2010/2011 Pay

[billyhayes]

AN EXTRACT FROM AN LTB RELEASED TODAY
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Crown Offices and Admin
In relation to our members in both Crown Offices and Admin, POL was, unsatisfactorily, unable to make any offer.
Our response to this lack of progress was again one of disappointment, bearing in mind that we are one month into the review period and POL clearly has had sufficient time to arrive at a pay policy.
POL’s position was that they needed time to do more work on this aspect of the pay negotiation. They stated this delay was due in part to the arrival of the new Managing Director, Dave Smith, who is apparently keen to influence the pay policy. To be fair, this is a plausible explanation and we would want the MD’s input into the important issue of members’ pay.

Next Steps
The plan is to meet with POL again on Friday 7th May, where it is hoped that significant progress can be made. For this to happen, POL will need to understand that all CWU grades across POL are entitled to and deserve a meaningful pay increase to basic pensionable pay.

Whilst the progress made so far is less than satisfactory, my negotiating team and I are determined to secure a fair and reasonable pay settlement. Clearly, this will require POL to properly recognise the value and worth of all its employees, irrespective of which part of the company they work in. There can be no doubt that our members are POL’s greatest asset and should be suitably rewarded.

Please ensure that this LTB is brought to the urgent attention of all members working within POL.
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Discuss...

[Godric]

AN EXTRACT FROM AN LTB RELEASED TODAY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Crown Offices and Admin
In relation to our members in both Crown Offices and Admin, POL was, unsatisfactorily, unable to make any offer.
Our response to this lack of progress was again one of disappointment, bearing in mind that we are one month into the review period and POL clearly has had sufficient time to arrive at a pay policy.
POL’s position was that they needed time to do more work on this aspect of the pay negotiation. They stated this delay was due in part to the arrival of the new Managing Director, Dave Smith, who is apparently keen to influence the pay policy. To be fair, this is a plausible explanation and we would want the MD’s input into the important issue of members’ pay.

Next Steps
The plan is to meet with POL again on Friday 7th May, where it is hoped that significant progress can be made. For this to happen, POL will need to understand that all CWU grades across POL are entitled to and deserve a meaningful pay increase to basic pensionable pay.

Whilst the progress made so far is less than satisfactory, my negotiating team and I are determined to secure a fair and reasonable pay settlement. Clearly, this will require POL to properly recognise the value and worth of all its employees, irrespective of which part of the company they work in. There can be no doubt that our members are POL’s greatest asset and should be suitably rewarded.

Please ensure that this LTB is brought to the urgent attention of all members working within POL.
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Discuss...

do the decent thing and resign Billy, yourself and Dave Ward and the PEC betrayed the membership big time, you have shown you are more interested in the Labour party than the members that pay yours, Dave Ward and The PEC their wages ... we had Royal Mail by the balls like 2007 and you caved in ... we will never go out on strike for you and your chums again ... you had to be shamed and humilated to get you to call for a national strike for months you ignored our calls for strike because you did not want to upset your chums in the Labour party ... only for you and your friends to stab us in the back with that interim agreement crap

[TrueBlueTerrier]

do the decent thing and resign Billy, yourself and Dave Ward and the PEC betrayed the membership big time, you have shown you are more interested in the Labour party than the members that pay yours, Dave Ward and The PEC their wages ... we had Royal Mail by the balls like 2007 and you caved in ... we will never go out on strike for you and your chums again ... you had to be shamed and humilated to get you to call for a national strike for months you ignored our calls for strike because you did not want to upset your chums in the Labour party ... only for you and your friends to stab us in the back with that interim agreement crap

Although I understand your sentiments and probably agree with them to a degree, I feel I should point out that as this is POL Pay negotiations (counters) and that last years "troubles" had little impact on them.

In fact I think the issues are entirely separate and with the best intentions I don't think we can blame Dave Ward for any failings, real or perceived, with POL matters. IIRC that's all Andy Fureys empire, though I get the feeling amogst counter staff in my area that he has about the same rating as our Dave does

[Big Daz]

Andy is is one of Daves underlings (Assistant Secretary)

Dave is the head honcho (Deputy General Secretary Postal)

[BELIAL]

Looks like big Dave has f****d us all up ,question is, is he bent ,or is he just stupid?

[Running Man]

No news so far on any sort of pay deal.
Heard from our local CWU rep that talks are at least still going on between POL and CWU so hopefully this means that the answer is not a flat 'NO'.
Whatever the outcome though I don't think it'll be worth getting excited about as it's pretty obvious we are a business in decline with very little money to throw at anything, excepting Financial Specialists of course.
Let's wait and see.

[The BFO]

I can’t see how a pay increase will be easily forthcoming in the current climate.

I suspect it will result in a call for a strike in the end.

As for the ‘business in decline’ - are we a business? If we are, why do we spend so much time serving less well off customers who provide little significant financial income for us? If we were here simply to make money would we not show them the door?

[billyhayes]

As for the ‘business in decline’ - are we a business? If we are, why do we spend so much time serving less well off customers who provide little significant financial income for us? If we were here simply to make money would we not show them the door?

So true... They bleat on pleading poverty and that conversations will turn it around... Wake up! Conversations with who?

Our resident loony tunes giro scum who ain't got a pot to piss in or window to throw it out of???

Or what about Granny Smith, who we see each and every Monday morning. She likes to take her whole pension out, all £136.75 of it, then proceeds to pay £5 onto each of her budget cards 'cos that's "All I can afford dear, otherwise I won't eat this week".

Or maybe the 'middle class' who sit above these two. Got that covered too. How many V14s have we given out since the downturn. "Car insurance you say? Look matey I'm jacking the car in 'cos I can't afford road tax etc".

Good products sell themselves. Ask many an FS up and down the country and they will tell you that even in the offices that have a high amount of 'quality' referrals from the counter, less than 10% of the business they put through comes from these. Those lucky few who are more affluent, are the canny types who research where the best deals, rates, etc etc are. They then walk into the nearest branch, avoid the queues and walk straight up to the FS, job done.

[The BFO]

Indeed, when the interest rates are good we sell a lot of Growth Bonds/Instant Saver, and when they aren’t we don’t. It’s got sweet sod all to do with ‘conversations’ and ‘referrals’.

As for Green Giro merchants and the less well endowed in the IQ department, I’m off to spend the day in Fuckwit Corner, also known as the Disabled Position, where all the malingerers have worked out they can jump the queue.

[bigjames]

I can’t see how a pay increase will be easily forthcoming in the current climate.

I suspect it will result in a call for a strike in the end.

As for the ‘business in decline’ - are we a business? If we are, why do we spend so much time serving less well off customers who provide little significant financial income for us? If we were here simply to make money would we not show them the door?

This is the age old question isn't it? Business or Service? The majority of the public view us as a service and are surprised when they find out that we actually sell things too. Some of our customers often only visit a handful of times a year (car tax & Christmas) and will be quite vocal about how few clerks there are to serve them on the day they decide to grace us with their presence. Post Offices are like milkmen and corner shops, if you only use them once in a blue moon, you may find that next time you go to try it has gone. We will never make a profit and sustain a network paying out card accounts, cashing Giros, selling savings stamps, selling 2nd class stamps, paying gas bills etc etc etc, but what do the majority of our customers actually come in to do? Those very same itty bitty transactions that make us tuppence a time.

[The BFO]

This is the age old question isn't it? Business or Service?

A choice that perhaps the new Government will have to make. Do we continue spending money on attempts to sell profitable products, or do we operate a basic service for the poor?

[billyhayes]

...or do we operate a basic service for the poor?

And lets face facts, theres gonna be a shite-load more poor now the Tories are in.

[The BFO]

And lets face facts, theres gonna be a shite-load more poor now the Tories are in.

New job for the Financial Specialists: Card Account Applications. Starting with mine probably.

[Mr Love Pants]

New job for the Financial Specialists: Card Account Applications. Starting with mine probably.[/quote]


And mine - I would fill your own in - dont trust the Financial Specialists to complete the application correctly.

[billyhayes]

Thought I would throw this into the mix:

(Ripped straight from the RM statement released today)

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"The Post Office ended the year with a change of leadership with the appointment of David Smith to succeed Alan Cook as Managing
Director. The business has already undergone significant change under Alan Cook’s leadership as it continued to adapt to the challenges
of a changing market and to develop new revenue streams. However, challenges remain for the new leadership.

Overall Post Office Limited’s revenue declined by £70 million to £838 million mainly as a result of less income from the Post Office Card
Account (POCA) used by around 4.5 million people to receive their pensions and other benefits. Customers have continued to switch from
the POCA to a bank account – resulting in less revenue for the network – and a new contract for the POCA, which came into effect in
October 2009, rewards the Post Office at a lower rate per account.

The Post Office has continued to expand its range of financial services – a business insurance product was launched last year and
mortgages at competitive rates of interest were rolled out to the nationwide network after a successful regional trial – and it remains one
of the fastest growing brands in the highly competitive financial services sector with more than 2.2 million customers. However, revenue
fell back in this sector due to the difficult market conditions.

The Post Office has attracted £9 billion in savings, it insures the cars, homes, pets or businesses of 550,000 customers, it issues more
than 3,000 credit cards a week to new customers and over 600,000 consumers now carry one in their wallets. The rollout of free-touse
cash machines continued with 2,000 now installed at Post Office branches, making it one of the UK’s biggest no-fee cash machine
networks.

In addition, the Post Office remains the market leader in the provision of foreign currency and one of the biggest providers of travel
insurance. It also grew its revenue from its HomePhone services in 2010."

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In a nutshell, £72million operating profit for POL.

So if you get told the usual bullshit by 'visitors', CAMs etc that there is no scope for a payrise etc etc. Refer them to the above statement. Granted it has a couple of negative points in it but they are far outweighed by the good.