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The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) received further correspondence over the weekend from postal workers around the country. They are speaking out against the crushing increase in workloads facilitated by the collusion of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) with Royal Mail.
The new write-ins come from London, Essex, Glasgow, Worcestershire, Plymouth, Bolton upon Dearne, Stourbridge, Morecambe, Camberley, Wolverhampton, Wallington, and Northern Ireland.
Correspondence received in the last days and published on the WSWS can be read here and here.
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Our office in Worcestershire pushed the new updates to deliveries through very quick (No doubt the manager had a good bonus for it). We’re now doing a lot extra and expected to do it in the same hours. I can’t stress how completely exhausted we are. Their answer is to leave mail behind but me and a few others don’t like this approach. It’s not the public’s fault. Why should they be made to suffer with late birthday and holiday cards and hospital appointments. The only thing [Royal Mail] are bothered about is getting rid of all the tracked items every day. A lot of us are just booking the overtime every day to complete our walks and killing ourselves in the process.
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Our mail centre has been side-lining its staff for many years in favour of agency staff. How can employing untrained agency staff be more economical when they pay them more? I don’t trust the union either. [Royal Mail CEO] Simon Thomson is a criminal! I’m embarrassed to work for Royal Mail, the level of service is shocking.
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Our rep gets 2 hours overtime every day for performing union duties and then he does delivery overtime in his duty time. He goes home the same time as us with a big grin on his face. I told him my delivery is too big, he doesn’t care and won’t listen. I’m waiting to see what deal is agreed then I will definitely be leaving this union. [The CWU] has been robbing us for years.
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I worked for Royal Mail for 17years. I left the company November 2022. I couldn’t put up with the atmosphere, and the realisation that there was very serious change in the near future. Which I was not prepared to accept. I loved the job as a postie, seeing my customers every day, and having a chat and feeling part of that community. I took pride in my job. I’m still angry that I felt that I was pushed out of my job, as I couldn’t carry on.
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[Royal Mail] phoned me and offered me ill health retirement and once I was accepted they broke my delivery up into 3 deliveries, so that I just couldn’t deliver it. Shocking after 29 years of delivery. I think the management of my office, who were never postmen, just don’t get it. We are the heart and soul of the business.***
I work at a small rural office. The service is now beyond a joke, multiple deliveries left every single day. A fifth of staff have left due to the constant bullying and harassment. Royal Mail used to be a company you were proud to represent, now it is nothing short of a daily embarrassment.
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Managers tell us to prioritise tracked parcels all the time… We complete our delivery pretty much bang on time at the moment, and we’re about to have another 1/4 of a delivery added to our delivery. Totally undoable in the time we have. We’re being set up to fail IMO so that Royal Mail can go to the government again stating the [Universal Service Obligation] is undoable and requesting the USO be dropped from 6 days to 5.
[The Universal Service Obligationis a legal requirement for Royal Mail to deliver letters to every address in the UK six days a week.]***
I had to have an operation 12 months ago , but this was knocked back by my manager. I don’t think I will be able to walk that sort of distance again, about 14 miles a day, so asked about ill health retirement and was told no chance. It is like they just want me to walk away from my job. Because I am on nil pay, I was told they are not bothered now. After years of service I feel like I am worthless to the company especially after doing 60 to 70 hours a week for them for years. There is totally no respect for us anymore. It is not like I asked for the operation, it was just so painful to do the job it needed doing.
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In our [Parcelforce] depot they have brought in owner drivers and PF drivers are losing their routes. But because the owner drivers have no clue what they’re doing, we have to pick it up. THOMPSON OUT, with another Golden Handshake.
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Two days after the House of Commons committee referred Royal Mail to Ofcom [the communications regulator] for not delivering letters six days a week and our office is prioritising parcels still over letters. Mom don’t expect to get your mother’s day card on Sunday, Simon Thompson (untouchable).
I believe we are being sold down the river by the union. It’s all gone very quiet at the top recently, and Royal Mail are still pushing through their unagreed changes. We’ve been told we are to lose 6 walks from our office, and that these are to be lapsed (lapsed means absorbed by whole office without being paid extra for the extra workload). Once this revision is implemented the remaining staff will be sent to other offices. The problem is they can’t even lapse one walk, due to workloads and finishing times, so how can you lapse 6? The job is a joke now, managers don’t care.
There’s no standards anymore regarding safeguarding and protecting the mail. There is mail left in frames and walks not covered and this is because of the new rules regarding overtime… 6hrs for a whole walk, 3 for half, that was the national agreement. Now we have ID cards to tap in and out. So if I did a whole walk and I am quick (maybe because I’m good at my job or bad weather, no one wants to walk slow in the rain), it might only take me 4 hours. So that’s all I will get paid for. So now people aren’t doing overtime, so work is piling up. If we were paid a decent wage we wouldn’t need to do overtime. Anyway, rant over. It’s just gonna get worse and the only people that will suffer is us and the customers… Such a shame to let a great company slowly die due to greed and inept leadership.
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[The CWU Postal Executive has focussed on collaboration with Royal Mail specifically over revisions activity, aimed at cost-cutting, increasing workloads and de-staffing.]
I have been on my duty for 5 years. Revision has taken place they have taken large parcels off me. I am consistently being forced to go over my time, between 30 to 50 minutes at the moment. They have put 90 minutes on my mail delivery and taken large parcels off me that usually takes about 45 minutes, bearing in mind this is one of the lightest times of the year. Come October this will make me up to 90 minutes over my time due to increased mail and small packets. I said it was an unachievable workload and the manager basically said, if you can’t do it we will take you off and find someone that can.
All this means I am walking for 90 minutes extra a day, my feet are killing me at the end of a shift. This extra they are putting on people will only end in more long term sickness due to walking 6 hours plus a day. They don’t care about our health. I can’t wait to get out, local [union] reps don’t care, we are doomed.
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I’ve worked over 20 years for Royal Mail, and only 8 years in delivery. The service we provide has dropped dramatically in the last 3 years. Packets are more important. Mail can be left in boxes under your frame for 2 or 3 days. No overtime is paid now, so mail is brought back to office and as long as the packets are delivered it’s ok!! It’s a disgrace. I feel ashamed to work for Royal Mail but my customers are important.
We encourage postal workers to contact the WSWS to report on their conditions and to discuss how to take forward the fight.
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