Conservatives talk Bollox.

[POSTMAN]

http://www.conservatives.com/tile.do?de ... _id=137036

Conservatives have warned of the damaging consequences of a postal strike, and called on the Communication Workers Union to face up to the prospect of increased competition in the mail delivery market.

Commenting after postal workers voted in favour of industrial action, Shadow Industry Secretary Alan Duncan said: "A strike would be damaging to the Royal Mail and its employees, and harmful to customers."

In a CWU ballot on strike action over pay, some 77 per cent of the Royal Mail's members of the union supported industrial action, in what could be the first national postal strike since 1996. A series of walkouts will now be staged by around 130,000 CWU members, unless fresh talks result in a compromise agreement.

Speaking after the result of the union ballot was announced at the CWU conference in Bournemouth, Mr Duncan stated: "The Royal Mail faces significant challenges arising from greater competition in the postal services market and falling mail volumes. Royal Mail's management rightly believes that modernisation and improving productivity are essential to meeting these challenges."

He declared: "We are disappointed that CWU members have voted in favour of industrial action. A strike would be damaging to Royal Mail and its employees and harmful to customers. Increasing competition in the postal services market is a reality that the CWU need to deal with."

[IWW Fellow Worker]

I wouldn't mind swapping pay packets with Alan Duncan, the workshy piece of crap. Where is Guy Fawkes when you need him?

[pillar box]

Try living on a postmans wages Mr Duncan before making silly statements.
The Royal Mail and the CWU can modernize and compete in the postal market only if politicians like your self remove the shackles of regulators they are the ones who a crippling this industry.

[rhino49]

I may be being a bit naive here but I was under the impression that "competition" was something that you got involved with in order to see who was best at something given rules and regulations common to both (or all) sides.

Postcomm and the present government (with the compliance of Royal Mail's gang of one) seem to define competition as being forced to give someone else all your economically rewarding bits, service them at a loss and then pay your staff the imaginary low wages that are earned by people who do not even do the same job. How can I be paid more than postal delivery workers who do not exist - the only examples I have seen so far of competition on the streets are foreign bag ladies sticking DTD's in peoples hedges, gateposts or leaving them hanging out of letterboxes in their haste to race across the next flower bed.

I get occasional complaints from my customers about mail originating from downstream access suppliers that contain time sensitive material such as hospital appointments that arrive on the day of the appointment or credit card statements that arrive with only a day or two left to settle the account.

I know we deliver these items on the day they arrive at the local delivery office but I suspect that part of the pricing policy on which the service is offered to the sending customer is that they are not "next day items" and the processors are sending them to us when they have a full load which is more economically acceptable than a regular overnight distribution that our own business uses.

We would never need to put a brake on the above mail as the downstream access suppliers appear to be doing that as part of their set up - if anyone knows anything of their distribution and logistics policy I would be interested to see any details - whatever they are, they're not up to our standards.

p.s I have a pang of conscience - this week I have delivered so many subscription magazines that I feel sure that a newsagent somewhere has had to close as a result - war is hell.

[DirtyHarry]

Well , to mis-quote Christine Keeler , or was it Mandy Rice-Davies ? ................ A Tory would say that , wouldn't they ?

[madsorter]

The Royal Mail and the CWU can modernize and compete in the postal market only if politicians like your self remove the shackles of regulators they are the ones who a crippling this industry.

Best thing ive read on this site.......regulator is absolutely draining royal mail, bottom line. That imo is the biggest problem.

[johnnyp]

Thats the problem mad ,its not just royal mail,its postcom and the government who are killing us

[evilc]

Thats the problem mad ,its not just royal mail,its postcom and the government who are killing us

Here here bravo bravo