Questions I'd like answers to

[norris9]

5 Day Service
As far as I am aware Royal Mail requested to go down to a 5 day Mon - Fri letters service recently. Has the government got back to them yet with a yes/no answer? I cannot find anything. Our delivery office has essentially been running a 5 day service for 17 months as we have no float cover. Royal Mail have no interest in the USO or serving the public.

Compulsory Redundancies
Royal Mail want to leave compulsory redundancies on the table. Why? - when they aren't paying off all the VR volunteers, how can they get rid of thousands of workers through CR. Anecdotal evidence suggests nobody is leaving ~45% of the deliver offices/mail centres, and I am sure virtually every office had at least 1 person who applied for VR. What's the law on this - how can they move to CR without clearing out those who selected VR first?

Striking
Does Thompson actually want us to strike so he can get the share price down for his billionaire friend to buy all the shares he needs? Is there any point in striking anymore? Thompson has made it totally clear that he doesn't want to make a deal. Should we stop striking and instead put some other rules in place such as no overtime? or do we have to keep striking until the bitter end?

[Frankie15]

Regarding the USO. They were told NO almost immediately!

[Rommagic]

Yes should have more then enough VR people instead of CR.This week is make or break for a deal.

[clashcityrocker]

They were told no when Kwasi was Business Secretary.
They have since made a second request to Shapps but as the OP states, there has been no response.

[mr hil.]

I believe the compulsory redundancy issue hinges on the fact that RM want to rationalise and reduce the mail centres and possibly DOs and may not be able to relocate all the surplus staff. Over subscribed VR in local offices does not mean everybody who wishes to leave can do so, RM nationally would like to reduce the headcount but some Mail centre closures would mean compulsory redundancies are inevitable if the staff cannot be accommodated, unwilling or unable to work elsewhere.

[TopperGas]

I believe the compulsory redundancy issue hinges on the fact that RM want to rationalise and reduce the mail centres and possibly DOs and may not be able to relocate all the surplus staff. Over subscribed VR in local offices does not mean everybody who wishes to leave can do so, RM nationally would like to reduce the headcount but some Mail centre closures would mean compulsory redundancies are inevitable if the staff cannot be accommodated, unwilling or unable to work elsewhere.

How are we ever going to defeat that issue as RM aren't going to keep MC's open just because we threaten to strike? Surely a better proposal would be decent CR terms?

Wasn't this always going to be an issue when RM spent £m's on the automated parcel hubs? Were the CWU asleep at the wheel when they were proposed?

[mr hil.]

My point is that is why RM will not remove their ability to make staff compulsively dismissed by agreement. If their planned closures go ahead the jobs will not be there so compulsory redundancy is inevitable if the staff cannot work elsewhere within the company.

The Automated Hubs are the right thing for the company to do but were always going to result in rationalisation elsewhere, the Union have tried to limit the impact on us but modernisation and automation will always reduce headcount in any industry. The Union have been working tirelessly to protect as many jobs as possible that was the main reason for the MTSF agreement all those years ago.

[Binsey]

Regarding the New Parcel Hubs RM initially wanted them entirely staffed by Agency and Angaard.

[fb1969]

Once the USO is weakened it will become open to negotiation and as good as worthless. When RM get letter post down to five days a week they will then work on getting it down to probably 3 days, justifying it by saying people got used to the change to five days. The current situation with only one side of a van share going out each day will be expanded to every van share. Post will be Mon/Wed/Fri for one current duty and Tue/Thu/Sat for the other, although the duties as they currently are will be binned.

[mr hil.]

Regarding the New Parcel Hubs RM initially wanted them entirely staffed by Agency and Angaard.

Did RM get their way with this or did the Union negotiate and prevent this?

[Binsey]

Haven’t been to NW Hub in a while but I suspect it’s dual staffed.

[walthmstowman]

5 Day Service
As far as I am aware Royal Mail requested to go down to a 5 day Mon - Fri letters service recently. Has the government got back to them yet with a yes/no answer? I cannot find anything. Our delivery office has essentially been running a 5 day service for 17 months as we have no float cover. Royal Mail have no interest in the USO or serving the public.

Compulsory Redundancies
Royal Mail want to leave compulsory redundancies on the table. Why? - when they aren't paying off all the VR volunteers, how can they get rid of thousands of workers through CR. Anecdotal evidence suggests nobody is leaving ~45% of the deliver offices/mail centres, and I am sure virtually every office had at least 1 person who applied for VR. What's the law on this - how can they move to CR without clearing out those who selected VR first?

Striking
Does Thompson actually want us to strike so he can get the share price down for his billionaire friend to buy all the shares he needs? Is there any point in striking anymore? Thompson has made it totally clear that he doesn't want to make a deal. Should we stop striking and instead put some other rules in place such as no overtime? or do we have to keep striking until the bitter end?

1. All I know is what I heard on the radio and that was government ministers have no plans for allowing Royal Mail to stop letter deliveries on Saturday's. I don't know any details to that .It was just a brief headline

2 All depends where they want them to go . Most DO's are already understaffed so I think the MC's where I work will be in the main firing line . The average age of the worker in MC is 55. We're an old workforce and people are leaving , retiring all the time on a yearly basis . I don't know why Royal Mail want's compulsory redundancies when they're getting what they want anyway due to natural wastage . That's one of the reasons why I'm saying Royal Mail could easily take compulsory redundancies off the table . For what the union is asking for this would be the easiest thing for management to agree to . I can only assume management won't agree for leverage reasons but it won't work because we won't be bullied .

3. This could be viewed as insider trading and if proven could result in a prison sentence . Are our management that stupid , you know , I wouldn't put it passed them .

[norris9]

How are we ever going to defeat that issue as RM aren't going to keep MC's open just because we threaten to strike? Surely a better proposal would be decent CR terms?

I was thinking this.... to get rid of us RM could pay us off well with good CR terms and then they can get their new slave labour workforce in.

Could end up with the CR terms being better than VR terms.

[norris9]

I believe the compulsory redundancy issue hinges on the fact that RM want to rationalise and reduce the mail centres and possibly DOs and may not be able to relocate all the surplus staff. Over subscribed VR in local offices does not mean everybody who wishes to leave can do so, RM nationally would like to reduce the headcount but some Mail centre closures would mean compulsory redundancies are inevitable if the staff cannot be accommodated, unwilling or unable to work elsewhere.

So do you think any CR will be relatively light. Maybe sub 2000 people across the business?

My concern with CR is that they'd try to get rid of as many of us as they could afford to. I don't know what the law says on this with them replacing us with agency workers and new starts on lower pay and terms and conditions.....surely they'd have to pay those that leave handsomely. I would not say no to £15,000 which was the minimum P&O workers received.

[norris9]

Once the USO is weakened it will become open to negotiation and as good as worthless. When RM get letter post down to five days a week they will then work on getting it down to probably 3 days, justifying it by saying people got used to the change to five days. The current situation with only one side of a van share going out each day will be expanded to every van share. Post will be Mon/Wed/Fri for one current duty and Tue/Thu/Sat for the other, although the duties as they currently are will be binned.

I can't see the USO being weakened that far. Postmen are seen as key workers for a reason - a postal service keeps the country connected, keeps the country moving, keeps the country's businesses and services going. In a time of emergency - like the pandemic we have that connection to every household in the country.

I doubt the government will let Royal Mail go down to a 5 day service anytime soon. Although I think it would make sense for the company and probably wouldn't impact external businesses/services too much, but I have read articles where some companies - magazine publishers in particular - aren't happy with the idea.