Briefing report from -Paul Fisher Area Delivery Rep for TA.

[Geezer]

Paul Fisher
TA Area Rep



16th November 2009

Dear colleague,

Set out below are some of the issues that were raised at the national briefing on Friday at TUC HQ which I attended.


Dave Ward,
• He had written to Higson and said that unless there was movement by Royal Mail on the agreement then he will seek authority to take strike action before Christmas.
• Royal Mail are not honoring the agreement in London, 200 managers were shipped into 6 delivery office to perform deliveries and sorting.
• Overtime was given to strike breakers and staff were told they could only perform 06.00am-14.00pm deliveries.
• We have offered a joint session with them and Brendon Barber has been asked back.
• Royal Mail is also frightened to have any outside bodies to look at the way they manage.


Around the country.
• In some regions collections have been slashed, casuals still not stood down, management still imposing change and refuses to move on the executive action that has been brought in.
• Management in some regions are moving back to the words of the pay & modernisation agreement.
• Management are still taking people off pay.


Dave Ward,
• There are plenty of problems in units but the key thing to remember is the big picture and that many managers are extremely unhappy with the agreement and feel that they have been sold out.



Bob Gibson,

• What has been achieved is an agreement that means that there will be agreed work measurement systems indoor and outdoor which will stop management from making their own systems up.
• There will be some things that we don’t like, examples being an increase in D2D and longer delivery spans.


Dave Ward,

• Confident that there will be a shorter working week.
• Higher pay on a 2 or 3 year pay deal.
• The agreement also confirms that there will be improved job security and that there will be a workforce predominantly based around full time jobs, but with and agreed full time/part time mix.
• The pension’s crisis cannot be left to fester and whatever government is in power they will have to solve it.
• The most over riding aspect of this dispute is that senior managers promised their managers that they would smash the CWU; there would be no ACAS, no outside mediation. Instead they have to agree with the help of ACAS a new agreement by January 20th 2010
• We have a deal that they cannot walk away from it’s our duty to make sure we honour it.




Paul Fisher
TA Area Rep

[fishtank]

" He had written to Higson and said that unless there was movement by Royal Mail on the agreement then he will seek authority to take strike action before Christmas"

Is this Dave's way of telling us there will be more strikes.

" We have a deal that they cannot walk away from it’s our duty to make sure we honour it."

Is that Dave's way of telling us there will be no more strikes.

[dvbuk55]

I like the look of this report about as much as I like the prospect of hari kari.

Dave Ward,
• There are plenty of problems in units but the key thing to remember is the big picture and that many managers are extremely unhappy with the agreement and feel that they have been sold out

Don't you just hate it when someone in the know uses that time worn phrase THE BIG PICTURE when they are stalling for time and for something meaningful to say.


Bob Gibson,

• What has been achieved is an agreement that means that there will be agreed work measurement systems indoor and outdoor which will stop management from making their own systems up.
• There will be some things that we don’t like, examples being an increase in D2D and longer delivery spans.

No don't get confused here - when he says WE he actually means US - not him.

Dave Ward,

• Confident that there will be a shorter working week.
• Higher pay on a 2 or 3 year pay deal.
• The agreement also confirms that there will be improved job security and that there will be a workforce predominantly based around full time jobs, but with and agreed full time/part time mix.
• The pension’s crisis cannot be left to fester and whatever government is in power they will have to solve it.
• The most over riding aspect of this dispute is that senior managers promised their managers that they would smash the CWU; there would be no ACAS, no outside mediation. Instead they have to agree with the help of ACAS a new agreement by January 20th 2010
• We have a deal that they cannot walk away from it’s our duty to make sure we honour it.

What agreement is this? Is there any actual paperwork on this? Would calling strikes be not honouring the "deal".

Would you buy a second hand car from these two?

[DGP1]

Confident that there will be a shorter working week.
Higher pay on a 2 or 3 year pay deal.

I'd want something more than some wishy washy hope that things will change for the better, I want it written down in black and white that we WILL be getting a shorter week and that we WILL be getting a pay rise this year AND next year AND the following year because if they can put it off they'll just put it off forever claiming that conditions aren't right

[dvbuk55]

Confident that there will be a shorter working week.
Higher pay on a 2 or 3 year pay deal.

I'd want something more than some wishy washy hope that things will change for the better, I want it written down in black and white that we WILL be getting a shorter week and that we WILL be getting a pay rise this year AND next year AND the following year because if they can put it off they'll just put it off forever claiming that conditions aren't right

Sounds like the usual bullshit of Jam tomorrow - I think it's some bear who once said "and will there be honey for tea" - will there f*ck stupid

[chunk]

while this memo is usefull
(thanks for posting it) its dated the 16th and is 8 days old.
A lot can happen in a week of negotiating.

[fishtank]

"What has been achieved is an agreement that means that there will be agreed work measurement systems indoor and outdoor which will stop management from making their own systems up."

You can just bet that means that flying f**king horse.

[Fluke]

Dave Ward,
• There are plenty of problems in units but the key thing to remember is the big picture and that many managers are extremely unhappy with the agreement and feel that they have been sold out

Managers are extremely unhappy with the deal? They aint the only feckers!

[goinpostal]

I• We have a deal that they cannot walk away from it’s our duty to make sure we honour it.

What agreement is this? Is there any actual paperwork on this? Would calling strikes be not honouring the "deal".

Would you buy a second hand car from these two?

hit it right on the head. What agreement? And an agreement by 20 Jan 2010? I wonder what odds the bookies are putting on it. Royal Mail can't walk away?! What's going to stop them?! "It will show people they don't want an agrement". Do they give a toss, the right wing press, tories, and labour government will back them! Tbh i dont think even Dave Ward and the other PEC members believe their own arguments, how could anyone with their eyes open, it is just to keep us quiet.

[La Poste]

Where can we view this agreement, is a gentlemans agreement with a hand shake and a promise or is it written and kept somewhere under lock and key in the IB protected underground vaults of planet Royal Mail?
Why not show it to us?
Maybe we just wouldn't be a able to understand the big picture. It would be too much for us.

[wranglered]

while this memo is usefull
(thanks for posting it) its dated the 16th and is 8 days old.
A lot can happen in a week of negotiating.

not with this lot it can't.....

meetings about meetings...fudge...slide...avoid...

[Wessex]

"• The most over riding aspect of this dispute is that senior managers promised their managers that they would smash the CWU; "

In the 2007 dispute this is what my rep told me, that the managers had been told not too worry about the CWU as they would be finished.

[knackeredneedadayoff]

i believe the agreement is just around the corner (january) believe everything we are going to have a job that is going to be sooooo good, you will go to work with a spring in your step and look at your manager as a dear friend and pick up your 5 kilo bag do a hour and go home for breakie and have a nice morning snooze,then off to the bank to pick up your wage in a yorkie.

[Wiggins79]

I'm totally confused. Can someone explain to me how they are expecting us to get a shorter working week, but also a pay rise? Has anyone actually how this could happen? And anyway, is 5 days work just too much for some people?
Personally, I'd rather work Mon-Fri with Sat an Sun off every week, and let anyone who wants to work on the Saturday be paid double-time, and charge a premium to anyone wanting their mail delivered to pay for it.

[fishtank]

i believe the agreement is just around the corner (january) believe everything we are going to have a job that is going to be sooooo good, you will go to work with a spring in your step and look at your manager as a dear friend and pick up your 5 kilo bag do a hour and go home for breakie and have a nice morning snooze,then off to the bank to pick up your wage in a yorkie.

And then the alarm clock will go off and you will have to drag yourself back into the real world.