prolonged industrial conflict is inevitable...

[mailman71]

The only thing that will make Royal Mail understand how pissed of everybody is will be days of industrial action.

[Danelectro]

It's been said before, instead of IA isn't it about time we ALL WORKED TO RULE.

Start/finish at the right time, take breaks, cut off etc

Do this and the company will melt down within 2 weeks

the only other option id like to see in the run up to a strike,is an overtime ban,not working days off etc

[postman nel]

Personally I think these 1 day strikes are not efficient enough. .just have to deliver post the following day...a prolonged one would cripple the company....

[fishtank]

Personally I think these 1 day strikes are not efficient enough.

What we have to remember is that the business is far more automated than it was even 5 years ago.
Sequenced mail is a game changer not just for the business in general but also with regards to Industrial Action.
We also have to consider the impact that mailcentre closures has had and changes in network and distribution.
The 2007 and 2009 template for Industrial Action might not work now but we would also have to be conscious of the fact that it's a difficult economic situation which is why although coupling a strike to an overtime ban would be great in theory it would also reduce the length of time you could reasonably expect a strike to stay solid.

[postman nel]

Personally I think these 1 day strikes are not efficient enough.

What we have to remember is that the business is far more automated than it was even 5 years ago.
Sequenced mail is a game changer not just for the business in general but also with regards to Industrial Action.
We also have to consider the impact that mailcentre closures has had and changes in network and distribution.
The 2007 and 2009 template for Industrial Action might not work now but we would also have to be conscious of the fact that it's a difficult economic situation which is why although coupling a strike to an overtime ban would be great in theory it would also reduce the length of time you could reasonably expect a strike to stay solid.

Dark times ahead

[krussel]

Sequenced mail is a game changer not just for the business in general but also with regards to Industrial Action.

That is a very good point Fishy

I would imagine that managers could at least get some mail and prepped and out the door to make a PR statement.

[Budfrog]

Sequenced mail is a game changer not just for the business in general but also with regards to Industrial Action.

That is a very good point Fishy

I would imagine that managers could at least get some mail and prepped and out the door to make a PR statement.

There are enough managers trained on automation equipment to process quite a high volume of mail on streams that are automated. But remember RM's growth area is packets/parcels which is still highly labour intensive all the way through the pipeline.

Personally I don't think one day strikes by function are that effective, yes the mail is delayed and their is a backlog and it minimises pay loss, but it's the OPGs still end up by processing the mail and if you look at the overall cost/item it is probably less. A full 5 day walk out would have a far bigger impact than 10 one day strikes in my opinion.

OF course everyone should be doing the job properly, working at 75Bs, using tools for the job, following SSOW and SOPs, taking their MRs and RA allowance, starting and finishing on time ... basically doing the job as it should be done and giving RM nothing they can conduct anyone on. But we all know that it will never happen and B&H will just increase.

[fishtank]

But remember RM's growth area is packets/parcels which is still highly labour intensive all the way through the pipeline.

This is where we may have some leverage,more specifically with tracked items.
Standard parcels can lie in an office for a few days without much impact on customer perception.
Tracked items cannot,tracked items come mainly from our biggest customers and are easily moved over to our competitors.
If Royal Mail fears anything from industrial action it will be the potential loss of this business.

[BingBong]

sadly i dont think any industrial action will happen. it needs to but i dont think it will. i agree it needs to be a prolonged one. however i just cant see it happening. our office is strong if it came to it but as for others its hit and miss obviously.

[thecompletepackage]

So it's a case of shafting all your part-time colleagues with an overtime ban? As a postman on a 25 hour contract, this would kill me.

If this came about, I'm sure most PT's would carry on picking up the bits FT's wont do, just to earn a decent wage. (i.e ME)

Message to CWU, make up PT's who work at least 39 hours - week in, week out, to FT and I'm sure you'll have a lot more support and weight behind any overtime ban/strike action.

[UnhappyGremlin]

So it's a case of shafting all your part-time colleagues with an overtime ban? As a postman on a 25 hour contract, this would kill me.

If this came about, I'm sure most PT's would carry on picking up the bits FT's wont do, just to earn a decent wage. (i.e ME)

Message to CWU, make up PT's who work at least 39 hours - week in, week out, to FT and I'm sure you'll have a lot more support and weight behind any overtime ban/strike action.

In fairness, that is and has always been the goal of the union, and with RM agreement.
But the CWU can't just make all PT up to FT, it isn't up to them. They can only argue and fight for it, using appropriate agreements, which they do, but RM are very reluctant to do this in the climate of modernisation.
But I agree with you, an overtime ban isn't good, and won't work.

[Danelectro]

I take FTs point that an overtime ban might impact on the strike element of a dispute but either way you lose money.
Maybe if the OT ban was restricted to members 'working days off to cover sick absence' then that might be a compromise but I dont think it should be ruled out.

I feel for those that can only find PT work and rely on OT to survive but if the CWU picture of what a privatised Royal Mail will look like is correct then we all are,including PT members gonna be far worse off on a permanent basis then we ever will be struggling on the picket line.Branches need to look into ways of supporting people having to deal with extreme hardship even after 2 or 3 days strike action.

Im not in the final salary pension scheme that is mobilising a lot of members to take action but that wont stop me hitting the gate.I know its not the 1970s and its softly softly IA with so many people now with mortgages (debt incumbent home owners dont go on strike and all that) but if the one day rolling strikes prove not enough and its shuffling of feet time again then I dont expect much in return.

[DB1100]

So it's a case of shafting all your part-time colleagues with an overtime ban? As a postman on a 25 hour contract, this would kill me.

If this came about, I'm sure most PT's would carry on picking up the bits FT's wont do, just to earn a decent wage. (i.e ME)

Message to CWU, make up PT's who work at least 39 hours - week in, week out, to FT and I'm sure you'll have a lot more support and weight behind any overtime ban/strike action.

I agree,I'm part time and have a longer contract and don't do much O/T but I wouldn't support an overtime ban knowing full well that the p/t would be the hardest hit,either all out or nothing.

[Darren Bent]

I would suggest a ban on door to door and absortion for extend time.

[north london driver]

I would suggest a ban on door to door and absortion for extend time.

you may well find that our contracts are all ready being changed at this moment.royal mail are waiting for
the right time to finish the full-time staff in our industry,as for a all-out strike them days are gone.