Royal Mail claims postal strike is flagging

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 06 Oct 2007, 07:29

Royal Mail claims postal strike is flagging as rivals target business

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/ ... 033457.ece

By James Moore
Published: 06 October 2007

The Royal Mail claimed that support for the controversial postal strike was "weakening" yesterday as talks between the two sides aimed at bringing an end to the disruption continued.

The Royal Mail, in its statement, maintained that "50 per cent more people" were working compared with previous strike days.

It said: "Attendance at strikes across the country varied hugely with up to 90 per cent of our people working as normal in some offices and with about 35,000 people coming to work as usual during the first 24-hour period of action. This is around a third of people due to be at work. We expect this level to rise over the next few days." The Royal Mail said "the high level of attendance" meant it was continuing to process mail and that deliveries were taking place across the country, although at reduced levels.

The two-day strike â€“ over a 2.5 per cent pay offer, job cuts, changes to working practices and plans to change the company's generous final-salary pension scheme â€“ was called by the 130,000-strong Communications Workers' Union and started on Thursday. A second stoppage planned for Monday means the dispute will paralyse deliveries for a week.

A CWU spokeswoman said: "We are not at all concerned by Royal Mail putting that out. It is always possible to find offices where more people have turned up, but we know we have the overwhelming support of our members."

The spokeswoman said in response to criticism that the strike will damage the postal industry: "We are very concerned about the future of Royal Mail, that is why we found ourselves in this position. We don't feel that the business is addressing the problem of competition effectively and we are incredibly keen to have an agreement. That is why we are still in negotiations."

Business Post, which competes with the Royal Mail, said it would benefit in some ways from the stoppage, particularly with Royal Mail customers switching to its parcel delivery service. But its chief executive Guy Buswell said the company still found the dispute "very frustrating" because it uses postmen and women for the last leg of delivery. "This doesn't really do us any favours â€“ our letters are stuck in depots because there are no postmen to deliver them. While this raises awareness of competition, overall it is bad for mail as a medium."

Yesterday Unite, which represents 12,000 managers, struck a deal with Royal Mail on pay and pensions, agreeing a 7.3 per cent rise over two years. It has also accepted the replacement of the final-salary pension scheme with a "career average" arrangement that bases payouts on average earnings over an employee's career rather than the salary he or she earns just before retiring.

nelson · Post by **nelson** » 06 Oct 2007, 07:49

Same old crap. Can they not think of anything new

Herodotus · Post by **Herodotus** » 06 Oct 2007, 07:59

And the cheque's in the post ..... the car's got low mileage ..... and I really wouldn't do that in anyone's mouth!

DGP1 · Post by **DGP1** » 06 Oct 2007, 11:14

I think this quote is important

Business Post, which competes with the Royal Mail, said it would benefit in some ways from the stoppage, particularly with Royal Mail customers switching to its parcel delivery service. But its chief executive Guy Buswell said the company still found the dispute "very frustrating" because it uses postmen and women for the last leg of delivery. "This doesn't really do us any favours â€“ our letters are stuck in depots because there are no postmen to deliver them. While this raises awareness of competition, overall it is bad for mail as a medium."

cruisey · Post by **cruisey** » 06 Oct 2007, 11:20

Why don't business post go and set up a residential door to door service and see how cheap they can charge the bulk mailers then. Selfish tossers

strangler · Post by **strangler** » 06 Oct 2007, 11:24

CMA get 7.3% over 2 years. Forgetting anything else that alone shows how much RM value us lot.

IWW Fellow Worker · Post by **IWW Fellow Worker** » 06 Oct 2007, 11:36

I've been flagging during strikes for years!

Post by **piranha** » 07 Oct 2007, 08:41

strangler wrote:CMA get 7.3% over 2 years. Forgetting anything else that alone shows how much RM value us lot.

Again a rise from 2.5% a year when apparently there is
no more money available...hmmm not to mention they
also get the mickey mouse shares on top of management
bonuses and for doing what exactly?!