Facts are verifiable. You are unable to point to a single thing to corroborate your “facts” because they are something you have either made up, guesstimated or had spoon-fed to you by a CWU rep.
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Relations between old guard and newbies
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Smoothbackground
- Posts: 1263
- Joined: 21 Sep 2023, 20:01
- Gender: Female
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
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Londonsburning
- Posts: 1018
- Joined: 09 Oct 2024, 18:14
- Gender: Male
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
One fact is new starts are paid a whopping 8p an hour above NMW. That is £3.20 per week over and above on a 40 hour contract... Like yourselfSmoothbackground wrote: ↑22 May 2025, 18:44Facts are verifiable. You are unable to point to a single thing to corroborate your “facts” because they are something you have either made up, guesstimated or had spoon-fed to you by a CWU rep.
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Barnacle
- Posts: 2772
- Joined: 13 Dec 2022, 16:58
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- Location: Earth
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
Do your own research and choose someone else to insult.Smoothbackground wrote: ↑22 May 2025, 18:44Facts are verifiable. You are unable to point to a single thing to corroborate your “facts” because they are something you have either made up, guesstimated or had spoon-fed to you by a CWU rep.
’You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new.’
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Smoothbackground
- Posts: 1263
- Joined: 21 Sep 2023, 20:01
- Gender: Female
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
Have I insulted you?Barnacle wrote: ↑22 May 2025, 22:35Do your own research and choose someone else to insult.Smoothbackground wrote: ↑22 May 2025, 18:44Facts are verifiable. You are unable to point to a single thing to corroborate your “facts” because they are something you have either made up, guesstimated or had spoon-fed to you by a CWU rep.
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Smoothbackground
- Posts: 1263
- Joined: 21 Sep 2023, 20:01
- Gender: Female
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
Your “hard facts” seem to be quite wobbly and elastic, nor do they bear up to scrutiny.
In his most recent post to this forum Martin Walsh referenced there being 83,000 delivery OPGs. In one of its recent TV-style shows the CWU mentioned there being 19,000 new-entrant delivery OPGs. This means new entrants now make up almost a quarter of the delivery workforce (22.9% to be slightly more precise). This increase of several percentage points in less than a year, esp bearing in mind the supposed recruitment freeze while the takeover was going through, show that it is a steep-climbing trajectory.
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Barnacle
- Posts: 2772
- Joined: 13 Dec 2022, 16:58
- Gender: Female
- Location: Earth
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
My numbers are based on all employees.Smoothbackground wrote: ↑25 May 2025, 04:27Your “hard facts” seem to be quite wobbly and elastic, nor do they bear up to scrutiny.
In his most recent post to this forum Martin Walsh referenced there being 83,000 delivery OPGs. In one of its recent TV-style shows the CWU mentioned there being 19,000 new-entrant delivery OPGs. This means new entrants now make up almost a quarter of the delivery workforce (22.9% to be slightly more precise). This increase of several percentage points in less than a year, esp bearing in mind the supposed recruitment freeze while the takeover was going through, show that it is a steep-climbing trajectory.
Stop trying to find numbers in order to disagree with my numbers. You aren’t even a union member so do not have access to info.
If you don’t want to believe my numbers because they don’t fit your theory, fine.
’You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new.’
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postmanpatscat2
- Posts: 89
- Joined: 20 Nov 2022, 19:08
- Gender: Male
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
All the rounds in our office are crap and unachievable now. Even single duties nobody wants because they have to take their oversize parcels m, whereas as shared van duties throw out shoe box or over sized packets out.Judgee wrote: ↑21 May 2025, 21:42Only problems that ever seem to come up between old and new are usually to do with seniority? Some new starters that think that they should get their own walk after being with the company for five minutes and that it's "so unfair" they have to do all the crap stuff for a few years! Even though the rest of us all had to take a turn at that when we all started!![]()
Seniority doesn't mean s**t here now and doesn't make you any better off even if you have a top 3 pick..
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SkiSunday
- Posts: 790
- Joined: 05 Jan 2025, 18:19
- Gender: Male
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
I think you'll find that a large percentage of those 19,000 new starts have already left the business akshully.Smoothbackground wrote: ↑25 May 2025, 04:27Your “hard facts” seem to be quite wobbly and elastic, nor do they bear up to scrutiny.
In his most recent post to this forum Martin Walsh referenced there being 83,000 delivery OPGs. In one of its recent TV-style shows the CWU mentioned there being 19,000 new-entrant delivery OPGs. This means new entrants now make up almost a quarter of the delivery workforce (22.9% to be slightly more precise). This increase of several percentage points in less than a year, esp bearing in mind the supposed recruitment freeze while the takeover was going through, show that it is a steep-climbing trajectory.
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itsthepostie
- Posts: 8
- Joined: 05 Jun 2024, 18:04
- Gender: Male
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
I’m a new start, in just over a year now…
Imho we aren’t even Royal Mail staff. The old contracts are Royal Mail staff. New contracts are, I don’t even know what we are tbh…
Anyway, I’ve enjoyed my time there for the most part. Will be leaving in the next month for a new job. Good relations with most of the old timers. There is a clique with one arsehole at the helm, but I mean you get that almost anywhere I’d guess.
Anyway, good luck one and all.
Imho we aren’t even Royal Mail staff. The old contracts are Royal Mail staff. New contracts are, I don’t even know what we are tbh…
Anyway, I’ve enjoyed my time there for the most part. Will be leaving in the next month for a new job. Good relations with most of the old timers. There is a clique with one arsehole at the helm, but I mean you get that almost anywhere I’d guess.
Anyway, good luck one and all.
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postslippete
- Posts: 4101
- Joined: 14 Jul 2014, 16:27
- Gender: Male
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
You're quite right and my gut feeling is that there will always be a two-tier workforce for years to come in RM and what is happening in the negotiations is some sort of delayed compromise. The language has changed from "levelling up" to "harmonising" new entrants pay, terms and conditions. RM doesn't want to equalise anything - it wants headcount flexibility and cost savings. There might be a 'framework' by the CWU to try and reverse the two-tier model but it's over 3 years and in the meantime offices are recruiting even more new entrants on inferior pay, terms and cons. So what is stopping RM from using the next 3 years to lock in as many cheap contracts as possible??
There is no recruitment freeze because of the USO reforms which I suspect are leading regular staff to go on sick, leave work behind etc etc and the Union are heavily involved in trying to make these reforms work....But the numbers don't lie and if 1 in 4 are on inferior contracts now and recruitment continues, then this could quite easily be 1 in 3 in the next year or so and at which point the equalisation plan then becomes either too expensive to implement or conveniently forgotten.
The USO reform is a double edged sword - it's primarily designed to reduce staff numbers and increase our overall manageable workload. But if the business continues to recruit more staff on lower terms and more legacy staff leave then ultimately it will undermine any national pay gains, create a lot of resentment and further weaken our bargaining position for the future. RM is playing the long game here. If they say that they can't afford to upgrade the new entrants pay, terms and conditions now - then obviously they have zero intentions of doing so in the future.
There is no recruitment freeze because of the USO reforms which I suspect are leading regular staff to go on sick, leave work behind etc etc and the Union are heavily involved in trying to make these reforms work....But the numbers don't lie and if 1 in 4 are on inferior contracts now and recruitment continues, then this could quite easily be 1 in 3 in the next year or so and at which point the equalisation plan then becomes either too expensive to implement or conveniently forgotten.
The USO reform is a double edged sword - it's primarily designed to reduce staff numbers and increase our overall manageable workload. But if the business continues to recruit more staff on lower terms and more legacy staff leave then ultimately it will undermine any national pay gains, create a lot of resentment and further weaken our bargaining position for the future. RM is playing the long game here. If they say that they can't afford to upgrade the new entrants pay, terms and conditions now - then obviously they have zero intentions of doing so in the future.
On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world.
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SkiSunday
- Posts: 790
- Joined: 05 Jan 2025, 18:19
- Gender: Male
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
postslippete wrote: ↑25 May 2025, 08:47You're quite right and my gut feeling is that there will always be a two-tier workforce for years to come in RM and what is happening in the negotiations is some sort of delayed compromise. The language has changed from "levelling up" to "harmonising" new entrants pay, terms and conditions. RM doesn't want to equalise anything - it wants headcount flexibility and cost savings. There might be a 'framework' by the CWU to try and reverse the two-tier model but it's over 3 years and in the meantime offices are recruiting even more new entrants on inferior pay, terms and cons. So what is stopping RM from using the next 3 years to lock in as many cheap contracts as possible??
There is no recruitment freeze because of the USO reforms which I suspect are leading regular staff to go on sick, leave work behind etc etc and the Union are heavily involved in trying to make these reforms work....But the numbers don't lie and if 1 in 4 are on inferior contracts now and recruitment continues, then this could quite easily be 1 in 3 in the next year or so and at which point the equalisation plan then becomes either too expensive to implement or conveniently forgotten.
The USO reform is a double edged sword - it's primarily designed to reduce staff numbers and increase our overall manageable workload. But if the business continues to recruit more staff on lower terms and more legacy staff leave then ultimately it will undermine any national pay gains, create a lot of resentment and further weaken our bargaining position for the future. RM is playing the long game here. If they say that they can't afford to upgrade the new entrants pay, terms and conditions now - then obviously they have zero intentions of doing so in the future.
Last edited by SkiSunday on 25 May 2025, 14:30, edited 1 time in total.
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SkiSunday
- Posts: 790
- Joined: 05 Jan 2025, 18:19
- Gender: Male
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
Like we've been saying now for many years, RM want to reduce the so called "legacy" staff. I'm sure DK will be more interested in reducing "Management" rolls on the next cutback, then the York pushers/machine unblockers in processing.

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Smoothbackground
- Posts: 1263
- Joined: 21 Sep 2023, 20:01
- Gender: Female
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
I have identified and cited references for the figures I’ve quoted. You, on the other hand, have bandied your own “stats” around on this forum as though hard facts. As I say, your figures don’t bear up to scrutiny.Barnacle wrote: ↑25 May 2025, 04:51My numbers are based on all employees.Smoothbackground wrote: ↑25 May 2025, 04:27Your “hard facts” seem to be quite wobbly and elastic, nor do they bear up to scrutiny.
In his most recent post to this forum Martin Walsh referenced there being 83,000 delivery OPGs. In one of its recent TV-style shows the CWU mentioned there being 19,000 new-entrant delivery OPGs. This means new entrants now make up almost a quarter of the delivery workforce (22.9% to be slightly more precise). This increase of several percentage points in less than a year, esp bearing in mind the supposed recruitment freeze while the takeover was going through, show that it is a steep-climbing trajectory.
Stop trying to find numbers in order to disagree with my numbers. You aren’t even a union member so do not have access to info.
If you don’t want to believe my numbers because they don’t fit your theory, fine.
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Smoothbackground
- Posts: 1263
- Joined: 21 Sep 2023, 20:01
- Gender: Female
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
Really? How would you know? As we uncovered on the other thread — remember, the one where you were rumbled — you are an ex employee who no longer works for the business. Unless you’ve since rejoined on a new-entrant contract??SkiSunday wrote: ↑25 May 2025, 07:14I think you'll find that a large percentage of those 19,000 new starts have already left the business akshully.Smoothbackground wrote: ↑25 May 2025, 04:27Your “hard facts” seem to be quite wobbly and elastic, nor do they bear up to scrutiny.
In his most recent post to this forum Martin Walsh referenced there being 83,000 delivery OPGs. In one of its recent TV-style shows the CWU mentioned there being 19,000 new-entrant delivery OPGs. This means new entrants now make up almost a quarter of the delivery workforce (22.9% to be slightly more precise). This increase of several percentage points in less than a year, esp bearing in mind the supposed recruitment freeze while the takeover was going through, show that it is a steep-climbing trajectory.![]()
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SkiSunday
- Posts: 790
- Joined: 05 Jan 2025, 18:19
- Gender: Male
Re: Relations between old guard and newbies
Really? How would you know? As we uncovered on the other thread — remember, the one where you were rumbled — you are an ex employee who no longer works for the business. Unless you’ve since rejoined on a new-entrant contract??Smoothbackground wrote: ↑25 May 2025, 15:22
I think you'll find that a large percentage of those 19,000 new starts have already left the business akshully.![]()
[/quote]
How would I know? Because 90% of new starts at my DO over the last 3 years have left... What exactly is your point here other than attacking a fellow member of this forum??