dingo wrote:Irish staff your right i have not done a delivery for some time but I served my appernctiship in deliveries and I dont think you have to still do a delivery to have a view. What I can assure you is I meeting the members regually across a wide area of the country and I also meet local reps and Branch secs and Area Reps so believe I am in touch. I believe also that its about providing leadership in all roles across the union and where I come from we do that well and we stick together.
We also support other workers in their plight and stuggle and I was marching with you along the falls road and shankill road a couple of years. I was also invited to your do in the fish market so i would say i have no axe to grind with anyone. For me its always about policy.
From Headquaters down we all have made mistakes and I am as critacal of Headquaters as anyone when needed. But I have to say some of the neagative commnets from some posters on here you wouldt believe this union has done anything to look after the members over the last few years.
Its time you took the blinkers off. In 1999 OPGs were on £201.63 National Rate in 2009 ( without this years pay round) OPGs are on £347.04. Thats an increase of £145.41 in 9 years. Now in anyones view that is significant progress on pay.
Now lets look at Pay and Mod has it really been as bad as everyone thought. Certainly in the areas I repersent I come from Phase 3 and outdoor asorbition has not been introduced. Instead we took the money in pay rises and the £800 in two payment collleague share and phase 2 without doing very much at all other than agree a level of savings. Which has been a yearly proposal from mangement for the last 25 years. Moreover our members have achieved 4 day weeks and 9 day fortnights and increases in earnings. Further more the phase 4s joint working parties which everyone feared have as usual gone down a roadblock.
With regards to pensions that was not part of pay and mod and is something which should have been tackled by the leadership and branchs but I attended two northampton briefings where the majority of branchs wanted to wait for the Hooper report to be published rather than be balloted over pensions.
Now if you want a national strike then start lobby your branch committee , agm and they in turn can start lobbying headquaters. I am not the enemy nor is the leadership . The constant blame culture in this union is whats holding everyone back. Sometimes I just wish we all show leadership instead of passing the buck and blaming someone else thats so easy but gets us no where.
Its times we all show that we are going to fight the Governments plans and Royal Mails slash and burn policies at every level across the CWU in a united way. The members I repersent are up for that are you ??
Why do so many Area, and above, Reps have this obsession with money?
There is far more at stake than what we get in our back pocket you know.
Although I applaud the fact that, as linkinpark pointed out: You are one of the very few high ranking Reps, who are willing to discuss these things on a Public Forum like this. But you are so far out of touch with the "Grass Roots", that you may as well be on another Planet.
We have seen the systematic errosion of our once great service, over several years. During the Strike in 2007, all we heard about in the News, was that we were fighting over wages. Yes, of course it was one of the issues involved. But what about the long list of conditions?!?!?
There are more important things in life than money!
As for the Pay and Modernisation Agreement specifically. We've seen Duties go already, and we've been told to expect more. These Duties are being covered by Agency Staff, and by doing "other meaningful work" and covering for each other.
As I'm sure you're aware: They are planning to close several MCs and move the RDC in the North West. Have you any idea of how much trouble that's causing. Especially for the staff at Crewe MC?
Obviously, it's important for us to be paid fairly. But if it comes to a choice between money, or jobs, and working conditions. Do you really think that we are Mercenary enough to take the money?
Now this rant isn't aimed just at you personally. It's aimed at all the Senior Reps who don't take the time to find out what things are like "at the Coal Face". There are at least a couple of Area Reps who do, do that. But most either don't, or don't pay enough attention to the Members if they do.
I'm lucky, in that my Area Rep does try to get to our Meetings. He also spend a lot of time coming to talk to us on the Picket Lines in '07. As a result, he's far more in touch with what's going on than you appear to be. I don't know how he finds the time. But he does it.
On balance, un the past few years, the union have not been supported(at least in our office) because most ofthe strikes a few years back, were on rather paltry issues--and should have been fixed out without the need for strikes,and each time we came back, our conditions were worse that BEFORE the action. This time, I feel if the unions stopped bieng so indecisive,and showed clearly who's