RMC:From the FT via the BBC news

[dvbuk55]

75-25 full time part time the men will not attend meetings after work because most are home before one and dont want to upset the manager 80 per cent are union members but as i have mentioned are all for themselves yes the area rep knows the situation with how the unit operates he did hold a meeting and explained the need to stick together but when it comes down to it they do the same old thing sad but true the manager has full control he manages as long as they do as they are told to do happy days

Well now we come to the crux of the matter really slider, why is it that they are more prepared to follow the diktats of the manager who rather than involving the CWU Rep as he is supposed to do, goes directly to the workforce. Why is the rep prepared to let things slide and not involve HQ and go into disagreement because the manager is NOT following the agreement. Perhaps the members see that the union is toothless and merely pay lip service as an insurance against any problems they may have of a disciplinary nature and view the CWU as merely a mouthpiece of Royal Mail.

[POSTMAN]

the rep asked the managers to stop doing the work but was told to get a vote from the majority

What a crock of s**t and what a muppet the rep is.

[slinder123]

yes looking at what you say makes sense the men have no confidence in the union backing them up im so glad you gave this reply thanks

[dvbuk55]

yes looking at what you say makes sense the men have no confidence in the union backing them up im so glad you gave this reply thanks

You have hit the nail on the head slider, it is a question of confidence not necessarily in the rep but in the union as a whole. The rep probably has as many misgivings about the union as any member.

[Martin Walsh]

Fish if an office is suffering from bullying etc and they don't trust as you say the CWU then what is their alternative simply suffer ?

There were 3 unofficial disputes last week and all those members who walked out knew that by doing so the union at an higher level would get involved.

I get the point a local rep does not know how to use the iR framework but he simply either has to get the area rep involved or simply registar his issues as management cannot ingnore the disagreement and there is no longer a unilateral disagreement.

I also get some Branch's hide but you only flush this out if you put it to the test by an office going to disagreement.

In my experience and I deal with more that just one office and here say that if there are genuine problems within the office then people do not suffer in silence they shout from the rooftops.

How can a union tackle what people on here suggest is widespread bullying if these offices would rather choose to allow management to continue to abuse them rather than raise the problem to an higher level of the CWU ?

Its bizarre this thread started by some who say the relationship is too cosy at national level but some on here now say that offices will not raise their offices issues cause they don't trust the CWU ? The CWU can only act on issues raised ! I really cannot believe that an office which is seeing bullying and intimidation on a daily and weekly basis would choose to continue to allow this too happen instead of calling for help using the IR framework.

Again my experience of dealing with the IR framework is the timescales have got better in resolving within the timescales. There has been no executive action and where a manager has broken a national agreement they have been reigned in. Now that is real not made up.

[dvbuk55]

The CWU need to be more proactive in seeking out problem areas within its own organisation and be less involved in the problems facing Royal Mail which is what Moya and her tribe are paid to do - shame that Moya considers the CWU to be "their" union which is precisely the feeling members have. Rather than sitting in cloud cuckoo land waiting for problems to be delivered to Broadway they need to get on the road and deal with union affairs rather than sitting in a posh restaurant discussing Royal Mail affairs.

[fishtank]

How can a union tackle what people on here suggest is widespread bullying if these offices would rather choose to allow management to continue to abuse them rather than raise the problem to an higher level of the CWU ?

The union is suffering from exactly the same thing every union and political process is suffering from at the moment, a lack of genuine democratic engagement at grass roots level.

How do you fix that?
You have to go right back to the shop floor and inject that genuine democratic engagement at the lowest level and allow it to feed its way back up the structure.

How would I start?
I would force local reps to seek a positive mandate to continue every year from their members, They should only be allowed to continue if they can secure the active support of 51% of their members, If I thought I couldn't achieve that I would stand down anyway.

It's not good enough to have a bad rep in place just because no one else will do it, that's a poor choice for members, It disengages members in the unit, It allows Branches to hide the level of disengagement in their area and these bad reps end up working their way through the union into positions of power at branch level and above causing more damage.

It would immediately flag up problem units if they chose to have no rep rather than a bad rep allowing branches to get involved at an early stage and if branches failed to get involved it would soon become clear by the number of units without a rep which branches and indeed divisions were failing their members, this would bring a whole new level of genuine accountability all the way through the union which would be obvious to members on the shop floor and help to rebuild some of the trust that has been lost.

I know some reps wouldn't like it but in my opinion those are exactly the kind of reps we want rid off and a decent rep working on behalf of all his/her members, not just the favoured few would have nothing to fear from seeking a mandate to continue.

[dvbuk55]

How can a union tackle what people on here suggest is widespread bullying if these offices would rather choose to allow management to continue to abuse them rather than raise the problem to an higher level of the CWU ?

The union is suffering from exactly the same thing every union and political process is suffering from at the moment, a lack of genuine democratic engagement at grass roots level.

How do you fix that?
You have to go right back to the shop floor and inject that genuine democratic engagement at the lowest level and allow it to feed its way back up the structure.

Bravo. If only members such as yourself, who actually understand the problem, had the ear of the glitterati instead of sycophants determined to continue on the same road which will inevitably see the end of the CWU. It is similar to the Tories and Labour who do not address the issues the people see as a problem and why UKIP are so successful at the moment, who may never be in a position to do anything constructive other than bring the issues to the table.

[BoltonPostie]

The CWU can react to disagreements , the question is if there are so many problems why are we not seeing more disagreements.

Well didn't the union shelve many of the disagreements that was outstanding ,I know ours was and was never dealt with.