Video : AT CWU NATIONAL BRIEFING

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 07 Feb 2018, 15:31

Yamr1 · Post by **Yamr1** » 07 Feb 2018, 15:54

What a load of guff

Read this article from today better than listen to that video

Royal Mail workers deserve more than the new deal

CWU postal workers’ union leaders and Royal Mail bosses have drawn up a deal to end a long-running dispute that almost led to national strikes.

The full agreement was released to union reps and branches last week. Senior reps were set to meet to discuss the agreement this Tuesday and Wednesday.

It will then be put to members to vote on.

The agreement shows Royal Mail managers have made some big concessions—and backed away from many of the attacks they planned.

Workers voted by almost 90 percent for strikes on a 73.3 percent turnout—smashing the thresholds imposed by the Trade Union Act. They achieved that through an inspirational campaign of mass gate meetings.

In particular, a new pension deal is a big improvement on bosses’ plans to move all Royal Mail workers onto a Defined Contribution (DC) pension scheme.

This would have robbed thousands of pounds from many workers—and left the amount paid out at the mercy of the stock market.

Bosses are now also offering percentage pay increases—and reductions in the working week—where previously they only offered meagre lump sums.

Yet there are problems with the deal. Bosses and union leaders now want to introduce a Collective Defined Contribution (CDC)—also known as a Defined Ambition—pension scheme.This would be an improvement for workers who are already on the DC scheme.

But it is a much riskier scheme for those who began working for Royal Mail before 2008. Currently they’re on a scheme that guarantees a fixed wage in retirement.

But the agreement says pension payments under the new scheme “represent targets, not hard promises, and can be varied (upwards and downwards) to maintain the cost of the scheme at a fixed level.”

In other words, workers will get a wage in retirement—but the amount isn’t guaranteed.

There are pitfalls with the pay deal too. Union leaders say they have struck a deal worth 12.33 percent covering 2017-2019, when reductions in the working week are factored in. Yet the actual amount of the pay increase is only above inflation in 2017. The rise is 5 percent and to be backdated.

There will be no increase for 2018 and a 2 percent increase in 2019.

These will be coupled with one-hour reductions to the working week in both years.

This means the hourly rate will technically go up. But the amount of money paid into workers’ bank accounts will stay the same—while prices continue to rise.

Workers shouldn’t accept that they have to take worse pensions and pay to protect bosses’ profits.

CWU members have shown they can beat off attacks.

They should reject the agreement—and be prepared for action to win better pay and pension deals for all Royal Mail workers.

Yamr1 · Post by **Yamr1** » 07 Feb 2018, 15:57

There all happy in that room
To get a wage in retirement—but the amount isn’t guaranteed and work to 67 for new pension deal lol

Destiny · Post by **Destiny** » 07 Feb 2018, 16:36

Did anyone have the balls to grill the top table on this shambles of a sellout?
Facebook ego maniac having more influence than our own union at a national briefing

mr hil. · Post by **mr hil.** » 07 Feb 2018, 16:56

I have just watched the video posted on facebook explaining the new pension........it sounds better than expected with the extura 1% + 1% option included so that members who still want to retire at 65 will not lose out by taking their pension early. The devil is in the details so we should wait for the promised literature about the new pension and then decide if it is not fit for purpose. Too many people on here are trashing the proposed agreement without reading it for themselves and just quoting ill informed opinions found on here and elsewhere, the reps are going to have to sell this agreement but only if it is explained clearly without the corporate lawyer speak that it is written in.

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 6&p=800261" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

yellowbelly · Post by **yellowbelly** » 07 Feb 2018, 17:18

mr hil. wrote:I have just watched the video posted on facebook explaining the new pension........it sounds better than expected with the extra 1% + 1% option included so that members who still want to retire at 65 will not lose out by taking their pension early. The devil is in the details so we should wait for the promised literature about the new pension and then decide if it is not fit for purpose. Too many people on here are trashing the proposed agreement without reading it for themselves and just quoting ill informed opinions found on here and elsewhere, the reps are going to have to sell this agreement but only if it is explained clearly without the corporate lawyer speak that it is written in.

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 6&p=800261" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1. The new pension format has yet to be agreed in law - so no matter how much its pro's and con's are discussed it is by no means certain it
will ever come into play - This is a quote from end of para 11 'After 12 months a judgement will be made on the likelihood of the new scheme being introduced.....'

2. So for at least a year there are two transition schemes which are not of equal parity in terms of employer contributions!!! Same work - different pension!

hans solo · Post by **hans solo** » 07 Feb 2018, 18:04

its a NO from me

redneck · Post by **redneck** » 07 Feb 2018, 19:07

The pension deal is still linked to some far off agreement with a Tory government to change the rules, or am I wrong? Pensions is minor to me, what we needed and haven't got is a roll out of better national agreements on b and h that actually give us some clout against ever increasing workloads that management fail to recognise, letters may be falling, but everything else to do with the job is on the increase and the responses of local management is to be in state of disbelief about the time these extra things take. Also the pay deal is a piss poor one overall

fishtank · Post by **fishtank** » 07 Feb 2018, 19:23

the reps are going to have to sell this agreement but only if it is explained clearly without the corporate lawyer speak that it is written in.

You think the advice on here is "ill informed " but you're willing to take pension advice from a rep?
It's extremely dangerous to give financial advice in any professional capacity nevermind as an untrained union representative. The best idea would be for the reps to steer well clear of the pension issue and point members at Terry Pullinger. He can be the subject of the miss-selling scandal if the whole thing collapses.

mr hil. · Post by **mr hil.** » 07 Feb 2018, 23:19

I do not think all the advice on here is ill informed but he video I linked to was presented by a "financial proffesional," Hilary Salt from First Actuaria. I also suggested that we wait for the official documents that have been promised that will, hopefully, fully explain the new cdc in detail.

After watching the video I realized that the profits of doom on here that were saying the new pension deal was rubbish because you would not be guaranteed a fixed pension once you had retired but it would yo-yo up and down were not entirely honest. The video told another story, with their running of the historical data as though the new scheme had been active showed a percentage increase year on year even during the last major financial meltdown.

My comment about the reps was meant to imply that the whole deal needs explaining in layman's terms, not just the headline 5% but all the nitty gritty stuff too.

fishtank · Post by **fishtank** » 08 Feb 2018, 06:12

The video told another story, with their running of the historical data as though the new scheme had been active showed a percentage increase year on year even during the last major financial meltdown.

The graph tells you nothing unless you have the references, it's simply a graph of how equities have performed over the last 20 years, If the DB pension had stuck with equities instead of moving primarily into bonds it would have a surplus that we could all live off for 50 years. There is no suggestion that the change in business model or decline in active members has been factored in.

If I had invested my pension in Facebook shares 20 years ago I would have massively outperformed both schemes and would be sitting on a beach somewhere sipping cocktails. Hindsight is useful but it can't predict future pensions on its own, for that you need to know the future business model and have a crystal ball.

The elephant in the room with a CDC scheme is that the employer will no longer support the scheme in tough times, that risk is purely down to active members increasing their contributions and for the first time in UK pension history retired members seeing a potential cut in the money they are relying on to put food on the table. The CWU should be so proud of themselves. Of course CWU pensions are still DB so no worries on that score.

You keep looking at the shiny graph. I'm already taking independent professional pension advice, I would suggest everyone does.