Crown Transformation - Cat's Out Of The Bag...

[POSTMAN]

I told you.

Subbie

Needed to be confirmed,i'm sure you (and i know Richard does) understand why.

[bigjames]

So now we know that Richard is really Richard, is there any chance we could could get some hard facts about what the future holds, i.e. what is the plan come April? Even a date for when we might know would be a start.
My team are asking questions all the time about what may or may not happen, and frankly it is an unwelcome distraction. I don't know, they know I don't know, yet still the questions get asked.
The CWU aren't exactly helping at present either. The area rep has told them this week alone - 1. There is no pay offer but up to 100 offices will be sold off, 2.We're all going to be closed and forced to work in WHSmiths under TUPE, 3. There is an offer of a £20k buydown, and finally 4. The pay offer is a pay freeze until 2020 - all in one visit!!!
Speculation like this helps no-one, and just serves to unsettle the staff.

[billyhayes]

An unwelcome distraction!!!?????
We are fighting for survival... It's not just about pay. You are aware of that aren't you?
We will be on the picket lines trying to SAVE our jobs.
Where will you be?
Or is it "I got my 2.25% so i'm all right Jack, pull the ladder up."

So sorry if this is causing a distraction and affecting your ability to fill in your little income posters in the mornings as the staff are hijacking WTLs...

[bigjames]

... It's not just about pay. You are aware of that aren't you?"

There is uncertainty in the run up to the end of the financial year, and I am sure it is no coincidence that the ballot is happening now rather than last year, nearer to the usual review date. But my point is that the uncertainty and the winding up of the staff with horror stories of what might happen is distracting. I spent a not inconsiderable amount of time yesterday having to explain what happens under TUPE, why? because the local rep was saying that my team would be forced to work in WHSmiths under TUPE in April when the office is franchised not 'if', but 'when'. Have the business tabled plans to do that? Not to my knowledge, but has that stopped the speculation? Of course not. If the CWU have knowledge, and more importantly proof, of impending changes they should make their evidence public to add some credibility to their argument. In a lot of offices, including mine, staff don't believe what they are told by either the business, or the CWU, so it is distracting them on many levels, not just stopping me, or them for that matter, doing the job we are paid to do.

[The BFO]

So now we know that Richard is really Richard, is there any chance we could could get some hard facts about what the future holds, i.e. what is the plan come April? Even a date for when we might know would be a start.
My team are asking questions all the time about what may or may not happen, and frankly it is an unwelcome distraction. I don't know, they know I don't know, yet still the questions get asked.
The CWU aren't exactly helping at present either. The area rep has told them this week alone - 1. There is no pay offer but up to 100 offices will be sold off, 2.We're all going to be closed and forced to work in WHSmiths under TUPE, 3. There is an offer of a £20k buydown, and finally 4. The pay offer is a pay freeze until 2020 - all in one visit!!!
Speculation like this helps no-one, and just serves to unsettle the staff.

If I were in your position I would be rather dismayed that the most senior manager in the Crown Network appears, after some mild challenges, to have ejected the toys from his pram and departed the scene. Whilst on this forum he said virtually nothing, apart from being concerned about proving his identity. Had he taken the time to make some contribution, and put his point of view, it would soon have become obvious who he was. And actually, who puts the point doesn’t matter – it is the issues that are important.

In his last post he said, ‘Stupidly, I thought this forum might be a place where there would be some serious and possibly thoughful debate about some of the issues we all face’. I posted some thoughts and asked him to comment. He ignored me. They may not have been very good points, but it would have been a starting point. Others have said inoffensive things that he could have responded to, but again he declined. I have no wish to be offensive to Mr Barker, in many ways I wish he would come on here and prove me wrong with the power of argument, because the alternative is that we have poor leadership who have no real idea what they are doing, and that will be bad for all of us.

[claire1.9]

I for one can tell you when there is a wtl on our pay will not attend it for the simple fact that the manager has no business dicussing our pay with us and regarding the business stance on this subject. Richard Barker or any other senior manager has not right to tell us there is no money for a pay rise when they have awarded themselves one with no money in the pot. In my office I do several different jobs including bureau, passports which is a job all by its self as we get alot of 1st time passport application from foriegners and no training is give on this except a book which is useless and the amount of time spent on the phone sorting problems out .Then i do the AEI machince for driving licences and i do pod quotes, meeter greeter role. Does Richard barker want me to go on mentioning what i do and many other counter clerks do in all other offices. My job title is far more than the job description and every wtl is the same boring conversations for selling week in week out. No training on what the customer actually whats. A bank clerk many be on less money than us but the business has no right to compare us to other businesses because my job description comes with many job titles. All I can say to Richard Barker and the Post Office is listen to your frontline staff because we serve the customer every day and can tell you exactly where your problems lie but at the end of the day i just a mere counter clerk who is over paid and knows nothing.

[kathleen1]

Richard,Richard where have you gone? why haven't you replied to any of the posts on the forum by hard working people on
the counter? maybe you can't be bothered trying to argue with us because we are right. Today in our crown office there was five counter clerks serving (that is a miracle in itself, no one on leave) no manager £30,000, no fs £16,000, he resigned because he said the job was "soul destroying" he lasted about five months, no a.b.m £25,000=£71,000 and guess what we all carried on as normal and life went on without them, the office never closed, no one died i did nearly because of boredom and everything was great without selling all day so Richard you could save lots of money getting rid of all the managers because we don't need them and give me a nice payrise, and don't you dare say i am overpaid to a local sub-office clerk we do loads more work as reported earlier by claire1.9 so stop hiding and get your backside around the table with the CWU and sort your mess out!!!!! or else we all walk and you can forget your income margins and sales forever.

[rwbarker]

Flattered that you have been concerned by my absence - sorry, been busy interviewing for a new regional manager for London/South.

Can we get one thing straight, it's not me obsessed with my identity (I know who I am!). The obsession has been with others demanding that I prove who I am.

Having done that, how about a few others making it clear who they are? I don't think it's fair that I should be asked to respond to questions from anonymous sources. What do you have to hide?

And, by the way, I agree we should have decent retail stationery displays in as many branches as possible. If you'd like to tell me where we don't then, so long as there is sufficient space, I'll do something about it.

Richard

[rwbarker]

.....presume someone was paid substitution allowance at the branch? In normal course of events, BM and ABM clearly should not be away from branch together - except of course when one has holiday. If the joint absence is two managers having days off together, let me know where and I'll sort it. R

[obiwanknobe]

Hi Richard

Sorry but I haven't had the opportunity to visit many crown offices. I work for POL but not in Crowns. I have seen stationary on display in some but the shopping experience looks grey and dreary. You need to re-invent it and greeting cards, the traditional retail offering for subs should be brought in.

I doubt you can on here but could you shed some light on to cost allocation for say a 1st class stamp? What percentage of the allocation is to POL overheads? Why can our business customers get such a great deal from franking?

And sorry, I appreciate your openness, but given the present circumstances I would be too nervous to reveal my identity.

Regards
Obi

[The BFO]

Having done that, how about a few others making it clear who they are? I don't think it's fair that I should be asked to respond to questions from anonymous sources. What do you have to hide?

Dear Mr Barker, if you are genuinely serious about your contributions on this forum, and are prepared to enter an honest debate, then I will reveal my identity, providing you give me a clear unequivocal assurance that nothing I have said previously on this forum will be used in punitive action against me. For my part I accept that given your position, you may not be able to answer every point or question. I am simply looking for your viewpoint.

I apologise if I have been a little ‘robust’ towards you - some of my posts have been made out of a deep sense of frustration, and yes, sometimes, anger.

And by the way, I took you at face value right from the start!

[billyhayes]

OK Richard, if it's that simple... My name is Adam, I am an overpaid, underworked counter clerk in London. THAT is all you need.

A few sensible questions, which in turn would require sensible answers would be;

"WHICH offices are being franchised over the coming months?"

In other words "In a years time, what crowns will be left?"

"Do you intend to drive crown pay down by either a buydown option or just enforce a new hourly rate on all?"

It is out of the question that there will be no more crown conversions, every action made by POL over the last year has been gearing towards this one thing.

See, many hundreds of people in the crowns would like to know whether they need to start looking for jobs ASAP as it's hard enough getting any work that isn't part time.

There is no reason NOT to answer these questions, apart from "I know something you don't know."

This is peoples lives POL are messing with, it is not a game.

The only obsession in offices up and down the country is the answer to THESE questions.

You ask for sensible debate, it starts here.

WE ALL await your next posting with anticipation, free from any smoke, bluster, etc etc.

[The BFO]

so stop hiding and get your backside around the table with the CWU and sort your mess out!!!!!

To be fair to Mr Barker. and perhaps he will confirm in due course, I don't think he has the authority to resolve this on his own. As I understand it, such power lies a little further up the food chain.

[bc29]

Flattered that you have been concerned by my absence - sorry, been busy interviewing for a new regional manager for London/South.

Can we get one thing straight, it's not me obsessed with my identity (I know who I am!). The obsession has been with others demanding that I prove who I am.

Having done that, how about a few others making it clear who they are? I don't think it's fair that I should be asked to respond to questions from anonymous sources. What do you have to hide?

And, by the way, I agree we should have decent retail stationery displays in as many branches as possible. If you'd like to tell me where we don't then, so long as there is sufficient space, I'll do something about it.

Richard

The reason this forum allows us to be anonymous is because Post Office management have a reputation for being bullies! Our last 3/4 years have your say mentions bullying in our office by management Nothing done! You have no other reason to know who I am or anybody else other than to TRY to intimidate.Just listen to these valid points and reply without needing a name!

[claire1.9]

I totally agree about the bullying and have your say, nothing is ever done about it. Bullying was a big issue in my office a couple of years ago with regards to the manager. So who led the session to resolve it the manager them selves. So obviously htis didn't get resolved. They did get moved eventually to another office in management role and on the same wage. Same again since the middle of last year we have had several managers come in and fill in our ABM role and all of these have been on some kind disaplinary action yet still recieving the same wage. I know of a another manager who had lots of complaints made about them about bulling and their aggressive manner. They just get moved from one branch to another. I did tell Ronnie flynn when he visited our office when we were in dispute in 2007 pay agreement about bulling managers and he assured me that that these things don't go unnoticed, yet this manager is still employed by the post office on a managers wage just being moved along when the office rebels. So to me it is not front line staff you should be looking at , it's from counter level ABM's to middle management is were you are paying out bigger pay packets for paying them the big wage which they are paid for not doing their job right instead of always picking on the front line staff.