Leaving the union

[silly suffolk]

So you are telling me he had his basic wage cut?

Basic wage..take home pay...it's all the same to the bank manager.
The point is pcb,the deal non-members make with themselves is the same as we make with ourselves...you take the rough with the smooth.
The only difference with a non-member is that they don't get a say.
I don't imagine many of them will thank us for park&loop.

i bet they thank us for 6 months sick pay, paid m/rs and pay rates well above minimum wage though.

what has the union actually done in the last ten years apart from make us into slaves for royal mail, protecting full time jobs what a crock of s**t,if they wanted to get rid of us they would and theres nothing the union could do ,i'd rather be made redundant than treated like a dog,oh and the pay rise is 3% is it not in april the last one of a 3 year pay deal,i bet that the union will renegotiate that and we will never see it,come back and we'll talk again april and you will see im right. YOU LOT ARE LIVING IN THE LAND OF PIXIES AND FAIRIES,ITS A BIG MERRY GO ROUND GO ON TAKE A RISK AND JUMP OR ARE YOU SCARED,MAN UP AND TAKE CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE.

perhaps you'll get your wish soon

[pcb]

Having worked in the private sector and the forces, I think you need to step back and take a look at the real world Union Jack. precisely why RM have not just made people redundant is because of the union nothing else. I can't understand how you have not left and got yourself one of those jobs where you obviously believe conditions are better than in RM.

[bitchface]

i too have worked in the forces and for many private companies and this is by far the worst one by a very long way.i can only attribute it to the caos of union/company negotiations.And ive worked for some stinkers in my time.it is true that for what we do ,we get payed well(thankyou union)but not well enough to contend with all the crap that comes with it.£8 plus is better than i was getting as a qualified engineer or welder here in somerset ,but look at holiday picks.until last year we were still going on seniority.thats the unions/old boys getting the cream each and every year.NO other company i have ever worked for requires you to book holiday in (whole weeks,in advance by up to 2 years and only after the old boys have got all the christmas/easter/bank holidays)

i have left the union twice which is not th real answer.the union is supposed to do your bidding ,not the other way around as it is with this union.

so long ago i decided you shouldn't knock things until youve tried to do better.thats why i became a town councillor.i could complain about weeds growing in the gutter outside my house or i could get off my ass and spend 5 minutes pulling um out(big sociaty)

so i have rejoined the union and put myself up for nomination.if/when cos it wil happen i am my union rep i will know atleast i am doing the very best for my mates and not letting them run a distant second to my own needs as happens now.

we can change this union if we wanted..but first the old guard need ousting,which isnt easy when they keep telling /recommending you who they want you to vote for,and dutiful sheep comply.

remember the stink about the last agreement.everyone on here hated it..some go off to the union hotel and come bck telling us all how wonderful it is...because they were told to

lets get rid of the self serving idiots .ignore who the union recommends you vote for.

opps just woke up the mrs with my typing next to her in bed on christmas eve at 5.00 am JUST BEFORE I HAVE TO WORK

[fishtank]

So you are telling me he had his basic wage cut?

Basic wage..take home pay...it's all the same to the bank manager.
The point is pcb,the deal non-members make with themselves is the same as we make with ourselves...you take the rough with the smooth.
The only difference with a non-member is that they don't get a say.
I don't imagine many of them will thank us for park&loop.

i bet they thank us for 6 months sick pay, paid m/rs and pay rates well above minimum wage though.

There's a real danger that living off past glories will end up with a membership whose average age is 55+ and whose branch AGM's are held in the lounge of the Dog & Duck.
Face the flaws in the union,don't hide from them,help to change them and engage both members and non-members or sit back and watch the union wither and die.
Although the exact figures haven't been released yet the word is we're another 6,000 members down this year.
At an average of £2.50 per member/week that's a £700,000 hole in the finances...again.
Time to wake up and stop living in the past.

[UNION JACK]

Having worked in the private sector and the forces, I think you need to step back and take a look at the real world Union Jack. precisely why RM have not just made people redundant is because of the union nothing else. I can't understand how you have not left and got yourself one of those jobs where you obviously believe conditions are better than in RM.

i too have worked in the private sector and to date this has got to be the worse company i have ever worked for and the only one that has had a union,does that tell you something. The only reason there are not a lot of evr's or compulsary redundancies at the moment is because they are hoping thousands will leave on their own accord because of park and loop,saving themselves millions,good move MR union wake up you have not done sod all. As for leaving i am not that stupid to realise that there aren't many jobs out there,so for the meantime will be sticking with this one. Apart from pay rises and the sick pay which was negotiated decades ago could you please explain to me what the union have actually achieved in the last ten years.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

could you please explain to me what the union have actually achieved in the last ten years.

Oh thats going to be a difficult question to answer. The Union for me is 3 completely different things that should be working in perfect harmony at all times.

1. As a National Union its main focus is mainly political and promoting the interests of its members in a National Context - thats mainly Billys Job. Not much he can for us on the front line TBH, he is a figurehead that directs the Union as a whole but won't have much impact on the work we do.

2. Then its a Union for all in Royal Mail/Post Office. This is the DGPS(P) job and its Dave Ward - His main focus should be improving terms and conditions for all members. Over the last 10 years beyond the cumulative effect of pay rises which recently have all been below both measures of inflation, but they did bring in the 5 day working week.

I think the perception of most members is that the Postal section has been mitigating the damage Royal Mail wanted to our T&Cs. Therein lies the problem, its harder to prove you have gained ground, and interest the membership, when all you are seen to do is make the changes less damaging than the employer wanted. How does the membership know if that the worst case scenario was really want RM wanted and the Union did well, or did RM get everything they wanted in the first place and the worst case was just a tactic they used to get the agreement they wanted. Its a hard sell.

3. The last and to my mind the best part of the Union, are the local reps and members, and only you and they can say what they have done for you in the last 10 years. In my Unit I think the 2 reps we have had in my time have been excellent and they have helped members out as best they really can when needed.

[Fred B]

Having worked in the private sector and the forces, I think you need to step back and take a look at the real world Union Jack. precisely why RM have not just made people redundant is because of the union nothing else. I can't understand how you have not left and got yourself one of those jobs where you obviously believe conditions are better than in RM.

i too have worked in the private sector and to date this has got to be the worse company i have ever worked for and the only one that has had a union,does that tell you something. The only reason there are not a lot of evr's or compulsary redundancies at the moment is because they are hoping thousands will leave on their own accord because of park and loop,saving themselves millions,good move MR union wake up you have not done sod all. As for leaving i am not that stupid to realise that there aren't many jobs out there,so for the meantime will be sticking with this one. Apart from pay rises and the sick pay which was negotiated decades ago could you please explain to me what the union have actually achieved in the last ten years.

By the Union do you mean Hayes and Co? Precicely nothing. By Union do you mean members who have used their cars, started work early for no pay and run arouns like lunatics? Nothing. That doesn't mean unions are useless. It means many members are useless and the people at the top are useless. That goes for all trade unions and leaders with the exception of Bob Crowe.

[UNION JACK]

Just makes me wonder who makes all the big decisions and gets away with it,SDD,D2D,PARK AND LOOP. After all is said and done the Royal Mail will always get what it wants and the union has no say and always buckle, thats why i have come out,the office rep does as best he can with the tools provided,its like being in the first world war us foot soldiers are just told to go over the top and ask no questions.Well thats not me anymore im nobodies puppet.

[Tman]

Good for you Jack. Hard times are coming and you'll be one less person for the rest of us union members to have to take industrial action over if/when the hammer falls.

[silly suffolk]

So you are telling me he had his basic wage cut?

Basic wage..take home pay...it's all the same to the bank manager.
The point is pcb,the deal non-members make with themselves is the same as we make with ourselves...you take the rough with the smooth.
The only difference with a non-member is that they don't get a say.
I don't imagine many of them will thank us for park&loop.

i bet they thank us for 6 months sick pay, paid m/rs and pay rates well above minimum wage though.

There's a real danger that living off past glories will end up with a membership whose average age is 55+ and whose branch AGM's are held in the lounge of the Dog & Duck.
Face the flaws in the union,don't hide from them,help to change them and engage both members and non-members or sit back and watch the union wither and die.
Although the exact figures haven't been released yet the word is we're another 6,000 members down this year.
At an average of £2.50 per member/week that's a £700,000 hole in the finances...again.
Time to wake up and stop living in the past.

past glories are that, glories activists from those times can be proud of. where are the up and coming union stars of todays workforce? if no one can be bothered to get involved and argue the case for a/gs and other parts of the workforce who percieve they are hard done by nothing is going to change. as my old dad says you get what you deserve out of life.