EXECUTIVE ACTION TO BE TAKEN IN YOUR OFFICE BY ROYAL MAIL

[Geezer]

EMERGENCY NEWSLETTER – EXECUTIVE ACTION TO BE TAKEN IN YOUR OFFICE BY ROYAL MAIL


Despite the best efforts of the Union , Paul ****** has been unable to resolve a number of issues in your offices, to the extent that all the internal disagreement procedures have now been exhausted. Royal Mail have now written to say the following :

****** PDO – Executive action will be taken w/c 16 February 2009
********** PDO – Executive action will be taken w/c 2 March 2009
****** PDO – Executive action will be taken w/c 2 February 2009

In the case of ******, management have not had the courtesy of following any process to a conclusion and no Stage 3 has been held. All we have is an email from the local manager.

Details as follows for your own office :

****** Delivery Office

As you know a revision and savings has been agreed, however by deliberately breaking the 50/50 bonus scheme by changing the base line, you will receive no bonus whatsoever.

It is clear that this action will be repeated at any time managers think they can get away with it. It doesn’t take much thinking to see that you might now never get a bonus as they will manipulate the baseline hourage to suit themselves.

An emergency members meeting will therefore have to be held with a view to deciding whether we move to an official industrial action ballot. We need a full debate on this and we need you to turn up and give your views.

Details will be published shortly. In the meantime, we would strongly encourage members to Do The Job Properly. There is no alternative.

********** Delivery Office

As you will know, Royal Mail wish to move start times to 0700. This is a direct and deliberate breach of the National Pay & Modernisation Agreement signed last year following the national dispute.

This is clearly a very serious development and signals that they intend to try and break national agreements in ********** when it suits them to do so. This is possibly just the start.

You are also aware that as part of this move, Royal Mail have cut hours in your office to the extent that you do not believe the duties are workable or fair.

It is clearly imperative that from now on we strongly encourage all CWU members to Do The Job Properly from, now on. There really is no other option whatsoever.

An emergency members meeting will be held and details will be published shortly. It will be necessary for us to discuss whether we request an official industrial action ballot. Please ensure you turn up and give your views so we can have a full debate on the matter.

****** Delivery Office

Following a stage 2 meeting we have now been advised by email that part of their proposals are to be implemented by executive action w/c 2 February.

Their view is that no hours are coming out, but is this just smoke and mirrors ? They are also converting some SA to duty.

It is clear that in the past management have managed to take executive action at your office. We do need to see this as a wake up call to everyone. Royal Mail will continue to act as they see fit as long as they think they can get away with it.

We would now strongly encourage all members to Do The Job Properly. It is crucial this is done as soon as possible.

We will be looking to hold a members meeting in the near future and if one is held, then please turn up and give your views.

Conclusion

These comments apply to everyone.

If we are to get back some respect from management, then we must oppose Royal Mail. Without opposition, they will see it as a green light to bulldoze through change whenever they want.

To those who say they will do it anyway , you are being defeatest. Turn up to the meeting when called and give your views. The evidence shows that when offices to stand up and be counted, agreements can sometimes be reached.

Please contact us if you wish to discuss further.


**** ********



I can tell you this is the way things are going to continue to go,if we don't start to make a stand against the way management are just bulldozing through any changes they want to regardless of any agreements we and THEY have signed up to.If we don't then we might as well pack our bags and leave now.The leadership of the CWU have got to start supporting the reps at a local level, by showing some true leadership and direction that will let us all fight this sort of abuse as a single solitary unit,supporting each other and standing up and being counted when it matters.We Need to see some guidance and commitment from them on what is and isn't exceptable and what action we will take if things like this are happening,It's, no good for them to just sit back and watch as offices are torn apart while they contemplate what to do next,This Is A Time For Action Not Indecision !!

RANT OVER!!!!!!!!

[spilie]

[Martin Walsh]

Whilst it is true thst management in the present climate of the unions policy of not giving any savings will pick and choose offices where they believe they can take executive action. I disagree that we are in position where we can ballot nationally. This union has always run on the basis that first and formost it is down to the local office to take up the fight and then when that happens its down to the Branch to ballot and then the Division to ballot.

Those who believe that you can move to a national ballot for a few offices have executive action taken just are not living in the real world and either have not been invoved in orgainising industrial action on a wide scale or have not been involved long enough.

At the moment the national policy is to turn off savings in order to create the right enviorment to force Royal Mail into talks on the future of the indsutry including the unions vision of an future delivery strategy. However we are at different stages across the country as some are at stage 3 but the vast majority of Dvisions and offices are not. When we had the last strike the vast majority were at stage 3 so it was easier to get a national stike supported.

Remember whilst some areas of the country are strong , some are not and this union has only been able to have 4 national strikes since 1971. ( 1988 Dras , 1996 Employee agenda , and 2006 pay and mod ! ) So this union needs to build up to the point when we can deliver nationally on a stike.

I understand its always a call to have a national ballot under the banner of unity is strength but its not living in the real world which i operate in as a union official of 20 years. This union has always fought locally and branch wide first before asking for support and thats whats made us strong.

[spilie]

IMHO local agreements are no good they only serve to divide members, whats good and workable in one office is no good in another, but by introducing small changes in many offices RM then join the dots and roll out major changes saying "well it worked there". Also if local agreements are the union way why now are we being told that there must be no new talks at local level and we must have a national agreement, I`ll tell you why its because our great union chiefs are preparing to give away all we have left that being D2D and weekly pay, D2D not a rise for over 10 years and now we will give RM free reign, contracts coming in on various days through the week even saturdays, and just wait and see the rewards for us, the reward will be "well your lucky to have a job".And no i dont want strike action as i have said before lets all just work our hours (the ones RM say are more than enough for the job) and see what happens

[Martin Walsh]

Maybe local agreements are not in your opinion the way forward but you are out of step with the National union but in step with Royal Mails thinking who want to reduce every office to the lowest cost per item of the lowest cost office in Royal Mail.

I have been to every annual and special conference since 1990 and confernce has always carried the policy that National Agreements are only frameworks for local negotaitons. Thats the correct way as offices all start from different bases with regards to duty patterns, the ratio of delivery spans up to 3.30 hours , the amount of overtime and earnings and the level of part timers, as well as differnces in firms and residenitial and rurual that exist across the uk.

If the union attempts to reach an agreement across the country on a level of part timers which they tried under the interim delivery agreement several years ago then there would opposition as some areas have no part timers and some have levels in excess of 50%.

Now with regards to selling out on Door 2 Door well thats not true either. The union must grasp the nettle on door to door. Yes it is unpopular amongst some members but its work in a declining market which can protect earnings and full time jobs by converting it into workload. Can you imagine Rover workers or the shipyards saying well we dont want to biuld that car or that ship but we happy to lose more jobs as our members dont like deliverying the stuff. Its a complete nonsence. The CWU at National level and across the union have to show leadership and deal with the poison challice which is door to door, A certain Alan Johnson when he was simply a delegate on the floor confernce made a speach on Door 2 Door which finished with 2p or not 2 p. That was over 25 years ago and the union still and probalby will never reach the level of 2pence per item. however we may be able to use door to door to safeguards full time jobs and trap the money going forward.

Now with regards to the monthly pay the joint working parties have stopped and the reward joint working group which invoved monthly pay only met a couple of times and there is no agreement on monthly pay. In any case if there is ever an agreement on monthly pay then it will be subject to an indivdual ballot of the members. But I say have some faith Royal Mail have wanted montly pay ever since cashless pay came in the late 80s and the union have successful resisted it in line with confernce policy.

[Geezer]

Whilst it is true thst management in the present climate of the unions policy of not giving any savings will pick and choose offices where they believe they can take executive action. I disagree that we are in position where we can ballot nationally. This union has always run on the basis that first and formost it is down to the local office to take up the fight and then when that happens its down to the Branch to ballot and then the Division to ballot.

Those who believe that you can move to a national ballot for a few offices have executive action taken just are not living in the real world and either have not been invoved in orgainising industrial action on a wide scale or have not been involved long enough.

At the moment the national policy is to turn off savings in order to create the right enviorment to force Royal Mail into talks on the future of the indsutry including the unions vision of an future delivery strategy. However we are at different stages across the country as some are at stage 3 but the vast majority of Dvisions and offices are not. When we had the last strike the vast majority were at stage 3 so it was easier to get a national stike supported.

Remember whilst some areas of the country are strong , some are not and this union has only been able to have 4 national strikes since 1971. ( 1988 Dras , 1996 Employee agenda , and 2006 pay and mod ! ) So this union needs to build up to the point when we can deliver nationally on a stike.

I understand its always a call to have a national ballot under the banner of unity is strength but its not living in the real world which i operate in as a union official of 20 years. This union has always fought locally and branch wide first before asking for support and thats whats made us strong.

So what you are actually saying is, We fight locally go to stage 3 then let them just push change through with Executive action.
If that's the case then why involve the union at all.
I believe (please tell me if i'm wrong) a union is there to support it's members, so if the local Rep's have come
up against a management stance of total contempt for agreements which they as well as the CWU have signed then it's time to get
together and put a stop to it.
As a member i would be prepared to support any other member anywhere in the country as i believe we are only strong
if that is seen to be the case,so to tell me that because this is happing locally somewhere else and so should not involve the rest of the membership
to me beggars belief.You say "This union has always fought locally and branch wide first before asking for support and thats whats made us strong"
Well we have fought locally and branch wide, only to have Rm force their will on us with Executive actions in many parts of the country,
Sorry but at this point in time i believe we need a LEADERSHIP that has an overall game plan, and puts processes in place to see that
plan through NATIONALLY which as a life long believer in unions i and many others just don't see happening.

[Martin Walsh]

Geezer the whole point is that we cant go for a national ballot everytime an office had exective action taken against it. As the sad fact is that as a union we wouldt deliver nationaly on it. In any case we would be balloted almost every couple of months as Royal Mail have always taken exectuitve action where they think they can get away from it.

Thats why Branch`s need to support local offices in the first case and make sure they are not isolated. I know a lot of Branch`s have a policy if that an office within their Branch has executive action taken against it then the rest of the Branch will be balloted. However this is not the case everywhere and you can hardly ask other remote areas of the country to vote yes to take strike action if in the local branch they have not supported the office concerned.

It is very popular to shout for a national ballot but much harder to achieve a yes vote. The only times we have achievesed a yes vote is when we had a long campaign and the issues concerned effect everyone and like I said earlier large parts of the country have yet to be at any stage of the framework on savings whilst some are at stage 3. It is not in my opinion as someone who has organised industial action in the past the wisest move to rush into a national ballot without a proper campaign and we have just only adopted the policy of no savings so there is still a lot of work to be done to get support nationally.

[spilie]

all well and good dingo but its you and "conference" that are out of touch all we want is protection before changes not after and as far as your "grasp the nettle on D2D" and "declining market" thats fine and well but where were you and conference when it was an expanding market where was the push for more of the profits in the expanding market, no i`ve been a union man all my working life but this is not the way forward by definition the word union neans just that so thats what i expect together on everything not little deals here and there, but as you say dingo you have been to conference since 1990 and everything is just as planned, so now i wait on conference to prove me wrong and come out fighting

[dvbuk55]

all well and good dingo but its you and "conference" that are out of touch all we want is protection before changes not after and as far as your "grasp the nettle on D2D" and "declining market" thats fine and well but where were you and conference when it was an expanding market where was the push for more of the profits in the expanding market, no i`ve been a union man all my working life but this is not the way forward by definition the word union neans just that so thats what i expect together on everything not little deals here and there, but as you say dingo you have been to conference since 1990 and everything is just as planned, so now i wait on conference to prove me wrong and come out fighting

You see it's like this - you aren't seeing the "big picture" as is so often bandied about by these union bods - the other side of the coin of course is that they no longer see the "little picture" in which we have to survive.

[Geezer]

all well and good dingo but its you and "conference" that are out of touch all we want is protection before changes not after and as far as your "grasp the nettle on D2D" and "declining market" thats fine and well but where were you and conference when it was an expanding market where was the push for more of the profits in the expanding market, no i`ve been a union man all my working life but this is not the way forward by definition the word union neans just that so thats what i expect together on everything not little deals here and there, but as you say dingo you have been to conference since 1990 and everything is just as planned, so now i wait on conference to prove me wrong and come out fighting

Exactly what is was trying to point out.This is going to affect every office in every part of the country and there's no point in calling for action after the jobs have gone, and the ones that are left are all part time.By taking your stance and waiting all you are doing is undermining the union and ultimately alienating the membership.

Like Nero You Want To Fiddle While The members Burn

[marky]

you wont have time for a ballot to be carried out, your in the smelly stuff.

[madelin4]

7am start?? first i have heard? is this to be a nationwide thing or just certain offices?? With the new flat machines coming into force next month is that the reason>? Less sorters needed on IPS????

[irishstaff]

Dingo, may I asked since its your Gaffer who is in talks with R-Mail at the mo about D-2-Ds maybe you in your wisdom would like to keep the good people of this site up to date on that?

Of course you will deny or even asked what am I speaking about a true politician to the end, but I have read some of your stuff and have to say I agreed with some of whats being said you have lost touch, while you speak at the podium at these conference since 1990 you seem to forget the membership, grass root level, remember what that was like when you started as a Rep?

Can I asked when you last had a bag on your back delivering mail, and listen to the local D.o.M giving out his orders?

I am sure you will let me no the answers soon cheers m8,

[dvbuk55]

How do you create a unified campaign as a union when executive action is being carried out across the country in various forms, park and loop, winter lapsing etc. If executive action is allowed to proliferate as it is there is no chance of ever getting a united national agreement on anything and the single cause is the pay and modernisation agreement - it was looser than a brides nightie and we are definitely paying the price - and for gods sake don't say we voted for it - I didn't but the branch went with the national officers recommendation to accept.

[Geezer]

7am start?? first i have heard? is this to be a nationwide thing or just certain offices?? With the new flat machines coming into force next month is that the reason>? Less sorters needed on IPS????

Got told today by my manager that it might even go to 8:00 or 8:30 in the next few months. He got an Email about it yesterday.
So i talked to the driver who brings in our mail, he said they were going to stop one of the planes bring the mail in ( a saving he was told of £14,000
a flight),and because of this they were going to try and push their start times back by 90 minutes.If they did, he said we would be lucky if we got
our mail by 9:00.Things really aren't looking good at the moment.