How to end the current round of strikes

[BCram]

Amazon Prime is a flat rate of zero for delivery although there is an annual fee. I didn't realise they use Royal Mail for the last part of the delivery but should have because last year I helped unload Amazon parcels from a Knoydart ferry that went into a Royal Mail van. I guess that's also factored into the annual Prime fee.

Kind of what I understood things to be. Prime is about £80 per year but you get a lot of their programme too. Changes are coming and I wonder if the trade union leadership is more worried about looking like winning than actually getting the best outcome for their members Best outcome might actually be a slightly higher cost but a really consistent level of service.

[Deeranged]

I wonder if the trade union leadership is more worried about looking like winning than actually getting the best outcome for their members

In my experience that's pretty much all the unions are interested in now.

I know someone who asked a union rep to defend them after they'd been very hatrshly dismissed from their job their full time job. Usual thing, manager, employee and union official in the hearing then employee asked to lea\ve whilst the official fought their corner for ten minutes. Official came out and declared 'congratrulations we've won and you've been reinstated - but only part time on 25 hours a week because your job's been made partly redundant'. To the union that was a victory, I personally see no way to describe that as a victory; a stitch up yes, a victory definitely not.

Corrupt *******s the lot of them.

[jdfc]

It is easy to use mechanisation to sort the mail for the DD and PH areas into walk sequence when every house in the street has a number.
However this system does not work in places where houses have a name but no street number.
Our house on Islay only has a name.
The mail on Islay is returned from the Royal Mail sorting office in post code areas such as PA42, PA43 etc.
The postie has to spend a couple of hours sorting out the mail on his round into walk sequence order before he starts his delivery round.

The machine does read addresses without numbers, it’s all about what’s put into the computer manually, a place like islay might not be cost effective and would just be walk sorted and not sequenced, the village of longforgan has a number of houses on the Main Street name only yet there mail is sequenced

[BCram]

The machine does read addresses without numbers, it’s all about what’s put into the computer manually, a place like islay might not be cost effective and would just be walk sorted and not sequenced, the village of longforgan has a number of houses on the Main Street name only yet there mail is sequenced

Thanks jdfc. Seems that there is a fair bit of human input still required which must be reassuring for jobs. I suppose the battle is about where the sorting centres are located?

[petermackie]

In my experience that's pretty much all the unions are interested in now.

I know someone who asked a union rep to defend them after they'd been very hatrshly dismissed from their job their full time job. Usual thing, manager, employee and union official in the hearing then employee asked to lea\ve whilst the official fought their corner for ten minutes. Official came out and declared 'congratrulations we've won and you've been reinstated - but only part time on 25 hours a week because your job's been made partly redundant'. To the union that was a victory, I personally see no way to describe that as a victory; a stitch up yes, a victory definitely not.

Corrupt *******s the lot of them.

What is your experience with unions?? You seem a very bitter man so I imagine you've been very badly wronged in some way that you think was union orientated

[jdfc]

Thanks jdfc. Seems that there is a fair bit of human input still required which must be reassuring for jobs. I suppose the battle is about where the sorting centres are located?

Sortation of letters has been done by machines for years now, and now parcels are following, they reckon 75% will be sorted by machine in the next few years, luckily machines can’t deliver yet so jobs are still safe, just not the way we know them

[islaydarkblue]

I think the point is that heavily populated areas have a must higher number of letters per mile. I imagine that using distance as part of the costing equation created such obvious high costs for outlying populations that it was obvious that everyone pzaying the same price was the only fair way a national delivery system could be operated.
I don't think Amazon have a one price delivery cost and I know some online businesses have had criticism for the delivery price differentials they use.

A lot of companies have no delivery charge if the order is above a certain amount even for deliveries to Scottish islands such as Islay.
There is also the crazy situation where some companies who only deliver to Mainland U.K. will not deliver orders to the properties situated along the north coast of Scotland including Wick and Thurso because they have an Orkney islands post code.

[islaydarkblue]

The machine does read addresses without numbers, it’s all about what’s put into the computer manually, a place like islay might not be cost effective and would just be walk sorted and not sequenced, the village of longforgan has a number of houses on the Main Street name only yet there mail is sequenced

Thanks for the information.
All I know is that my postie when he receives his bag(s) of Royal Mail letters and parcels has to sort them out himself into walk order or in his case driving his Royal Mail van order. He sits in a room beside the sub post office in Bridgend, Islay putting his mail into walk/driving order before stating his round in the late morning.
The Royal Mail vans bring the mail on the 7am sailing from Kennacraig to Port Ellen on Islay arriving at 9.10/9.20 depending on which Calmac ferry is timetabled for that sailing with a very short drive to the Royal Mail office in Port Ellen where the vans are unloaded.

[BCram]

Sortation of letters has been done by machines for years now, and now parcels are following, they reckon 75% will be sorted by machine in the next few years, luckily machines can’t deliver yet so jobs are still safe, just not the way we know them

We had a great postie who helped by handing in our letters later in the day. We didn't open until 10a.m. and did not have a letter box on the outside of the building. Routes changed and the new guy just does not seem as helpful.
At home we get parcels from allsorts of online sellers. Can't understand how the delivery people make money. If they cannot do the collections their route goes to some other contractor and they seem to work all hours. Need to get some fairness for employees I m o.

[Deeranged]

What is your experience with unions?? You seem a very bitter man so I imagine you've been very badly wronged in some way that you think was union orientated

I'm not a bitter person at all and object to being called that.

I disagree that anyone should need a union to back them. Yes, I was also wronged by a union shop steward at my work, he thought he was more clever than me - he was very, very wrong but we'll leave it at that. The same shop steward threatened an employee who wouldn't join the union with a hiding.

That's my view of unions, thick bullies.