Night Tonic wrote:The only death is ignorance and beligerence - oodles of that but no purposeful realistic alternatives put forward either. Sigh.
I've already suggested some alternatives on here. Whether they're acceptable to the rest of the Membership is another matter. But the sad thing is, that the negotiators seemed to be under the impression, that we would be willing to accept attacks on our working conditions, in exchange for money. It could well come in, because people don't read the deal properly, and actually ARE swayed by the lump sums. But that's not the same as people knowingly accepting these changes, in return for the money.
Here are a few possible changes they could make to the deal:
1) Redistribute the money for wage increases, so that no-one looses any money in the first year, to make it fair.
2) Have a cast iron garantee, that if the talks on closures, and work rates, aren't entered into in good faith. That an independant mediator be brought in, and EA CAN'T be used to force them through.
3) Ensure that WCM is used properly. Rather than just abusing it to save money (job cuts), at the expense of safety and quality of service. If there's excess staff (which I seriously doubt), and there's volunteers for EVR, then fine. But they're getting rid of too many Posties, and leaving the rest with unrealistic workloads. Which is leading to cutting corners.
4) If neccessary, agree to a pay freeze, in exchange for protection of our T&Cs and H&S. After all: The Strikes were never about money in the first place. What we want, is to work all our hours, in a safe environment, and with an achievable workload. Nothing more, nothing less.
