dolphlundgren73 wrote:As a Health and Safety rep myself i do not see any reason for not van sharing ,if correctly done.
Had the Government said all workers stay at home until a cure for the virus is found then we would all be doing that
Unfortunately we are key workers and have to go to work. Paramedics,police,binmen, council workers, rail workers ...etc are all van sharing There has been no evidence that there has been increased cases of covid 19 due to van share.
The CWU has not been very supportive during this crisis, particularly local reps . They have been almost completely silent for 6 months. Suddenly they come to life and oppose plans to ask staff if they would like to van share.They have no solid reasoning why they oppose it ,other than jump on the " increased covid cases" band wagon.
If they checked the facts ,that increase is due to people socialising in big groups and visiting other places/households not in their own bubble.
If they oppose Van Share then CWU should also oppose working together in delivery offices.Most delivery offices are cramped for space and find it near impossible to find space.
The bottom line is that if we stop working or do our best to avoid working then ultimately Royal Mail will continue to lose even more money and guess what? That means job losses.
Covid 19 aint going away this year or next year. The world health organisation says its very unlikely that a cure will be found . Look at HIV.Nearly 40 years after that virus arrived and still no nearer to cure.
The way to deal with this virus and stay safe is follow guidelines.Wash hands,wear masks and limit contact .
I see the real reasons for CWU members opposing van shares and very few are on the side of health and safety.
Many of those that support CWU (or rather Terry Pullinger and Dave Wards suggestions as the CWU should be members decisions based on truth ) ,they are the same staff who have had the luxury of working by themselves for 6 months doing the same duty every day whilst the partner or other staff members are moved from one duty to another (often with vast workloads).
Thats why the majority are opposing van shares as they look at self interest rather than safety.
There are staff who are suffering mentally from not van sharing anymore. They cant cope with constant change. CWU should take that on board as they are meant to be a lead in "Mental Health".
hear hear. I'm in the same boat as you, the new h&s rep at my office. raised this with the rep. essentially batted off with "this is the union's decision, and so it is yours as well". I get it, there's many reasons a van share will not work at the moment, and the fact they've tried to reintroduce it during another upsurge in cases speaks for itself.
the fact is as much as you or your colleague wear the correct PPE and obey the correct procedures, you have no control over each other's bubble, or who your partner has mixed with. Lets remember while PPE can limit spread it can't stop it.
Jen1 wrote:Of course covid cases were going to go up it's a virus and we're heading to winter when does every other virus strike!
Seems like the perfect time to go back to van sharing doesnt it?
Cant believe you typed that sentence out in a post championing relaxing the restrictions.
good point!
But still I don't know how your office is coping but we have duties that only get done every other day and it's hell with double mail and double packets now so imagine what it'll be like with the extra Christmas mail. I haven't heard anyone come up with a better alternative
Heres an alternative
Stop worrying about how many parcels there are and how much mail there is and work your hours
Its only stressful if you feel the need to clear it everyday
Celgar wrote:We had a combined WTLL session on going back to shared vans and the new collect parcels while on delivery thing.
Apparently up until this decision the CWU have been working behind the scenes to find a way to reintroduce shared vans. Now the RM have come out with their change in policy the CWU have flipped sides and are now against shared vans.
It is voluntary decision if any postie wants to go back to shared vans and you can change your mind at any time. Not going back to shared vans will mean we will stay with the current policy of some posties starting much later. We are not far off the point where it gets dark at about 1600 which makes the job more difficult and time consuming. 'Bubbles' of posties who do shared duties will be formed to limit risk and these 'bubbles will not be broke. So if the 'bubble' system cannot cover all walks offices will revert to the system of earlier and later duties.
The early/later duty system has not worked in terms of getting walks delivered in a timely fashion with less posties available to get the initial sorting completed. RM will want to move away from this system with Xmas on the doorstep and a probable full Covid lockdown sometime between now and Xmas whether we want to do it or not.
Regardless of sharing vans, your last piu t about less posties to do the sorting/ prep. Tough. It's a consequence of dealing with this virus. There can only be x amount of people in building at any one time to be able to even maintain illusion of social distancing.
Well its started. Dom announces those who don't want to van share must let him know. So i tells him i don't want to van share because im not putting mine or my family's health at risk. Ok he says we'll have to look at moving you from your duty. So i tells him ive got child care responsibilitys. This he thought amusing and said what about your otherhalf. They are otherwise engaged at that time. He walked away laughing.
Also, why do I get the feeling that that getting staff back into shared vans has become a major part of the talks? Health and safety is not a bargaining tool, Terry.
A solid NO at our place with regards to going back to shared vans. Could have understood it a few months ago when cases were dropping,but not now. Manager actually looked embarrassed whilst giving us the speech. Hopefully,that’s the end of that!
dont know how these people sleep at night if one person catches this virus and becomes seriously ill or even worse as consequence of 2 in a van i know i couldnt be the mouthpiece to this
The cynical side of me half expects the ghost OT kings will be doing deals and agreeing to a van share only if they get an extra hours pay.
Anyway it’s a big no from me. I’m struggling to think of any positives for me personally to van sharing.
Currently, working on my own (even though I’m frequently covering rounds that haven’t gone for 2 or 3 days):
-Less risk working on my own
-I prep and tie up the round how I want
-I load the van how I want
-Not as much bags in the van which makes it easier for finding things
-I go at my pace
-I take my break when I decide
-Plenty OT in my office clearing the tracked/large packets on the other side of the round
-If I’m offered OT on another round (eg a few loops extra) I’m not dependent on my van partner having to agree to it too - if I’m van sharing and he wants to be back for 3, then I can’t do any extra.
The only plus points to van sharing I can think of are if it’s a new round to me I get someone to guide me round (though half the time I was paired with someone who had never done it before!). Also someone to talk to and a bit of banter but I don’t do the job for the social side of things
The day is gonna come when we’re all gonna have to testify.
Screw royal mail refuse to share the van if you have any brains, and work your hours. When it comes to xmas, tell them to shove their overtime up their XXXX, leave mail behind if you have to but do not do over time. Royal mail do not care about you or your health, so why care about helping them get the office cleared every day. WORK YOUR HOURS AND GO HOME.
twiddledumb wrote:Screw royal mail refuse to share the van if you have any brains, and work your hours. When it comes to xmas, tell them to shove their overtime up their XXXX, leave mail behind if you have to but do not do over time. Royal mail do not care about you or your health, so why care about helping them get the office cleared every day. WORK YOUR HOURS AND GO HOME.
Everyone’s circumstances are different. I have a plan to be out of here and retire at 45 before my body is broken like most of the people here working into their late 50s and 60s.
I can’t achieve that on my 25 hour contract but can when I’m putting the OT in.
As I say everyone is different but I’d rather do 50 hours a week (15 hrs indoors/35 outdoors) than 25 hours a week (2.5 hrs indoors/22.5 outdoors). At the end of the working day I’m gonna be tired regardless of if I’m outdoors for 6 hours or 4.5 hours. I might as well earn £500 instead of £250.
Correct RM don’t care about me, I won’t care about them in 10 years. Works both ways.
And yes I’m well aware this OT won’t be available for ever. Making hay while the sun shines etc.
The day is gonna come when we’re all gonna have to testify.
good point!
