HWDC/ILC

[baldrick]

I would guess it's those tiny packets from China containing little electronic bits, chains, magnets etc which are too small to be sorted by machine and take hours to sort one yorkie by hand. I don't know how they can afford to ship them here and make a profit.

What do you mean ship them here and make a profit.
Do you mean ship them to ILC or do you mean ship them to the UK in general?

I meant ship them (or fly them) to the UK. I bought a small magnet on ebay from China. It was cheaper than buying the same thing in UK, and there was no postage cost. It cost about £1.50 iirc. I never understood how they could send stuff like that from China for less than it cost to buy in UK.
We used to get a lot of those small fiddly packets from China at Mount Pleasant. They were difficult to sort because they couldn't be sorted in a letter frame, and were too light to be thrown into packet Yorks, so had to be placed into the Yorks. Took hours to sort and really boring. But I suppose it makes work for the mcs.

[SpacePhoenix]

I would guess it's those tiny packets from China containing little electronic bits, chains, magnets etc which are too small to be sorted by machine and take hours to sort one yorkie by hand. I don't know how they can afford to ship them here and make a profit.

What do you mean ship them here and make a profit.
Do you mean ship them to ILC or do you mean ship them to the UK in general?

I meant ship them (or fly them) to the UK. I bought a small magnet on ebay from China. It was cheaper than buying the same thing in UK, and there was no postage cost. It cost about £1.50 iirc. I never understood how they could send stuff like that from China for less than it cost to buy in UK.
We used to get a lot of those small fiddly packets from China at Mount Pleasant. They were difficult to sort because they couldn't be sorted in a letter frame, and were too light to be thrown into packet Yorks, so had to be placed into the Yorks. Took hours to sort and really boring. But I suppose it makes work for the mcs.

Very soon we'll have to scan every last one of them, hopefully wherever the barcodes get added, they'll also print the address on the same label so that the address isn't hidden amogst the stuff like the customs form

[TrueBlueTerrier]

From China to UK first 50g is £0.52 (5 yuan) - RM International economy on simlar £1.37 if a letter or £3.25 for a small parcel 50g.

[Cyclopz]

From China to UK first 50g is £0.52 (5 yuan) - RM International economy on simlar £1.37 if a letter or £3.25 for a small parcel 50g.

Some may say a race to the bottom but then business is business so it's all gravy on the table to eat.

The fact is these buildings are on leases and when the lease runs out change will occur but HWDC's method of reducing oversurplus staff seems to be to bully them (especally the females) into resigning but I have no hard evidence of this, just hearsay.

ILC has a surplus of work, HWDC is a sinking ship, now what happens in the future is anyone's guess but culling is sure to follow.
Managers turning on managers and all right before my eyes, some might say great entertainment but it is painful sometimes to watch.

Anyway I am at ground zero, heart of the matter, on the floor at ILC.
Reprezent, booyaka. oi.

[SpacePhoenix]

It wouldn't surprise me if RM were already looking for a suitable site to merge both ILC and HWDC into, with a lot of the Skynet airports being axed and the stuff going via Standsted, iyt wouldn't surprise me if the replacement for both ILC and HWDC were to be somewhere around Standsted

[Cyclopz]

It wouldn't surprise me if RM were already looking for a suitable site to merge both ILC and HWDC into, with a lot of the Skynet airports being axed and the stuff going via Standsted, iyt wouldn't surprise me if the replacement for both ILC and HWDC were to be somewhere around Standsted

Yeah maybe.

Just as long as it is near to an airport but then Heathrow is soon to be building a new runway.

[Cyclopz]

But something big is coming that's for sure.

[Radio]

HWDC here, Ground Zero, heart of International. As far as the closures are concerned,lots of rumours flying around but nothing for certain. Head of Ops wrote to us that we are not going anywhere, gave it in writing therefore I believe him. China parcels coming to HWDC in near future. Goodluck ILC!

Funny about managers turning on managers. Same in HWDC. Night Shift run by a mafia who destroy anybody who is not one of their gang. Managers quit all the time, get pushed off for not joining the mafia. Bullying abounds, people getting conduct coded for using their right to take out grievance. Corruption in allocation of training and overtime, corruption in appointments and promotions. Everybody doing his own thing, everybody a little Pharoah in his own right. All signs of weak leadership and lack of accountability. Oh it is all fun and games. General consensus is that ILC would go first as it would cost a bomb just to remove the machines at HWDC. It is generally felt that the senior leadership would change as they have been truning a blind eye to corruption and bullying too long. Managers go to tribunals, lose cases as serious as sexual and racial harrassment and come back to work and resume duties as if nothing had happened. You can't expect staff to give respect to such people and productivity keeps going down, hostility keeps going up. Tribunal cases and their details are in public domain so no need for secrecy there still staff are discouraged from discussing these cases.

Week union, current Area rep would sign to every and any thing managers ask him to. Union election next month but nobody seems to be interested and this lack of interest makes union week. Staff only interested in overtime and moan about their rights when they lose them instead of making union strong by voting in elections in the first place. Nearly 2200 staff and Area rep got elected with 400 votes, his rival got 150, where did the rest of the votes go? People didn't even bother to cast their votes and they moan about the union. Breaks my heart to see such indifference at such a large scale.

[SpacePhoenix]

General consensus is that ILC would go first as it would cost a bomb just to remove the machines at HWDC. I

What machines any given office has means nothing, any office can have all it's machines removed by RM in a couple of weeks if RM wanted.

[Cyclopz]

I should imagine HWDC will steal all ILC's work to prop up it's full and bloating bureaucracy.

ILC outperforms HWDC at every turn in terms of man hours and units of mail shifted.
No real bullying and harassment here as most managers are doing their job properly and engaging correctly with the staff.

The atmosphere seems quite hopeful and fresh and there seems to be enthusiasm in the air, a sense that we are winning.

ILC is now a well crafted and beautifully running machine that runs to perfection using people instead of some old and inefficient clapped out trap door technology but don't let that stop RM destroying it to prop up a corrupt and inefficient regime.

ILC is the way forward and HWDC the way back but heh, corruption will probably be the winner here.
Breaks my heart as well just to think of all this beautiful hard work and creativity being destroyed by the forces of HWDC darkness.

We have HWDC managers sniffing around here trying to get their foot in the door they are even trying to get their phoney world class mail staff in through the back door.
We all know each other here and have become somewhat close so if team building is at all important to Royal mail they should come here and learn by our example.