15/01/2020 Mount Pleasant Bulletin

[jimallen]

Hi all, find below the Mount Pleasant bulletin of the 15th of January. Comments welcome as usual!

NO AWARDS FOR THIS JOKER
We saw that TeePee was back from his holiday break
(which he told the U Word podcaster he had “enjoyed
very much”!). And this little act in front of the
microphone just confirms his lie to us that our strike
would be back on the agenda come the new year. It's
pretty outrageous that he's now telling us that the
union must be “measured in its actions”, and that at
this moment in time “we won't be taking industrial
action” - unless talks with RM bosses break down!

WE DO SUPPORT OUR UNION
But what are we meant to think about this? Are the
CWU top leaders even interested? They keep saying
we must “back them” and “stop complaining” about the
way they sell us out, while making out that backing
them and backing the union is exactly the same thing -
but it's not. We're all for the union, as a body which
fights, not a body which betrays our interests.

2020'S ALRIGHT FOR FIGHTING
So what next? Surely we need to go back to the “tried
and tested” method of “negotiation” i.e. withdrawing
our labour and waiting for the bosses to back down?
It's not rocket science is it? How about we start with
some more (but self-organised) gate meetings?

WHAT'S GOING ON IN PARCELFORCE?
We also heard that RM bosses have backed down
from TUPEing our ParcelForce mates... but we only
heard it from TeePee's union podcast and we've no
details whatsoever. We need to know what happened!

LET'S CALL A CAT A CUT
So the pension bill was in its second reading last week
and it's on its way... RM and union officials are now
jointly declaring they're on the “brink” of a n historical
event! Sure, an historical event for the bosses,
maybe. But for us, this was a compromise, and based
on the end of the final salary scheme, which had
already been negotiated away a while ago. So while
this CDC scheme might improve things for newer
starts who have been on DC schemes, it's nothing to
celebrate.

THEY SHOULD NEVER WALK ALONE
Yup, workmates in Bootle DO (Merseyside) are set to
strike on the 18th and 20th this month after they'd taken
unofficial action against a racist manager back in
October... We hear that now managers there are
threatening to sack their union rep! But why should
these mates strike alone, when we're all facing the
same attacks from RM bosses everywhere?

THEY'VE SEEN THE LIGHT? NOT QUITE...
We've heard rumours that HMP shift manager had a
moment of lucidity and is re-assessing last year's
botched re-sign. Yup, it took management no less
than 1 year to realise they've created a mess. But
what's the use of a new fit-up if these blockheads don't
bring in new permanent hands?

WHAT'S THIS NEW CHEAT?
So now the idea is that for us part-timers, the extra hours
RM promised last year would be made up with
overtime?! This isn't ok. Many of us have been
asking for full-time jobs, so enhancing us to 30 hours
is not enough. But if on top of it, these hours aren't
consolidated, what's the point? It is about time we got
the decent full-time contracts we need to make ends
meet!

TO THE BIN WITH OT
And by the way, overtime might help some among us
to make ends meet, but it allows RM bosses to get
away with not recruiting new hands. What we need is
not more overtime, it's decent wages for all!

NO WORK UNLESS PERMANENT WORK!
Where did RM get the idea that it's ok to bring casuals
in all year round?! Some “Xmas” casuals were here
last week, still covering tipping on the conveyors. Of
course we need more workmates in here, but only on
permanent contracts. And the managers know that.

THEY GO SLOW, BUT WE SHOULD
We hear one, possibly both, of the ILSMs might finally
go, now that managers have been seen measuring up
for a PSM. We've been hearing rumours about this for
more than a year now. Maybe the PSM will arrive next
year then... given the snail's pace at which RM
managers get things done? Or the year after?

THIS ISN'T THE 1920s...
We can't quite understand why the new vans don't
have automatic tail lifts! Their manually operated,
steel tail lifts are breaking our backs. Enough of us
complained that management had to do something,
but they think the solution is to change the steel lift to
aluminium. Unlucky, try again. It's the totally-outdated
manual operation we have a problem with, so out with
the purse again, RM!

WE WANT OUR “ENHANCED EXPERIENCE”
Yes, managers are very proud of RM's smartphone
app. But while they play with their tech (it's just an
app!) and talk of “new services” for customers, we
wonder who they think will cover the extra workload to
“enhance customer experience”? Because we won't!

[SpacePhoenix]

THEY GO SLOW, BUT WE SHOULD
We hear one, possibly both, of the ILSMs might finally
go, now that managers have been seen measuring up
for a PSM. We've been hearing rumours about this for
more than a year now. Maybe the PSM will arrive next
year then... given the snail's pace at which RM
managers get things done? Or the year after?

Do they have IMPs in addition to their iLSMs?