A national scandal in the making.

GonePostal · Post by **GonePostal** » 22 Mar 2020, 10:00

I echo the feelings of this post. I've said similar.

Vulnerables need to be sent home on full pay. End of. People living with vulnerables need consideration too, should you really choose between work and your households life?

Services need to be prioritised. The job cannot carry on as normal.

Disaster in the making. Personally I've taken all my annual leave just to keep paying the bills for now, but I can't really see myself going in..so my choice is to have no wage. (Be better off quitting and going on benefits) I even considered living in a cheap hotel, Alan Partridge style, just to prevent risk, I'd use most of my wages paying for it but still.

Grumpyoldmailman · Post by **Grumpyoldmailman** » 22 Mar 2020, 10:01

The Health and Safety and the conditions we have to work in were crap before this virus even started.

Zicomurphy · Post by **Zicomurphy** » 22 Mar 2020, 10:21

They are actually now asking people to cancel their leave at my office to help them cope with the amount of people off sick/in self isolation.

Does anybody know the latest on if you are contagious during the period that you have this but are not yet showing symptoms? At first I was reading that you can only spread it once symptoms have started but have since read in several places this might be incorrect and the latest thinking is that people might be spreading it even during the period they are asymptomatic.

Post by **SpacePhoenix** » 22 Mar 2020, 10:56

Zicomurphy wrote:They are actually now asking people to cancel their leave at my office to help them cope with the amount of people off sick/in self isolation.

Irrespective of that I'm probably going to cancel my next annual leave as with everything shut down, by the time it comes up we could easily be on a full lock-down so it seems pointless using the annual leave. I may as well hand it back then use it later in the financial year when things have hopefully started opening up again

bergos · Post by **bergos** » 22 Mar 2020, 11:03

Take pictures of any issues you see within your offices, make sure you pass on every issue to your union reps and make sure everything is remembered for when this is over it could be critical in getting support from the public when it comes to any industrial action we may still take against RM.

While the management in my office have done what they can to help me with issues I have had with the fact I have health conditions and concerns over the virus some things have been completely ignored.

- We were told we would get hand sanitiser, gloves and many other protections, we got a soap dispenser with no soap and so far no hand sanitiser for us to use while we are out and about.
- People working too close to eachother, I realise that this is almost out of the control of the managers as we pretty much use every inch of space in our office as it is, but having people sorting mail within a foot of one another and no precautions being taken to limit contact with one another is a massive issue that is going to cause sicknesses throughout the business if not handled properly.
- Vans are already mostly disgusting in our office at the best of times and floaters are having to be in multiple different vans each week, with different people, close contact, realistically we should have the equipment to wipe down the steering wheel, gear stick, indicators and so on.
- Same as the vans, PDA's some of them in our office, depending on whos walk its from are already covered in filth and need cleaning at the best of times and now with the virus going about realistically every time they are used before getting put back should be cleaned, but we have no facility for that and most of the people I work with have can hardly take a piss in a straight line judging by the state of the office toilets so I highly doubt they care enough about there fellow workers to wipe down there PDAs for the person who has to use it next.

Im sure there are plenty of other things I havn't even thought about like 30 people lining up at the reg bay in the morning inches away from one another, but these are things that managers should be seeing and considering and putting a stop to for the health of everyone concerened.

But remember that this is a perfect time for RM to push on with whatever there plans are under the guise of the company potentially collapsing if they don't take the measures we have voted to strike for over.

If people can clearly see the conditions we are working in are unacceptable and yet we are still going the extra mile in order to help people when they need it most, we will hopefully at the very least show the public what it is we are fighting to protect in the face of everything that is happening.

Stay safe everyone.

Post by **HTPostman** » 22 Mar 2020, 14:00

It wouldn’t be quite so bad if the DOM was up at the front, giving us a rousing Bravehart/Gladiator type speech, inspiring us to help keep the lonely and elderly connected and reassured with our daily presence.

Instead there’s been nothing. A print out of the new parcel delivery method left on every frame and that’s it.

At what point do we say enough is enough and stay home like most of the population? Our health is more important than money.

miles_peters · Post by **miles_peters** » 22 Mar 2020, 14:19

the only message you'll get from the manager tomorrow morning is....

everybody on the sorting.

yellowbelly · Post by **yellowbelly** » 22 Mar 2020, 14:35

SpacePhoenix wrote:
Zicomurphy wrote:They are actually now asking people to cancel their leave at my office to help them cope with the amount of people off sick/in self isolation.
Irrespective of that I'm probably going to cancel my next annual leave as with everything shut down, by the time it comes up we could easily be on a full lock-down so it seems pointless using the annual leave. I may as well hand it back then use it later in the financial year when things have hopefully started opening up again

Might not let you cancel leave unless they need you in, still a bit of a grey area to be decided if we're in total lockdown (from the RM Coronavirus Q & A):

An employee in my office has had their holiday cancelled and wants to carry forward the time. What should I do?
The expectation is that employee’s will still take the time off for their holiday. Employee’s should only carry forward 5 days holiday at the end of the year. If due to operational reasons the local manager needs the employee to attend work then in exceptional circumstances they can agree for employee to return to work earlier and take their holiday at another time.

yellowbelly · Post by **yellowbelly** » 22 Mar 2020, 14:38

And managers moving posties from office to office to try and cover duties.....in these circumstance that's a perfect method
for transferring virus from one area to another!

PostmanBitesDog · Post by **PostmanBitesDog** » 22 Mar 2020, 14:56

HTPostman wrote:It wouldn’t be quite so bad if the DOM was up at the front, giving us a rousing Bravehart/Gladiator type speech, inspiring us to help keep the lonely and elderly connected and reassured with our daily presence.

Once he gets well, we could ask Idris Elba to give that rousing, motivational speech.

Ren Hoëk · Post by **Ren Hoëk** » 22 Mar 2020, 16:44

Iv written to the local Press, National Press and Local MP about RM's management during the crisis or lack there of. How I believe it will impact not only us but the wider publics health. I have also mentioned that anything RM are likely to say as a retort to my allegations is likely to be untruthful.

I strongly suggest you all do to. Something has to change and change very fast.

Where is Rico ffs? Not a peep.

Post by **SpacePhoenix** » 22 Mar 2020, 20:45

yellowbelly wrote:
SpacePhoenix wrote:
Zicomurphy wrote:They are actually now asking people to cancel their leave at my office to help them cope with the amount of people off sick/in self isolation.
Irrespective of that I'm probably going to cancel my next annual leave as with everything shut down, by the time it comes up we could easily be on a full lock-down so it seems pointless using the annual leave. I may as well hand it back then use it later in the financial year when things have hopefully started opening up again
Might not let you cancel leave unless they need you in, still a bit of a grey area to be decided if we're in total lockdown (from the RM Coronavirus Q & A):

An employee in my office has had their holiday cancelled and wants to carry forward the time. What should I do?
The expectation is that employee’s will still take the time off for their holiday. Employee’s should only carry forward 5 days holiday at the end of the year. If due to operational reasons the local manager needs the employee to attend work then in exceptional circumstances they can agree for employee to return to work earlier and take their holiday at another time.

It's in the new financial year so I don't know if it's possible to hand back anyway, depends if PSP allows changes to annual leave in a following financial year

2pints · Post by **2pints** » 23 Mar 2020, 12:24

Been asked to return to work tomorrow even though my household is on 14 day isolation due to my wife showing symptoms.Union are fighting it but royal mail are ignoring the nhs guidlines completely.

Post by **CPTNemoUK** » 23 Mar 2020, 12:51

2pints wrote:Been asked to return to work tomorrow even though my household is on 14 day isolation due to my wife showing symptoms.Union are fighting it but royal mail are ignoring the nhs guidlines completely.

I've just finished my 7 day isolation but was still struggling with breathing. So I went too work rang my manager up too meet me outside told them everything and said I'm just trying too ring the doctors up. The doctor told me to go back home and the manager was fine and said get well soon and sent me home.

Subman · Post by **Subman** » 23 Mar 2020, 13:02

From today in our office we are separated for IPS , tape on floor for safe distances, then manager calls us ALL to come together for a briefing on the virus. Only in Royal Mail !!!