wheres the rest.parcelforce.

[infidel]

time to fight with your members.

[piranha]

I think they are mostly self employed and not in the union?

[socialistneLDN]

Yes!

There must be some kind of pickets of the private companies?? We need to get some solidarity strikes happening!

[Donk]

That would be good, however the CWU can't picket private companies who's employees cross our lines. They (if they have a union) would have to organise themselves I reckon.

Secondary picketing

It is unlawful to picket other companies’ premises where workers are not in dispute with your employer. For example, if you are on strike you should not go to the premises of your employer’s customers to encourage their workers not to handle your employer’s goods. This is known as secondary picketing.

Source:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/ ... G_10027549

[simonj12]

I think they are mostly self employed and not in the union?

PFWW and the CWU agreed that a maximum of 25% of their routes be put out to tender for sub-contractors(of which I am one). But as an ex-worker, ex-manager and current sub-contractor who has worked at 3 different depots, I can tell you that the percentage of subbies is generally significantly lower than the 25% maximum. Indeed I believe that at one point quite recently Liverpool depot had no long-term subbies (aka owner-drivers) at all. Many of us subbies, even now, are ex-employees and CWU members and are regularly arguing with PFWW management over pay and workloads. In my experience most of the regular staff at depots are CWU members. I believe that we are all generally in favour of the CWU's industrial action whilst being a little disgruntled about explaining to many surprised customers that we are not directly involved in the industrial action and consequently not on strike due to PFWW's failure to publicise the facts.

[therailway]

I can confirm that the overwhewlming majority of Parcelforce workers support the current action but as a seperate business unit cwu members have not been balloted

[POSTMAN]

I think they are mostly self employed and not in the union?

PFWW and the CWU agreed that a maximum of 25% of their routes be put out to tender for sub-contractors(of which I am one). But as an ex-worker, ex-manager and current sub-contractor who has worked at 3 different depots, I can tell you that the percentage of subbies is generally significantly lower than the 25% maximum. Indeed I believe that at one point quite recently Liverpool depot had no long-term subbies (aka owner-drivers) at all. Many of us subbies, even now, are ex-employees and CWU members and are regularly arguing with PFWW management over pay and workloads. In my experience most of the regular staff at depots are CWU members. I believe that we are all generally in favour of the CWU's industrial action whilst being a little disgruntled about explaining to many surprised customers that we are not directly involved in the industrial action and consequently not on strike due to PFWW's failure to publicise the facts.

Thanks for the info,keep us posted about the goings on in your world.

[rievaulx]

Have to say I feel like s**t about this. I'm a Parcelforce employee and support the strike 100% - trouble is, because there was a separate deal I'm not officially in dispute. If there were any picket lines I wouldn't cross them, but why-oh-why has the CWU recognised RM management's fragmentation of the network in advance of privatisation by negotiating separately for PFWW and agreeing? If I had a pound for every 'customer', friend and relative who asked if I was on strike, etc. I'd be a millionaire - and, frankly, we ought to be, both in solidarity with fellow RM employees and because of the s**t that's coming our way - lapsed routes, ten hour days, increasing workloads, casually being barked at... At the moment I don't know what I feel worse about - the engineer who I delivered to (who, in his words, has 'been on strike loads of times') who growled at me 'You're working then') or the woman in the post office on Friday who said 'Oh, well done', mistaking me for a scabby b*****d - I had to explain, politely, to her that, due to my status as an employee of a subsection of the RM which had reached its own (dubious) agreement with management, that I wasn't 'in dispute', and therefore I wasn't scabbing. Let's clear this up - either settle this on terms acceptable to all RM workers or escalate it to include all RM workers, and more... the stakes are high.

[rmdriver]

No Parcelforce drivers crossed our picket line. Wish the same could be said for a few of our own with spinal problems. :cfo

[rievaulx]

Parcelforce management have sent out an instruction to drivers to collect parcels from Post Offices intended for RM posties, which to me amounts to strikebreaking. Surely this stuff ought to be blacked by PFWW drivers? I'm asking my CWU rep tomorrow about this anyway, but could any CWU bod confirm we're not to touch this stuff or shall I 'do the right thing' and take the consequences (bearing in mind there's not a lot of 'militancy' in my depot)?

[simonj12]

Parcelforce management have sent out an instruction to drivers to collect parcels from Post Offices intended for RM posties

We've been told to collect all BFPO mail from POs which would have gone through RM. But nothing else like sacks of letters or standard parcels. I await the threatening-toned photocopied note full of spelling mistakes (which seems to be the usual channel of communication from management) telling us about it.

[rievaulx]

You're right, Simonj12, it is just BFPO parcels, with CWU consent.

[socialistneLDN]

Well, what do you all think of collecting BFPO parcels?

I don't want to upset any sensibilities here, so I am just asking.

[Jo_M]

I think all BFPO stuff should be collected to support our friends and family far afield. We think we have it tough but these guys have it one bucket load worse.

We have to support our troops both home and abroad , they are merely pawns in the governments game of chess just like we are Mandy's pawns in his privatisation game.

[simonj12]

Well, what do you all think of collecting BFPO parcels?

I don't want to upset any sensibilities here, so I am just asking.

Definitely think it's a good thing that BFPO mail isn't affected by the strikes. Primarily and most importantly, regardless of the morality or legality of this country's wars it would be massively unfair on our troops to block their mail. Soldiers fight wars but it's the politicians who start them. Also it would be a PR disaster for both CWU and RM. I'm glad for everybody involved and affected that PFWW are collecting BFPO mail.