Winter of Discontent?

[crimson king]

postmen suspended really?that can’t be right or happening in cutting off and working your hours?it can’t be right

Sadly it is. Suspended from delivery...made to sit in DO all day doing kill offs and boring s**t designed to make an example of you from what I see. It's like being at school, the naughty kid in the corner.

Past two weeks I've been threatened with being taken down the performance route etc. Few things going to on and I've got my grievance form from rep already, but keeping my powder dry for the time being. Our DOM really doesn't like posties following the cutting off procedure and working to time.

This winter is going to be interesting at our place I think, which is why I was wondering how it is in other DO's.

[scoobymunster]

In my opinion, DOMs rely on their divide and conquer approach of treating OPGs differently to ensure the anger in the office isn't firmly aimed at them. It's the same with getting offered "light duties", most people are just told to go sick if they can't do a full walk, light duties is only for the chosen few. Any issues that are brought up in WTL usually descend into a spate between OPGS, which makes for one happy DOM.
We are told we are not getting any Casual staff or extra vans as our office is overstaffed, yet every week at least 1 duty fails? Last Christmas our MC struggled to simply get everything to our DO, if this years figures match last Christmas', we won't have enough OT hungry part-timers to pull them through this years calamity.

[paulsmd]

So, almost a year on from us all 'rising up', what's the general consensus of morale up and down this septic isle?

In our DO we've had posties suspended from duty for the heinous crime of following the cutting off procedure and finishing on time, managers going back to being posties because of the DOM, other managers transferring to other depots or just leaving, daily battles between long duty holders and management about unrealistic workloads, part-timers continually being treated like second class citizens and an afterthought, newbies not lasting and...the list is exhaustive.

The SWW is a bone of contention too, with many posties now realising that starting ten minutes later is actually negated by the fact that they now lose ten minutes off their break and so have gained nothing. And the PDA actuals, as forecast by many have done absolutely nothing to stop those posties who get dropped off at home and don't come back to the depot, start work an hour early for nothing, go over for nothing or sorting out the discrepancies between longer and shorter duties, but are being used to compare postie's performance.

And, in our DO, posties are turning on each other, the 'runners' or those who finish more quickly than others are openly moaning about those who finish on time or can't complete their duties, because they're being sent out again with mail but...if your face fits or you know how to play your cards, you can finish at three and get paid til six for extra loops that you took out and did before three...

Not that I personally care about any of that, you understand- I just want to go in, on time, do my bit 'properly' and go home, on time. What others do, or don't do, or get away with is, well, not my problem. Then again, I suppose it is actually. What I do care about, and the reason for this post, is the toxic atmosphere in the DO before getting out onto the sanctuary of my duty.


Your office is just like ours.

From what I read on here, it's not just our DO. It can't go on like this, can it? It has to come to a head eventually, surely? Christmas is lurking over the hill like a big, fat dark thing and walks are already failing on a daily basis, redeliveries and tracked items are routinely left on frames, bullying and harassment is still rife (I see posties on the verge of tears in the yard on an almost weekly basis), we're understaffed and everything is trying to be run on goodwill that is being trampled on at any given opportunity.

So, a year on from 'rising up', how do you foresee winter in your DO's?

[Phantom]

Office sounds like a shambles, follow the cut off procedure, f**k what the manager says, if he/she suspends for that then you should all walk out, get the union rep or area rep involved.

[postslippete]

The SWW = more pressure on full timers to get the job done.

Its OK people saying just use the cutting off procedure, work to time blah blah but some people do take a lot of pride in their work and being unable to finish in their times destroys their morale. Then throw a manager into the mix who's now not really supposed to do any delivery work even though they are judged on walks completing, overtime and customer complaints and it can be a recipe for disaster. If these managers are lucky they might have one or two posties on easy duties with their nose in their trough for any extra overtime that needs mopping up.

Anyway, you're dead right about part-timers and they still get used and abused by Royal Mail. The SWW means that many of them have now been called in to do regular overtime prepping duties. The CWU should really should be pushing for them to get increased contractual hours. Never mind a 6 monthly review - they need a much shorter review period. They need to assess who is doing the overtime and why and ascertain scope for increasing contractual hours where necessary.

[Postie45]

The SWW = more pressure on full timers to get the job done.

Its OK people saying just use the cutting off procedure, work to time blah blah but some people do take a lot of pride in their work and being unable to finish in their times destroys their morale.

ok then just work the extra hour for free, problem solved. OR you can just face facts that RM is determined to get EVERY penny out of you they can, and in fact by getting people to go over their time and many dont bother to book an extra 10-20 mins they are getting free labour. Whatever you feel you are doing now to complete and feel this pride in completing will just in time turn into something else added to your duty, like maybe if someone else in your office is struggling and cutting off, they may end up being given less time to do sorting so they can complete and the rest of you will have to absorb that impact as youre completing every day so must have time.
When it comes down to it, its not about pride and morale in completing a "duty", i have pride that i know i worked my hours fairly and to a good standard everyday, whether i cut off or not. If the target is not achievable that doesnt tell me anything about how good or bad i performed, some managers may not agree, but from a pride and morale aspect I can sleep at night knowing that I did my best.

[LaggyBand]

About 40% of our DO on light duties, sick is through the roof, tracked left on frames overnight, office reported as clear when there is mail all over the place, docket fiends making deals “one loop two hours” no matter how long it actually takes, then bringing back anything slightly out the way as “no access”, managers won’t challenge as they need them so they can pretend everything is covered.. van checks not being done, breaks not being had, linos doing sorting and delivery whilst actual management work gets ignored, like annual leave still for this year not entirely booked, accidents swept under carpet, no walk logs, sign in sheets with wrong times, no implementation of SWW other than “start later”, any attempt to use overrunning procedure met with passive agressive remarks, or direct accusation of being slow without any objective measurement as backup, PDA actuals hightening emotions not removing them, no WTLL or briefs, parcels hurled about by senior untouchables, customers walking in helping themselves to post, door to doors being sent back by the York full, compliance sheets handed out but never collected in, 90% of LWTs thrown in a pile unused, pressure OT regularly not paid on time to bury it during a busier week, part timers not made up despite the hours being there for over a year in accordance with the relevant agreement; and everyone looks really really really unhappy.

Soon be time to turn it up a notch.

[Seymour Buts]

Our office is okay, probably better now busier times are approaching to be honest. Summer was a mare, vans were parked around the corner from our office because finish even 10 or 15 minutes before time and you were sent back out. Lapsing on Tuesday's and Saturday's was getting ridiculous. That's all been knocked on the head and we're left alone pretty much once again, job and knock (to a point) has returned to.

[Postie45]

probably because your DOM can point to his boss that your at model mail volumes, so no scope for lapsing. Enjoy the next 2-3 weeks, then the deluge will begin

[Hawkey99]

Saw the first post. Has the meal breaks changed ??

[yellowbelly]

About 40% of our DO on light duties, sick is through the roof, tracked left on frames overnight, office reported as clear when there is mail all over the place, docket fiends making deals “one loop two hours” no matter how long it actually takes, then bringing back anything slightly out the way as “no access”, managers won’t challenge as they need them so they can pretend everything is covered.. van checks not being done, breaks not being had, linos doing sorting and delivery whilst actual management work gets ignored, like annual leave still for this year not entirely booked, accidents swept under carpet, no walk logs, sign in sheets with wrong times, no implementation of SWW other than “start later”, any attempt to use overrunning procedure met with passive agressive remarks, or direct accusation of being slow without any objective measurement as backup, PDA actuals hightening emotions not removing them, no WTLL or briefs, parcels hurled about by senior untouchables, customers walking in helping themselves to post, door to doors being sent back by the York full, compliance sheets handed out but never collected in, 90% of LWTs thrown in a pile unused, pressure OT regularly not paid on time to bury it during a busier week, part timers not made up despite the hours being there for over a year in accordance with the relevant agreement; and everyone looks really really really unhappy.

Soon be time to turn it up a notch.

customers walking in helping themselves to post

- WTF!?

90% of LWTs thrown in a pile unused

- chuck one our way - can't get ours fixed!

Soon be time to turn it up a notch.

- had the chance last year, fell for it hook, line and sinker.

[MAILMAN84]

This is my last winter at RM. Had it. 3pm finishes + and it's only October. Only reason I became a postie was to be done as early as possible.

[superports]

Most definitely a winter of discontent coming to my office. SWW has had an adverse effect in my office in that it has angered people. More people are now sitting about waiting until their start time, but still we have early starters. I predict a very unhappy, poisonous, toxic atmosphere this Christmas with individuals not wishing to bow to rm's expectation of not having a life outside rm. As long as it is individuals, the Dom WILL isolate, threaten and intimidate them. Don't tell them to use the cut off procedure because that simply does not work, management do anything to protect themselves up to and including lying. I, and many others in my office, lay the blame squarely at the unions feet, from a resounding strike vote less than a year ago to us now doing more work in less time.

[MAILMAN84]

Well assuming it's the same everywhere but we're putting yorks and yorks of mail and packets to the side every day so we can lapse 3 duties. It's about to collapse like.

[Postie45]

Well assuming it's the same everywhere but we're putting yorks and yorks of mail and packets to the side every day so we can lapse 3 duties. It's about to collapse like.

no thats definitely not happening where im at, and I think if your DOMs boss found out he`d be in the s**t.