14/03/2018 Mount Pleasant Bulletin

[jimallen]

Hi, here's the bulletin of the 14th of March. Comments welcomed, as usual!

LISTENING TO CHEERLEADERS
We finally had our union meetings last week… Of course, it
allowed many among us to ask questions, but we didn't get
any proper answers! So why is the union accepting
pension cuts? Why is our pay rise backdated to October
and not April? Why don't we have a pay increase for 2018-
2019? They just repeated the exact same - sorry we have
to say it, “crap” - we can read in the so-called “agreement”.
They don’t act like union leaders, they act like RM
cheerleaders.

PENSION RACKETEERING
Yes, we had many questions… so for instance, how could
RM have taken 13 years of pension holiday (yes, 13 years!)
and now claim that the pension fund may soon be in
deficit? Worse than that, this "future deficit" is calculated
according to crystal-ball predictions worth absolutely
nothing! And if RM finds it difficult to keep the pension fund
in the surplus WHICH IT IS IN NOW, they can take the
money from their profits, not OUR pockets!

CALLING A CAT A CAT
Same story on pay… The union officials are still playing
smoke and mirrors, presenting us with false figures… when
real life inflation was at 3.9% (RPI) last year and expected
to be over 4% the coming year. Apparently these union
officials don’t have the guts to call this pay deal a pay cut?!
Will they invent yet more fantastical words for it?

COLDER OUTSIDE, BUT BETTER!
Oh yes, and this time the meeting wasn't outside by the exfire
station, but inside HMP on the second floor… RM was
more than keen to allow the union officials to sell us their
“deal” on RM premises. What next? Lulling us at Work
Time Sleeping, with fairy tales of "ground breaking"
agreements? No, we’d rather get cold outside and fight this
concerted attack by RM! Last year, 89% of us voted to do
just that. It is a lie to say that this offer by the “partners” is
new. It’s the same deal, in “fancy dress”.

WHAT WAS THIS ABOUT?
What was this letter we received from RM on pensions,
asking us to sign? The union finally advised us not to. But
why was RM sending around letters regarding our pensions
at this moment in time?

IT WOULD BE A VOTE TO HELP THE BOSSES!
As for the legislation that has to be passed in Parliament for
the Collective Defined Contribution (sell-out!!) Pension to
be possible, well of course MPs would vote for it! They will
most definitely vote for anything that will allow the bosses to
cheapen the cost of pensions and get more profits for
themselves! And that’s the problem!

ROYAL MAYHEM
Yes, RM seems to be very good at cutting our numbers, but
when it comes to sorting mail, management is just as inept
as usual… So here's a brief reminder to those managers
who haven't got a clue yet where we stand: it is not OUR
problem if RM can't cope with volumes from up North and
foreign. They want volumes to be cleared? We want to
see more hands on the shop floor here in HMP, up North,
and wherever foreign gets sorted nowadays. Till then, work
will pile up!

EARLY VOLUNTARY RECRUITMENT?
Of course, lack of hands has gotten out of hand since the
wave of EVRs after December. We get the brunt and feel it
on our backs - another good reason to insist on taking it
easier!

PILING UP DUTIES
And the few mini-fit ups since Xmas haven't changed a
thing! Why should they change anything anyway, when
managers just move us around like pawns on a
chessboard, without recruiting new mates?

SOON IT WILL BE CART AND HORSES?
Oh dear, on the drivers' side it's impossible to find a 7.5t in
good condition - if they're returned at all! Have managers
taken a look at these wrecks? They are not road-worthy! If
they’d have bothered, they wouldn't be using their bloody
monitoring system to complain about our driving - they want
nice driving? Get us nice trucks!

CASUALLY INTRODUCING CASUAL JOBS
We know very well that RM is consistently using agency
workers all year round, and not just on deliveries, even if
that isn’t happening here at MP (except in cleaning and
catering?). It’s the case in Ilford/Romford and in large mail
centres like Greenford! RM is in a mad max race to the
bottom and casualising work is a major runner for them!
We can't allow this to happen!

RM'S THE REAL BEAST FROM THE EAST
We heard that some DUMs were fool enough to ask
delivery workers to do their rounds "at their own risk", given
the snow/slippery pavements. But in parts of Scotland (+
probably elsewhere!) where the freeze was bigger, mates
had their pay cut, if they didn't make it in to work! In Falkirk
they're balloting for strike to force RM to pay what they owe!
Yes, turning on the heat might defrost these managers'
frozen brains!

IT WAS STAY-AT-HOME WEATHER
In fact the cold did hit HMP too - well, it hit the pipes - so we
had no hot water for several days, but at least the heating
carried on working. Pity, really.

DOTTY ELEPHANT
We cleaners do so look forward to the lovely weekly
meetings with the Elephant. Now we hear that he doesn’t
want to be woken up from his nap by “music while we
work”... Maybe next week we should tell him we have a
problem with his OCD instruction to throw our rubbish out at
1.40pm on his dot?

“TOUS ENSEMBLE!” ALL TOGETHER!
Next Thurs 22nd, our French fellow workers on the railways
and from public sector unions will be out on strike against
President Macron’s plan to privatise the railways and
seriously attack their jobs and working conditions. We
stand with them, if not in body at least in spirit! But why not
in body?!

[Martin Walsh]

Complete mis representation of what happened in the mount. As someone who was holding the meetings I made sure both pensions and the reason for the change was explained and why the 5% pay rise kicked in from 2nd October.

I held 12 meetings with the members in the Mount during Wednesday 7th March across the early , lates , part timers and nights from Deliveries , Processing , collections and MGV drivers.

For the record I will say again :

We were never going to keep the DB scheme open , DB schemes are closing due to a combination of factors across the UK and the world. Royal Mail’s Pensions costs would have increased from £400 million to £1.2 billion per annum , we could have went on strike for a year and Royal Mail would not have paid that money. This is why the union wanted any new pension scheme to be a pension scheme for everyone and to offer a genuine wage in retirement all be it not guaranteed but targeted.

Hopefully the Government will give the go ahead for the CDC scheme for all , in the interim we have transitional arrangements.

On Pay the CWU had a choice 2.6% backdated to April 2017 and a further 2% from April 2018 or to take 5% from October 2017.

The 5% delivered for inner London where the Mount is £25.85 per week better off plus 5% on the £9.76 Processing and Collections Supplement and 5% on the £26.96 Delivery Supplement.

Whereas the 2.6 and 2% would have meant a rise of £24.48 per week.

More than 50% of Royal Mail staff do not do regular overtime so this is the reason why 5% was better for the vast majority of staff.

I realise it is easy for individuals to produce an anonymous comms saying that there questions was not answered but I did answer you choose not to listen. Unlike you I am willing to stand up in front of the members and debate the issues , if you asked a question you certainly did not attack the agreement as you have done in your comms.

[maninred]

[anna]

It is true the tone of these articles in the WF bulletin is angry and a bit insulting to the deal being done by union officials with RM. And maybe that feeling was not transmitted at the meetings held. Not everyone finds it easy to ask questions. However it seems that the starting point of the officials' line is that nothing can be done. This hopelessness is something we feel it is important to combat. 89% did vote against the offer last year - they were prepared to strike. But it seems that union officials like you just don't believe a fight can ever be won. Not too surprising given the way that "strikes" (I hesitate to call them this) are organised when they have been called. Token strikes only show weakness. Shameful when in fact the numerical strength and will to fight was (and is) there as was seen 4 years ago when RM was privatised and everyone voted to strike but union leaders said it wasn't possible to win.
Today there is a sustained attack across our class against pensions, wages, conditions. Who is going to put a stop to this finally, and say "no"? Even university lecturers have gone on strike over this.
As for RM not being able to afford it, well that is a simple lie. And if it does bankrupt them (outside chance) then no problem, the state can take over again, as with the failed private rail franchises... Don't we all want a public RM after all?
Anyway that's what we think. Don't mean to disrespect you Dingo because we know you do take the trouble to answer.

[rubberbond]

I've stated it before on this forum ,one of the reasons ,especially in this country that pension funds are in such dire straits is that Gordon Brown the then Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1997, decided to tax the dividends of pension funds. So if anyone is to blame it is him ,as Richard Littlejohn in the Daily Mail ,dubs him "the man who stole your old age". We used to have the finest private pension system in the world , however, like so many things we are now dealing with the consequences of that particular administration's disastrous legacy.

[postslippete]

I think the CWU leaders chooses not to listen. It doesn't listen to its members otherwise the agreement would be clearer instead of relying on mis-interpretation. At the moment we are all on the cusp of getting royally sh*fted. Not Terry and Dave though, they will still be sat in their cushy Wimbledon Offices thinking about how fortunate they are not to have to be walking the streets for 6 or 7 hours a day in the snow, ice and rain. They don't have to worry about being watched by big brother via PDAs or have to go to their bosses demanding work off because there are over a dozen buddy trays and the gaffer still thinks that the mail traffic figures are down.

[anna]

Dear Rubberbond,
I blame the bosses who do this - but the government yes is behind them whichever flavour. But personally would never want to quote Little"john"... And as we always used to say, the Sun always (really) shines for the bosses.

[crimson king]

I think the CWU leaders chooses not to listen. It doesn't listen to its members otherwise the agreement would be clearer instead of relying on mis-interpretation. At the moment we are all on the cusp of getting royally sh*fted. Not Terry and Dave though, they will still be sat in their cushy Wimbledon Offices thinking about how fortunate they are not to have to be walking the streets for 6 or 7 hours a day in the snow, ice and rain. They don't have to worry about being watched by big brother via PDAs or have to go to their bosses demanding work off because there are over a dozen buddy trays and the gaffer still thinks that the mail traffic figures are down.

Nice, love it.

Know what I also love? These CWU texts, commanding me to vote yes. Like I can't decipher vagueness for myself!

[vila465]

Give me Gordon brown before Richard littlejohn any day of the week.littlejohn hates unions,but then he works for the daily mail,what else do you expect!

[anna]

Well Little-john used to write a column for the Sun ( you can tell my vintage) - he is anti-working class, anti-union and probably a lot of other anti's ...
Quite a few are voting no. The issue as I said seems to be the confidence/hope that a fight against all these attacks can win. But if nobody ever tries then sure, nobody can win... and a few Lions need to be found in the ranks...

[DGH]

a few Lions need to be found in the ranks...

Let's hope they're not lions led by donkeys . . .