'Mail plot to defeat strikers'

[Stormproof]

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-storie ... -21737964/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

'Mail plot to defeat strikers'

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11/10/2009

Mail bosses are plotting to beat the threatened national strikes, union chiefs believe.

Hundreds of agency workers have already been hired to work at temporary sorting offices.

The Communication Workers' Union suspect the move is part of plans to break national strikes.

Their leaders meet tomorrow, when they are expected to order 24-hour and two-day strikes by 120,000 posties, starting next week.

Royal Mail say the temporary network, including warehouses at Deptford, Kent, Bristol and Peterborough, is to cope with the Christmas rush and backlogs from local strikes.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson rebuffed a union call to intervene.

[Big Daz]

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson rebuffed a union call to intervene.

No surprise there then!!!


Of course we are expected to faithfully keep paying our political levy due to all the non labour party elements to its expenditure , however that excuse is dead and buried and there seems to be a lack of will and just petty excuses coming from the NEC on this issue.


So to the NEC I say we are not all in love with labour, if you want to be fine but stop insisting the rest of us have to be as well !!!!

[Ahebban]

Indeed so, Big Daz. There is no excuse available for CWU HQ delaying a ballot on the issue(s) regarding the Labour Party.

As I pointed out to the polite young lady who canvassed my opinion on the Labour Party in respect of Royal Mail issues yesterday, my vote hangs in the balance.

If Labour delivers on its manifesto promise and, as shareholder in RM, take an active role in aiding a resolution to ALL difficulties facing RM and not just a quick-fix to get a resolution to the current and impending industrial action then it can count on my vote.

Too continue on its current path will leave me looking at other options to place my 'x' next time around.

[nelson]

Royal Mail say the temporary network, including warehouses at Deptford, Kent, Bristol and Peterborough, is to cope with the Christmas rush and backlogs from local strikes.

That is utter nonsense. No way would you be able to handle backlogs from a temporary network.
They can not run it with the network they have now, without the goodwill of the staff.

[dvbuk55]

Well lets hope if the agency people are using their own cars the police are tipped off about the insurance problem - I'd hate to see these agency guys/gals lose their licence

[goinpostal]

Indeed so, Big Daz. There is no excuse available for CWU HQ delaying a ballot on the issue(s) regarding the Labour Party.

As I pointed out to the polite young lady who canvassed my opinion on the Labour Party in respect of Royal Mail issues yesterday, my vote hangs in the balance.

If Labour delivers on its manifesto promise and, as shareholder in RM, take an active role in aiding a resolution to ALL difficulties facing RM and not just a quick-fix to get a resolution to the current and impending industrial action then it can count on my vote.

Too continue on its current path will leave me looking at other options to place my 'x' next time around.

Who was it who canvassed you Ahebban was it the CWU?

We should disaffiliate from Labour whats the point of giving them a million quid every year for the privileg of getting kicked in the teeth again and aagina and again. workers have built new left parties in Germany and France as an alternative to the old labour style parties that now support privatisation and cuts for workers housing wages and pensions, why not here? The london ballot shows that it is just leaders and oficiials like Billy who have kept us in labour the great majority of rank and file members want to kick the yoke off for good. The only reason we're still in it is because of all sorts of bureaucratic tricks like talking out resolutions to disaffilate at this years conference. Its so predictable it happens every year.

[harry09]

As we all know it doesnt matter how many agency workers they take on it really shouldnt make a dent in the work. There is a scab sorting office near my office in Dartford wont tell you where (sandpit rd)..... and iv seen these guys, i thought there was some half wits in my office but these guys take the piss they can only make Royal mail look even worse than it is..... Bring it on

[OnAFlyer]

As we all know it doesnt matter how many agency workers they take on it really shouldnt make a dent in the work. There is a scab sorting office near my office in Dartford wont tell you where (sandpit rd)..... and iv seen these guys, i thought there was some half wits in my office but these guys take the piss they can only make Royal mail look even worse than it is..... Bring it on

We had some agency workers in to clear backlogs a few years ago - one of them took out a bag of my walk. I gave him one long road with around 140 houses on it - you couldn't go wrong, straight up one side and back down the other.

I delivered all the rest of the walk in around 3hrs, walked back to the car and this guy was just coming down the other side of the road with about 20 houses still left to do

I heard after the others were no better - misdeliveries, leaving mail and packets sticking out of letterboxes etc. Completely useless.

I know the job isn't rocket science, but agency staff haven't got a clue what they're doing, just as any member of the general public wouldn't know what to do if put straight into the job. Even more so at Mail centres as it takes time to learn the sorting frames.

[westlondonpostie]

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson rebuffed a union call to intervene.

Sounds like he's started working for the Tories already

[chunk]

For once i agree onamphetemines!
My experience of Christmas. casuals and agency workers is that if you get 2 "good uns"
out of 10 your lucky
its just a statistical thing!
most are young and many are students although there are often housewives and long term unemployed in the mix.
the only thing they have in common is the wish to earn a bit of cash, but many drop out as its not what they expected
others plod on but their motivation is more limited than a full timer as they already have their finish date in sight.

The agency guys that stay the course often get asked back and sometimes go on to make good postman but thats rare.
any rm plan that relies on agency and casuals without the backup of experienced staff
is seriously flawed.

[dvbuk55]

We haven't employed agency workers for some years, before the advent of the 2007 agreement, and I can't remember why tbh - but this one bloke left at about 08.30 and returned at 4.00pm with all the letters in two grey sacks, separated, saying he couldn't find the start of the delivery. When told the next day he wasn't required he said "I'm going to see the union about this" - which union it was I'm not sure, he certainly wasn't in the CWU.

[chunk]

Its always been more of a sorting office thing tbh.
Management get them cutting bags and tipping out, in theory they shouldn't sort but often end up sorting!