Supply Chain pay negotiations

[billyhayes]

...what do you plan to do to me in private to get me to shut up?

Bite your tongue out?

[cashman]

MOC, who said anything about talking to you in private? Not me. Maybe I should have been clearer with what I meant. I was refering to an ' audience ' on here. We will talk about it with an audience on Monday, if you would like to take part? I don't expect every single member to agree with every detail of the pay deal. It's their choice to vote yes or no. It's not a life changing deal but it is a good deal considering what others in the public sector are getting. Also it is a bit of stability for all of us for the next 3yrs and a half decent bonus scheme with a real prospect of being paid out.

[WARDY1]

Our union rep was at a meeting in Manchester on wednesday along with cwu reps etc. regarding the updated pay rise. Before he left for the meeting he seemed to think that the new rise offered was a no strings attached offer but himself and our members were very optimistic about this. If it was the case then anyone with half a brain would grab the offer. Being realistic tho, we tend to think that the first offer given to us (three 12 hour shifts, one man vans, no public holidays etc. etc.) would still be asked for in return for the revised rise and bonus etc. As our rep went straight on holiday after his meeting, we will be interested to find out if anyone on this forum can enlighten us what came out of these talks.

[MinisterofCucumber]

The 'drag it out 'til Christmas' trick ensures that members will get a minimum £500 bonus funded by their own back pay. POL are adding another £500. For £1000, a lot of our members would agree to give up a kidney if that was part of the deal.

If PAs were to be allowed to consolidate all the £700 remaining in the on target bonus pot, we would get an increase of £27.46 a year (14 + 700/52):


Year 1: £352.46 a week

Year 2: £379.92 a week

Year 3: £407.38 a week

SO1

Year 1: £381.22 a week

Year 2: £394.57 a week

Year 3: £407.39 a week

There was a real chance for PAs to achieve parity with SO1s (Swindon Pay) in this deal. Management have agreed to the principle of consolidating bonus payments by offering an extra per cent to PAs funded from the on target bonus pot. They agreed to CL5s becoming POs so they have shown that they agree with the aim of parity. It would have been nice for the Admin PAs to have got Swindon Pay as well.

Full consolidation of the PAs on target bonus was set up for us to take but our negotiators missed it.

Good luck on Monday. The members are looking out to see if you lie. Don't follow the example of our AR. I always think of him when I read this:

"The fat Russian agent was cornering all the foreign refugees in turn and explaining plausibly that this whole affair was an Anarchist plot. I watched him with some interest, for it was the first time that I had seen a person whose profession was telling lies — unless one counts journalists." - George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia (1938)

You will also need to explain why the CWU have agreed to making Saturdays an Actual Work Day without letting all the members in our unit vote on it.

[WARDY]

I am a crew member and dont work saturdays as that is my choice. Hope that I and everyone else gets to vote to save our saturdays as an overtime day if wanted and not to include it as part of the working week. As I am paying my subs, I am entitled to get a vote on whatever gets put forward in front of me and not being told that this is what is going to happen. Hope all members look carefully at what lies ahead of them before they jump in head first at the agreement thinking about money only and not the long term implications. Supply chain have good conditions just now which most people would envy, lets keep them and not be tempted like a donkey to grab the dangling carrot and end up like asses ourselves.

[cashman]

MOC, you make some good points, like some members have already. I hope you bring them up Monday.
As for me lying, what do you mean?
Also the issue of Saturday AWD only involves two duties in one area, the staff in that area have been involved in the process and have no problem if they don't have to do them, which they don't. Local management want to give these to casuals which I have stopped them from doing. They are only open to any duty holders or reserves on the template. Duty holders should be given the choice if they want. Going forward, if no duty holders want them, then we will have to discuss this as to where we go with it.

[cashman]

I am a crew member and dont work saturdays as that is my choice. Hope that I and everyone else gets to vote to save our saturdays as an overtime day if wanted and not to include it as part of the working week. As I am paying my subs, I am entitled to get a vote on whatever gets put forward in front of me and not being told that this is what is going to happen. Hope all members look carefully at what lies ahead of them before they jump in head first at the agreement thinking about money only and not the long term implications. Supply chain have good conditions just now which most people would envy, lets keep them and not be tempted like a donkey to grab the dangling carrot and end up like asses ourselves.

Hello Wardy , there are no strings for CViT in this pay deal. The only thing which the CWU have agreed is to talk about change in the future.
Dispite differences in opinion between members and grades, it is a good deal for all.

[WARDY]

Thanks for that news, as we could not believe what was being offered with nothing given back in return. If you are right, which I am sure you are, then it is a very good deal. Cheers mate for the update.

[subbie]

Mr Cucumber

Did you not once hold Official CWU Office within supply chain?

Subbie

[subbie]

[fishtank]

Give him a chance subbie...that's a bit childish.
He hasn't been on since before you posted your message.

[Lynn Simpson]

MoC??? Is Subbie right? Were you a trade union representative? Minister of Propaganda and Minister of Bitter resentment?

I have to say MoC I really do not understand your obsession with Swindon Stock Centre. Do PA's do the same job as SO1s or CL5'S ? I really am genuinely asking the question as you never actually back up your argument. Are you able to compare 'like for like?' You seem to be the font of all knowledge so I assume you have been to SSC and seen the work they do and visited the offices and spoken to the CL5's thus enabling you to make a comparison? Have you? A simple yes or no would be good.

I so agree with you though, I think we should have parity of pay across the network including all grades such as cleaners, Senior Managers and directors, and it should include all parts of the network such as sub Postmasters and their employees. Unfortunately I think we need to have a socialist revolution first! Damn I knew we had forgotten something. I am up for it

[MinisterofCucumber]

Parity of bonus is what I was referring to, not parity of pay. The Government have been making noises about a 'John Lewis' style bonus scheme which involves an equal sharing out of the bonus pot and I believe that Parliament will not agree to a mutual that has a 'fat cat' bonus scheme.

Datestamp Trish doesn't deal with my points, she just misrepresents what I write.

I have asked members at Swindon what they do. The SO1s do not do work that is more complicated than Supply Chain PAs and they don't have the responsibility of dealing with cash. I have seen a list of the names of the CL5s and, whilst I agree they should be upgraded, I can't understand why only they are being upgraded but PAs are not being brought into line with SO1s' pay. I believe management set up the figures so that PAs would be on par with SO1s after 3 years if the Union had asked for all of the PAs' bonus to be consolidated into basic pay rather than just £150. I also believe our negotiators did not get this hint.

I served my full term as Unit Rep and then stepped down for a variety of reasons. In the politics of my unit, the Union Rep position is not really a position of power, it is a puppet position. The members have the power to get rid of any rep they don't like, provided there are contenders for the position. I have stepped down but I remain a threat to the new rep. If they get rid of me, there are others that will stand. Our new rep can't afford to let the members down.

One of my aims in stepping down was to try to organise the unit so that there are more activists. This has been achieved to some extent. Everyone is now aware of the intranet and they have access to POL procedures. More of us don't blindly accept what the local management and Union tell us and a lot of us no longer behave like subservient children. Our new rep still has to endure pressure from management and the AR but hopefully our pressure is stronger. It has been shown that the minority of favourites in my unit cannot swing an election. Their only option is to try to intimidate others into not standing.

Visitors to this site have witnessed the way I have been treated by senior reps and policy advisors in POL CWU. I was not made welcome and, by implication, the members who voted me in were shown that the CWU did not welcome them either. This could explain why it seems the CWU thinks upgrading the CL5s in Swindon is more important than bringing PAs' pay in line with SO1s'.

[Lynn Simpson]

I take it that is a 'No' then. You have not visited Swindon Stock Centre nor have you spoken to the CL5's?!

By the way, I have no issue with you campaigning for an increase in PA pay, I have issues with you misleading this forum with your spurious comparisons

[MinisterofCucumber]

Why are Supply Chain PAs paid less than SO1s in Swindon Stock Centre, also part of Supply Chain?