Will the post be suspended soon?

[ssdd]

I’ve been thinking the same. We need a strategy (now there’s an idea!) from management.

RM need to stop executive action.
Union need to put any strike talk on hold.
Both sides can agree to recommence all that in the future.

For a start I think the USO should go for now. I don’t think we should be working in pairs either. If you’ve got Joe and Bob who normally do a park and loop, can’t Joe go out on his own Mon, Weds, Sat and Bob go out Tues, Thurs (then swap the next week)?
In return we’ll bank hours, so if you’re only doing 24 hours instead of your usual 35 or whatever, when the worst is over and we have a backlog to deal with you work off the extra hours you’d already been paid.

I get the feeling those of us who are able to work, will soon be delivering medicine, good, supplies etc especially to the isolated and elderly.

I’ll take my tin foil hat off now!

You said RM need to stop executive action. I agree. But your idea of banking hours....is that not just playing into their hands?

[Grumpyoldmailman]

Can only see the executive action getting worse from here on in, they must be bleeding money with the businesses in Europe.

[mjd24]

Royal Mail have are in unique position, a massive workforce and fleet of delivery vans which could be utilised
if worst comes to worst and Mail does gets stopped why not start distributing goods and food to the elderly and the self isolating?

I’ve been thinking the same. We need a strategy (now there’s an idea!) from management.

RM need to stop executive action.
Union need to put any strike talk on hold.
Both sides can agree to recommence all that in the future.

For a start I think the USO should go for now. I don’t think we should be working in pairs either. If you’ve got Joe and Bob who normally do a park and loop, can’t Joe go out on his own Mon, Weds, Sat and Bob go out Tues, Thurs (then swap the next week)?
In return we’ll bank hours, so if you’re only doing 24 hours instead of your usual 35 or whatever, when the worst is over and we have a backlog to deal with you work off the extra hours you’d already been paid.

I get the feeling those of us who are able to work, will soon be delivering medicine, good, supplies etc especially to the isolated and elderly.

I’ll take my tin foil hat off now!

You couldn't half the number of people in every office each day; mail would take twice as long to sort in the morning and for the shared van, what if one of them can't drive? How are they supposed to get around on their own? I'm a driver with a non driving partner, am I supposed to get screwed just because he never wanted to take the royal mail driver course? Overtime would be spent like crazy by managers if staffing was halved; they'd be desperate to get rid of as much mail as possible; that wouldn't come cheap. You can't force a contract change on someone even short term. I'm not working an extra ten hours a week once the virus is over, I have things to do other than giving people crappy door to doors. And if instead they tried to make me work only three days a week during the virus but longer hours each day to do two duties on my own they'd be told to do one as well.
Two people in my house have asthma and heart problems, as soon as I get the slightest cough I'm isolating and not coming to work. I'm not risking their lives for the sake of bits of paper and plastic

You can carry the virus and not show any symptoms.

[tonytucker]

Surely in a couple of weeks the post will be suspended for health reasons if not the disease will spread through the office and out into the communities. We touch everything not a chance of not getting it via the close proximity to each other in the office handling the same stuff or all the doors, lifts handles customers we come into contact with each day.
Frankly it's irresponsible to carry on delivering death to vunerable people's doors and to pass it on to our vunerable family and friends.

Forced taking of annual leave in the pipeline, take as holiday or unpaid is the rumour

[Williagea]

Surely in a couple of weeks the post will be suspended for health reasons if not the disease will spread through the office and out into the communities. We touch everything not a chance of not getting it via the close proximity to each other in the office handling the same stuff or all the doors, lifts handles customers we come into contact with each day.
Frankly it's irresponsible to carry on delivering death to vunerable people's doors and to pass it on to our vunerable family and friends.

Forced taking of annual leave in the pipeline, take as holiday or unpaid is the rumour

I have a feeling that if it gets out that they are going to start doing that, people will just call nhs 111, play up symptoms to get told to quarantine. That way they are entitled to the sick pay that has already been agreed until the end of march.
If given the choice between unpaid leave or sickness without the risk of a stage its a no brainer

[danny2006]

Apparently it's business as usual at Royal mail as stated on one website, as the virus does not live long enough on parcels and letters, so it's safe to send letters and parcels for mothers day. Obviously though long enough for someone to catch it as it's passed through many hands before reaching its final destination.

[norris9]

Surely in a couple of weeks the post will be suspended for health reasons if not the disease will spread through the office and out into the communities. We touch everything not a chance of not getting it via the close proximity to each other in the office handling the same stuff or all the doors, lifts handles customers we come into contact with each day.
Frankly it's irresponsible to carry on delivering death to vunerable people's doors and to pass it on to our vunerable family and friends.

I don't see it happening like this. I think we will still deliver. While people are at home they need to order things like face masks, medicine, sanitiser, bleach, etc etc....


People should open parcels and letters with gloves, maybe spray disinfectant of them.


We will only not deliver when our depots are wiped out with dead and quarantined.

[jasongray91]

Apparently it's business as usual at Royal mail as stated on one website, as the virus does not live long enough on parcels and letters, so it's safe to send letters and parcels for mothers day. Obviously though long enough for someone to catch it as it's passed through many hands before reaching its final destination.

It can live for 24 hours on paper/card and up to 3 days on plastic. I'm not sure about you but I would estimate i handle about 100+ plastic packets each day.

[LaggyBand]

The worst that would happen is suspension of all unsolicited mail if employees dropped to such an extent that is wasn’t all clearing.

They’ll want to keep delivery services going as long as possible to support the social distancing.

[Stormproof]

The worst that would happen is suspension of all unsolicited mail if employees dropped to such an extent that is wasn’t all clearing.

They’ll want to keep delivery services going as long as possible to support the social distancing.

Next weeks D2D's have already started rolling in to my DO tonight. At least the customers can have a read up to see if they want Hilarys Blinds put up in their houses while they are self isolating

[Grumpyoldmailman]

The worst that would happen is suspension of all unsolicited mail if employees dropped to such an extent that is wasn’t all clearing.

They’ll want to keep delivery services going as long as possible to support the social distancing.

Next weeks D2D's have already started rolling in to my DO tonight. At least the customers can have a read up to see if they want Hilarys Blinds put up in their houses while they are self isolating

The Farmfoods one seem to be popular, I went into the store today and they were all sold out so the d2d’s must be working.

[ssdd]

The worst that would happen is suspension of all unsolicited mail if employees dropped to such an extent that is wasn’t all clearing.

They’ll want to keep delivery services going as long as possible to support the social distancing.

Next weeks D2D's have already started rolling in to my DO tonight. At least the customers can have a read up to see if they want Hilarys Blinds put up in their houses while they are self isolating

The Farmfoods one seem to be popular, I went into the store today and they were all sold out so the d2d’s must be working.

I'm sure there's a certain pizza company who'll also be 'topping' their sales...

[HTPostman]

Royal Mail have are in unique position, a massive workforce and fleet of delivery vans which could be utilised
if worst comes to worst and Mail does gets stopped why not start distributing goods and food to the elderly and the self isolating?

I’ve been thinking the same. We need a strategy (now there’s an idea!) from management.

RM need to stop executive action.
Union need to put any strike talk on hold.
Both sides can agree to recommence all that in the future.

For a start I think the USO should go for now. I don’t think we should be working in pairs either. If you’ve got Joe and Bob who normally do a park and loop, can’t Joe go out on his own Mon, Weds, Sat and Bob go out Tues, Thurs (then swap the next week)?
In return we’ll bank hours, so if you’re only doing 24 hours instead of your usual 35 or whatever, when the worst is over and we have a backlog to deal with you work off the extra hours you’d already been paid.

I get the feeling those of us who are able to work, will soon be delivering medicine, good, supplies etc especially to the isolated and elderly.

I’ll take my tin foil hat off now!

You couldn't half the number of people in every office each day; mail would take twice as long to sort in the morning and for the shared van, what if one of them can't drive? How are they supposed to get around on their own? I'm a driver with a non driving partner, am I supposed to get screwed just because he never wanted to take the royal mail driver course? Overtime would be spent like crazy by managers if staffing was halved; they'd be desperate to get rid of as much mail as possible; that wouldn't come cheap. You can't force a contract change on someone even short term. I'm not working an extra ten hours a week once the virus is over, I have things to do other than giving people crappy door to doors. And if instead they tried to make me work only three days a week during the virus but longer hours each day to do two duties on my own they'd be told to do one as well.
Two people in my house have asthma and heart problems, as soon as I get the slightest cough I'm isolating and not coming to work. I'm not risking their lives for the sake of bits of paper and plastic

It’s just ideas at the moment. Like the chap after me said, perhaps non drivers could prep rounds.

We are in a very unusual situation here, I think we’ll soon see fuel shortages and a big drop off in mail. At some point I think farmfoods leaflets and Auntie Vera’s clubcard statement will be replaced by us picking up food parcels from supermarkets.

I share your health concerns by the way, I’m young and fit but my partner has type 1 diabetes resulting in a lowered immune system. As soon as either of us show any symptoms, we are isolating.

[oxymoron]

I reckon so ,but the big question is will we be paid?
I can’t imagine Royal Mail paying 120,000 employees wages for sitting at home, it would be so unsustainable!

At the end of the day they would be paying us anyway and we going to have to deal with back log when it's all done and dusted.

Yes but their revenue will be through the floor.

[Chelseablue]

See home bargains are putting money in to look after there staff either in self isolating or paying them a lot more in the weeks ahead , good on them