) have nearly reached an agreement with the CWU that all the details are being published, or rather being made public. Do you think that this could be, by any chance, tied in with the wildcat strikes and local disputes around the country? Also the fact that we've been 'bombing' businesses and the public, over the past few days, with leaflets from the CWU over the reasons we're on strike?
As no details were really given by any of the news media as to why we were on strike. Apart from a few reports in some papers, some really good ones but in the main most seemed to be 'propaganda' reports from RM. In the main it was posties around the country letting the public know as to why we were in dispute.
Management were only interested in saying 'we're losing money/business to the competition because of this action'. Sod that! We still have to deliver their mail. Have you seen DHL/TNT/Business Post et al on any delivery, apart from dropping of business mail to a few assorted Co's. in major cities/towns. I don't think even the public realised who was dropping the mail through their doors, until it was pointed out to them. (RM should have these letters franked with 'Delivered by Royal Mail', maybe that'll make people realise what we have to put up with.) Also they were the ones who put forward 'Job and Done' as part of the previous pay deal and now they whinge about it.... 'We only want a fair days work for a fair days pay.'
Last week my office let us out at 9:30am, it takes me at least 15mins, on a good day, to get to my start point. I eventually got to my start point at 10am! I had 5 bags of mail to deliver... I returned with 1 full bag! Lo and behold a pile of bags elsewhere in the office where others had cut off as well! Everyday so far there have been bags returned due to cutting off. Good!!
As it stands reports on BBC News24 state that the offer on the table is 6.9% over 2 years with a lump sum of £175. Local agreements to be used/implemented with regard to flexible working. The pension scheme to be closed to new members. Nothing else mentioned at present. This could all go down the pan if wildcat strikes continue. Is this a threat from C&L or just badly worded on the news?
So voting, no doubtedly, will be carried out over the coming week with results given next week. It'll be interesting to see what the reaction to flexiblity will be, as no doubt that will be a big problem....
So far this action has mirrored results in my old job, with regard to WTL and how things have transpired, my old job called this Continous Improvement... we called it Continous Disprovement.
Therefore the next step in this should be, or rather will be, monthly pay? RM will no doubt want to implement this by March 2008, so they can start the new financial year with propaganda over profits/losses etc, with regard to bonuses.
In my last job (prior to the site being closed down.... doesn't sound good this does it?) everyone from directors to cleaners were made redundant, and everything (machinery etc being moved up North. My old company offered us monthly pay with the following to be implemented, upon agreement the deal being accepted.
If I recall correctly it was bi-weekly pay for 6 months, then monthly pay implemented there after. The offer had a payment of £50 'as a carrot' for acceptance. Upon acceptance they then split the monthly payments throughout the Co. by paying everyone either on the 15th or the 28th of the month. After that, about 18months to 2yrs later we got hit by the news that they were going to shut the local site down with the loss of 280-300 jobs!