Postal workers in Bristol call for strike action

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-20206976" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Postal workers in Bristol have asked to hold a ballot for strike action.

It comes as thousands of items of mail have been left undelivered at a Royal Mail sorting office since last Friday.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) say cuts in staff and an increasing workload in the run-up to Christmas has left the sorting office in "chaos".

Royal Mail apologised for the delay and said it was due to high levels of sickness at the Mead Street sorting office, in Bedminster, last week.

Adrian Booth, from Royal Mail, said: "Contingency plans, including assistance from Royal Mail managers over the weekend, enabled the delivery of delayed items of mail to be carried out in the BS4 and BS14 postcode area of Bristol."

He added: "We are confident that all mail will be delivered by close of play today."

'Bullying from managers'
But David Wilshire, from the CWU, said managers were "continuing to ignore the fact that delivery rounds are too large."

The delays in post getting to the BS4 (Knowle) and BS14 (Hengrove) areas began last week.

Mr Wilshire said managers from Swindon had been drafted in by Royal Mail but this had caused more delays as they do not know the area.

He added that in the last year, seven jobs had been cut which had added to the pressure on workers to take on more deliveries. About 100 people work in the office.

"Postal workers at the site are complaining of alleged intimidation and bullying from managers who appear to have lost the ability to make rational decisions," he said.

"There's now a likelihood that there will be a strike in the run-up to Christmas."

[spoodoo]

Bring it on,! It's all a big mess.

[goinpostal]

Good luck to our Bristol brothers and sisters - things in Royal Mail are just going from bad to worse under the BT agreement, good to see someone actually standing up to the pressure and bullying!

[Kidders]

I've really only joined 'Royal Mail Chat' to find out what is going on in Bristol, it's no surprise to find that what is going on there is happening all across the country, good luck to our colleagues for making a stand, others take note.

[scoobydo79]

About time We all manned up.None of the revisions are working so we are we putting up with it?Give it to em Bristol.Most of us have suffered in silence which was the worst thing we could have done

[DirtyHarry]

The delivery service in Britain is absolutely chaotic.
Royal Mail management have wrecked what was once, not so long ago, a well-oiled machine that worked like clockwork.
A system that was fool-proof, until the advent of the superfool, much like the one's currently running the service into the ground.
With the unremitting savage round of cuts resulting from the last disastrous agreement between management and an incompetent CWU, the problems that Bristol are facing are hardly unique.
Wherever a revision has been carried out, a disaster has inevitably trailed in it's wake.
The disaster in Bristol is mirrored throughout the length and breadth of Britain. It's not just a minor local catastrophe, it's a huge national catastrophe of the sort of proportions never ever seen before.
After more than a decade of cuts, upon cuts, upon cuts, upon cuts, upon cuts, and so on, and so on, we are seeing the inevitable consequences of such mindless buffoonery.
Talentless bullies, that's all management in Royal Mail are. Not an original thought to be had from any one of them, just the same old jaded, tired-out clap-trap, which we are unfortunately faced with on a daily basis.
Oh well, never mind, 20-30 minutes of boring tedium thanks to 'Royal Mail TV' tomorrow, no doubt.

[Phantom]

The delivery service in Britain is absolutely chaotic.
Royal Mail management have wrecked what was once, not so long ago, a well-oiled machine that worked like clockwork.
A system that was fool-proof, until the advent of the superfool, much like the one's currently running the service into the ground.
With the unremitting savage round of cuts resulting from the last disastrous agreement between management and an incompetent CWU, the problems that Bristol are facing are hardly unique.
Wherever a revision has been carried out, a disaster has inevitably trailed in it's wake.
The disaster in Bristol is mirrored throughout the length and breadth of Britain. It's not just a minor local catastrophe, it's a huge national catastrophe of the sort of proportions never ever seen before.
After more than a decade of cuts, upon cuts, upon cuts, upon cuts, upon cuts, and so on, and so on, we are seeing the inevitable consequences of such mindless buffoonery.
Talentless bullies, that's all management in Royal Mail are. Not an original thought to be had from any one of them, just the same old jaded, tired-out clap-trap, which we are unfortunately faced with on a daily basis.
Oh well, never mind, 20-30 minutes of boring tedium thanks to 'Royal Mail TV' tomorrow, no doubt.

Very true and well said, we'll just see how long it takes the CWU to pull its finger out and bring the rest of the country out cos we're 9 months in on this revision s**t and we are the worst performing office in the country now, we've failed every day since day one!

[hans solo]

escalation of action possible or is everyone scared
i bet senior reps attend office and some sort of settlement is reached to shut the workforce up and they will be refused rule 13 from hq

[POSTMAN]

Mr D Wilshire
Branch Secretary
Bristol & District Amal

Dear Dave,

INDUSTRIAL ACTION BALLOT – BRISTOL SOUTH EAST DO

Further to the request for a Rule 13 ballot of your members employed by Royal Mail working at the above workplace.

The ballot has been authorised by Bob Gibson and the employer has been advised of your intention.

In order that you can effectively campaign for a “YES” vote you should note the following timetable :-

Ballot papers despatched : 13th November 2012 (1st Class Post)

Close of ballot : 21st November 2012

If you receive any request for information, regarding this ballot from local management you must refer them to this Department.

If you need any further advice or assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Kearns
SENIOR DEPUTY GENERAL SECRETARY

[POSTMAN]

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Sorting- ... story.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

POSTAL workers at a Bristol sorting office will vote on strike action next week in a row over staff shortages and workloads.

The Communication Workers Union announced last night that it would be sending ballot papers to 100 Royal Mail workers based at the Mead Street depot in Bedminster from next Tuesday.

The union has warned that any strike would be "likely to hit the delivery of mail in the lead up to Christmas".

Staff based at the Mead Street depot normally deliver mail to the BS4 and BS14 postcode areas, which include Brislington, Knowle, Stockwood and Hengrove.

The union claims that the situation at the sorting office has already descended into chaos, with thousands of letters and items of post left undelivered because staff shortages have left delivery rounds too big to be completed be remaining posties.

Royal Mail has blamed the problem on staff sickness and said that the backlog should be cleared up by today.

The union says it is asking members to vote on strike action "in response to the abrogation of national agreements and procedures by Royal Mail managers".

The ballot will close on November 21, with a result announced soon afterwards.

CWU Bristol branch official David Wilshire said: "These postal workers have shown tremendous restraint in not requesting a ballot previously, but now think that enough is enough and have felt the need to take a stand.

"The union will be meeting with workers at a mass meeting outside the depot next week, in order to discuss what form an acceptable resolution would take. It is then hoped that a meeting with the company will follow."

The CWU claims seven delivery staff jobs have been cut, leaving those who remain with an increasing workload.

The union says election manifestos from Bristol's mayoral candidates were among the items which were left undelivered in the sorting office over the weekend.

Mr Wilshire said: "To blame this fiasco on a minority of workers on sick leave completely misses the point that there are not enough rounds in the depot and postal workers are struggling to complete deliveries that are over-laden with mail."

Royal Mail spokesman Adrian Booth said: "Contingency plans, including assistance from Royal Mail managers over the weekend, enabled the delivery of delayed items of mail to be carried out in the BS4 and BS14 postcode area of Bristol.

"We are confident that all mail will be delivered by close of play today."

Mr Booth said that any customers with queries on deliveries should contact the Royal Mail customer services department on 0845 740740.

[POSTMAN]

http://www.cwu.org/news/archive/-stop-t ... trike.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

'Stop the bullying or we strike’

Bristol could be hit by strike action in the run-up to Christmas, with around 100 delivery workers preparing to ballot over accusations that managers are bullying staff.






Local branch secretary Dave Wilshire explained that the issue centered on problems at the city's South East Delivery Office and had arisen following the implementation of a delivery revision "about a year ago.


"It hasn't worked from Day One, but management have stubbornly refused to carry out a proper review," he explained, adding that, according to the current national agreements, a post-revision review should be carried out if requested by the union.


"People have got rounds they just can't complete within their time and we're getting daily complaints from members alleging bullying and harassment."


Dave told us that, in his opinion, the situation on the front line of delivery is rapidly becoming as difficult as it was back in 2009, during the period leading up to the last national strike.





Bob (copy/paste) Gibson, CWU national officer for delivery workers, said that the reports from Bristol were part of what seems to be a growing trend.


"I'm growing increasingly concerned by reports that have been received which contain accounts of managers attempting to force increasing workloads onto our members, and then accusing them of poor performance," he said.


"Some of what I've been hearing from several areas around the country seems quite sinister in its application and can only be described as bullying, harassment and downright intimidation.


"This is a situation we cannot allow to continue," added Bob.

Ballot timetable:


Ballot papers dispatched: Wednesday 13th November 2012
Ballot closes: Wednesday 21st November 2012