rep says ...................

[shimmyrule]

big yes vote they reckon, 1pm tomorrow, going to the business on friday, everybody out next friday.
Let the battle commence, and last one to lidls, quicksave and the other less tasty supermarkets will have no food to eat.

STEEEEEEEE RIIIIIIIIIIIKE !

[Martin Walsh]

Their wont be a national strike next friday the PEC are not due to meet till monday .

[not me]

the rep shouldnt be talking about strikes regardless
the whole point of the vote is to show how the members feel.
the ideal scenario is RM sits up and takes notice.
i know it wont happen but this is the front the reps should be presenting

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Their wont be a national strike next friday the PEC are not due to meet till monday .

Monday - Why not Thursday or Friday to discuss the impact of the results and the strategic implications

[piranha]

My rep reckons no national strikes until beginning of November whem Xmas pressure begins.
Guess we'll have to wait and see what they say tomorrow!

[Martin Walsh]

TBT there are 3 days of talks in an hotel in victoria which started today and will finish on friday.

Some of the pec did ask for a meeting this week but it was not carried and then set for monday. I think we missed a trick but we still have action next week in London and hopefully the following week will see national action.

Obviously tomorrow afternoon will start a media circus and i persume Dave will give Royal Mail one final opportunity to pull back from executive action and agree a deal with the union.

But I believe that they have gone to far and been backed to much by the government to give in now and believe that we will have to take hard national action to get the right deal.

[realitybites]

I was wondering (never worked at a place that has gone on strike before) if historically, strike action has ever got the desired results, particularly involving RM.

[gus]

must be decided by membership on the frontline.rolling days garbage.

[shimmyrule]

well, whatever happens, i hope its a massive yes vote, its gotta be. 75% minimum.
Any bookies on here
wee cyber sweepie would be cool.

[Martin Walsh]

Yes strike action does work many examples of this in the past. The 3 main national disputes to date apart from 1971 was 1988 the dras dispute where Royal Mail wanted to introduce regional pay barginning , the majority of the union were out for two weeks staight but in London and Liverpool we were out for 3 weeks. We came back with national barginning in tact but with differcult regional area supplements (DRAS ) which was £13.97 for inner london and £16.31 for outer and £20 for other areas. This payment is still paid today so we have gained that money for the last 21 years. That payment for London staff now forms part of our London weighting and is pensionable.

In 1996 we had a 10 day dispute (one days this time ) over Royal Mail"s attempt to introduce the employee agenda which we defeated much to Alan Johnsons dismay he then left to become an mp a year later.

In 2003 we got a national no vote but London got a yes vote for London weighting and took two days strike action which sparked the biggest unofficial dispute since the miners where some of us were out for almost 3 weeks. The settlement achieved the pay and major change agreement which gave us the biggest pay rise we ever had £26.28 and introduced one delivery and the 5 day week. We also got the biggest London weighting pay rise in history £10 82.

In 2007 we took 8 days official action plus in London and Liverpool a number of days unofficial. This achieved the highly controversial pay and mod agreement which also produced 2 pay rises and two £400 payments. The current dispute is really over the fact that this was a fudge and whilst it led to a number of their senior managers being given the boot for failing to get the changes they want it has led to a lot of unrest in offices/

However our track record for disputes is good and we have to win this or basicaly we wont have future worth staying in the industry for.

Gus the PEC has to decide , the members cant we have over 120000 members. As someone who has organised 14 days soon to be 15 days strike action i know how hard it is to get a date when every branch is happy with and thats only in London. It would be impossible to do so across the country thats why the 17 voting members of the PEC have to make that decision.

[shimmyrule]

dingo, its people like you we have to thank for getting us organised, and i admit, you guys put in an awful lot of time, at work, and at home, trying to get the best deal for ALL of us, also having a home life to contend with.

Big thumbs up from me for your unseen, unpaid sterling efforts, and do keep us updated wi the facts.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Thanks for explaining the reason behind Monday, and your sterling efforts in keeping us informed it is appreciated.

I also agree on your line about them missing a trick as well, but lets hope it does not matter in the long run, hopefully a strong turn out combined with a strong YES vote will shake our Lord and Masters up a bit.

[rolf]

Can i just say that up here in Edinburgh we have a high cost of living as well as London but do we see any weighting ? Do we hell come on the YES vote good luck to one and all tomorrow.

[Stormproof]

I wonder what words RM will take to the limit in any new agreement, 'flexibility' was the word last time, lets hope the PEC get the dictionary out this time and read the definitions!

[sareknees]

Roll on the good news tomorrow :cfo :mfo