Sorry a bit late again - but it is fortnightly so next one is 5 November
NO MORE PUBLIC "SERVICE"
So the government's now boasting that it has now completed "the biggest privatisation of a generation"… On the 13th of October, 499 years of public ownership finally ended, with the remaining 14% of RM shares sold for just under £600m. We workers get 70 shares each, having been given 1% for "free" (as if!). RM's profits keep going up, but never fear, the government's regulator is near - ready to ensure that private businesses get their chunk! And guess what will inevitably happen to the share price…?
THE UTILITY WE NEED
By the way, when Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader, he said that he wanted the government to buy back a stake in RM, "to ensure public influence over it". But he's already shelved that idea - apparently under the influence of his "aides"! However, there's no reason for 143,000 of us RM workers to forget about the need for a really public postal service and to do something about it (along with the rest of the population)!
IS THE POT EMPTY?
Some of us who put in for EVRs were told that there's no money left in the kitty… and that we will all have to wait (till we drop?). But where then, did all the money go? Surely they keep "enough" running costs aside, separate from the dividends they pay out to their big corporate shareholders and the huge salaries they pay to the RM "Board"?
HMP FOR REAL
Yes, there we were thinking that RM's policy was to cut as many jobs as possible. If they have decided against it, then who are we to disagree?! But then take on permanent, full-time new workers to replace us and let those of us who need to get out of here - for whatever reason - get out!
THE APPRENTICE(S)
In fact we see that RM is actually advertising for graduate apprentices to join a new scheme. We presume it's genuine and not a "you're fired!" game. Anyway, there are resources being put into employing new workers. So let's see some of these resources being "employed" on us old workers!
YES, ADDRESS SLEUTHS ARE NEEDED!
Indeed on top of 14,000 Xmas casuals for England, RM's also recruiting 2,100 seasonal, temporary "address detectives"? What? Isn't this one of the more difficult jobs, which RM got rid of, along with the many senior mates who did it? They had to know all about national, international codes plus world geography, but mostly, they had knowledge which comes from accumulated experience. Quite how RM imagines temps can do this job is anybody's guess! But we wish them very good luck - not to mention the needed training with a permanent job at the end of it!
ANOTHER ROYAL MAIL FLOP?
So now the finger scans are circulating around, although not everywhere on packets is using them yet. And as we said last time, these spying devices will be used to count the number of bar-coded packets we each sort. But there's another aspect: it'll provide RM with a chance to talk "efficiencies" - i.e., job cuts, AGAIN!! That is, of course, if we let them! Plus, we should add a third aspect, which is that this device is not actually suitable for anyone with hand or finger problems - arthritis and the like - nor is the laser light so "good" for our eyes...
THEY CAN KISS THE BRIDE
We're continually amazed by the new strings we keep discovering, attached to the union leaders' supposedly "ground breaking" agreement with RM, of which the finger scans are only the latest. Is this "ring" meant to signify our engagement? Fortunately we're not married yet - we can still break it off... and claim compensation?
DEAR SANTA
On flats, we're already thinking about the chaos RM is preparing for Xmas and we're prepared to write a collective letter to Santa, to ask for a quiet festive period… Still, we know that there's more chance of Santa existing and living in the North Pole (postcode: N1?) than RM planning ahead!
REPS ELECTION, WHERE?
The CWU rep election at Romec came and went completely unnoticed… nothing that could be seen on the union board, anyways! So we had to go to the union office to kindly remind them that we intend to choose our own reps...
ENOUGH OVER-TIME
And yes, we certainly have problems to sort out! Many Romec cleaners are still on sick leave - and we were already short of hands. It's the long hours of work and the extra we have to do, that are so hard on our health, including all of this OT distributed to cover for our mates' sick leave! This OT may be tempting due to our low basic pay, but extra hours just make us even sicker! What we really need is fair and decent pay and the sharing of duties (which we decide on) among (a lot) more hands!
TELLING THEM WHERE TO JUMP
And the same applies for postal workers in Processing. Some of us have been asking for suitable jobs according to our needs for years! And when we finally get a job that suits us, we still have to deal with these managers who keep asking us to work duties we can't possibly do! Fortunately, while we may not know some of the duties, we do know how to fight back!
THEY MUST BE JOKING
The CWU "star" negotiator, Andy Fury, must have been out of his head when recommending that our Crown Post Office brothers and sisters accept the 1.9% pay rise offered to them… since it is, in his words, "above inflation"! If we calculate the rise in all our costs of living - energy, housing, transport, etc., - not to mention stamps (!), our mates (and all of us, for that matter) should get at least a 23% pay rise! No less!
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