Leighton reckons we aint got it in us

[krooserman1802]

Read this colleagues. half way down the page Leighton states ;_

"Is his walkabout magic wearing off? Leighton, sitting in front of a poster of the Rocky Mountains at Loblaw, shakes his head. The Royal Mail, he says, has
“the biggest pension fund deficit in the western worldâ€

[andy2007]

That's the problem with him! He's far to arrogant to even seriously consider taking notice of those who actually pay his wages!

It's about time that he realised that it is US, not the Government who actually pay his wages. If we didn't work as hard as we do, RM would crumble in just a few short months. But he's convinced himself that he actually does something to earn the ludicrous amounts of money that he gets from his 4 or 5 Businesses. The fact is, that you can't possibly do a proper job of running so many Businesses, unless others do all the hard work. There simply aren't enough hours in a day.

He just thinks of Business as a way of getting even richer. He has no concept of what it is to earn his living through hard graft. I seriously doubt that he would last a Month on the Shop Floor!

On the other hand, I would love to see him try. Could you imagine him trying to do deliveries at 4 Mph, or working in a Seg at 3 Cages per hour (minimum) for up to 4 hours without a break?
It would be hilarious to see how many days he would manage before keeling over, or getting disciplined for not working hard enough!

[k979aaa]

[quote="krooserman1802"]Read this colleagues. half way down the page Leighton states ;_

"Is his walkabout magic wearing off? Leighton, sitting in front of a poster of the Rocky Mountains at Loblaw, shakes his head. The Royal Mail, he says, has “the biggest pension fund deficit in the western worldâ€

[pinstripe]

Try us and see then. The only issue that could have galvanized support for IA is the pensions. Even those of us not affected by the proposals are still angered by them. His arrogance knows no bounds and he lives in his own world, living by his own rules, supported by a government so far removed from the electorate that voted for them, it is only a matter of time before their ivory towers come crashing down around them and this country rushes headlong into another recession, and you will never believe who will be blamed for it. No you probably will.

[BELIAL]

To be honest ,hes barking up the wrong tree. Most of us are worn out by the walks, any excuse to rest those tired knees is most welcome

[DGP1]

To be honest ,hes barking up the wrong tree. Most of us are worn out by the walks, any excuse to rest those tired knees is most welcome

[F0zziebear]

1. It wasn't Leighton who renamed RM Consignia, he came in and changed it back.
2. To say he just does stuff to get richer, well you are probably right. It's called capitalism, though I accept greed is a ugly sin that has caught the western world out.
3, To say you pay his wages is not true. The big banks, utilities, telecoms etc. pay his and your wages. You happen to work in an organisation. The fact that you think you are over-worked and under-paid is something different. What is also different is possibly the fact that the people who sign-off executive pay, and the extreme executive increases in pay is another matter.
4. The pension deifict is real. Whether you like Leighton or not should not cloud the issue.

I feel for everyone in here who paid into the pension fund and are now finding out that the pot is half-empty. Unfortunately this is the case with many pensions, just that RM had one of the largest workforces who are now living longer. The pension holiday money may have made the problem smaller, but to think that would have solved it is madness. Going on strike won't solve the problem as the money can't be brought out from nowhere. You could argue that the government should use some of the money invested in Iraq or Afghanistan as I've noticed, but then that goes on other public sector workers, namely soldiers and equipment.

The best thing to do is take early retirement enjoy what money is still there and hope you don't live too long. Or have a revolution and re-distribute the nations wealth which has gone into fewer pockets in recent years.

Trotzky F0zzie

[baldrick]

The best thing to do is ..... have a revolution and re-distribute the nations wealth which has gone into fewer pockets in recent years.
Trotzky F0zzie

Sounds like a good idea to me. :lfo :cfo

[Edward Hunter]

I think Leighton knows what hes talking about. Where i work there is no stomach for more strikes over the pensions, and we were probably 90% solid for the last dispute, you know the one where the glorious leaders of the CWU bent over to L+C to lose a position of strength, gained by the sacrifices of the members.Lets be honest our own union has agreed the pension needs to be reformed! There will be no strikes over pensions. Not after last time.

[sparkx]

1. It wasn't Leighton who renamed RM Consignia, he came in and changed it back.
2. To say he just does stuff to get richer, well you are probably right. It's called capitalism, though I accept greed is a ugly sin that has caught the western world out.
3, To say you pay his wages is not true. The big banks, utilities, telecoms etc. pay his and your wages. You happen to work in an organisation. The fact that you think you are over-worked and under-paid is something different. What is also different is possibly the fact that the people who sign-off executive pay, and the extreme executive increases in pay is another matter.
4. The pension deifict is real. Whether you like Leighton or not should not cloud the issue.

I feel for everyone in here who paid into the pension fund and are now finding out that the pot is half-empty. Unfortunately this is the case with many pensions, just that RM had one of the largest workforces who are now living longer. The pension holiday money may have made the problem smaller, but to think that would have solved it is madness. Going on strike won't solve the problem as the money can't be brought out from nowhere. You could argue that the government should use some of the money invested in Iraq or Afghanistan as I've noticed, but then that goes on other public sector workers, namely soldiers and equipment.

The best thing to do is take early retirement enjoy what money is still there and hope you don't live too long. Or have a revolution and re-distribute the nations wealth which has gone into fewer pockets in recent years.

Trotzky F0zzie

What really winds me up is the pension holiday taken by RM, they state that because the fund was in surplus then to keep paying in would have meant most of the additional payments would have been taken in Tax. Where do taxes collected by HMRC go? to the Government who are also our sole shareholder, so they didn't keep paying the employers contributions when times where good, so where did the money go that they didn't pay in? to our shareholder the Government.

Whichever way you look at it the Government have had the money, they are willing to bail out other public sector pension schemes such as the Civil Service but not us who they have treated as a cash cow for many years, why do you think they never sold us off, because we make them so much money.

According to the RM figure I will be £5K a year worse off if I retire at 60 and will have to work to 64 to get the same benefits, I've never striked before but I don't see any other option over this issue.

I don't believe a strike will make any difference given the reaction by the hierachy to the CWU strikes in the summer but what else can we do to make them listen?

[DGP1]

What really winds me up is the pension holiday taken by RM, they state that because the fund was in surplus then to keep paying in would have meant most of the additional payments would have been taken in Tax. Where do taxes collected by HMRC go? to the Government who are also our sole shareholder, so they didn't keep paying the employers contributions when times where good, so where did the money go that they didn't pay in? to our shareholder the Government.

Whichever way you look at it the Government have had the money, they are willing to bail out other public sector pension schemes such as the Civil Service but not us who they have treated as a cash cow for many years, why do you think they never sold us off, because we make them so much money.

According to the RM figure I will be £5K a year worse off if I retire at 60 and will have to work to 64 to get the same benefits, I've never striked before but I don't see any other option over this issue.

I don't believe a strike will make any difference given the reaction by the hierachy to the CWU strikes in the summer but what else can we do to make them listen?

I think you'll find that if RM had put the money into the pension scheme then it would've affected the bonuses paid to senior management but giving all the money to the government meant they could get bigger bonuses

[andy2007]

1. It wasn't Leighton who renamed RM Consignia, he came in and changed it back.
2. To say he just does stuff to get richer, well you are probably right. It's called capitalism, though I accept greed is a ugly sin that has caught the western world out.
3, To say you pay his wages is not true. The big banks, utilities, telecoms etc. pay his and your wages. You happen to work in an organisation. The fact that you think you are over-worked and under-paid is something different. What is also different is possibly the fact that the people who sign-off executive pay, and the extreme executive increases in pay is another matter.
4. The pension deifict is real. Whether you like Leighton or not should not cloud the issue.

I feel for everyone in here who paid into the pension fund and are now finding out that the pot is half-empty. Unfortunately this is the case with many pensions, just that RM had one of the largest workforces who are now living longer. The pension holiday money may have made the problem smaller, but to think that would have solved it is madness. Going on strike won't solve the problem as the money can't be brought out from nowhere. You could argue that the government should use some of the money invested in Iraq or Afghanistan as I've noticed, but then that goes on other public sector workers, namely soldiers and equipment.

The best thing to do is take early retirement enjoy what money is still there and hope you don't live too long. Or have a revolution and re-distribute the nations wealth which has gone into fewer pockets in recent years.

Trotzky F0zzie

You are right about him not being responsible for the Consignia farce, but please allow me to point out where you are mistaken on some other points:

I didn't say that he just does stuff to get richer, I said he treats Business as a way to get richer. It's not the same thing.

Specifically, he concentrates purely on getting the best bonuses for himself and his cronies. Instead of concentrating on Customer Service. In a Service Industry such as Royal Mail, that is a terrible attitude to have. THE WHOLE POINT OF ROYAL MAIL IS TO PROVIDE A PUBLIC SERVICE!

You also said that I am wrong in saying that we pay his wages, and that they are paid by Banks, big Business, etc., and that they also pay mine. Where exactly do you think that they get the money in the first place?
Customers pay for a Service or Product, that money goes to the Company's Bank Account, from where the Wages are paid. Who provides the Service?
The people who actually DO the Work.

Obviously, I am only one of many who do the work. I realise that it isn't me personally who pays his wages. Only an egomaniac would think such a thing. However, he seems to be under the delusion that he can pay proper attention to 4 or 5 Businesses, and get paid by all of them. Do you genuinely think that, that is possible Fozzie?

How can you suggest that people retire early on even less money?
Was it a joke?
If so, it's in poor taste.

I'm sorry if I seem harsh in my criticism, but it is important that people face the reality, rather than the Corporate Spin. If you still believe that I am wrong, particularly about who pays the wages, please let me know. This is an important issue, and needs to be discussed properly.

[jafferpants]

CanTYPEANDSHOUTS wrote
well firstly id like to point out that the point of royal mail is to offer a service to the public,its not a public service its a business,and businesses are their to make money end of.
they will always no matter what year on year look for cuts somewhere.
but lets not kid ourselves were all hard done by here,as ive said many times we are paid (like it or not)an exceptional amount of money for what in reality is a minimum wage job anywhere else.

go out and try working shifts at the end of a machine with 30 minutes break for minimum wage with no added bonuses or pension contributions and see which you prefer..i know which i prefer.the easier simpler and more rewarding job which is why im here.oh and they retire at 65 like normal people.lets not cry that we cant walk the streets with a meer 16 kg bag at 64 when anywhere else the maximum lift is 25 kgs thousands of times a day till your 65.

some people need a serious reality check [/quote]



Ah, The ignorance of youth!!!!!!

[TrueBlueTerrier]

well firstly id like to point out that the point of royal mail is to offer a service to the public,its not a public service its a business,and businesses are their to make money end of.
they will always no matter what year on year look for cuts somewhere.
but lets not kid ourselves were all hard done by here,as ive said many times we are paid (like it or not)an exceptional amount of money for what in reality is a minimum wage job anywhere else.

go out and try working shifts at the end of a machine with 30 minutes break for minimum wage with no added bonuses or pension contributions and see which you prefer..i know which i prefer.the easier simpler and more rewarding job which is why im here.oh and they retire at 65 like normal people.lets not cry that we cant walk the streets with a meer 16 kg bag at 64 when anywhere else the maximum lift is 25 kgs thousands of times a day till your 65.

some people need a serious reality check

Just because it happens elsewhere does not make it right. . Are we not allowed to try and improve our pay and conditions. Are we not allowed to voice our concerns. Are we not allowed to try and improve the H&S regime of our employers.

I am glad we have a union and I pray I never have your stance on pay and conditions because in your world the Rich get Richer and the Poor get poorer, and the annoying thing is you think that's is OK.

Its 2008 you know not 1878 - Anyone got a 5 year old willing to go work at t'mill for 18 hours on minimum wage.

Royal Mail was a Public Service up until 8 years ago. It became a Public Limited Company wholly owned by HM Government in 2000. The name initially registered with Companies House was Trushelfco (No 2758) and this was changed to Consignia plc on 26th January 2001.The government announced it was the sole shareholder and made Royal Mail a Business for most of its time Royal Mails main aim was to provide a service and not a profit.

[Night Tonic]

Oh get real TBT. The only one acting like 1978 is the union and its stalwarts. The job IS well paid- a lot better than almost any other unskilled job and a lot less tiring than some. Stiving for better conditions is one thing but far far easier to go to night school, learn a proper trade and earn better money.