Leighton here to stay?

[L Tommo]

Oh and another thing!!! At least you recognise that a posties job Is a repetative, hard job, and you would pay more for as i put it "QUALITY NOT QUANTITY" Yes CWU do only want Numbers and coffers, I agree, 12-15 years ago the quality was there in workers as WE felt like our (1) Jobs were for life (and wanted them) (2) A pride in what WE done. (3) Management who used common sense and understanding, Not the big stick!!! That is why The 25% of posties you mentioned are like they are. As well RM wanting to devalue the skills levels No PHG's and training in every area of job, The LA jobs are a joke and rightly cut as middle management the same, But there is still a long way to go with middle (find and create a job) management.... Thats where the ££££ needs to be cut !!! NOT FRONT LINE!!

I was once proud to wear the old uniform, Now i hide it from Joe public!!! And lots of others do to!! That says it all.... NO A.G's NO BUNGS TO Master Crazier. And NO BULLYBOY BASTARDS!!

OUT...

DONT LET THE LACK OF ELASTIC BANDS GET YOU DOWN FOZZ OLD SON!!!

[F0zziebear]

Firstly Bold should be used to highlight something, if used throughout it loses it's effect.

I did not get a golden handshake to join and recognise your point in full understanding now. It's about the money he got for joining the company rather than proving himself before he got a bonus?

I agree that top management bonuses have got somewhat out of hand, and similar to the obscene rises in house prices. Its seems they are self perpetuating.

I can only assume they had to do it to get him in the first place. Considering the rumour of him jumping from the FA rather than being pushed lingers, but no-one quite knows if this is true.

I stand by my view that he deserves a good pay packet since joining, but not prior. Has his time at RM been flawless, no. Is he a devious bast*rd well yes to an extent as staying in those roles without being ousted is a full-time job. Trying to keep that senior management pulling the same direction is one hell of a task.

My view is still that without their intervention the company could well have been sold to TNT or Deutschepost by now (don't be fooled as this happened to other public sector companies, Steel, Gas etc...) I know that negotiations were held with these companies a few years ago and due dilligence was done. Also please note that the HR function will probably be outsourced like the IT contract over the next couple of years. RM had promsied the union that they wouldn't do this until 2007. All I'm saying is that nothing is completely impossible, even the possibility of franchising delivery offices, as this is what TNT Post UK is likely to do when they set-up their rival delivery operations.

OK enough for one Sunday. I hope I've cleared up my view on little, quite as a mouse Crozier's pay packet and golden handshake to join issue.

Yours

F0zzieD

[L Tommo]

U got some front to tell me how to draft a letter on here fozzie boy!!! Bold or Not bold, so what? Your Not in a WTL Now old bean..

The questions asked of "WHO YOU REALLY ARE?" Is now upmost in my mind??? Carlos the jackel??? Jack the ripper??? Lil Adam??? Or big bad Al Himself??? Some of your comments come straight out of the properganda managers handbook that gets preached @ any WTL i ever had!

Anyway im happy that Arse-al lost yest But im pissed off chelski (FATCATS) won...

OUT.....

DONT LET THE SCARLETT FOZZIE-PIMPERNELL GET YOU DOWN BOYS!!!

[johno47]

Sorry Fozzie, still think your Leighton, the only people that bang on about how much they, or other people are worth, or try to justify the embarrasing amounts of money that they are on, are people who are either on the same money, or are that person, which are you?. you tend to contradict yourself a little, you say you were fed up of fighting the business, and yet you praise the top management, if they are that good then surely there must have been some hope that the business would improve, so why leave?. You say there are good and bad postpeople, well im sorry old mate but welcome to the real world, there are good and bad in every business/workplace and industry, and thats skilled and professional people as well, thats life. You say we are emotional in our views, you tend to get like that when your worrying about loosing your job, and your thinking how to pay your mortgage, and bills, and if you can get another job, i dont think Leighton or Crozzier will be thinking that do you,? they will just jump on to the many other gravy trains that they are on.

[F0zziebear]

The banter was one of the things I miss most. I used to love the exchanges between posties and management in the morning, unfortunately it wasn't enough to keep me going amongst the other sh*t I had to put up with. I was lucky and able to get out, most couldn't.

1. I'm not Big Al 2. I earn far less

As for why I left: Quite simple, the company demonstrated that they weren't prepared to invest in the development of their staff, though this was applied inconsistently as far as I was concerned.

As for propaganda I hear they are spending shedloads of money on putting propaganda TV's in each DO. Enjoy yourselves when that happens!

It is not a contradiction to leave company yet praise top management on certain issues. You will notice that I do not mention every senior manager in my propaganda press releases.

hope that helps me old beans!!!

[baggee]

Good afternoon Fozie Leighton,

yes we have a TV ready to go up at our office, and it will stay in the store room for a very very long time, because at our office we are not idiots who believe all the crap propaganda Royal Mail drip feed to us posties day after day.


LOOK INTO MY EYES

[L Tommo]

WHO R YA??? well??? LOL!!! :Confused U do make some sense but i will have to pull you on a few things you come out with... BANTER you go on about that you enjoyed so much, its a little bit patronising as WE the WORKERS dont find our WTL's BANTER but a joke,in the worst taste, OUR jobs are under threat and you think we come on here just to banter??? Yes be civil Yes be non threatening, Yes try and see every side of the arguement.. But WE are still under the threat of losing our jobs, Live in a day to day bullying enviroment. I dont find this BANTER as you put it , it is very serious... I cant stress this enough!!! Its reasuring knowing you Jumped ship and work for ?????? ??????? ??????? .. I know you have comeon this site and receive lots of YOUR BANTER as you call it but please understand I and many 0thers are very upset and feel RM are a Firm that are on a race to the bottom.. I will point out wot i mean,,, RM seem to employ and keep managers and blue shirts that Cant do the job but can and will shut up do as they are told and behave as RM want them to.. BIG STICK!!! basics in destroying the job from with in.. Blame the CWU militants, rabble rousers, blame any one for POOR PERFORMANCE Apart from RM.. just pass the buck. Is it a scam to make the job so bad as all the senior people, people with morals, who know the job, skilled @ the job, Leave or push them out? I think it is!!! A race to the bottom!!! So then as these new phantom Shares or wot eva they are come to light, (back door privatising) Are worth f**k all coz the business is worth just that, then the FATCATS / Goverment. come on there white charger and buy up @ a minimal amount!! Call me a old synic but i wonder how all posties feel about this???

OUT...

DONT LET THE FAT CATS GRIND YOU DOWN BOYS n GIRLS...

[L Tommo]

Yeh we to have these TV's in our MC.. Flat screen jobbies.. But they (RM) put em up in june last, for the world cup!! OR was it ? RM @ 1st tried to get us to pay for em out of OUR Front Line Fix.. We told em to OFF! Now we find out wot they are REALLY for Brain draining US!! ..

OUT...

DONT LET THE LACK OF TV CONTROLS GRIND YOU DOWN...

[tommymac]

Just a few questions for Fozz from me

1. When did Leighton and his side kick become aware of the problems with the pension?
2. Why did they not do something earlier to help rectifie the situation?
3. Do you believe whoever made the decision to take a pension holiday should be fired?
4. Do you think whoever made the decision to change the name of RM to Consignia, in the process costing millions, should be fired?
5. Do you really think the above are the hallmark of good management?
6. What position do or did you actually hold within Royal Mail (truthfully)?
7. Is it to much to ask for honest answers from one who has had Royal Mail management training?

[ROCKY]

give fozzie a break, all he does is tell the story as he sees it ,and if he was one of the top boys so what giving them an insight into how their staff feel mght do them good, as they are very much cut off from the day to day life in royal mail ,and have to rely on what they are told by the managers between us and them ,call it spin or perspective truth, but i cant believe much of what happens between us and our doms makes it up to the ivory towers without a lot of censoring maybe we should e mail ask al and invite him to chair a part of the forum some straight answers for once might be nice
as for fozzie to have a debate you need to have both sides of the argument
or are you an agent from the dark side of the force fozzie here to spread doom and despondancy and gloom and desruptive rumours???????????

[L Tommo]

RUMOUR RUMOUR RUMOURRRRRRRMUNGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA'S




OUT...


DONT LET THE RUMOURMUNGAAAAAAAA'S GRIND YOU DOWN...

[BethnalGreen]

Yeh we to have these TV's in our MC.. Flat screen jobbies.. But they (RM) put em up in june last, for the world cup!! OR was it ? RM @ 1st tried to get us to pay for em out of OUR Front Line Fix.. We told em to OFF! Now we find out wot they are REALLY for Brain draining US!! ..

OUT...

DONT LET THE LACK OF TV CONTROLS GRIND YOU DOWN...

Absa bloody lutely lad, since the world cup we've been treated to bar graphs and charts on the plasma screens and the new one they've put in the canteen just shows a test card. Despite repeated requests for the murder she wrote dvd box set to played. Nothing! I can't get through a day on the bag opening without a dose of Angela Lansbury. Not good. But at least mr vickers is keeping his chin up with his daily visits to the dartmouth and pretending he's ignoring the strippers. Thats why he asks for 20 pound coins before he goes. Whollop!

[Carnoustie]

Remember when we were told that Sven Goran Eriksson was a master of tactics, and would be worth every penny of the inflated salary he was paid when the FA appointed him ? Then he plays Rooney as a lone striker in a World Cup game (when beanpole Crouch is much better suited to that role), and not surprisingly, Rooney gets frustrated at not being able to do the job he's good at and goes and makes a reckless challenge that ruins the whole team's chances ??

I see parallels with the appointment of Leighton and Crozier. In a WTLL session last year, one of our managers was giving us the spiel about the increasing threat of competition, and someone asked whether RM had any plans to compete in European markets when they are fully opened to competition in 2009. A sensible question, I thought, as it stands to reason if DHL, TNT, UK Mail and others are cherry-picking our best customers, couldn't we set up in their domestic markets in 2009 and do the same to them on their home turf Not out of spite, but for sound business reasons, i.e. if we're losing business in our home markets, shouldn't senior management have a strategy to bring in other business, either through new products in our own markets, or by going in and competing in our competitors markets, or both ?

The manager promised to look into it, and come back with an answer which of course, as nearly always happens in our WTLL sessions, he only did after this bloke kept bringing the subject up week after week. I forget the exact wording of the answer he was eventually given, but it supposedly came from high up in the RM structure. Basically, the company line seemed to be that they've got enough on their plate in trying to modernise RM without being distracted by expanding abroad, which I thought was a frickin joke During the spell when RM wanted to be known by what sounds to me like a down-market aftershave - Consignia - didn't they spend millions on acquiring European businesses, only to sell them off at a loss a few years later ? Changed their strategy, then ? Or did they never have a joined-up vision for the future direction of the business ? Is that the kind of business 'expertise' the Government is paying these vast salaries for ?

I'm no Alan Sugar, but it seems to me that RM management are burying their heads in the sand and not looking at the bigger picture. Perhaps they think that when the Dutch and German markets are opened up to competition, TNT and DHL will just go away and suddenly concentrate on their domestic markets ? Or will there be so little 'juicy cherries' left to pick that all Royal Mail will have left will be the unprofitable traffic that our competitors won't touch ? Then we'll be making huge losses and RM will no doubt want shedloads of job losses to cut costs. A race to the bottom, when we should be fighting for business in our competitors' back yards. YEAH, YOU BET I QUESTION WHETHER THESE GUYS ARE WORTH THEIR HUGE SALARIES

[johno47]

I heard that other european goverments would not let rm into their markets until it is opened up in 2009, because they were protecting jobs, so cheers Tony for putting two overpaid numbnuts in charge and then kicking us in the b****cks

[F0zziebear]

This is like playing 11 vs 1 in football.

You all make very valid points. I can't remember all of the points so forgive me for missing some of them.

1. BANTER - I was referrign to the everyday chat in the office that helped soften the edges of the mundane repitition. I was not referring to the exchange of views in here. I personally love team spirit and I've enjoyed my job when working with people I like and respect.

2. I am not some undercover agent, and definitely work for the competition.

3. Competition has been harped on about for years and looked a fool when I used to mention it as a threat when I was in Ops. Speak to your mates in the Network department and the outward mail centres as this is where the pinch is currently being felt, and may start to explain some of the further consolidation / closing of mail centres. Posties will not feel this until DO automation comes in if/when the competiton start delivering their own mail. TNT Post UK are the only one's so far to have openly trialled this (this info is in the public domain so I'm not sharing any secrets)

3. Why not enter other European markets? Good question and one wonders what the political situation is regarding this. Both TNT and Deutschepost were privatised and able to release considerable amounts of money to setup/buy other companies around the world. RM tried this under the Consignia brand, but probably were not given enough money or lacked the strategic understanding to do this. The management who wre behind this were sacked/removed several years ago now.

4. Pension holidays and gaps - The pension holidays were taken in the 1990s and I would suspect the Chancellor raided the coffers (be it Labour & conservative) looks like you'll be voting Lib Dems this time! As for the Pension gap I am not sure about this one. The Finance Director (Marissa Casoni) left about 18 months ago. She did a good job purely from a finance perspective (a fiesty character with an expensive anf appalling dress sense). Her contract was not renewed I believe because Big Al would only give her a 1 year extension, or was it because she had screwed up? She is noe the Finance Director for the John Lewis Partnership. Personally speaking most pensions seem to have a gap in them and someone somewhere is nicking your money!

If you write to Big Al someone checks that in-box and will provide an answer. Big Al gets a monthly report and will answer questions that are directly applicable to him. He has a habit of telling the public that he personally checks them, this is boll*x.

Regarding complaints about the RM Ops they brought in a new Director (Ian Griffiths) who joined exactly a year ago. He doesn't seem to get much flack in here and it might be time to start giving him a hard time about Ops unless you think he is a bunny rabbit.

Ok that's enough for now. Remember that your frontline Ops manager is likely to know as much or probably less than you as the CWU communications lines are far better than RM's!

F0zzie go bye bye