The end of Royal Mail as we know it

[She Raa]

Taxi :)

[dvbuk55]

Well you gave it your best shot union....erm...what did you actually do to try and prevent this again? Send out a few stickers? Brilliant.

Don't forget the bus travelling round London in the last couple of weeks bet that changed a few minds - nobody who mattered of course but hey ho life goes on.

[24601]

I'll get me coat

[Budfrog]

Some CWU reps do not believe the union have dragged their heels over this issue citing the consultative ballot as proof they were doing something. I strongly disagree, privatisation is the single most important issue that postal workers have faced since 1516 and if OPGs think that things have been bad since 2010 then they are in for a very rude awakening post privatisation. You only have to look at the T&Cs of RM's competitors and RM's own willingness to break agreements, alter pension benefits and employ casual staff on zero hour contracts to peek into the future.

I have always been a socialist and firmly believe that fair remuneration, health and safety, security of employment and a pension that you can actually live on should be the right of every employee. You shouldn't have to fight for these rights, they should be built into statute ... but we are where we are and staff need unions to fight for these rights, or in CWU's case attempt to maintain them. Strike action should be the last resort when all other avenues have been looked at and if you are negotiating with people that listen to what you have to say and value your judgement as well as their own it should never come to that. Well that boat has well and truly sailed and it's now down to the membership.

[Sparrowhawk]

On again now on BBC News.
RM is "expected to be sold of within the next few weeks "
Ministers in the House of Commons arguing both for and against the sell off.
Blah, blah, blah .......WHAT A FECKING MESS !!!
The report was only a few minutes long, but one reporter said that the public should be prepared for and expect strike action.
Best advice - find out as much as you can from news, from your reps, from talking to each other, from wherever you can.
Whatever happens, if you guys go out on strike, I'm 100% with you.
I'll stand with you on a picket line, just as I always did while working for RM !

[neilfair]

You are so right Budfrog I've just listened to an analyst on BBC news (a Mr Senior) who simply scoffed at the notion of job cuts and said in fact posties should be incredibly grateful to the Government for taking over the pension fund / shortfall.

Why the Hell should we be any such thing ! Gratitude, we've paid in on the back of hard work and we expect to be paid out. Nothing more, nothing less. It's reached a stage where not only should we not expect better conditions in the workplace, they think we should doff our caps when we get paid our dues.

I lost count of the number of times Royal Mail managers told me I was "lucky to have a job, many folk don't". I wonder at what point they think you aren't lucky ............... when your pension becomes worthless, when you're on minimum wage and even then work through your lunch and early and late for free (I know a few people bullied into doing that at other firms), when your job makes you physically and mentally unwell. I'll answer my own question, in public they'd NEVER admit you were unlucky to work for Royal Mail whatever misfortune befell you. In private they'd have to be as thick as pigsh*t to think we have a job with jam on.

[Kh59]

Last one out close the door and throw away the key

[Godric]

Yes...but how will it all end...

in tears

[UnhappyGremlin]

You are so right Budfrog I've just listened to an analyst on BBC news (a Mr Senior) who simply scoffed at the notion of job cuts and said in fact posties should be incredibly grateful to the Government for taking over the pension fund / shortfall.

So we should be grateful that the Government has taken over the pension liabilities?
Well, I am.
But I would have been more appreciative If the company hadn't caused it by stopping contributions for 17 YEARS, and passing the money on to the Government who wasted it on crap.
It is the LEAST we are owed.

And Mr. Senior has shown just how ignorant he is.

On a separate note, from the point of view of a taxpayer, they have taken on, I believe, £28bn worth of pensions liabilities, and are selling the company for £3bn (with another £3bn possibly to follow when the rest is sold), how does that make sense?
Why not keep it, and the profits, and pump them into the reduction of these liabilities?