A message from Dave Ward

[POSTMAN]

Dear Colleagues,

We met Royal Mail late yesterday afternoon in talks facilitated by ACAS.
There was a frank exchange of views and we discussed all the issues
involved in the dispute.

CWU told Royal Mail we were prepared to explore every avenue to reach an
agreement but Royal Mail continues to refuse to negotiate. Royal Mail
simply reiterated their view of the colleagues facing the business.

An invitation has now been received from Adam Crozier for a meeting
tomorrow afternoon.

Below are a number of key points that we wish to make you aware of.


Sticking together is the only way we will force Royal Mail to listen


1. Royal Mail's behaviour is the reason why this strike is taking
place


* In the last few weeks CWU have patiently and repeatedly tried to
engage Royal Mail but the company continue to refuse to talk seriously
and are ignoring the workforce.

* Royal Mail have told the Union they will not step back from
imposing major change and damaging cuts in every office ahead of
automation.

* For those affected by the pay aspect of this dispute Royal
Mail's offer remains 2.5% - this is conditional on staff accepting all
of Royal Mail's previous strings. Many of these strings will reduce
people's earning and services.

* Royal Mail want to drive forward their plans with every office
isolated and no national agreement covering pay and the future.

2. Change/modernisation

* Royal Mail talk about change but have not yet tabled a single
proposal to the Union on the introduction of new automation.

* Royal Mail don't want to pay for change, don't want an agreement
and are continuing to ignore the workforce.

3. Why is Royal Mail losing contracts?

The company tell you strike action loses contracts yet Royal Mail have
been regularly losing contracts over the last 18 months.

The real reasons are as follows:

* Royal Mail freely negotiated an access agreement with their
competitors that allows for them to be consistently undercut on price
whilst still having to deliver the final mile.

* Royal Mail deliberately delayed modernisation and government
investment for over 18 months in a failed attempt to force
privatisation.

* The business leaders publicly welcomed and encouraged the early
introduction of competition despite knowing the impact this would have
on the business.

* Their Business Plan is more of the same. It will not stem the
tide of lost contracts and will simply drive Royal Mail into a spiral of
decline.

* Despite their public bravado Royal Mail have gone along with
every Postcomm initiative. They could have forced a judicial review -
they declined. They could have supported the Union's call for a
government review on competition - they declined.


4. Support the Strike on Friday

* There has been a democratic secret ballot with an overwhelming
'yes' vote.

* Everybody knows a strike will cost money - but the fundamental
truth is giving into Royal Mail will cost a whole lot more.

* There was no knee-jerk reaction but Royal Mail's behaviour has
forced us to the position where strike action is necessary.

* Whatever Royal Mail claim a national postal strike will place
them under huge pressure.

* There is a simple solution. Royal Mail should return to the
approach they agreed in 2006. They can afford to pay you for change.
Government money has been secured - Colleagueshare can be repackaged
into basic pay - more money will be generated by the introduction of
automation.

* All members who have been balloted will be affected by Royal
Mail's plans for the future irrespective of the pay aspect of this
dispute.


Sticking together is the only way we will force Royal Mail to listen

[bigsharkboy]

i second that

:lfo :cfo :lfo :cfo :lfo :cfo :lfo :cfo :lfo

[evilc]

i second that

:lfo :cfo :lfo :cfo :lfo :cfo :lfo :cfo :lfo

I third it

[mdtomuk]

BEST OF LUCK WITH THESE PEOPLE TOMORROW DAVE.


:cfo :lfo :cfo :lfo :cfo :lfo :cfo :lfo :cfo :lfo :cfo :lfo

[IWW Fellow Worker]

* Royal Mail want to drive forward their plans with every office
isolated and no national agreement covering pay and the future.


Well, I certainly hope offices like ours where later start times and abolition of the night shift have taken place without proper consultation with the membership on the basis of false and misleading information will have those decisions reversed when we win this.
For any other office where they are trying to bring this type of thing in, fight it! Do not trust your DOM and keep a close eye on your rep.

[stubaby]

[quote="IWW Fellow Worker"]* Royal Mail want to drive forward their plans with every office
isolated and no national agreement covering pay and the future.


Well, I certainly hope offices like ours where later start times and abolition of the night shift have taken place without proper consultation with the membership on the basis of false and misleading information will have those decisions reversed when we win this.
For any other office where they are trying to bring this type of thing in, fight it! Do not trust your DOM and keep a close eye on your rep.[/quote]

Whats that all about?

[rhino49]

It is evident from our colleagues contributions throughout this site, that there is no longer a standard work method or attendance plan not only across the country but even within areas under the same management control. We have rejected teamworking because we didn't need it - we were a great team. We have lost that through the chiseling away of rights and
jobs in contravention of agreed procedures.

Poor leadership and communications and local empire building by egotistical area managers who live by budgets and performance figures have alienenated a loyal and conscientious workforce who, it should be remembered, knew how to make profits for Royal Mail.

Blame must also lie at the door of contract managers who have undersold our products at prices that left no room to manoeuvre when we didn't have competition and our present leadership who have not stood up to PostComm but instead bully us while only paying lip service to the phrase "respect in the workplace", and expect us to bear the responsibility for their ineptitude and lack of courage.

A prime management principle is that workers are a business' greatest asset, but then an accomplished asset stripper wouldn't let that get in the way of a good pay off would he.

The success and reliability of this business and the respect and trust of it's customers, both domestic and business was won by postmen and women over years of service, it is now in danger of being thrown away by a government and it's appointed fat cats to whom the the public is represented by approximately fifty major posting businesses and it's employees just people to be used and abused as economically as possible.

We will not be bullied
We will not go away and behave like good little children
We will not blindly accept change without consultation

It's our public service and our livelihood, and as members of the public closest to a public business - we expect and deserve a say in how it runs if only to protect it from destruction by the single minded but two faced entity at the top.

[dogfood]

[teewee]

It is evident from our colleagues contributions throughout this site, that there is no longer a standard work method or attendance plan not only across the country but even within areas under the same management control. We have rejected teamworking because we didn't need it - we were a great team. We have lost that through the chiseling away of rights and
jobs in contravention of agreed procedures.

Poor leadership and communications and local empire building by egotistical area managers who live by budgets and performance figures have alienenated a loyal and conscientious workforce who, it should be remembered, knew how to make profits for Royal Mail.

Blame must also lie at the door of contract managers who have undersold our products at prices that left no room to manoeuvre when we didn't have competition and our present leadership who have not stood up to PostComm but instead bully us while only paying lip service to the phrase "respect in the workplace", and expect us to bear the responsibility for their ineptitude and lack of courage.

A prime management principle is that workers are a business' greatest asset, but then an accomplished asset stripper wouldn't let that get in the way of a good pay off would he.

The success and reliability of this business and the respect and trust of it's customers, both domestic and business was won by postmen and women over years of service, it is now in danger of being thrown away by a government and it's appointed fat cats to whom the the public is represented by approximately fifty major posting businesses and it's employees just people to be used and abused as economically as possible.

We will not be bullied
We will not go away and behave like good little children
We will not blindly accept change without consultation

It's our public service and our livelihood, and as members of the public closest to a public business - we expect and deserve a say in how it runs if only to protect it from destruction by the single minded but two faced entity at the top.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

We will not be bullied
We will not go away and behave like good little children
We will not blindly accept change without consultation

It's our public service and our livelihood, and as members of the public closest to a public business - we expect and deserve a say in how it runs if only to protect it from destruction by the single minded but two faced entity at the top.

[POSTMAN]

rhino49 i'm sending this off to socialist worker like dirtyharrys post,the guy on there likes us.

[IWW Fellow Worker]

* Royal Mail want to drive forward their plans with every office
isolated and no national agreement covering pay and the future.


Well, I certainly hope offices like ours where later start times and abolition of the night shift have taken place without proper consultation with the membership on the basis of false and misleading information will have those decisions reversed when we win this.
For any other office where they are trying to bring this type of thing in, fight it! Do not trust your DOM and keep a close eye on your rep.[/quote]

Whats that all about?

Last October we were told by the rep that we could vote on moving from 05.00 to 06.30 start times, but there was no point in voting to keep 05.00 starts as there would be no vans coming in and nothing to do. The vote was narrowly carried because we could start at 05.30 on Saturdays. Needless to say there IS work because staff come in on O/T at 04.30 tipping bags, putting out the mech and sorting. In February (I was off so I don't know what staff were told) the Saturday went to 06.00. I don't know who gave the rep the false information, but I've got a good idea because he's been promoted. The night shift went without any discussion and vote at all. Just signed away and gone. In March, the new DOM asked several of us what we thought about five over six with the van taking specials, recordeds and large packets and he had already mentioned it to the rep who thought it was fine. By now, I had found out on the CWU web site that these deals should not be taking place.. If we win this dispute, several of us intend to raise the matter with HQ since removal of nights and later start times are two of the strings Royal Mail are attaching to the pay claim and business plan.