In my DO of 180 staff I estimate 30 or so are PT and there’s only 1 I can think of who will only work his hours and refuses to go over. Most of us (some voluntarily - me included) start at 1pm so you have an ever growing chunk of the workforce who are flexible, willing to start late and finish late, don’t ghost, don’t argue for 20mins about 10mins of lapsing.toonshola wrote:If they ever offered to up my contract to full time I must admit I would probably vote yes with whatever new working practices they want to bring in. 10 years and still part time absolutely sick of waiting and the union appear to do very little to help us part timers get our contracts up even though the work is clearly there.Cucumber wrote:HTPostman wrote:Not going to respond to each point as I’ve made my thoughts known before.toonshola wrote:Nailed it. Been at Royal Mail 10 years and still a part timer. And what I have learned is there are two different class of posties. The full time staff who seem to think because they have done the amazing achievement of simply hanging around long enough in a job that they can basically do what they want and generally run the office. They finish early frequently and never pay the time back. The really senior full timers have cushy single van delivery’s that need a good hour added onto them and they know it. If a part timer dares to finish before them then all hell breaks loose.2yearpostie wrote:I read that as,'Lets throw the part time staff under the bus again because us full timers dont want to change how we work, force the part timers into doing something they dont want to do'citypostie wrote:If the single vans duties are staying in much longer they need to have a radical think about the job. The split shifts could work if the later starts are covered by part time staff.
Then there is us second class citizens the part time staff. We have to pay any rare early finishes back under the guise of ‘flexibility’. Moved from pillar to post on all the crap delivery’s none of the full timers would touch. Frequently turn up at work passing the full timers heading out onto their delivery to find our frames are half prepped and expected to complete in the same time.
If I ever get lucky enough to be made up to full time in the distant future I’ll try my best not to forget just how shite it is being a part timer at Royal Mail.
But....
What surprises me is how defensive senior staff get. You know, if you cover their round and get back 10 minutes before they do, you’re ‘killing the job’ or if you don’t sign for a special for farmer Giles who’s always in the fields you’re ‘messing up their christmas tips’ for them.
I’ve worked in some tough industries - construction to name one - and while the senior staff expected a bit more respect and got it, there was never this constant looking down and ‘we’ve all had to go through this, so should you’ attitude.
Seniority has seen me moved from a round when I’d tied up and loaded up the van and then was put on an unprepped round. I’ve had people push in front of me in the queue for the specials because they have seniority. It is an utter joke. Like you, I resolve to never treat people like this if I’m ever made up to FT. I already take the time to help new starters (those who are below me in the chuffing seniority game) and give them pointers, as the coaching process is laughable.
Anyway, I can see a point in the near future where our new CEO wises up and dangles a carrot in the direction of part timers in exchange for votes. You can’t kick a huge percentage of the (PT) workforce down then be surprised when they act against the wishes of the rest.
Before I get the ‘if you don’t like it leave’ brigade, I don’t like my job, I love it and actually think overall management treat me better and more fairer than some of the more senior staff. And that’s saying something.
I've been meaning to type something like that for a while now - I think it's inevitable that there will come some sort of vote on the ways of working and it will be firmly aimed at part time staff. For far too long part time staff have been looked upon as just a way of getting the vote that's wanted to protect the terms and working conditions of others.
Make the deliveries longer, make us work later, track us, bring in clock in machines. I’ll take all that if it means full time and I bet most the part timers would do the same.
I can guarantee 99% of us could not reach for a pen quick enough if we were offered a contract with more basic hours regardless of start time, workload and clocking in machines. Agree (finally!) to backdate our holiday pay for the last few years which puts a few thousand in each of our pockets (they’ll have to do this anyway at some point) and suddenly RM at the stroke of a brush have a good 25% of the workforce motivated and on their side, most of them at the younger end too.
Factor in the usual 20% of those who can’t be bothered to vote anyway and things can turn quickly.
Once again to any FT staff reading, I have nothing against you personally, am I jealous? Possibly. It’s more the fact I’ve been screwed over a few times by management, never by my PT colleagues but countless times by FT.
Today was a classic example...tracked packets for his side were wedged in the corner of the my side of the frame (where you normally put your cuppa), all the recorded letters for his side mysteriously ended up at the back of my mech which he was meant to put in and didn’t. When I finished at 5.30pm I checked the sign in sheet, he started at 7 and signed out at 12.55, more than 2 hours early.
I’d love nothing more than for us all to work together and look out for each other. Just can’t see it ever happening.