Handling Mail during Official Inudstrial Action

[TrueBlueTerrier]

No 387/09
Ref GS 3.2
Date: 01/05/09


To: The Branch Secretary



Dear Colleague

Industrial Action – Edinburgh Mail Centre - Handling Mail during Official Industrial Action

This LTB is to advise Branches that CWU members at the above mentioned office are taking official industrial action commencing 04.00 – 08.30 Friday 1st May 2009 for Might and Early Shift and from 16.15 0 19.15 Friday 1st May 2009 for the Late Shift.

Royal Mail has advised us that in order to ensure a full service to their customers it will be necessary to make changes to the circulation of mail.

Branches are reminded that only properly balloted industrial action is legal and any refusal to co-operate with management over these changes may be deemed unofficial industrial action and therefore illegal. This, of course, applies to use of supplementary staff and levels of overtime to clear the envisaged backlogs.

All such measures will of course need to subject to the normal consultative arrangements to enable the receiving offices to be resourced.

It is imperative that no office becomes involved in any activity that could be construed as unofficial industrial action as any such activity could place in jeopardy the validity of the legal action taking place at the Edinburgh Mail Centre.

Branches experiencing any difficulties should in the first instance refer them to the Martin Collins, Assistant Secretary at CWU Headquarters.

Yours sincerely




Billy Hayes Dave Ward
General Secretary Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

[DGP1]

Where's the fun in that

[stokes11eg]

I long to go back to the days when you could call a scab a scab & when the union would'nt dare touch black-listed mail.

Please, explain what the Union means when they say 'refusal to co-operate with these changes"
if the changes are illegal in the first place, why should we co-operate knowing full well these changes will become contractual through time?

[dvbuk55]

Is what they are saying that other mail centres should accept the mail or should not - to me it looks as though they are accepting that the receiving mail centre should process the mail even though their colleagues are making a stand by taking industrial action - it looks to me that they are drawing the line over and over again - we are going back this far and no more, no more, no more, - pretty soon we'll be at the door of HQ.

[baldrick]

The Anti=Union laws require that a union repudiates unofficial action,
or the employer can seek an injunction declaring that the original
action is unlawful. The union could also be fined or have it's assets
sequestered.
Of course individual union members might choose to disregard the
union's instructions if they felt it was morally right to support their
fellow workers and refuse to handle mail diverted from an office on
industrial action.

[DGP1]

Of course, because we all work efficently there is no time to do other peoples work so if they want me to do anybody elses work then it's going to cut into my time to do my own work

[POSTMAN]

The letter is standard practice to keep the legal eagles of RM away.

Total bull and everyone knows it

[k979aaa]

There is a way round this CALL A NATIONAL BALLOT NOW!.

[Martin Walsh]

All leaders including CWU HQs , Regional Secs, Divisional Reps , Branch officials and Area Reps will have to do a lot of work and even if everyone was on the same page that would take a lot of time to organise.

I think we will evenutally move to a national vote and hopefully the national briefing this Thursday will signal that. But I am not totally optimistic because I could name a number of Divisons and Branch`s as well a National officials who seem not to either have an appertite to have a row or even to hold the line. In fact I dont use the word lightly but the word appeasement springs to mind.

Now regarding this thread I would ask that we dont get into discussing this as Royal Mail will use it if they need to get an injunction. Anyone who remembers when the union got fined 10 thousand pounds and a warning that the next time would be million will know that they used a quote by a London official in the newsline workers revlountionary paper as evidence that London had not taken spontainious industrial action.

In any case we have made it clear what we expect of other areas when London go on strike and they know.

[BELIAL]

If only the membership at large new the details of those not prepared to pull their weight, I'm sure they would get a lot of letters/emails/feedback/encouragement