RM ATTEMPT TO FORCE PENSIONS CHANGES

[DGP1]

The words 'I told you so' spring to mind, most of us on this site who had any dealings with management knew this was going to happen, both :cfo :lfo have a mandate to destroy the CWU and those people who voted yes are going to be very disappointed that they are being shafted.

[dpb]

We'd better not spend the £400 we apparently get in April as it might come in handy.

don't count your chickens k66yla. i think the £400 pay out is actualy in pretend shares , paid in to your office colleague share dividend. these can't be converted in to cash untill some time in the future when R.M. allow you to sell them back to them.

i've met a lot of posties recently who think that they are getting £400 cash in April

i could be wrong but thats the way i read the agreement.

[anon]

As soon as the union decoupled the pay from the pension they weakened their position.

I predict that however bad the pension proposals are that the union would not be able to get a strike vote for this lone issue.

We blew it when we seperated it!

I am going to leave at 60 and take what I am due.

Sorry to be so negative, but we only have Billy and Dave to thank.

[pinstripe]

I also think that the membership will not go for strike action. Remember the 64%. Too many people are quite vocal in their denouncing of everything RM, but they were still the ones who agreed to the agreement. They might shout and point the finger but they have no intention of losing any more pay only for the union to declare a resounding victory by giving RM twice what they wanted! These are the people who have to be convinced that they have to make a stand, now, to protect their future, but I don't think they will be converted. The general feeling is that we lost the strike last year and no matter how the result is twisted round we are now seeing RM enforcing whatever they want, when they want it. It is only the strong local and area reps that manage to get any concessions.
Face it guys, most of our colleagues say one thing and vote for the other.
I am in the enviable position of not being in the pension scheme, so this issue does not affect me, unless of course there is a ballot and the result is for a strike (I'll be very surprised). You'll have my support and I really hope I'm wrong, but I think the membership will meekly accept RM's demands rather than follow the union up the garden path again. Sorry.

[anon]

Forgive me for being a party pooper, but something doesn't add up:

There simply isn't the money to pay everyone what they are owed through the pension.
Is it possible that the government underwrites these pensions?
If they can find £25bn for Northern Rock can they find £5bn for the RM pension fund?

I wish you all luck with this I truly do, but personally I don't know where the money will come from

F0zz

Our pension should have never been in danger, our pension is protected by the Pension act which gives 90% of pensions due to defaulting schemes and 100% to existing pensions.
But the scheme would fail if the RM scheme went bust so:

The problem for the government was that it could not sell off or privatise RM without underwriting the Pension deficit!
So it may be in the interest of both RM and the government to sort out the pension.
This would allow RM to be privatised and the government to rid its self of RM and the pension debt.

[Night Tonic]

And with it all the hard work done by Reps across the country. That would see the finish I expect. Not cheering news....

[Carnoustie]

don't count your chickens k66yla. i think the £400 pay out is actualy in pretend shares , paid in to your office colleague share dividend. these can't be converted in to cash untill some time in the future when R.M. allow you to sell them back to them.

i've met a lot of posties recently who think that they are getting £400 cash in April

i could be wrong but thats the way i read the agreement.

The "shares" are not the sort of shares you can trade on a Stock Exchange. This is a much-watered-down version of a proper share-ownership scheme that Leighton was told by the Government that he couldn't have. The whole name of the scheme is stupid, it is misleading as we won't ever own any shares in Royal Mail plc. ColleagueShares really is just a differently-named version of Share-In-Success, with payouts based on hitting certain targets, with lump sums paid out in cash on attainment of those targets. These so-called dividends are the only part of the scheme that mirror what happens with true dividends on Stock Exchange-listed shares, except with real shares, what is paid out is a proportion of the company's profit, and what you get is with real shares dependent on how many shares you hold.

[BELIAL]

AArggh Don't even think of doing this to me again :"can't negotiate under duress", Super secret talks, Best we can do,given..

Contract I signed says you do this ,defer this amount of your wages ,and you get this.

Problem ,not mine, you f**k up the business, you honour your CONTRACT.

Try this, sorry Nationwide due to prevailing economic circumstances I will only be repaying 50% of the capital. See how far you get, Its reality ,but it onlyworks one way. IF YOU LET IT

[tpost]

I also think that the membership will not go for strike action. Remember the 64%. Too many people are quite vocal in their denouncing of everything RM, but they were still the ones who agreed to the agreement. They might shout and point the finger but they have no intention of losing any more pay only for the union to declare a resounding victory by giving RM twice what they wanted! These are the people who have to be convinced that they have to make a stand, now, to protect their future, but I don't think they will be converted. The general feeling is that we lost the strike last year and no matter how the result is twisted round we are now seeing RM enforcing whatever they want, when they want it. It is only the strong local and area reps that manage to get any concessions.
Face it guys, most of our colleagues say one thing and vote for the other.
I am in the enviable position of not being in the pension scheme, so this issue does not affect me, unless of course there is a ballot and the result is for a strike (I'll be very surprised). You'll have my support and I really hope I'm wrong, but I think the membership will meekly accept RM's demands rather than follow the union up the garden path again. Sorry.

I think you are right, there is no stomach for a fight. Last years picket line was the strongest I have ever seen in 20 years in the job, but most people feel let down by the deal and only voted for it because they had bills to pay and that the cwu leadership gave RM what they wanted. The pension should have been sorted during the strike when there was solid backing. Striking now is like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted

[mitzi]

who is gonna go on strike? are all the thousands who are not in the pension scheme gonna strike? what about those who have only been with the business for 2 years or less, what are they gonna strike for?

[BELIAL]

I also think that the membership will not go for strike action. Remember the 64%. Too many people are quite vocal in their denouncing of everything RM, but they were still the ones who agreed to the agreement. They might shout and point the finger but they have no intention of losing any more pay only for the union to declare a resounding victory by giving RM twice what they wanted! These are the people who have to be convinced that they have to make a stand, now, to protect their future, but I don't think they will be converted. The general feeling is that we lost the strike last year and no matter how the result is twisted round we are now seeing RM enforcing whatever they want, when they want it. It is only the strong local and area reps that manage to get any concessions.
Face it guys, most of our colleagues say one thing and vote for the other.
I am in the enviable position of not being in the pension scheme, so this issue does not affect me, unless of course there is a ballot and the result is for a strike (I'll be very surprised). You'll have my support and I really hope I'm wrong, but I think the membership will meekly accept RM's demands rather than follow the union up the garden path again. Sorry.

I think you are right, there is no stomach for a fight. Last years picket line was the strongest I have ever seen in 20 years in the job, but most people feel let down by the deal and only voted for it because they had bills to pay and that the cwu leadership gave RM what they wanted. The pension should have been sorted during the strike when there was solid backing. Striking now is like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted

C'mon chaps agree with you all ,big fat tactical error ,but you work with what you've got. Do your best,and if we are dealt a losing hand, redouble our efforts and make sure the blame is firmly placed,enough rope and all that

[Stormproof]

who is gonna go on strike? are all the thousands who are not in the pension scheme gonna strike? what about those who have only been with the business for 2 years or less, what are they gonna strike for?

'About 167,000 of Royal Mail's 190,000 workers are currently paying into its pension scheme'-from BBC News website

[BELIAL]

who is gonna go on strike? are all the thousands who are not in the pension scheme gonna strike? what about those who have only been with the business for 2 years or less, what are they gonna strike for?

'About 167,000 of Royal Mail's 190,000 workers are currently paying into its pension scheme'-from BBC News website

Yahoo

[Night Tonic]

Well said. You put your finger on it by saying just who do you fight on this. Trouble is, because its euro-led we don't have anything to get hold of on this. The government is like a nodding dog, agreeing to everything and saying theres nothing they can do. I'm not sure how a union the size of the CWU can even hope to tackle this. This monster is too damned big. Even where (and if) we win small triumphs, you can be sure as eggs are eggs that the liberalisation machine will just keep on coming. One things for sure, the government won't get involved in our pensions -they'll just say its up to RM and CWU to resolve.

[BELIAL]

Labour are fully involved in our pensions,They are the whip hands,the motivators.

Europe ,Labour ,Rm, they are all people ,none to big to take a tumble, none to mighty to fear f.a.

Too many pussys out there, roll over and beg