADY SHORT OF HANDS AND FEET
Are EC DUMs having a joke? They’re sending workers
back to Processing, claiming they were only on “temporary
loan” to deliveries. So a too-stretched EC workforce is
expected to stretch even further? It’s definitely a recipe for
the elastic to snap!

A WAVE OF ACTION
Talking about snapping, it’s happening all over: this
Monday, workers at Leytonstone DO (E11), walked out
unofficially - but in fact, every day there’s something which
proves to be the last straw for delivery workmates. And at
DOs in Bangor (Northern Ireland BT19) and Wythenshawe
(Manchester M22) official strikes have taken place, after
DUMs issued disciplines for, among other things, “noncompletion
of a duty”, sickness due to stress, and for
posting about manager's harassment on social media!
Haven’t we in EC got ample cause to join this wave?

CUTTING DRIVERS BY CUTTING ALLOWANCE?
Can this possibly be true? We heard that anyone who signs
up for driving duties from the floor (or from the small to big
vans) won’t get a driving allowance any more!! But there’s a
shortage of drivers! How could this help? It can only
discourage us from applying!

REWRAP YOUR BENEFITS
Oh yes, on Wednesday we were supposed to discover the
benefits of RM’s “My Bundle” app… Unwrapping benefits?
More like unwrapping a bunch of peanut-value cheap deals.

LET’S ORGANISE A BIRYANI NIGHT!
So, we’re seeing some more of our workmates leaving on
retirement – their sentence at HMP is finally up! And of
course, we wish them all the best... But wouldn’t it be good
to have a proper leaving do?

DIRTY DUSTY HMP - MORE CLEANERS NEEDED!
How can we accept that PFS can bring in agency temps (on
zero-hours!!) to make up for the on-going shortage of
cleaners, made worse every time someone leaves. Of
course it’s fine (meaning cheaper) for RM and its
shareholders. But not fine with us!

BASHFUL ELEPHANT
Why were PFS workers told not to ask managers for help if
their pay is wrong? It clearly says on our payslips that we
must ask them to sort out issues. What brought this on?
Did they get into trouble over the non-payment of the night
allowance - or are they just being modest?

HOW TO SHOOT YOURSELF IN THE FOOT
Funny how RM keeps complaining about letter volumes
going down and then increases stamp prices to "help" things
along... So 1st class has gone up to 70p (4.5% increase!)
and 2nd to 61p (5.1% up!). RM even overshot Ofcom’s own
“affordable” price cap on 2nd class. And now its setting a
new cap on 2nd class of 65p! Just who is regulating whom?

[SpacePhoenix]

IT’S NOT OUR 318
We know RM amended the rules which protect our right to
stick to our own jobs - so they can ask us to be flexible, and
cover any work, anywhere. Their idea is to have a fully
flexible skeleton workforce - “topped up” with temps, when
and if needed. But it seems they haven’t studied human
anatomy. Skeletons are rigid structures, if they don’t have
their muscle, cartilage and connective tissues. And RM has
stripped all of these off.

I guess that no one at MP has looked at their 318s in years, everyone's 318s have said for years something like "or as directed" so unless there's a skills or medical issue, get over it