Pensions Latest Info From L.D.C.

[lovejoy]

Were all screwed my friends. Royal Mail will do what ever they want. And get away with it.

As long as Lord Billy of Copperas Hill and Sir Dave Lard are calling the CWU shots they will.

Maybe but how many people and more importantly branches have taken the time to take part in the consultation??

By just sitting back people are giving RM the chance to say 'we have a consultation and nobody objected so it must be ok!'

We all need to pressure our branches, if every one ran a campaign similar to London it would put a lot of pressure on RM and also the CWU leadership!!

B*llocks, not to put too fine a point on it. The consultation process has been going for 5 weeks and if there was a concerted effort required by the leadership it should have been taken at the outset. Whatever crumbs are left on the table the gruesome twosome will hail it as a monumental victory, yet again, you'll pardon me if I'm

Just as a matter of interest what sort of pension are the leadership on? No don't tell me I think I might be again.

I never said a concerted effort was needed from HQ. I said it was needed and should be demanded from Branches!!

We all pay our fees and branches should be adopting policies and positions for this debate and forwarding them to CWU HQ. Sadly i think too many branch officials would rather shy away from the heat of the debate when they are most needed!

I don't want you to be labouring under any misapprehension here LJ but the following was taken from the CWU website and is directly concerned with the so called consultation:

"Royal Mail is under no legal obligation to take account of any of the points raised in the consultation exercise. However, results of the exercise are the subject of an ongoing dialogue with the union. It is important that members make their views known. "

What is missing from the statement is "and then have them totally ignored". I can quite understand people not wanting to go through a fruitless consultation exercise.

I know exactly what you are saying but does that make it right that we just sit back and say what will be will be? .. Maybe thats what they want!

At the end of the day there will be a ballot on the proposals,if we vote no we will be balloted for strike action so it is serious and it does warrant both individual and branch participation!

I agree with Belial when he says members won't be happy to participate after the lack of info on the pay and modernisation agreement but we need to rise above that and also remember that pensions is a group wide issue and not just RM letters.

I have spoken to a lot of people on pensions and there have been some KEY changes to the position we were in when the PEC agreed the joint statement!

For example it has now come to light that the deficit has gone from £3.5bn (what RM base their proposals on) to £2.4bn following the interim review!!, It has also emerged that the life expectancy forecasts used by RM are right at the top end of the scale (i.e stockbroker from surrey!!), in addition to this they have forecasted very low investment returns when there is no evidence to back that up.

There is a feeling growing amongst senior activists that we must challenge this. That is why i say individuals and branches should get involved!!

[dvbuk55]

I know exactly what you are saying but does that make it right that we just sit back and say what will be will be? .. Maybe thats what they want!

At the end of the day there will be a ballot on the proposals,if we vote no we will be balloted for strike action so it is serious and it does warrant both individual and branch participation!

I agree with Belial when he says members won't be happy to participate after the lack of info on the pay and modernisation agreement but we need to rise above that and also remember that pensions is a group wide issue and not just RM letters.

I have spoken to a lot of people on pensions and there have been some KEY changes to the position we were in when the PEC agreed the joint statement!

For example it has now come to light that the deficit has gone from £3.5bn (what RM base their proposals on) to £2.4bn following the interim review!!, It has also emerged that the life expectancy forecasts used by RM are right at the top end of the scale (i.e stockbroker from surrey!!), in addition to this they have forecasted very low investment returns when there is no evidence to back that up.

There is a feeling growing amongst senior activists that we must challenge this. That is why i say individuals and branches should get involved!!

TBH there isn't the will to fight from the shop floor. The Joint statement, which could just as easily be called The Big Sellout, more or less conceded that the pension scheme was unsustainable. Things are now coming to light? These facts were always available if the Union had bothered to look - they didn't - what they did was swallow everything RM had to say hook, line and sinker.

Should people become involved? They should if they want to BUT the die is cast - RM can smell the money both in the short term and most certainly in the long term. There is no going back for them and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the Brown government isn't in collusion.

[max_gain]

This CONSULTATION PERIOD is just a complete farce. The 64% that voted YES have already sealed our fates. I spoke to our area rep in the week and he just enforced the view that Royal Mail has already decided how they will screw us all over. This pension issue is a done deal. Its like everything else in RM, they like to appear to be the caring employer with their diversity awards and colleague excellence awards and every other toss award. All this is an attempt to gloss over what a shite outfit they are. But they have one of the worst health and safety reputations. They have one of the worst HR reputations.
I for one am all for fighting for what I believe in, but this is a done deal. I emailed HR for my pension forecast under the new proposals, and I stand to loose 2.5k a year if I retire at 60. And why shouldn’t I retire at 60 as this is what I signed up for originally. Needless to say I am gutted. It was probably the only real reason I stay working for RM. The thing we must realise is there is now no bargaining with these people. They have an open license to do what ever they want. We have no say now the union have sold us out. I stayed strong throughout the strikes. I encouraged my colleagues to stay strong, but I work in an office where 35% crossed the line. I have to work with these idiots every day and can hardly bare to look at the scum. Most of these idiots voted yes just so they could revert back to their old Saturday finish times and play sport, regardless of the long term financial implications and working practices.
I for one will be coming out of the union very shortly. There is nothing they can offer me anymore. If I need legal cover or advice my house insurance covers this for an additional £5 a year. If I need assistance regarding work matters then ACAS will give free impartial advice for a phone call, and as soon as you mention the word ACAS to your DOM he will crap himself. The only thing I lose is my vote. But is this worth £140.40 a year.

[johnnyp]