Postal workers' union puts its foot down over job losses

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://news.scotsman.com/news/Postal-wo ... 6780229.jp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

UNION leaders have threatened a national strike among postal workers after reports that the Royal Mail is planning to cut 40,000 jobs, one in four of its workforce in the next five years.

While the Communication Workers Union has agreed to work with the Royal Mail in the modernisation of the postal service, the union said it will not accept compulsory redundancies and will instead ballot its members for industrial action.

A spokesman for the union said last night: "We know there will be job losses, but if we get to the stage where there are compulsory job redundancies, we will be opposing it will be opposing it and balloting for a national strike ballot.

"We have acknowledged that there will be job losses, but 40,000 is a lot. It will be difficult to get to that figure without compulsory job redundancies and we have made it clear to Royal Mail that we will not accept compulsory job losses."

The threat of strike action comes amid reports that the Royal Mail plans to embark on radical cuts to cope with the dramatic fall in postal volume and future privatisation.

It was reported yesterday that Moya Greene, the chief executive, is close to agreeing a revised business plan with the government, which is intent on preparing the company to attract buyers next year. A bill to privatise the Royal Mail is expected to receive royal assent in the coming weeks.

However, before then the company will publish its annual results, which are expected to show that its largest division, letters, has slumped deeply into the red last year.

The Royal Mail currently has an agreement with the CWU for modernisation which will result in job losses until 2013.

It has been reported that this would result in 8,000 job losses a year, a total of 24,000.

However, the chief executive now plans to axe a further 15,000 staff by 2016. At present the Royal Mail is the second largest employer in Britain after the NHS, with 165,000 on its payroll - a drop of 65,000 since 2002.

However, during the past five years the numbers of letters and parcels posted in Britain has dropped by 20 per cent, a rate of decline that is expected to double in the next five years.

Last night a spokesman for the CWU said: "We do not recognise the number of 40,000 and so we have an agreement with the employers that does not actually specify a number. The union has a modernisation agreement with the Royal Mail and we suspect that what is going on there is more preparation for privatisation."

A spokesman for the Royal Mail said: "We cannot comment on future jobs losses numbers. We have always been clear that Royal Mail would be a smaller and more efficient company over time.

"This change is naturally a difficult process for our people and we are committed to working closely with our unions."

[fishtank]

Business Transformation 2010 and Beyond

Royal Mail will provide the CWU with genuine engagement at the development stage of key business policies supported by transparency and good information share. New strategic involvement forums will be
established to ensure the CWU can influence and shape key national policies before decisions are made.




A high price was paid for a seat at the table...
It turns out the real meetings were in a different room altogether...
I hope those who thought it was worth it have the courage to admit they got it badly wrong.
Now we really are up s**t creek where have all the salesmen gone?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

I could see it, FT could see it why couldn't the CWU:


1 Jan 2011 - 40K job losses agreed at Board meeting

1 Feb 2011 - Director appointed to manage Union and Media and come up with plan

1 March 2011 - Regional and Area managers informed of decision and plans drawn up. Industrial Action agitated (allegedley)

3 June 2011 (0959) CWU advised that a decision had been made to go to the press do they agree.

3 June 2011 (1005) Decision to advise Media made and plan commences.

Time lines are of course unlikely - but is the progression.

[jockstrapp]

CWU threaten to ballot workers for industrial action....................................Royal Mail sh1tting themselves
Or is it dumb and dumber leading the union who are sh1tting themselves

[IloveMYredTROLLEY!]

However, during the past five years the numbers of letters and parcels posted in Britain has dropped by 20 per cent, a rate of decline that is expected to double in the next five years.

This is news to me, I've not read a figure of 20% drop for both letters and parcels before...

Is this figure just for items that come through the system for us to deliver that were paid for through RM (Post Office) stamp duty, excluding the (increased?) number of items we delivery on behalf of other delivery companies?
If both letters and parcels numbers are declining, why are depots replacing bikes with High Capacity Trolleys for the last couple of years with other depots to follow, when this statement should mean the need for HCTs is decreasing?
On what basis are they predicting a 40% parcel drop over the next five years, when internet shopping deals are undercutting the high streets, especially for those who can be bothered to compare numerous websites?
Not to even mention the disputed mail figures per tray between what arrives at our frames and what was quoted from the distribution centres...

[scoobydo79]

So if theres been a 20 per cent drop in letters and packets why are they now issuing golf trolleys to help us cope with the increased volume of mail we handle daily

[youwot!!!!!]

and please explain why we are using 2 vans instead of 1 on our delivery office "milk runs".
ever since we have had "mail volumes dropping",we are blowing out on road services on a fairly regular basis so it is utter crap.

[stranglerscolin]

the mails dropped hahahaha,,funny,my bagssssss get heavier every week,,,my fecking arse has dropped..whoever comes up with these figures is clearly a mental case haha.