PRIVATISE ROYAL MAIL AND THEY'LL SLASH DELIVERIES WARN UNION

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/242 ... arn-unions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

UNION bosses fear controversial plans to privatise the Royal Mail will leave rural areas of Britain with deliveries on only three days a week.

The controversial Postal Services Bill, going before the House of Lords next month, will allow the mail service to be separated from the Post Office network and sold off.

The Government has claimed Britain’s universal postal service, which has a uniform price for deliveries nationwide six days a week, will stay.

The Communications Workers Union, however, fears the Bill will water down statutory commitments and create a second class service in rural areas, with higher prices and less frequent deliveries.

CWU general secretary Billy Hayes says the regulator Ofcom, set to review the service 18 months ­after privatisation, would allow it to be altered in ­areas where costs are deemed too high.

He said: “We could see a two-tier service where rural parts of the country suffer a worse service or have to pay higher prices. We don’t want to end up with a situation like in Holland, where privatisation has resulted in deliveries only three days a week to rural areas.”

Mr Hayes added: “Breaking Royal Mail away from the Post Office could also result in thousands of closures because post offices rely on Royal Mail for at least a third of their income.

“Privatising many public services just doesn’t make sense. Taxpayers end up paying more for a worse service.”

A spokesman for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills said “huge challenges” meant privatisation was needed.

He added: “We are taking action to ensure that the universal postal service is protected and that Royal Mail can keep delivering and collecting letters six days a week at an affordable, ‘one price goes anywhere’ tariff.”

Read more: http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/242 ... z1KPIszly0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[comeracing]

why the hell cant WE work 5 days a week mon- fri ,NO DELIVERYS ON A SATURDAY,simple my customers have told me there not bothered about receiving mail on a saturday,then royal mail staff would have at least 2 DAYS OFF TOGETHER,like a majority of workersin the uk.

[chelseachris]

why the hell cant WE work 5 days a week mon- fri ,NO DELIVERYS ON A SATURDAY,simple my customers have told me there not bothered about receiving mail on a saturday,then royal mail staff would have at least 2 DAYS OFF TOGETHER,like a majority of workersin the uk.

What about the floaters?

[BT2010]

why the hell cant WE work 5 days a week mon- fri ,NO DELIVERYS ON A SATURDAY,simple my customers have told me there not bothered about receiving mail on a saturday,then royal mail staff would have at least 2 DAYS OFF TOGETHER,like a majority of workersin the uk.

What about the floaters?

P45s all round for non duty holders

[silly suffolk]

why the hell cant WE work 5 days a week mon- fri ,NO DELIVERYS ON A SATURDAY,simple my customers have told me there not bothered about receiving mail on a saturday,then royal mail staff would have at least 2 DAYS OFF TOGETHER,like a majority of workersin the uk.

sixth of the workforce to go then. perhaps it will be you?

[comeracing]

why the hell cant WE work 5 days a week mon- fri ,NO DELIVERYS ON A SATURDAY,simple my customers have told me there not bothered about receiving mail on a saturday,then royal mail staff would have at least 2 DAYS OFF TOGETHER,like a majority of workersin the uk.

sixth of the workforce to go then. perhaps it will be you?

im alright jack

[Robbo318]

why the hell cant WE work 5 days a week mon- fri ,NO DELIVERYS ON A SATURDAY,simple my customers have told me there not bothered about receiving mail on a saturday,then royal mail staff would have at least 2 DAYS OFF TOGETHER,like a majority of workersin the uk.

sixth of the workforce to go then. perhaps it will be you?

im alright jack

Typical selfish answer.

[chelseachris]

why the hell cant WE work 5 days a week mon- fri ,NO DELIVERYS ON A SATURDAY,simple my customers have told me there not bothered about receiving mail on a saturday,then royal mail staff would have at least 2 DAYS OFF TOGETHER,like a majority of workersin the uk.

What about the floaters?

P45s all round for non duty holders

Some of the floaters in our office have been there longer than the full timers simply because the hours suited them a case of f**k you am alright

[StuddStreet]

The Union is correct. Royal Mail - as part of government - began cutting services decades ago. They went as far as the public would let them. Had they been able to get away with it, the second delivery would have ended in the early 1970s.

The problem is that, in an age of email and text message (these blogs themselves are part of that new age) it's simply not clear what purpose the Royal Mail is seeking to fulfil, long-term.

The simplest thing for a purchaser to do is start cutting deliveries. Not immediately...but after a little while. Mail volumes today, despite what Royal Mail say about traffic drops, are still way in excess of anything that was ever expected by Royal Mail's planners back in the 70s. But where the volumes are now headed...that's an unknown. I personally expect they will decline, and the delivery pattern will be reduced as well. It's not an easy challenge to solve, and may in truth be insoluble.

But there will still be posties when most of us lot have gone to that Great Drop Bag Fitting in the Sky!

[DirtyHarry]

Come on, chaps.....We're an ever-shrinking workforce anyway, Saturday working, or no Saturday working.
Unless there's a cast iron guarantee that there will be no more culling of staffing levels, then it's just sheer madness to cling to an increasingly unpopular Saturday working day, especially now as the CWU, as well as RM, have no qualms about making us work longer on Saturday, which is completely and totally unnecessary, and in my opinion, was concieved by a petulant management as some sort of reprisal against postal workers, the majority of whom went on strike.
And there we have it, for the want of defending what we had regarding Saturday working before this shoddy deal, when the time comes, and RM offer Mon-Fri, as opposed to the CWU's status quo, the CWU will be told in no uncertain terms where to go and take a jump.

[silly suffolk]

Come on, chaps.....We're an ever-shrinking workforce anyway, Saturday working, or no Saturday working.
Unless there's a cast iron guarantee that there will be no more culling of staffing levels, then it's just sheer madness to cling to an increasingly unpopular Saturday working day, especially now as the CWU, as well as RM, have no qualms about making us work longer on Saturday, which is completely and totally unnecessary, and in my opinion, was concieved by a petulant management as some sort of reprisal against postal workers, the majority of whom went on strike.
And there we have it, for the want of defending what we had regarding Saturday working before this shoddy deal, when the time comes, and RM offer Mon-Fri, as opposed to the CWU's status quo, the CWU will be told in no uncertain terms where to go and take a jump.

the uso states we are a six day operation. as for being offered a mon to fri duty, i would rather work till 1500 on a sat than being dumped on the dole. thats the reality of the situation.

[Big Daz]

CWU general secretary Billy Hayes says the regulator Ofcom, set to review the service 18 months ­after privatisation, would allow it to be altered in ­areas where costs are deemed too high.


The USO can not be altered unless parliament wishes to do so. The back benchers in the ranks of CONDEMS will no way support a downgrading such as the one described. Labour would not supprt either. Parliament not the regulator can alter the USO.

There is also the small matter of 5 days a week being set in stone under European Law/directives


Forgive me if Im wrong but isnt this old news and didnt the government in last day of comittee make clear that the above would not happen. The house of lords has forced the government to provide greater security to the current 6 day week same price USO standrds.

The PSB that leaves the Lords for the commons will be changed from the one the commons sent to the Lords. Will the commons support changes made by the Lords, I think they will.

I fear the express is behind the times.

[jessicarabbit]

IF it does come in it wont be Saturdays we have off as the likes of Tesco and big posters like the Saturday delivery as people are more likely to read something and then act on it on a Saturday. The plan would be Mon-Fri Frims delivery to ind est etc and Tue-Sat for Residential delivery. This is a technical 6 day USO and is much more likely to be seen as an acceptable watering down of the USO. So everyone be careful what you wish for.....

[peterhazell]

If its privatised it will still be 6 day aweek delivery but it cost more , the new owners will be in it for profit not passion, anyone in RM that thinks otherwise are kidding there selves ,wake up to whats going to happen not if but when , why do you think they are employing so many short term part timers do they know something we dont.

[StuddStreet]

I have a lot of experience of how things are done by the directors of the Royal Mail (not the present bunch though) because I worked closely with them for many years. In terms of detailed operations, the posties and the unions were generally far more expert, but unless you're at Headquarters you just can't see the strategic picture.

In my day, they always tried very hard to make things as efficient as they could, there was never some secret agenda, or evil master plan. They were faced, day in and day out, with the challenge of trying to make things more efficient, but it was always exceptionally hard to achieve. Sometimes it was claimed that there were so many old Spanish practices in the offices that the savings were "dripping off the walls" but I don't think that's the case these days, from what I hear from my chum who's a postie. Back in the 70s, savings were achieved by lapsing second deliveries "where you can get away with it", e.g. when there were insufficient staff. That kind of things could come back I guess...the private operator being unable to fund the resources, so whilst it's still officially 5/6 days deliveries, in practice it starts falling short. Drip drip drip...eventually the standard is reduced.

Some things that were considered 'impossible' to ever get accepted - such as charging more for bigger/thicker letters - are now the norm. But things change very slowly in Royal Mail. A key issue, in my personal opinion, is whether today's managers are anywhere nearthe standard of those of yesteryear. Based on what I hear, I doubt it. Any buyer of Royal Mail has got to think long and hard about what they're taking on...personally, I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. My guess is that it's the managers who could be much more likely to get the chop than the posties, at least in the short term.