D2D's

Eleint · Post by **Eleint** » 26 Mar 2020, 14:23

This has probably been covered before. I work in a delivery office and next week the staff will have to deliver 2 newspapers to both residents and buisness. Even without the current difficualies with washing your hands on delivery we allways had to clean our hands after handling them (black ink that stays on your hands). I myself have to wear gloves due to a medical condition when handling them. Is there anyway that I can say that I do not wish to handle them?

Postie45 · Post by **Postie45** » 26 Mar 2020, 15:41

Do you have the gloves ? You don't really have much of an argument otherwise

twoloops · Post by **twoloops** » 26 Mar 2020, 17:44

https://amp.theguardian.com/business/20 ... ssion=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

pinstripe · Post by **pinstripe** » 26 Mar 2020, 17:54

I was sorting d2ds into a frame this week, one was from the co-op, Plan your own funeral. Relevant or what.

PostmanBitesDog · Post by **PostmanBitesDog** » 26 Mar 2020, 17:59

Eleint wrote:Is there anyway that I can say that I do not wish to handle them?

I'd be very surprised if they allow you to not deliver D2Ds, Eleint. There is nobody in our office who've been given that exception, even if the postie says they are willing to forgo the Delivery Supplement in their pay no matter how minuscule the payment is. It's all part of the job, and other posties would have to make up for the undelivered D2Ds on your loops.

For me, I carry a couple of packets of wet wipes worth about £1.00 per packet from a supermarket. I even have the packets in a sealed plastic bag, the type that keep sandwiches fresh. I keep them in my backpack in the van and use them after doing a loop. But you may not want to use sanitary wipes considering they might aggravate any skin condition. Some posties in my office don't use them for that reason.

PostmanBitesDog · Post by **PostmanBitesDog** » 26 Mar 2020, 18:03

pinstripe wrote:I was sorting d2ds into a frame this week, one was from the co-op, Plan your own funeral. Relevant or what.

We had some like that too, pinstripe. Planning your funeral. A somewhat morbid situational irony, one might say. Probably the same printed flyer you folks had.

Post by **nuklearpuppy** » 26 Mar 2020, 18:04

Only the weakest will listen to being forced into delivering crappy leaflets in this dire situation.
This is what’s wrong with the job these days. Far too many pushovers. I and a good few others in my office have refused to take them out and if anything is said then we are walking.

PostmanBitesDog · Post by **PostmanBitesDog** » 26 Mar 2020, 18:17

nuklearpuppy wrote:Only the weakest will listen to being forced into delivering crappy leaflets in this dire situation. I and a good few others in my office have refused to take them out and if anything is said then we are walking.

I must also follow on from my previous quotes on this thread to say that the D2D delivery advice I mentioned was concerning the general routine before the current COVID-19 situation.

All the cartons of D2Ds that have arrived in our office in yorks for this and next week's deliveries are still stacked on the yorks. Nobody is touching them, and it appears our managers are keeping them in the office until further notice.

barrychuckle · Post by **barrychuckle** » 26 Mar 2020, 18:20

https://www.royalmail.com/d8/coronaviru ... es-service" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Last paragraph updated today. Take them where you're going.

Eleint · Post by **Eleint** » 26 Mar 2020, 18:31

The ink gives me a rash all over my arms and hands. It can be very itchy and can cause the skin to break if I scratch to much. At the start I was informed by the DOM and his boss that the papers where to be either nested or put into A4 envelopes . This only happens now when there are indoor staff.

Mr Rush · Post by **Mr Rush** » 26 Mar 2020, 18:32

Surely Royal Mail's high-priced strike-squashing legal team put a clause in D2D contracts that would invalidate them in exactly this kind of crisis? I have to then assume they do not want to.

Eleint · Post by **Eleint** » 26 Mar 2020, 18:47

Yes many people like to get D2Ds as they get no other post. I once ask a line manger about them and was told most people hold on to them for 2 weeks. My reply was that is because the recycle bin for paper is collected every 2 weeks.

PostmanBitesDog · Post by **PostmanBitesDog** » 26 Mar 2020, 18:50

Eleint wrote:At the start I was informed by the DOM and his boss that the papers were to be either nested or put into A4 envelopes . This only happens now when there are indoor staff.

So you're not actually going out to deliver them to households, Eleint? Okay.
By the way, our office never nests mail inside D2Ds. It's a big no-no. Letters get lost when customers automatically bin D2Ds without realizing they have mail nested in them. I'm not sure how your office operates the D2D flyers. Using A4-sized envelopes would be a hassle too, I reckon.

IanRob24 · Post by **IanRob24** » 26 Mar 2020, 18:54

We were told today to only deliver to doors with other mail. If they don’t have anything then leave in the racks until they do.

Sensible approach in these times, especially as I am walking more to avoid van sharing.

yellowbelly · Post by **yellowbelly** » 26 Mar 2020, 18:57

IanRob24 wrote:We were told today to only deliver to doors with other mail. If they don’t have anything then leave in the racks until they do.

Sensible approach in these times, especially as I am walking more to avoid van sharing.

In a semi-rural region we operate this policy anyway where we can - but the big issue with D2D at this at the moment is the unnecessary time spent
in the DO, prepping non-essential items (D2D) into frames where control measures to minimize the risk of the coronavirus spreading amongst colleagues
are not being implemented/observed for whatever reason.