Question for Martin Walsh

[Yumyum]

Martin it's the 15th December today, is the PEC going to announce to RM further 48 hour I/A for either the 29/30/31December,,giving the statutory 14 day notice.
Or as I and many suspect,,it will be our last strike date on the 24th,, and that's our last meaningful chance of brokering some sort of deal,,because come the New Year all our leverage will be gone,,and it's E/A all the way

[Acca Dacca]

I suspect there won’t be any more strikes for a good while to give the membership a breather and recover finances

[chickenwittle]

I suspect there won’t be any more strikes for a good while to give the membership a breather and recover finances

Dave ward has said as much , don’t want to burn us out was the quote, I don’t think there will be any more strikes until the end of February at the earliest, after a reballot.Let’s be honest, strikes at Xmas haven’t resolved this so a new strategy is needed.

[SpacePhoenix]

I suspect there won’t be any more strikes for a good while to give the membership a breather and recover finances

Dave ward has said as much , don’t want to burn us out was the quote, I don’t think there will be any more strikes until the end of February at the earliest, after a reballot.Let’s be honest, strikes at Xmas haven’t resolved this so a new strategy is needed.

In the mean time isn't there a very high risk of RM whacking in a load of EA?

[Jefferson Starfish]

I suspect there won’t be any more strikes for a good while to give the membership a breather and recover finances

Dave ward has said as much , don’t want to burn us out was the quote, I don’t think there will be any more strikes until the end of February at the earliest, after a reballot.Let’s be honest, strikes at Xmas haven’t resolved this so a new strategy is needed.

In the mean time isn't there a very high risk of RM whacking in a load of EA?

They're already doing it!

[worktotime]

Martin it's the 15th December today, is the PEC going to announce to RM further 48 hour I/A for either the 29/30/31December,,giving the statutory 14 day notice.
Or as I and many suspect,,it will be our last strike date on the 24th,, and that's our last meaningful chance of brokering some sort of deal,,because come the New Year all our leverage will be gone,,and it's E/A all the way

to right we need to keep strike going till the new ballot imo , otherwise it will allow the company to get back on top then we are f****d as they are rolling in these new revisions and everything they want by EA regardless , and i think regarding the new ballot they should also inc a work to rule on it as we all know that this job is run on overtime but thats only if thompson and his cronies havent removed our finish times

[thefox]

I suspect there won’t be any more strikes for a good while to give the membership a breather and recover finances

Dave ward has said as much , don’t want to burn us out was the quote, I don’t think there will be any more strikes until the end of February at the earliest, after a reballot.Let’s be honest, strikes at Xmas haven’t resolved this so a new strategy is needed.

In the mean time isn't there a very high risk of RM whacking in a load of EA?

Can they impose all of their e.a, what about commit to deliver and sundays surely thats more of a grey area that needs our co-operation.

[Martin Walsh]

It is important to understand that Royal Mail’s financial recovery plan which is now there priority cannot work without an agreement with the CWU. Obviously they want a one way agreement which we will not accept but remember they are under huge pressure as well.

It is important members continue to fight for a better future.

Please read the below from a city analyst :

Interesting update from a London based Assett Management company.
Key points
Industrial action at Royal Mail has severely impacted the Group's ability to resize its operations in the face of reduced mail volumes. This leaves them in a very difficult position.

Until a way forward is found, the outlook appears precarious.
At the March year-end the group had net current assets of £276m, a key metric of short-term financial health.
Even if performance holds up at GLS, the Group's International Parcel Network, it seems likely that IDS will be below cash-flow break even for the current financial year.
Depending on how hard the Communication Workers Union digs in its heels, the cash outflow could become a significant problem.

Excluding operating leases, IDS had net cash of £307m at last count.
This position is likely to deteriorate in the current financial year.
How much exactly is in part connected to how co-operative the union is. An important event for the Group is the pending repayment of £416m of bonds in 2024. Currently they do not have sufficient cashflow to repay

Then there are likely to be one off costs associated with their proposed downsizing at Royal Mail. Redundancy costs alone could total £180m based on a possible 6,000 redundancies. Not affordable at present.

Given the uncertainty there could be challenges to any refinancing, be it debt or equity. Investor enthusiasm is unlikely to return until further clarity emerges. Investors would be brave to choose IDS

There's always the possibility that Royal Mail is able to strike a deal with its union. If this happens, the company's valuation could re-rate substantially. Those willing to accept the heightened risks could be rewarded should IDS bd able to do this whilst still achieving some elelents of the changes needed to make it more streamlined.

Not a rosy picture as the business has 1.1 billion in bond loans and the share price gas crashed in the last 12 months.

[norris9]

What does 'reduced mail volumes' mean....

I am delivering a tonne of mail. People still absolutely love getting mail. I have only been working for Royal Mail for a few years, but I can't imagine you could deliver what I have to deliver on a ruddy bicycle. How do you fit the equivalent to a red pouch bag full of post to a bike. I swear mail must have gone up not down due to the magazines and junk mail we deliver.

I swear that whenever 'mail is down' is said - they are simply talking about a specific type of letter like a bank statement / bill.

What does 'Royal Mail need an agreement with the CWU and what they are offering - we will not accept' mean....

They are making changes that you do not accept and they don't give a crap. The changes are happening.

[norris9]

So they can't even afford redundancies of 6,000 people....

How many people are being axed through VR?

How many people are being axed from the mail centres in the North West?

[mjd24]

I suspect there won’t be any more strikes for a good while to give the membership a breather and recover finances

Dave ward has said as much , don’t want to burn us out was the quote, I don’t think there will be any more strikes until the end of February at the earliest, after a reballot.Let’s be honest, strikes at Xmas haven’t resolved this so a new strategy is needed.

In the mean time isn't there a very high risk of RM whacking in a load of EA?

Why is it called executive action?

How can they suddenly just make changes when since ive been with Royal Mail its always seemed like they legally cant?

[redlen]

Because the CWU tore up the legal undertakings contained in the Agenda For Growth Agreement. That allowed Simon Thompson Carte Blanche with Executive Action.

[clashcityrocker]

What does 'reduced mail volumes' mean....

I am delivering a tonne of mail.
I swear that whenever 'mail is down' is said - they are simply talking about a specific type of letter like a bank statement / bill.

Back in the days when people used bikes they only had a 2 hour delivery span. They didn't have any parcels.
Back in those days everybody got a gas bill, an electricity bill, a credit card bill, a telephone bill and everyone paid by cheque effectively doubling the amount of mail. 4 bank statements every year, now that has largely disappeared and probably will totally in the next couple of years. Fewer people receive the Radio Times.
My delivery span has more than doubled yet the number of letters hasn't.

Catalogues have increased but I doubt if they have a long term future. I deliver Damart catalogues but never any for BooHoo or Pokemon. As the older generation die off so will the catalogues.

So while you might think you are delivering tonnes of mail it isn't anything like it was. When people say mail is down it isn't because they don't count DSA or only count bank statements, it is because the mail is down. Anyone who thinks otherwise is deluded.

[thedonkey]

Because the CWU tore up the legal undertakings contained in the Agenda For Growth Agreement. That allowed Simon Thompson Carte Blanche with Executive Action.

When, why and how did the CWU tear up the Agenda for Growth?

[clashcityrocker]

When, why and how did the CWU tear up the Agenda for Growth?

The Agenda For Growth was basically about industrial stability. It contained legal undertakings by the company that would only remain valid if the CWU didn't call for any industrial action.
When the strike ballots went out the legal undertakings became null and void.