Seniority is a Joke

twiddledumb · Post by **twiddledumb** » 09 Mar 2019, 14:33

Why did the union accept/propose the current seniority policy at Royal Mail? It is a complete and utter unfair pile of crap. There are many people in my office that basically take the p*** when it comes to taking time off for "sickness", it goes along the lines of they come in for 6 months, then they have 6 months on the sick (until their money drops). They do it every other year like clockwork and the union obviously protects them. Anyway, I and many others in my office have not had a day off in years, we work 5 days a week (sometimes 6) every week all year round, yet when it comes to seniority the people taking the p*** continue to get their sick time added to their time at Royal Mail, even though they aren't actually working at Royal Mail in that time.

The same goes for people who work one-two days (16-20 hours) a week completely unfair that as far as seniority is concerned a week at work for them is equivalent to a week at work for someone working 5-6 days (30+ hours) a week.

Why can't posties with good attendance records say 90% + a year be rewarded with an extra year seniority? Why can't seniority be based on the something fair like the amount of hours actually worked at Royal mail?

I remember that Royal mail tried to reward posites a while back with good attendance records by putting them into some stupid prize draw and that the Union complained it was punishing people on the sick, whereas most people would say it was rewarding people for the job they do. Nobody is saying punish people on the sick, all I am saying is reward people who actually come in and work. Why don't the union actually propose this to Royal mail? From my experience, they spend a lot of time and effort protecting lazy posties and do SFA to fight for posites that actually come in work their hours and have great attendance records.

Post by **aiden01** » 09 Mar 2019, 14:40

twiddledumb wrote:Why did the union accept/propose the current seniority policy at Royal Mail? It is a complete and utter unfair pile of crap. There are many people in my office that basically take the p*** when it comes to taking time off for "sickness", it goes along the lines of they come in for 6 months, then they have 6 months on the sick (until their money drops). They do it every other year like clockwork and the union obviously protects them. Anyway, I and many others in my office have not had a day off in years, we work 5 days a week (sometimes 6) every week all year round, yet when it comes to seniority the people taking the p*** continue to get their sick time added to their time at Royal Mail, even though they aren't actually working at Royal Mail in that time.

The same goes for people who work one-two days (16-20 hours) a week completely unfair that as far as seniority is concerned a week at work for them is equivalent to a week at work for someone working 5-6 days (30+ hours) a week.

Why can't posties with good attendance records say 90% + a year be rewarded with an extra year seniority? Why can't seniority be based on the something fair like the amount of hours actually worked at Royal mail?

I remember that Royal mail tried to reward posites a while back with good attendance records by putting them into some stupid prize draw and that the Union complained it was punishing people on the sick, whereas most people would say it was rewarding people for the job they do. Nobody is saying punish people on the sick, all I am saying is reward people who actually come in and work. Why don't the union actually propose this to Royal mail? From my experience, they spend a lot of time and effort protecting lazy posties and do SFA to fight for posites that actually come in work their time and have great attendance records.

If you have more than 12months off in rolling 4yrs you dont get paid when off sick so that kind of defeats your point of working for 6 months then 6 months off sick...

twiddledumb · Post by **twiddledumb** » 09 Mar 2019, 14:44

I said every other year this happens. Anyway thanks for the info, I did not know that because I have never been on the sick. But my point still stands that seniority is unfair.

Woody Guthrie · Post by **Woody Guthrie** » 09 Mar 2019, 14:48

What the he'll has your rant got to do with seniority?

Post by **General Mannerheim** » 09 Mar 2019, 14:50

So your moaning about seniority but want an extra years seniority if you've been lucky enough not to be ill and attained 90% attendance.

Decky Boy · Post by **Decky Boy** » 09 Mar 2019, 14:52

The seniority system at Royal Mail rewards loyalty (by allowing the most senior individuals first pick on the duties following a revision) Sickness ( or feigned sickness as you suggest ! ! !) has no bearing on seniority.

Why not just count your blessings and thank god ( or whoever you believe in) that you are well, healthy and have no ailments or injuries. Injuries and illness happens... and to play doctor and suggest that this or that colleague is swinging the lead... is a bold move on your behalf !

Once you have been a postie for 10, 15 or 20 years you'll likely come to a different conclusion on the merits of seniority ?

scoobydo79 · Post by **scoobydo79** » 09 Mar 2019, 15:00

Lol Sick Pay is standardised.Its the same for someone who has done 4 years as 40 Why the grudge against long service guys?

Woody Guthrie · Post by **Woody Guthrie** » 09 Mar 2019, 15:01

If you want to tie seniority to attendance rather than length of service you have to go the whole way and measure it by hours worked.

I hope you're not part time.

twiddledumb · Post by **twiddledumb** » 09 Mar 2019, 15:07

Woody Guthrie wrote:What the he'll has your rant got to do with seniority?

Try reading it and you will find out.

twiddledumb · Post by **twiddledumb** » 09 Mar 2019, 15:13

General Mannerheim wrote:So your moaning about seniority but want an extra years seniority if you've been lucky enough not to be ill and attained 90% attendance.

No I want to be rewarded for working 5 days a week all year. As for the not lucky enough to be ill, well there is a significant percentage in my office that take months off and there is nothing wrong with them because they told me what they were doing. This I believe is very common in Royal mail, I mean come on you get full pay and Royal mail can do very little because the union protect you. Anyway, it is not about punishing people on the sick, I am suggesting an incentive for people who come in and work.

twiddledumb · Post by **twiddledumb** » 09 Mar 2019, 15:16

Decky Boy wrote:The seniority system at Royal Mail rewards loyalty (by allowing the most senior individuals first pick on the duties following a revision) Sickness ( or feigned sickness as you suggest ! ! !) has no bearing on seniority.

Why not just count your blessings and thank god ( or whoever you believe in) that you are well, healthy and have no ailments or injuries. Injuries and illness happens... and to play doctor and suggest that this or that colleague is swinging the lead... is a bold move on your behalf !

Once you have been a postie for 10, 15 or 20 years you'll likely come to a different conclusion on the merits of seniority ?

FYI I have been a postie for 15 + years, and have always thought that seniority is BS and unfair. Why don't they go off the number of hours you actually work for Royal mail instead of the current BS unfair system.

Woody Guthrie · Post by **Woody Guthrie** » 09 Mar 2019, 15:18

No I want to be rewarded for working 5 days a week all year.

You are.
We call it pay.

twiddledumb · Post by **twiddledumb** » 09 Mar 2019, 15:18

Woody Guthrie wrote:If you want to tie seniority to attendance rather than length of service you have to go the whole way and measure it by hours worked.

I hope you're not part time.

This is the fairest way, and it does not matter if you are part-time or full-time, the amount of hours you have worked is a true reflection of the service you have done for Royal mail.

Woody Guthrie · Post by **Woody Guthrie** » 09 Mar 2019, 15:19

Why don't they go off the number of hours you actually work for Royal mail

Because it would be unlawful.

twiddledumb · Post by **twiddledumb** » 09 Mar 2019, 15:36

scoobydo79 wrote:Lol Sick Pay is standardised.Its the same for someone who has done 4 years as 40 Why the grudge against long service guys?

I have no grudge about sick pay. I just think people who have a great attendance record for the year should be rewarded for it with an extra year seniority and I think seniority should be based on hours worked.