latest argus bulletin

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ARGUS
2007 pay bulletin number 69
Its now or never!
As we close in on the second national strike day we feel it is pertinent to remind you exactly what is at stake in this dispute. We face an employer who is hell bent on dictating our futures to us. We will use this opportunity to quote directly from the proposed agreement that Royal Mail have placed before the CWU. These are not rumours, this is not propaganda. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT ROYAL MAIL PLAN TO DO IF WE LOSE THIS DISPUTE.
Flexibility
In their version of the agreement Royal Mail state
‘We will expect our people to have different work patterns based on workload. We will expect people to move locations’
Just sit back for a minute and think about how this would affect you. Can you change your start times at the drop of a hat? Are you happy at being moved to another function or even another town or city to work? No! We didn’t think so. The CWU are 100% opposed to this. We are happy to look at flexibility but it must be a two way street.
New Productivity Scheme
Royal Mail is promoting their new productivity scheme to all employees. They tell you that you can have a 50/50 share of any savings made. What they forget to tell you is that this payout will only be made if you come below your offices budgetary targets. The CWU or you as members have no input into office bonuses. You need to ask yourselves if you trust Royal Mail to set realistic budgetary targets. Given the debacle of the 92p we received last year most of us are reluctant to enter into a similar scheme. MAYBE WE COULD HAVE A SIMILAR BONUS SCHEME TO THE ONE OUR MANAGERS GET?! Our MDEC Members have not even been offered this scheme. They expect you to take constant cuts for free!
Job Security
Royal Mail have openly stated that they wish to shed 40,000 jobs over the next 5 years. This means that we are all at risk. If you are part-time then you can all but give up on any way of ever getting a full-time post. We need to think about what our industry would be like without 40,000 more jobs. We would see worsening services, failures in mail centres and unbearable pressure in our delivery offices. These are the real things that will drive our customers into the arms of the competitors. If Royal Mail really wanted to compete then they would want the best paid, most motivated and highly skilled workforce. They prefer the slash and burn approach as part of the race to the bottom
Now or Never
The points highlighted above are just a fraction of what Royal Mail have planned. They have a 5 year schedule of constant cuts. If we do not stand strong now then next year or the year after will be too late. It is no good trying to stop a business plan once it is under way. We must influence it before it starts. We know that times are hard for us all and losing £50 a time or £25 for part-time workers is hard but in our hearts and our heads we all know that we may lose today but this dispute is about gaining tomorrow.
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Mass Members Meeting – Sunday 22nd July – 10:30am
GWRSA Railway Club – Plymouth – John Farnan CWU NEC – YOU MUST BE THERE – YOUR FUTURES ARE AT STAKE
Plymouth and East Cornwall & Cornwall Amal