Letter from Adam Crozier to MPs and Peers - 16 October 2009

[Geezer]

Dear
I hope you don't mind me writing to you again with a further update on the continuing industrial
action being taken by the Communications Workers Union against essential change and
modernisation in Royal Mail. and on their announcement of two days of national strikes this coming
Thursday and Friday. I also wanted to assure you that we will be doing everything we can to keep
the mail moving and minimise the impact of strikes on customers. including using management
volunteers and bringing forward some of the normal contingency arrangements we use every year
to help us handle higher volumes of mail at Christmas.

Earlier this week the CWU issued Royal Mail with a fresh set of threats and demands. including
more money and an absolute veto over any future change and modernisation. which I believe is
something no company could give. Royal Mail has no option whatsoever but to modernise in the
face of increasing competition not least from the accelerating trend away from post to electronic
communications. which has helped drive the number of letters sent in the UK down by almost 10%
this year.

The CWU's continued and determined opposition to much-needed modernisation. particularly in
London. is in spite of the fact that all the changes we are making were agreed by the CWU under
the 2007 Pay and Modernisation Agreement in the presence of the TUC - and have already been
implemented successfully in units around the UK. All we are asking our people to do is to work the
hours they are paid to work. and to work flexibly, using the tools we give them to do the jobs - a
way of working which has been the norm in most if not all other UK industries for decades.

The CWU says publicly it is up for modernisation when the reality is that it is actively instructing its
branches to oppose change on the ground. And although the CWU has repeatedly offered a
moratorium on strikes in return for a period of no change. it has reneged on that promise despite
us telling them three weeks ago that we would make no further efficiency changes at Royal
Mail between now and the New Year. Instead of honouring their no-strike promise. the CWU has
since then actually called strikes in more than 150 delivery offices and. as you know. has now
announced a two-day national strike. Indeed. in the last six years the CWU has authorised around
950 strike ballots. which is hardly a sign of a union that is truly up for change.

No-one disputes the fact that Royal Mail urgently needs to complete its modernisation so our
efficiency improves and we can compete and thrive in today's intensely difficult market - and
continue to support the all-important Universal Service on which so many depend. So we are
appalled that the CWU leadership continues its drive to hurt customers and undermine confidence
in the entire postal industry in the UK, and that it refuses to believe that mail volumes are falling.
not just in the UK but in markets around the world. The facts remain:

• UK mail volumes are falling by up to 10% year on year.

• Mail markets around the world are also falling with declines of 14% in the USA. 6% in the
Netherlands and 14% in Norway.

• Every 1% of lost mail volumes in the UK costs Royal Mail £70 million in lost revenue.

• In London where most of the recent strikes have been focused. 20% less mail is being
delivered than two years ago.

• Royal Mail is paying more than £800m every year in cash into the pension fund including
some £300m to fund the historic deficit which is expected to more than double when it is
revalued this year from its last valuation at £3.4 billion three years ago.

• The CWU claims publicly to support modernisation and change, yet it writes to its branches
telling them that its policy is to actively oppose change on the ground.

• All we are asking our people to do is to work all the hours for which they are paid, and to
work flexibly. using the tools provided to do the job.

• Royal Mail has around 140,000 postmen and women of whom around 80,000 have not
voted to go on strike.

Our door is always open and we continue to meet with the union leadership. Mark Higson, the Royal
Mail Letters Managing Director. and his team has held around 80 meetings with the union in recent
months and I have continued to extend an invitation - made repeatedly since the start of this year
- to meet one-to-one with the CWU General Secretary, Billy Hayes, but have not yet been offered a
date.

We also apologise wholeheartedly to our customers who are being hurt by the CWU's strike action.
We are again urging the CWU to honour the commitments they have made, both under Pay and
Modernisation 2007 and in their recent promises of a moratorium on strikes and get back to
delivering the service our customers deserve.

Our customers are Royal Mail's number one priority and concern, and we will be doing all we
reasonably can to deliver our customers' letters as quickly as possible. For that reason. we will be
bringing forward our plans to hire fully vetted temporary workers, who would normally join for the
Christmas rush, to help us keep the mail moving. Given the seriousness of the situation. we plan
this year to hire up to 30.000 fully vetted temporary workers. compared with the normal 15.000. as
well as set up five special centres to help us handle parcels and packets.

We always seek to engage with our people, to consult with them and we honour - fully - existing
agreements. With their support we know we can build a world-beating company that excels in
customer service and innovation while at the same time providing the Universal Service to 28
million addresses around the UK.

But there can be no half-way-house on modernisation if Royal Mail is to have a future. We are
already on track with Royal Mails £2 billion transformation plan and have already invested
£900mj[lion in equipment including new automated sorting machines, new delivery vans and
motorised trolleys. and new hand held devices to help us track our customers' mail. Modernisation is
already working - it's helping Royal Mail become more efficient and competitive and. in spite of the
huge decline in mail volumes. allowing us to maintain our performance and to keep on supporting
the Universal Service. To let the CWU throw all that away just when modernisation is taking hold
would be insane.

That's why we will keep on meeting the union and will keep on asking them to support rather than
act to destroy the modernisation of this business. and to support a bright future for Royal Mail. We
have told the union that we are willing to keep on talking for as long as it takes to resolve this
dispute.

I am attaching for your information a recent letter from Mark Higson, Royal Mails Managing
Director. to Dave Ward, Deputy General Secretary of the CWU and a fact sheet setting out our
progress on modernisation so far.

Thank you for taking the time to read this update. I hope you find it useful and, as ever, please do
not hesitate to contact me if you require further information.
Yours sincerely
~~-
ADAM CROZIER

[ade@cambs]

Would love to know who his script writer is, the BBC would hire them tomorrow they are in need of comedy writers.

[IWW Fellow Worker]

"Earlier this week the CWU issued Royal Mail with a fresh set of threats and demands."

Billy said he would stamp on my foot and Dave said he would nick my dinner money.


What a prick the man is!

[Wessex]

Mandy had a similar message today.Do him and Adam do brunch?

[IWW Fellow Worker]

Mandy had a similar message today.Do him and Adam do brunch?

I've never heard it called that before!

[ade@cambs]

Mandy had a similar message today.Do him and Adam do brunch?

I think it's called Power Lunch, will not mention anything about saving the butter!!!

[chewi]

MP's and peers should read the letter to managers about the 2 day mandatory scabbing sent out by Higson. Not as Crazier says "voluntary". One of several discrepencies there i think

[outandabout]

MP's and peers should read the letter to managers about the 2 day mandatory scabbing sent out by Higson. Not as Crazier says "voluntary". One of several discrepencies there i think

Crozier's letter seems well written, but I agree with the seeming discrepancy between voluntary and mandary work by managers....

I suppose he is using voluntary work, but over and above the mandatory 2 days....

can that 2 days be described as being part of normal contingency at busy times of year? or is it stretching the facts a little too far?

[opgpat]

"Royal Mail has around 140,000 postmen and women of whom around 80,000 have not voted to go on strike."

Mandelson quoted this the other day in a live interview on Ch 4 I think. He said '60% of workers didn't vote for the strike'.

By that token, there are 46million registered voters in the UK, from that 9.5Million voted Labour at the 2005 General Election. That means 75% of registered voters DIDN'T vote Labour at the last General Election.

What a total non-point for Royal Mail and Lord Mandelson to be making. Does that really add substance of their argument? Clearly Mandy thinks the public are stupid enough to fall for it and Crozier thinks MP's are stupid enough to fall for it too. Both are probablly right.

[outandabout]

"Royal Mail has around 140,000 postmen and women of whom around 80,000 have not voted to go on strike."

Mandelson quoted this the other day in a live interview on Ch 4 I think. He said '60% of workers didn't vote for the strike'.

By that token, there are 46million registered voters in the UK, from that 9.5Million voted Labour at the 2005 General Election. That means 75% of registered voters DIDN'T vote Labour at the last General Election.

What a total non-point for Royal Mail and Lord Mandelson to be making. Does that really add substance of their argument? Clearly Mandy thinks the public are stupid enough to fall for it and Crozier thinks MP's are stupid enough to fall for it too. Both are probablly right.

Good point, Mandie has no Mandate, and nor does Labour

[piranha]

I had a customer slate Crozier today, all I had to do was agree! What has he done to deserve this job? He said, he ****ed up the FA and now he's ****ing up the Royal Mail! :cfo :cfo

[Destroyer]

the CWU has repeatedly offered a
moratorium on strikes in return for a period of no change. it has reneged on that promise despite
us telling them three weeks ago that we would make no further efficiency changes at Royal
Mail between now and the New Year. Instead of honouring their no-strike promise. the CWU has
since then actually called strikes in more than 150 delivery offices and. as you know. has now
announced a two-day national strike.

So when it was on the 'no strike' offer was on the table & the company didnt want to know and carried on implementing the changes & revisions through executive action - now they want it because they wont be doing any more until January ? Everyone know once Xmas has gone their going to be up to there old tricks once the mail volume has dropped, but dont want trouble now as the busiest season is about to begin in the CWU/Strikers favour.

:cfo

[outandabout]

the CWU has repeatedly offered a
moratorium on strikes in return for a period of no change. it has reneged on that promise despite
us telling them three weeks ago that we would make no further efficiency changes at Royal
Mail between now and the New Year. Instead of honouring their no-strike promise. the CWU has
since then actually called strikes in more than 150 delivery offices and. as you know. has now
announced a two-day national strike.

So when it was on the 'no strike' offer was on the table & the company didnt want to know and carried on implementing the changes & revisions through executive action - now they want it because they wont be doing any more until January ? Everyone know once Xmas has gone their going to be up to there old tricks once the mail volume has dropped, but dont want trouble now as the busiest season is about to begin in the CWU/Strikers favour.

:cfo

well negotiation will never result in an agreement for no change, I cant see any organisation ever being expected to remain static by management, government or customers.

negotiations with acas yes, but there will need to be managed change alongside protection of workers from abuses by overly assiduous managers.

[opgpat]

protection of workers from abuses by overly assiduous managers.

By assiduous you mean bullying, harrassing, verbally abusive type of assiduousness that leads to people being sacked for the slightest indescretion and pay withheld for valid OT and pay stopped for men still working hard. That's not assiduousness is it. It's organised, pre-planned management by terror and fully sanctioned from middle and top management. This isn't about a few 'over-enthusiastic' managers it's institutional. Do you even do the job?

[outandabout]

protection of workers from abuses by overly assiduous managers.

By assiduous you mean bullying, harrassing, verbally abusive type of assiduousness that leads to people being sacked for the slightest indescretion and pay withheld for valid OT and pay stopped for men still working hard. That's not assiduousness is it. It's organised, pre-planned management by terror and fully sanctioned from middle and top management. This isn't about a few 'over-enthusiastic' managers it's institutional. Do you even do the job?

I completely agree that any such practices need to be communicated to the public so the workers win public sympathy, and so workers are protected from such things