21/10/2020 Mount Pleasant Bulletin

[jimallen]

Hi, find below the Mount Pleasant bulletin of 21 Oct.
You can also find the complete bulletin attached, with front page editorial.
Comments are always welcome!

NO VACCINE NEEDED
That WTS bingo booklet leaves no room for doubt:
managers are full-on into grooming us to accept their
latest attacks against our working conditions. Are they
afraid that the agreement under negotiation with the
union will be chucked out? Because it will be, at least
by us, here on the ground. And BTW, we're immune to
their attempted brainwashing.

WE NEED OUR OWN MEETINGS
Shouldn't we be organising our own meetings to
prepare to fight this company's attempts to screw us
over? Certainly we can't expect much from the top
CWU leadership - which keeps its "negotiations"
secret, respecting "company confidentiality"! Our
experience of so many sell-outs has taught us that we
can't allow ourselves to be led by donkeys.

THEIR MATHS DOESN'T FOOL US
So for instance, we need to discuss our pay rise. RM
is talking about a 3-year deal, with all kinds of strings
attached - no surprise there... But we've said this
before and we'll say it again: we want a straightforward
pay rise for 2020/21, and the money which was due to
us in April, to be paid immediately, plus interest!

MAKING HISTORY? REALLY?
Some of us watched TeePee's video update on
pensions. Apparently, we're “on the brink, really, of
history”! He said we should be “delighted” that the new
CDC scheme has passed its 2nd reading in parliament
and is due to be implemented in “the latter part of next
year”. Sure, a CDC scheme may be slightly better
than a Defined Contribution scheme, but there's
nothing to be delighted about. What we need is a
concerted fight to bring back defined benefit schemes,
for everyone. Pensions should be secure, not
dependent (even partly) on the ups and downs of
share markets.

TOTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE
How dare managers try to hold WTS sessions in
closed spaces and without compulsory mask wearing?
Yet another reason to avoid these sessions. And it
really shows how seriously they take so-called Covid-
19 "security”!

WE'RE THE JUDGES
How many times do we have to say this? We cleaners
take risks when cleaning areas that might be infected...
so the least we expect is to be given the full facts
BEFORE we go and clean these areas. We need to
judge for ourselves how safe it is – we cannot leave
that to an Elephant!
PS: And yes, we still need all the right gear to do the
cleaning! Not enough gloves? No cleaning.

MORE MASKS, MORE BREAKS
We hear that masks might be made compulsory… at
last! In fact masks help prevent person-to-person
spread of the virus - yes, this is proven! But if we're
going to wear masks all day - which we should - we
need more breaks. And what's more, we should have
shorter shifts (with no loss of pay), to limit the time
we're in contact with each other.

SPOT THE HYPOCRITE
We see that managers want to start "spot-checks" to
enforce social distancing... in our rest areas and
canteens! But if any spot checks are needed, surely
it's the managers' spots which need checking?! They
are the ones who, time and again, break the rules!

DUAL CONTROL
However, RM wants to increase our inter-personal
contact! They want to reintroduce van sharing on
deliveries, all because they want parcels delivered
faster. But we'll not hear of it. With single drivers,
they'll just have to put more vans on the road.

IT’S NOT FOR US
Apparently the new RM boss Williams is very pleased
with that contract RM got for handling the test kits. But
we aren't. We still don't think it's safe. People have
even been given used test kits, opened them, re-used
them and posted them! There is no guarantee that
they might not be contaminated. Handling tests needs
a specialised and dedicated service - it's costing
enough - a cool £12bn plus £7,000 each for the
consultants...

BACK IN TIME
How is it possible that managers can still tell us we
don't need new recruits? Many of us Part-Timers have
been given extra-hours, but we end up working 13- or
even 14- hour night shifts. Yet our shifts should be
shorter, not longer - especially during a pandemic. It's
not just the prolonged inter-person contact, but the
fatigue these long working hours cause, which is a
problem!

MANAGEMENT PASSING THE BUCK
We don't have enough hands, simple as! And yet
managers expect us to clean the CSS after the night
shift? Of course, it can’t be done with the numbers we
are, and so it’s left to the morning shift – but who wants
to start their shift cleaning the CSS machine?

SEND THEM DOWN THE ROAD
Ok, now we also have to say this again... If JV6½s
want to play at being petty bosses, fine for them. But
can they please play somewhere else? We don't want
to see them near our work stations. Maybe we can
send them to Sadler's Wells theatre down Rosebery
Ave... it's not far and they can practice their
arabesques there instead!