London says yes to further strikes

[fishtank]

Pec have today agreed in principle to more strike action subject to the outcome of the formal review on Thursday. The PEC will meet Monday to discuss protential strike dates.

If the outcome from the review on thursday is not satisfactory then why wait till Monday?? The way it's going it will be Christmas eve and they will still be reviewing.

Exactly,If they met today and agreed what will have changed by thursday and surely they could have discussed possible dates today,it's not rocket science.

[disheartened]

Pec have today agreed in principle to more strike action subject to the outcome of the formal review on Thursday. The PEC will meet Monday to discuss protential strike dates.

"D" day for a deal to reached is 6th December i believe so the PEC will have to hold back on any strike announcement until after that date,otherwise they'll be accused of scuppering the talks,so if any strike dates are to be announced it'll be on the 7th December,7 days notice will make the first possible strike date 14th December.....is that correct

The bigger question is will the union down in Wimbledon get the backing of the workforce,i think it could be a real kick in the nuts for our leaders,people have lost faith and the will to fight.

[RoyalQuest]

Pec have today agreed in principle to more strike action subject to the outcome of the formal review on Thursday. The PEC will meet Monday to discuss protential strike dates.

"D" day for a deal to reached is 6th December i believe so the PEC will have to hold back on any strike announcement until after that date,otherwise they'll be accused of scuppering the talks,so if any strike dates are to be announced it'll be on the 7th December,7 days notice will make the first possible strike date 14th December.....is that correct

The bigger question is will the union down in Wimbledon get the backing of the workforce,i think it could be a real kick in the nuts for our leaders,people have lost faith and the will to fight.

The PEC are meeting monday 30th November, they should then give 7 days notice to go out from monday 7th December, this putting more pressure on RM to get an agreement by the 6th December, if no agreement on that day(6th) then out the day after(7th). Im still hopeing that this gets sorted and it's strike free,but not holding my breath.

[RoyalQuest]

The PEC are meeting monday 30th November, they should then give 7 days notice to go out from monday 7th December, this putting more pressure on RM to get an agreement by the 6th December, if no agreement on that day(6th) then out the day after(7th). Im still hopeing that this gets sorted and it's strike free,but not holding my breath.

[dvbuk55]

Pec have today agreed in principle to more strike action subject to the outcome of the formal review on Thursday. The PEC will meet Monday to discuss protential strike dates.

"D" day for a deal to reached is 6th December i believe so the PEC will have to hold back on any strike announcement until after that date,otherwise they'll be accused of scuppering the talks,so if any strike dates are to be announced it'll be on the 7th December,7 days notice will make the first possible strike date 14th December.....is that correct

The bigger question is will the union down in Wimbledon get the backing of the workforce,i think it could be a real kick in the nuts for our leaders,people have lost faith and the will to fight.

Right - the review is not only subject of the CWUs attention but also the INDEPENDENT mediators, therefore the PEC cannot overrule them and therefore an "in principle agreement means nothing" - and there's the rub. All this trumpeting about how the deal is going to be held on course is nothing short of a stalling tactic - the CWU make a half arsed complaint, Royal Mail point to a specific where the deal is working, the reviewers say - well there is obviously some "improvement" we'll review it in another two weeks.

[spilie]

i agree in principle, interim agreement,meaningful discussions blah blah blah, i have contacted Colin Fry to see if he can reach our rep as i cant seem to get in touch with him

[POSTMAN]

Topics merged.

[Fluke]

how would anything be different today if the Friday and Monday strikes had gone ahead?

There seems to be two issues here - Are RM serious about the Interim agreement? - I don't see that they are.

Are RM now talking to the CWU about completing Phase 4 of the Pay and Modernisation Agreement?. National Officers are reporting that they are. The Outdoor Secy is confident of securing a 3 year deal which will result in a 35 hr week at a higher basic pay and protecting predominantly full time jobs in delivery. I thought that is what the National Strike was about.

Would members now support Xmas strikes - a vocal minority would, a silent majority would go along out of loyalty to the Union and a tiny minority will scab as they always do. Would it change the position in delivery? I don't see that it would.

no meal breaks??
er thats breaking health and saftey and employemtn law and more than likely eu law as well

Not no breaks - but not being paid for them as we are now.

I for one would have to have think long and hard and be convinced that the whole deal was a good one for the long run before I gave up 5 x 40 minute breaks paid, to gain an 1hr 40 minute reduction in a working week. A higher basic salary wont work unless I am on a higher take home pay than now and with inflation etc taken into account.

Rest breaks - a break during your working day

As an adult worker (over 18), you will normally have the right to a 20 minute rest break if you are expected to work more than six hours at a stretch.

A lunch or coffee break can count as your rest break. Additional breaks might be given by your contract of employment. There is no statutory right to 'smoking breaks'.

The requirements are:

* the break must be in one block
* it cannot be taken off one end of the working day - it must be somewhere in the middle
* you are allowed to spend it away from the place on your employer's premises where you work
* your employer can say when the break must be taken, as long as it meets these conditions

So if we aint being paid for the break we can just ditch the mail or work and wander off from our place of work for a break? I was under the impression that one of the reasons we get paid breaks is so that we dont just abandon the work and do that?

[teesdale]

Unfortunately Royal Mails Senior managers cannot control those below them. After 7 years of poor selection procedures and very little training for junior and middle managers they've got hundreds of them who won't follow company policy. Result is management not honouring the interim agreement in the South East and North West of England with others playing clever games elsewhere. Senior management have only themselves to blame for not carrying out the management review in March 2007 because now their stuck with these loose cannons whilst trying to carry out a programme of change. The interim agreement has been broken by some management so therefore we should now return to going on strike beginning with where we left off with a Friday followed by the Monday. It's not our fault they can't control their lower managers. The managements lack of control could be used to get further concessions/clarification on the 2007 agreement. The managements attempt to divide the workforce by saying it's a London problem (they use that dividing tactic alot don't they) is not true, many at Bristol Mail Centre also have a lot of concerns,eg. the lapsing of duties, imposing change without agreement, more sorting tests. Staff cuts have led to first class packet sorting failing every day this week 23rd, 24th, 25th and 26th Nov (10,000 on 23rd). The move to saving money and forgetting customer service may increase a managers bonus but isn't good in the long run. Stretching out the results of the Union reps disciplinary case for just saying the word bollox until after the PEC meeting on the 30th, where what happens depends on the PEC outcome is also too political. The games continue with changing our attendance on Christmas and New Years Eve for a later finish than the previous 11 years, what a coincidence. Terrible to strike at Christmas, but thats how they knew we would feel. Restart the strikes. Fight bullying.

[F0zziebear]

If you go out on strike on 14th December as a previous post pointed out you will not in my opinion get any public sympathy. When others are out of work and are looking forward to Xmas presents as a slither of enjoyment in an otherwise bad year can you see them honking their horns and sticking up for you?

You needed to be out on strike now and should have held out longer and the public would have put pressure on the government to resolve the issue. I fear it will be too little and too late now.

Next year will be harder as public sector spend is cut. Transactional mail is now under threat. Some of the telecoms companies do not provide monthly printed statements and the utilities companies and banks are following suit.

It is now or never for your union!

[dvbuk55]

If you go out on strike on 14th December as a previous post pointed out you will not in my opinion get any public sympathy. When others are out of work and are looking forward to Xmas presents as a slither of enjoyment in an otherwise bad year can you see them honking their horns and sticking up for you?

You needed to be out on strike now and should have held out longer and the public would have put pressure on the government to resolve the issue. I fear it will be too little and too late now.

Next year will be harder as public sector spend is cut. Transactional mail is now under threat. Some of the telecoms companies do not provide monthly printed statements and the utilities companies and banks are following suit.

It is now or never for your union!

Yes, thanks for that Fozzie, we obviously didn't realise that.

[kwikpost]

let's stop beating about the bush. the union caved in to early and now we're getting screwd because they're not sure if they can still count on the support from members they've had in the past. in 2007 they agreed to a deal that was s**t. in 2009 they told us to return to wrok with NO deal.................... and now they don't know what the f**k to do next.

[fishtank]

let's stop beating about the bush. the union caved in to early and now we're getting screwd because they're not sure if they can still count on the support from members they've had in the past. in 2007 they agreed to a deal that was s**t. in 2009 they told us to return to wrok with NO deal.................... and now they don't know what the f**k to do next.

They know exactly wat to do......"We are the self-preservation society....."

[kwikpost]

let's stop beating about the bush. the union caved in to early and now we're getting screwd because they're not sure if they can still count on the support from members they've had in the past. in 2007 they agreed to a deal that was s**t. in 2009 they told us to return to wrok with NO deal.................... and now they don't know what the f**k to do next.

They know exactly wat to do......"We are the self-preservation society....."

i think you've hit the nail on the head. they seem more worried about looking after themselves.

[F0zziebear]

Didn't mean to patronise you guys. I'm sure you know, and I'm sure your leadership are aware, but may not be able to execute it the way you and I see things.

I am truly concerned at the moment about transactional mail volumes. I know many of you claim they are either rising or at least staying static, but this particular product was a main stay on a weekly basis and I think it's now under threat like never before. 2010's accounts regarding this should make interesting reading. Wonder what HellMail makes of this?