carrying competitors mail

[borgpicard]

So, now were a private company, why oh why are we still carrying their stuff, surely its up to them to deliver their stuff now, and stop thieving off of us ???

[IcanthelpthewayIam]

So, now were a private company, why oh why are we still carrying their stuff, surely its up to them to deliver their stuff now, and stop thieving off of us ???

We are still covered by the USO so we will need to continue to deliver it

[db]

So, now were a private company, why oh why are we still carrying their stuff, surely its up to them to deliver their stuff now, and stop thieving off of us ???

Because it is revenue and company's don't turn that down! There is no different management in charge.

I understand what your saying though, we should be charging more for this service now that they are using a private company.

[UnhappyGremlin]

So, now were a private company, why oh why are we still carrying their stuff, surely its up to them to deliver their stuff now, and stop thieving off of us ???

Because it is revenue and company's don't turn that down! There is no different management in charge.

I understand what your saying though, we should be charging more for this service now that they are using a private company.

I think the prices are still regulated by Ofcom.
Though, I'd expect RM will do all they can to achieve your suggestion.
No matter how long it takes.

[Brain Fury]

So, now were a private company, why oh why are we still carrying their stuff, surely its up to them to deliver their stuff now, and stop thieving off of us ???

Because it is revenue and company's don't turn that down! There is no different management in charge.

I understand what your saying though, we should be charging more for this service now that they are using a private company.

I think the prices are still regulated by Ofcom.
Though, I'd expect RM will do all they can to achieve your suggestion.
No matter how long it takes.

The requirement that we provide DSA to our competitors and the price we charge for it is governed by the regulator, OFCOM. Part of the recent review of regulation allowed us to charge more so that we now make money from it as opposed to having to subsidise the cost of DSA from other revenue. We cannot simply decide to stop offering DSA in order to force competitors out of business and the regulator will not allow us to until there is sufficient direct delivery competition.

I am not sure if it legal for the CWU to threaten to boycott competitors mail and I suspect that any attempt would end up in the courts. However, if it happened RM would be in breach of regulatory requirements and would potentially face large fines from the regulator. It would obviously encourage companies like TNT to accelerate development of their direct delivery service and make it less likely that the regulator would impose restrictions on the specification of the delivery service they might want to provide. Potentially I believe this is a bigger problem for RM than a few one day strikes but also that in the longer run it is potentially more detrimental to jobs in RM too.

[chrisj]

Will it not be like British Gas not allowing other competitors to use their pipelines... It will grind things to a halt and will lead to competitors having to start their own delivery and have their post boxes and so on.

The above is already happening in some parts but that cannot be replicated all over the country... Moreover, the more successful these companies are the more jobs and customer we would lose.

It is best to take their money but I have to agree that we should start charging a bit more - and we will, that is one thing Moya is good at: moaning about the price we charge and the constraints from regulators.

CWU is backing up the wrong tree. This is almost like an Arthur Scargill bird-brain idea.

Work-to-rule and overtime ban makes more sense that boycotting competitors mail - bad idea!

This goes to show that we need better management of the Union. The are talking about the possibility of a new ballot for work-to-rule and other things. The first should have been work-to-rule and the whole thing should have been combined given what they claim (i dont buy it)to be at stake.

[Brain Fury]

I assume that the CWU are proposing to boycott competitors mail as part of the current dispute because they know that it will put RM in very difficult position and risk the business being fined a lot of money. I assume they have advice that they can legally do this but i wouldn't be surprised to see it challenged by RM.

There is also an opinion that we should refuse to handle competitors mail anyway so that they would be forced to set up their own delivery service. Most couldn't do this and therefore the expectation is that they would go out of business and RM would win it back. As I pointed out the regulator will never allow this. The whole point is that the regulator wants RM to face more competition not less and DSA is the way to overcome the "barriers to entry" to the mail market just like companies sharing the gas pipes, electricity cables and telephone lines.

RM doesn't want competitors to succeed either. However they recognise that DSA will not go away so their approach is to campaign to the regulator for a "level playing field". That means being able to charge a sensible rate for DSA and if competitors are going to set up their own delivery service that they have to meet a minimum standard so that they cannot undermine RM's USO obligations by offering a lower but cheaper service in the most profitable parts of the country. My concern would be that if the current IA results in a boycott of DSA the regulator is likely to cut competitors more slack in the delivery services they plan to supply. Ultimately this will have an effect RM profitability and its employees jobs.

[arnold cheshire]

So, now were a private company, why oh why are we still carrying their stuff, surely its up to them to deliver their stuff now, and stop thieving off of us ???

We are still covered by the USO so we will need to continue to deliver it

USO just means we have to deliver to every address not deliver DSA

[IcanthelpthewayIam]

So, now were a private company, why oh why are we still carrying their stuff, surely its up to them to deliver their stuff now, and stop thieving off of us ???

We are still covered by the USO so we will need to continue to deliver it

USO just means we have to deliver to every address not deliver DSA

The guarantee to deliver DSA mail is part of our USO

[chrisj]

Either way, it is a bad idea - simple! What is wrong with the Union???

For people that do not understand there is a Competition Laws within this country and within the wider EU.

And there should not be a unjustifiable barrier to entry - as mentioned. Ditto: Gas, Electricity and Telecoms, Banks .. and many other industries. Remember when Microsoft was made to sell certain parts of its successful business... There was even an issue with browser (Explorer) and certain search engines bundled with PCs.

[chrisj]

http://www.myroyalmail.com/news/nationa ... ave-choice" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Sorry to post RM propaganda but this is relevant especially the possible impact of TNT end-to-end delivery in Manchester. That could lead to job losses and closures or mergers of some depot.

Most of the Mail Centres have already being merged and some are going - we should be careful.

* If we cost RM a lot of money then do we expect them just to quietly slink away and/or say Bravo!

[arnold cheshire]

So, now were a private company, why oh why are we still carrying their stuff, surely its up to them to deliver their stuff now, and stop thieving off of us ???

We are still covered by the USO so we will need to continue to deliver it

USO just means we have to deliver to every address not deliver DSA

The guarantee to deliver DSA mail is part of our USO

so theres no point in the cwu doing a ballot on boycotting DSA It will be challenged in court

[Dorset Plodder]

I think BF has explained the situation quite clearly. I believe the main aim for RM would be to make sure we get paid the full cost of delivering DSA (plus a bit of profit for us) at least we'd not be subsidising our competitors, as I believe we have been for the last couple of years.

The CWU may well use the boycotting of DSA as a bargaining tool, it would be popular with Union Members, but I think (for the reasons previously mentioned) it would be a bad idea in the long run if if left the CWU open to legal action or caused the loss of business and maybe jobs.

[chrisj]

Am I missing something here...

If the Union wants to use something which is illegal and will be challenged as a bargaining tool, then we are f**ked... We might as well forget the whole thing because this will give RM a loophole and the Union will look like mugs and amateurs

[windermeredave]

I will back IA forever, but when it comes to the boycott vote its a big no for me, I don't want TNT postmen on my street to get a foothold in the market.