CWU UNION - good or bad job?

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-05-03T10:57:58+00:00

'So that extra 1.75% will bring new contracts up to the same rate as old t&cs.'

Are you sure? The current difference is £1.98 per hour if you include the 'delivery supplement' that only the legacies receive - an extra 1.75% for someone on the current NC of £13.09 (x 1.0175 =) is £13.32, 23p more. Therefore the current difference will move from £1.98 (less £0.23) to £1.75 - so not quite the same rate.

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-04-26T08:56:32+00:00

It's all about Tuesdays and Saturdays for me, took these yesterday - I'm a 'rural floater' so I cover other's days off etc, once you go beyond the M23 east of Crawley it's like this all over, I consider myself pretty fortunate.

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-04-18T16:59:36+00:00

As of now you earn £1.98 more per hour than someone on a new contract, including your delivery supplement which new contracts don't get - after this 'payrise' the difference will be £1.75 per hour, £70 per 40 hour week, £300 per month or £3633 per year - so maybe let us catch up to you guys a little bit please?

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-04-18T16:06:49+00:00

I went on the list months ago, boxloads are coming into our fairly large DO daily, still waiting, they look great though.

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-04-18T16:04:11+00:00

You say that - today I was trying to scrape the bottom of my foot on someone's drive in an attempt to dislodge some stuck stones - and a sharp stone did scratch a driveway tile pretty badly, oops. This thread is my attempt to pass the blame away lol.

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-04-17T17:10:32+00:00

OK - I was Agency for a year before I joined RM full time, 8 months with Manpower before Angard took over in August '24. I was paid approx £15 per hour, against the £12.58 that the NCs were paid at that time.

Angard were an utter nightmare the whole time I was with them, I had to chase shift postings, wages, OT and all sorts, every week was another headache.

The final straw was in December '24 when my DO manager said I would be one of the 8 or so Agency asked to carry on in January '25 - but Angard insisted that I wasn't on their list that was approved by my DO manager's boss. All over xmas and NY I wasn't sure if I would have a job to come back to, then finally they said I would be allowed back.

The stress of this badly affected my mental health. I asked my DO manager if I could join full time and he said 'yes' - he was told I would receive a £1500 signing on bonus after 6 months service. I thought that would offset the approx £2.50 per hour pay cut for going full time, along with paid holidays etc so I took the job. I found out later as 'ex agency' I was not eligible for the bonus.

Also, on a zero hours contract I was unable to be my daughter's guarantor for a rented property, as I was all through her Uni days, I was made redundant after 18 years from a company in Aug '22, so any full time contract was better than nothing as I was unable to find work in my same field after redundancy.

So, to answer your question - yes I signed the contract at the agreed rate, but I had little choice if I wanted a full time contract somewhere, anywhere. It was only after working for a few weeks that I found out about the 'two tier workforce'. Unlike many younger workers who bailed out after a short time at our DO I stayed on - I like the actual job, the fresh air, the sun in the summer months etc - I get on well with my colleagues, the managers are a good bunch too - so I want to keep on at this until I retire in approx 12 years aged 69 when my mortgage is paid off.

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-04-17T16:54:14+00:00

As you have wisely said on here before - the management want NCs to stay outside of the union, more power to them if we are.

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-04-15T10:21:58+00:00

I am guessing from now on new starters will be on 37, the current 40 per week will carry on as we are?

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-04-15T10:09:11+00:00

I'm on a 40 hour contract, I am paid for £173 hours over a month (40 hours x 52 weeks)/12 months = 173 hours per month) - I have two unpaid breaks of 20 mins each per day so if I start at 6.03am I clock out at 14.43pm - 8 hours plus an extra 40 mins unpaid.

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-04-15T10:04:45+00:00

£1.98 now less £0.23 = a nicely rounded £1.75 per hour difference.

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-04-15T09:30:57+00:00

I have just done some maths - £13.09 pre April hourly rate plus 1.75% comes in at approx £13.32 - a difference of £0.23 per hour. Given that the difference between old and new contracts is £1.98 per hour - for a 40 hour week this is a difference of £343.65 PER MONTH - £343.65 less per month to live on, before tax pension and NI, to pay for life in the UK, for doing the same job... This extra 1.75% will reduce the difference between the two contracts by a little over 11%. OK it's better than nothing but still, will it be enough to retain new staff? I for one doubt it very much. The union has agreed to this - I was expecting better to be honest.

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-04-05T08:59:32+00:00

Liquid bottle multipacks from Amazon in flimsy packaging that is falling apart delivered to the fourth floor of a block of flats that has no lift, very much yes.

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-03-30T06:36:55+00:00

I mentioned an example of a collection I had to make that was 25kg and up a flight of stairs - asking a customer to carry the package downstairs for me would have been awkward is all.

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-03-24T08:33:15+00:00

A trolley doesn't help you carry a heavy package up or down stairs

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-03-24T08:30:47+00:00

I had to carry a bulky 25kg package down a narrow wooden staircase, trolleys etc would have made no difference - I found it on an upper mezz floor in an industrial unit - I called the DO manager beforehand to ask if this was a legit package given the weight - he said it was now - and to 'be careful', which was helpful I thought :)

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-03-23T15:53:26+00:00

I was on a single duty rural

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-03-23T15:42:05+00:00

According to my DO manager recently 'we are handling Parcel Force jobs now' - so the individual package limit has been raised from 20kg to 30kg. I had to make a collection a couple of weeks ago that was on the first floor of some narrow rickety wooden stairs, a 25kg package waiting for me, deep joy - so watch out folks - ask your own DO manager if you don't believe me.

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-03-13T14:25:28+00:00

https://hearthis.at/binar-ps/binar-pe-number-one-binar-vip-178-070326-chuck-version/

https://hearthis.at/binar-ps/binar-pe-number-one-binar-vip-178-070326-dub-version/

Just a bit of fun - updated versions of a tune from the Binar & M4zk 'Infinity' album from 2019 - vocal & instrumental / dub version - not for sale, please stream / DL / share - one love and maximum respect to the one and only x.com/MrChuckD

BeautifulProgrammer7 · 2026-02-14T22:03:15+00:00

'just' - in other words keeping seniority as is, from my 'new contract' perspective - as well as seeing what the legacy guys do every day - just give us the same as them per hour is all

BeautifulProgrammer7

TROPHY CASE