Postal strike will cause disruption

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news ... 5527671.jp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

THOUSANDS of homes and businesses across Peterborough will be without mail for up to four days as more than 200 postal workers stage a 48-hour strike tonight.
The posties from the city's Peterborough North sorting office, in Papyrus Road, Werrington, will swap their delivery sacks for the picket line as part of the two-day strike against pay and working hours.

This means post, from birthday cards to bills, will be disrupted in the PE1, PE3, PE4 and PE6 postcode areas of the city from 9pm tonight through to 6am on Monday.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) announced last week that strike action was inevitable in response to Royal Mail's "draconian and destructive" proposals on business changes and the effect of earning potential and take home pay.

Union representatives say the industrial action is being called following Royal Mail's notification that they intend to enforce changes to duties in all of the offices that will put job security at risk, reduce take home pay and increase workload for no extra pay.

The CWU believes that these alterations will have a long-term effect on the delivery time of mail and quality of service.

Local representative for the (CWU) Mark Cook said: "We understand that changes need to be made in the current climate. However, Royal Mail is a vital public service that many small to medium business rely on and Royal Mails approach to ripping out hours and jobs will destroy the mail service to households in this country.

"Our customers rely on us to deliver their post, they know our names and faces, and now we are being asked to take on extra rounds and delivering even later in the day.

"This is a public service, owned by the tax payer, and we want it to stay that way instead of the slash and burn attitude of cutting costs that Royal Mail has.

"Once again we apologise to our customers who are not going to get a service over the next few days.

"However, if this isn't resolved then further strike action is imminent."

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We condemn the CWU for striking locally over much-needed modernisation and change, which has already been successfully implemented by our people in the majority of offices around the UK, and is working well.

"The changes are all covered by the 2007 Agreement on Pay and Modernisation, which the CWU leadership signed in the presence of the TUC."

Postcodes which begin PE2 and PE7 will not be affected as the mail comes from the city's south distribution centre in Welbeck Way, which has not taken part in the strike ballot.

Action will also be taken at the Boston Delivery Office Lincolnshire on Saturday and Monday and at Huntingdon Delivery Office from 6am to 9am on Friday.

[pinstripe]

"Postal strike will cause disruption"
Is this the only headline that newspaper editors can come up with? This is at least the third time they've used it. Oh and by the way, postal strikes are designed to cause disruption. What would be the point of going on strike if nobody noticed?

[Pinky 1]

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We condemn the CWU for striking locally over much-needed modernisation and change, which has already been successfully implemented by our people in the majority of offices around the UK, and is working well.

Again, the same old reply off the same old hymn sheet
So I'LL ask again ......where are these offices ?

[dvbuk55]

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We condemn the CWU for striking locally over much-needed modernisation and change, which has already been successfully implemented by our people in the majority of offices around the UK, and is working well.

Again, the same old reply off the same old hymn sheet
So I'LL ask again ......where are these offices ?

I don't know what constitutes change and modernisation, but our office has park and loop, use PDAs, have duties imposed, have lost duties, had geo route, summer lapsing, cuts in overtime, loss of SAs, part time duties by the shedload - if that answers your question, and I don't want to suggest that we like it, but went ahead on the advice of the union.

[Ahebban]

Yes, dvbuk55, many offices across the country have suffered RMs version of modernisation. The unwritten advice from branches and areas to 'seek the best deal you can' was not uncommon. The leadership has been slow to pick up on the anger and frustration felt by many. The alarm bells should have been ringing many months ago when RM first stalled the phase 4 group forums. Strong and clear advice should have come down the chain of command so that offices would have been better perpared to deal with RM's tactical use of phases 2 and 3 whilst avoiding its obligations on phase 4. RM's PR machine is a well-oiled beast and has, once again, stolen the march on the CWU leadership.

The rank and file members deserve every plaudit for pushing this campaign to the forefront, fighting against an intimidatory RM and a lacklustre CWU leadership.

[Pinky 1]

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We condemn the CWU for striking locally over much-needed modernisation and change, which has already been successfully implemented by our people in the majority of offices around the UK, and is working well.

Again, the same old reply off the same old hymn sheet
So I'LL ask again ......where are these offices ?

I don't know what constitutes change and modernisation, but our office has park and loop, use PDAs, have duties imposed, have lost duties, had geo route, summer lapsing, cuts in overtime, loss of SAs, part time duties by the shedload - if that answers your question, and I don't want to suggest that we like it, but went ahead on the advice of the union.

Yes, i understand the changes foced upon you, but has it "been successfully implemented" and "is working well" ?
According to the hymn sheet everything is hunky dory in the majority of offices across the country

[k979aaa]

Royalmails tosh is total masturbation of it's own ethos too a public service it only please it's self!.

[jcjd]

http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news ... 5527671.jp
Action will also be taken at the Boston Delivery Office Lincolnshire on Saturday and Monday and at Huntingdon Delivery Office from 6am to 9am on Friday.

we were stopped in london from taking part day strikes and as i know it are still waiting for the court to rule on this, has something changed and can we now take half day strikes?

[dvbuk55]

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We condemn the CWU for striking locally over much-needed modernisation and change, which has already been successfully implemented by our people in the majority of offices around the UK, and is working well.

Again, the same old reply off the same old hymn sheet
So I'LL ask again ......where are these offices ?

I don't know what constitutes change and modernisation, but our office has park and loop, use PDAs, have duties imposed, have lost duties, had geo route, summer lapsing, cuts in overtime, loss of SAs, part time duties by the shedload - if that answers your question, and I don't want to suggest that we like it, but went ahead on the advice of the union.

Yes, i understand the changes foced upon you, but has it "been successfully implemented" and "is working well" ?
According to the hymn sheet everything is hunky dory in the majority of offices across the country

Well it would depend on whose perspective you look at it from. If it is in and it works after a fashion then I suppose from RMs view it is operating successfully but obviously the workforce feel betrayed into accepting working practices which hadn't been agreed and aren't really integrated because of the lack of input from the shop floor.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news ... 5527671.jp
Action will also be taken at the Boston Delivery Office Lincolnshire on Saturday and Monday and at Huntingdon Delivery Office from 6am to 9am on Friday.

we were stopped in london from taking part day strikes and as i know it are still waiting for the court to rule on this, has something changed and can we now take half day strikes?

You could still do the 1/2 day strikes but RM would not pay you for any of the shift and you would then have to take them to tribunal. As I understand it London decided to cancel the part day strikes as a division (probably partly because of the logistics involved) - the offices outside London were all balloted individualy so it would have been easier to get the feeling on the ground at the affected offices.