£40,000 CASH BACK FOR EAST LONDON POSTAL WORKERS

[MinisterofCucumber]

Since May, I have helped CWU members at my depot in East London recover over £40,000. I discovered that management had cut staff pay by ignoring national agreements. I wrote to some local MPs, who in turn wrote to Royal Mail and our management was forced to cough up. It was a great feeling.

I would like to tell other postal workers how to get their money back in case the same thing has happened to them.

Most of the money was claimed against cuts to Night Duty Allowance as a result of management imposing changes to duty times. I looked on the intranet and found the Managing The Surplus Framework 2 agreement. This states that if you lose NDA because management change your times, you can get your pay protected for up to three years. This is backdated to October 2003.

If this has happened to you, put in a stage 1 grievance like this: "As a result of a management-led initiative I lost NDA. Under the MTSF2 agreement I am entitled to pay protection. Please pay me the money I am owed." Give this to your line manager. If you do not receive an outcome within 5 working days, put in a stage 2.

The other agreement that management broke was the substitution policy. You are only meant to be paid substitution money when you cover a higher paid duty for less than 13 weeks. Three of my workmates were being paid as substitutes for a number of years instead of getting temporary promotion. They each received thousands of pounds in backdated pay.

If you work for Royal Mail and have taken a pay cut, then have a go at getting your money back,

Good Luck and Merry Christmas.

[Wessex]

[Yahoorsur]

,great to hear a piece of good news like that,you should be very proud of yourself,and I hope your mates buy you a few drinks at the christmas night out.well done.

[MinisterofCucumber]

Thanks for your support Wessex and Yahoosur.

We must fight and we will win, with or without the help of the union.

Industrial Relations are poor in the Royal Mail because management fails to stick to their policies and the union lets them get away with it. It is my opinion that this completely avoidable situation has been deliberately created by Mandelson and his followers.

The Labour party serves Mandelson.The CWU is dominated by members of the Labour party. The Labour government employed Leighton and Crozier, neither of whom would be your first choice if you wanted to build an organisation with good industrial relations.

Mandelson's objective is to get rid of the postal monopoly in the U.K. The 1997 EU postal directive commits the U.K. to get rid of the postal monopoly by 2012. Labour, Conservatives and Liberals all voted for it in the EU parliament as essential for the creation of the infrastruture of a European superstate. Mandelson's problem is that he has to convince the public to get rid of something he is already committed to getting rid of, our much loved Royal Mail. If he doesn't we will be thrown out of Europe.

So far, Mandelson is winning. His propaganda machine has spun the strike to convince people that industrial relations are beyond repair. This was the message in the state broadcast Panorama. Similarly, Roy Mayall is presented as a heroic figure in a past that will never return.

We must convince people that losing Royal Mail is not inevitable in the same way that losing our final salary pensions and our childrens' right to free Higher Education is not inevitable. We must fight Mandelson.

Don't rely on the union. Everyone with a genuine grievance must raise one. Keep it simple. Refuse to attend any meetings with management and conduct the whole procedure in writing. If you need help, ask on this message board.

Good Luck.

[La Poste]

Since May, I have helped CWU members at my depot in East London recover over £40,000. I discovered that management had cut staff pay by ignoring national agreements. I wrote to some local MPs, who in turn wrote to Royal Mail and our management was forced to cough up. It was a great feeling.

i hope you all go out and have a good p1ss up and a sing song.

[barneybattles]

MoC - Can you put up the name of the case or send it to me in a PM? I'd like to get a copy of the judgment from the Tribunal as I think it could prove very handy for a mate of mine. Cheers, BB

[MinisterofCucumber]

Barney,

We didn't have to go to tribunal, we just used the grievance procedure. I put one in first and as I had only lost about £250, I was paid up within a couple of weeks. When my workmates found out, they all put similar grievances in but were given the runaround by management. I wrote to the local MP on their behalf, who wrote to the board of Royal Mail. After a couple of months, management coughed up.

PM me the details of your friend's case.

Happy New Year.