Furious Evri delivery drivers have been involved in a stand-off with bosses at a Manchester depot.
A group of drivers refused to pick up their parcels for the day from one of the firm's delivery units in south Manchester on Wednesday morning in response to changes to their routes which they say will turn affect their earnings.
They say they 'grafted hard' over the Christmas period to help clear a huge backlog but claim the 'tipping point' came when changes to their routes were implemented this week. Some allege the number of parcels allocated to them has been 'slashed.'
READ MORE: Workers rally in Manchester city centre as teachers among thousands in strike action
Some of the self-employed workers - who claim they normally deliver on average over 150 parcels a day - say in the last few days they have arrived at the depot to find just a few dozen packages allocated to them, meaning they say they will earn less than £20 for their round.
They claim they won't be able to survive on this and there were chaotic scenes outside the unit in Wythenshawe as a group of angry couriers refused to pick up parcels as they demanded answers over what was happening.
Workers the Manchester Evening News spoke to said the group numbered over 20, though the firm insists it was just a handful and that deliveries were not affected. Evri also claimed the couriers earned in excess of minimum wage and that they are 'in discussions' with the dissatisfied workers.
The firm has previously apologised for delays experienced by many customers over Christmas, saying staff shortages, Royal Mail strikes and bad weather had contributed to the problem.
'There was no negotiation, no nothing'
Several couriers the M.E.N spoke to said the backlog totalled 16,000 parcels at their depot alone over the festive period and had only been fully cleared a matter of days ago. And they claim the latest changes have pushed them to breaking point.
The firm says routes are reviewed at the start of every year in order to 'rebalance' them and ensure all couriers have 'viable earnings during these quieter months.'
However, one worker told the M.E.N: "We've had all the Christmas stuff, the backlog, we've had the worst Christmas we've ever had.
"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."
"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," another said. "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.
"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.
"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."
Another worker claimed he had a situation this week where three different drivers delivered three different packages to the same address. "I was doing about 120. I've now got about 10 to do," he said. "I got 30 yesterday which was about £18 a day. How can I live on 18 quid a day? No one can."
'No one knows what they're doing'
A courier who has been with the firm for 10 years, dating back to when they were known as Hermes, says 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 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."
Evri statement
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."
The action by the drivers comes as thousands of workers including teachers, university staff, rail, bus and civil service workers took part in strike action on Wednesday. There were picket lines across the region whilst trade Union members took part in a rally in Manchester city centre.
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