02 February 2023 , 11:40
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Parcel delivery drivers have been involved in a stand-off with bosses at a depot with some refusing to pick up collections.
A group of drivers with Evri said they were refusing to pick up their parcels for the day from one of the firm's delivery units in south Manchester.
It is in response to changes to their routes, which they said would turn affect their earnings.
They said they 'grafted hard' over the Christmas period to help clear a huge backlog, but claimed the 'tipping point' came when changes to their routes were implemented this week.
Some alleged the number of parcels allocated to them had been 'slashed.'
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Some of the self-employed workers - who claimed they normally deliver on average over 150 parcels a day - said in the last few days they had arrived at the depot to find just a few dozen packages allocated to them, meaning, they claimed, they will earn less than £20 for their entire round.
They claimed they won't be able to survive on that, and there were chaotic scenes outside the unit in Wythenshawe as a group of angry couriers refused to pick up parcels, demanding answers over what was happening.
The group of more than 20 drivers were seen at the depot, but the firm insisted it was just a handful of staff and that deliveries were not affected.
There is a stand off at the Manchester depotOne worker told the Manchester Evening News: "Now they have changed all our rounds on us. People have been doing this for years; four, five, six years. Some even longer.
"They have a set route, they get to know people, you do them every single day. And they've not got any work now. I've come in today to 20 parcels, I normally do like 120 a day.
"There's another lad been assigned one round in Wythenshawe with 10 parcels on it, one in Wilmslow with 10 on it one in Bowdon with 10 on it, and one in Altrincham with 10 on it. We should be doing one area but they've split everything apart. It happened this week.
"There was no negotiation, no nothing. We've all turned up today and we're fuming so we've all gathered up."
Another added: "I used to do between 150 and 200 parcels a day in a well-to-do area.
"I would earn £100 to £150 a day.
"They have split my round-up into three. I have now got 30 parcels to do. How the f*** am I supposed to live on 30 parcels a day? That's about 20 quid. We didn't get notified.
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"There's one woman, her complete round has gone because it's been split. She used to do 80 parcels a day and earned 50 to 60 quid for it. Her round has disappeared.
Evri depot on Ringway Trading estate Wythenshawe (Manchester Evening News)"I have refused to go in so far to get my parcels for my round. Everybody is just peed off. They've lost so much.
"And we're gonna be losing money hand over fist. We're trying to get answers and get it sorted but it's like banging your head against a brick wall."
A courier who has been with the firm for 10 years, dating back to when they were known as Hermes, said she delivered 6,000 parcels over the Christmas 'peak' period.
She described the route changes as 'ridiculous' and said there had been 'complete chaos' at the depot this week.
"No one knows what rounds they have got, where they're going, what they're doing. Yesterday, I had to drive through two other couriers' areas just to do one street. It doesn't make any sense. I normally do on average 150 parcels a day. Probably about 250 during the peak.
"Today I had 70. You expect it to go down this time of year after the peak but never below half. I couldn't even find all of those I'd been allocated. People were scrabbling all over the warehouse. The mood amongst everyone was dreadful.
"So I didn't pick up. As a matter of principle. But also because it was just such madness. I do this job so I drop off and pick the kids up from school. A lot of us are well educated and switched-on but we're being treated as if we're brain-dead.
"The couriers seem to be one getting the stick for the backlog and all the chaos," she added.
"We get a lot of flack. But we do a lot when the systems are down and parcels are lost. We go above and beyond but that doesn't seem to be recognised which is another beef amongst the couriers."
An Evri spokesman said: "We are in discussions with a small number of couriers at one of our local delivery units who are unhappy with some changes to delivery rounds we have implemented.
"These are designed to ensure that every courier has viable earnings during these quieter months. We can confirm that deliveries are not affected as a result of this.
"We regularly review rounds throughout our business to ensure that all our couriers earn in excess of the minimum wage after expenses such as fuel costs (the average is over £15 an hour) and this includes time for collection and redelivery. This is independently audited by the GMB Union.
"When fuel costs spiked we introduced an additional payment which was tailored for round types – it is worth noting that 2/3s of our rounds are less than 1sq mile and the average courier will do 15 or less miles per day."