Member Info for OliGarch

Hi POD, Red, Fruitster, StYd,
Apologies for the delayed response. I have had a couple of days away from the internet over the festive season.
I usually donate to Barnardo's but am quite happy to donate to Oakleaf. I have been looking at their website and they do some great work. They also have a variety of ways to make a donation (including PayPal).
https://www.oakleafenterprise.org/supportus/donate/
If WGR is having difficulty in relieving himself of $100 bills then I am sure that they would accept these too ;-)

Scampthedog, I'm in total agreement with your post regarding the inefficiency of our fleet. This has been going on for decades but with the climate change debate coming to the fore and more cities wishing to impose low emission zones hopefully things will change and improve, leading to substantial cost benefits. Who knows, it may even fund the SWW?
Before the 1980s we used to build mail centres next to railway stations and utilise the rail network to transfer mail around however as vehicles become more affordable and more reliable and the cost of fuel become less of an issue there was a trend to build mail centres out of town and next to motorways where the land was much cheaper.
Unfortunately, I can't envisage a return to RM using the rail network so it will be interesting to see how this is managed.
On a side note, Luxembourg has announced that all public transport will be free from January 2020 in a bid to reduce emissions and road congestion so we may be able to get some pointers from their social experiment?

200iq, in reply to your earlier post "Do RM make any profit from all the millions of Xmas cards delivered?" We certainly do!
The 4 weeks preceding Christmas account for over 33% of our annual letter box collection mail. Also as a nice bonus the majority of the mail has stamps so is paid for at the full amount, unlike meter mail or DSA which is processed at a cheaper rate.
The cards that are too small to be automated and require manual sortation account for less than 2% and are not really an issue as these are normally processed by Christmas casuals on less than the OPGs.
The post Christmas RTS mail can be a challenge as many don't have a return address so these are dealt with in an environmentally friendly manner. The items with return addresses are returned wherever possible.

DerekR, although RM would like to have more letters volume, it is clear that RM are managing the decline in posted mail volumes by the fact that they have been removing letters automation equipment in mail centres at an alarming rate over the last 5 years. The resulting creation of extra floor space created has been utilised by the parcels operation as this is where the growth lies.

Norman70, where did you get the data that "Only 12% of parcels weren't manually sorted in 2018/19" from? Surely you mean "only 12% WERE sorted by automation in 2018/19"?
The target is for 80% parcel automation sort by 2024 with 40 PSMs located across 38 sites (meaning that some smaller mail centres will either not get one as some larger offices or hubs will get 2...or face closure...who knows?).

Wolves, our offices letter box collection volumes for December (so far) are only 1.6% lower than last year and December accounts for 31% of our annual collection volume, so maybe volumes are levelling out? Either way it will be good news revenue wise as collection mail is charged at the full rate, unlike meter and DSA.

He taketh away with one hand and giveth with the other.....lol

Just finishing my shift.
Letter box collection volumes are about the same as last year but parcels have really bulked us out. The biggest problem is finding enough space to be able to store and sort it. The mail centre manager is already looking for another building to rent for next December.

PP, I would normally have agreed with you regarding politics on this forum however recent political events have no doubt had an impact on the SP.
Now that the election is over the political arguments should disperse.... hopefully.

Wolves, enjoy :-)

DerekR , I really don't understand these protests. There was a general election, some candidates put themselves forward to be the next prime minister, only 2 really stood a chance and one got the job with a fairly large majority.
Now I don't really like Boris Johnson because he doesn't often tell the truth and I didn't vote conservative in my constituency as there was a better, local candidate but the fact of the matter is that democracy has taken place.
Boris and the Tories are in for the next 5 years and Brexit will almost certainly get voted through early next year. Time for those who protest to suck it up and prepare for the 2024 general election!

Wolves, I have taken 5 periods of sick over the last decade - all for operations (2xeye, 2xknee and a hernia) and every time I have taken up the opportunity of a phased return to work as it reduces the probability of being issued with a stage warning.
I have clocked up over 40 years service and for the first 25 years was rarely sick so I am grateful that we have a policy that allows leniency towards 'major' sickness as we enter old age.
We do have a small contingent who will take their sick 'quota' to the very limits and often brag about their 'extra 2 weeks leave' which grates with the other 99% who don't take the Michael.

My main incentive is to work when the weather is sh**e and have extra leave when the days are longer and hopefully the weather is kinder.

Cheers Wolves, you too :-)
Most of my extra hours ara racked up doing 12 hour shifts at the weekend in the mail centre as most want the weekends off.

Wolves, on my payslip it says "Incentive Underpin Payment......£100.00"
What does your payslip say?

200iq, as you stated "OliG because my iq is 200 init" you will already have worked out that I will have worked just over an extra 2 weeks during December?

Although wolves it also says "Such periods should be staffed on a voluntary basis, wherever possible" which leaves some wiggle room for those who don't want to?

The RM working time policy states
"Requirement to work additional hours – employer/employee obligations
Royal Mail has the responsibility of providing a public service and Royal Mail & Communication Workers Union (CWU) accept that there is an obligation on all employees to play their part in maintaining the kind of service, which the public has the right to expect. The nature of the service
makes a measure of overtime necessary. Employees may be required to
work overtime during periods of particularly high levels of traffic, such as Christmas or where a scheduled Sunday or Bank holiday forms part of
locally agreed duty arrangements. Such periods should be staffed on a voluntary basis, wherever possible. The arrangement and allocation of
overtime or variations of hours of attendance will be subject to the processes in the Industrial Relations Framework.

200iq, you are correct. 2x38 does equal 76.
I'm not entirely sure why that means so much to you though?

Wolves, in response to your earlier comment "quite right he cannot enforce overtime but come next year when they need it or want it it will be a different story.... really hope he means it...."
I would imagine that if staff don't want overtime in December then they won't want it at any other time either?
Personally, I will have performed an extra 78 hours during December but I am not booking overtime as I will now have 2 weeks off in March 2020.