Why no work to rule?

[postieblueshirt]

We should be balloted now for short of strike just incase we need it.

[Woody Guthrie]

I think this thread shows exactly why a proper work to rule wouldn't work.

[jackthecube]

Job and knock is still encouraged by management.

[GRS]

Those that jump up and down in our office about "work to rule or doing the job properly" would need to be very careful as surely RM could insist it works both ways. The mouthy ones are those that wander in late, don't often come up on IPS, when they do any IPS their sorting rates are so low that it takes 20 minutes for them to sort a tray of flats, have 40 minutes meal relief prior to leaving the office and then have another 20 minutes break on delivery plus a 5 minute "look at the phone break" after every loop. As others have said on this and many other threads a work to rule creates more problems than it solves and could open a real can of worms.

[priority102]

Those that jump up and down in our office about "work to rule or doing the job properly" would need to be very careful as surely RM could insist it works both ways. The mouthy ones are those that wander in late, don't often come up on IPS, when they do any IPS their sorting rates are so low that it takes 20 minutes for them to sort a tray of flats, have 40 minutes meal relief prior to leaving the office and then have another 20 minutes break on delivery plus a 5 minute "look at the phone break" after every loop. As others have said on this and many other threads a work to rule creates more problems than it solves and could open a real can of worms.

GRS you are absolutely right. Work to rule will be a two way thing, and will no doubt be a lot harder for some posties to stop doing some of the "extras" mentioned above that they currently do as part of their paid hours without any thought. Management will love this, talk about play into their hands

[olilew]

We could just make it a lot simpler. Nobody starts before their start time and nobody works beyond their finish time. Inbetween you are RM's bitch so you have to do whatever they tell you. But simply this, would knock them for six.

[world class male]

it was me who you challenged and i rephrased it to an overtime ban
of course an overtime ban isn't easily achieved because nobody knows everyone's hours, at ours there's been no early easy ips for f/t in months, but p/t in same time as f/t?
then there's the harder overtime doing extra walking, to which most are already doing before we finish because they don't take breaks etc.
then there's p/t moaning that they can't live on basic p/t wage if no overtime! so why take the job in the 1st place?
i've also heard some ft moaning about it too saying why should they lose out, but if it was a simple blanket overtime ban then nobody would lose any income, not a single penny, fact is that even before the crap hit the fan people have been too reliant on overtime to live
the cwu-hq got their heads buried in the sand if they think the odd 1 or 2 day strike will hurt them, it'll probably save them money!
1 block strike if that's the way we must go, thu-fri-sat (sun?) mon-tue-wed

[Seymour Buts]

Job and knock is still encouraged by management.

Worst thing they ever did was stopping it at our place to be fair. Let's be honest, 'work your hours' just means sand bagging which doesn't do anybody any favours. Our place cleared everyday without fail when job and knock happened, even on busy days when people were happy with the flexibility of going home early on certain days but mucking in when it got busy. Now on busy days walks just fail, and on quiet days people are hanging around doing everything but working. Lapsing is regularly left by people with the time to do it, to prove a point. Understandably so, coz Royal Mail want it both ways.

[norris9]

doing overtime during a strike week - you might as well bend over and just accept 2% and all the changes.

[Kenfandango]

then there's p/t moaning that they can't live on basic p/t wage if no overtime! so why take the job in the 1st place?

1. It's (despite the moans) a desirable job
2. Invariably told at the interview "we call it part time, but you'll ALWAYS get full time hours," and having worked at real companies before, you believe that

[Minischoles]

For work to rule, they'd need another ballot - we can't work to rule on the current active ballots, and if we did it would be construed as unofficial strike action and it would end badly for us, and if the union endorsed it, it would end badly for them as well.

Martin Walsh has posted about it before but even an office going in and deciding to start working properly (instead of in the improper way they do now) could be construed as unofficial strike action and run afoul of the trade union legislation.

Blame the Tories and blame New Labour for not repealing the law like they promised to - we're so bound up by legislation that just going out on strike is easier than work to rule.

[priority102]

So work to rule is actually just work contracted hours, but while working contracted hours cut the usual corners as it suits i.e. not using trolleys/not using seatbelts at every move/walking across fronts of houses if there is access instead of in and out....etc.

[leefarrell26]

I'm being told the union can't instruct us to work to rule as its seen as separate industrial action.

If the union rep tells us to work to rule, they will get done for coercion/harassment. Surely this can't be true.

[Alatar]

We tried a day of work to rule back in the 2000s most people ignored it. The problem has always been the the postman's worst enemy is himself all a manager has to say is job and finish and a lot of people wil sit up and do anything they're asked

[Bosley]

Come in at your start time, take your breaks, and go home at your finish time!