Royal Mail Statement.

[NEWS]

Royal Mail is hugely disappointed that the Communication Workers Union has called for more damaging strike action. Strike action does not change Royal Mail’s absolute need to modernise, as all our major rivals have already done, if we are to be able to compete successfully in an increasingly challenging marketplace and continue to provide great customer service into the future.

The industrial action announced today by the CWU amounts to a further 24 hour strike which hits different Royal Mail sites at different times. The union said similar action will also take place the following week. As before, the company has contingency arrangements in place to ensure that we can deliver the mail to our customers as quickly as possible.

The union’s stated position that it wants to cause the maximum disruption to Royal Mail, and therefore its customers, is completely at odds with its public stance of supporting the postal service - and its decision to block changes in 240 sites, as already agreed with our people locally, is at odds with its claim to be in favour of modernisation.

Royal Mail has already spent months negotiating with the CWU on this year’s pay and on our need to modernise this business. Those negotiations suffered when the union pulled down the shutters on change and stopped when they withdrew and announced their intention to ballot for industrial action on our offer.

Royal Mail is losing business because its costs and therefore its prices are too high and our business customers are choosing to go elsewhere. The facts remain the same:

• The mail market in the UK is declining by 2.5% per year
• Royal Mail has lost 40% of bulk business mail to rival postal operators
• Overall this year, rivals will handle one in five of all letters posted in the UK
• Our rivals are 40% more efficient not because their people work harder but because they have already modernised - as we must now do - and have much more technology
• Our rivals pay their people 25% less than we do at Royal Mail"

The union is also planning a further half-day of strike action at main Crown Post Office branches on Thursday morning, despite that fact that during Monday’s half day strike only seven out of 458 Crown Post Office branches were affected. with the rest of the 14,000 strong network working as normal.

Royal Mail remains ready to meet the union leadership yet again at any time to explain our position and the reality of the open marketplace in which we now operate. Chairman Allan Leighton and Chief Executive Adam Crozier spelt out the challenges the business faces during a meeting with union leaders last week. The union chose to ignore that reality and has now said that it wishes to further damage the business - and therefore its customers - with repeated strike action.

[Spartacus]

What a crock of shite :cfo :lfo

[St.Dave]

:lfo :cfo

[ulster postie]

HERE WE GO AGAIN EVERYBODY IS AT FAULT EXCEPT THE TWO DUMBWITS WE HAVE WHO RUN THIS BUISNESS. AS FOR THE CROWN OFFICES I CAN ONLY COMMENT ON MY LOCAL OFFICE WHERE ON ALL OCCASSIONS WHEN THEY HAVE BEEN CALLED ON I/A ALL CWU [ NO strike breakers ] MEMBERS HAVE WITHDREW THIER LABOUR . THE ONLY REASON THE OFFICE HAS BEEN OPEN TO THE PUBLIC IS THAT THEY HAVE FLOWN OVER FROM SCOTLAND MANAGERS TO KEEP THE OFFICE OPEN WELL DONE TO ALL THE GIRLS IN ANTRIM CROWN OFFICE ONWards and upwards

[Spedley]

Our rivals pay their people 25% less than we do at Royal Mail

I thought we wer 25% over paid? Which is it, do they get 25% less or do we get 25% more ? They are NOT the same thing.

[IWW Fellow Worker]

• Our rivals pay their people 25% less than we do at Royal Mail"


Once again, we're 'their' people! What an absolute arsehole these people are. But this is no more than the attitude of DUM's and screws who refuse to believe each person is an individual with their own lives and concerns.

• Royal Mail has lost 40% of bulk business mail to rival postal operators

And who do you suppose ends up delivering it, you soft get?

More crap!

NEGOTIATE, DON'T REITERATE!

[Wilbur Spoons]

and its decision to block changes in 240 sites, as already agreed with our people locally

Royal Mail has already spent months negotiating with the CWU on this year’s pay

Lying bastard

[UNION JACK]

NO SURRENDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cfo :lfo

[F0zziebear]

There's a contradiction here. By being a member of a union you act as one. You may argue that you get a better deal as part of a union rather than negotiating your salary as an individual like many others do. Therefore management are forced to negotiate on issues at a national level, which in my opinion allows for less flexibility in how to approach things.

Local agreements get quashed if the national union decide to disgaree and go in a different direction. I recognise at the moment that this seems like a battle of good vs evil, but as with all these things neither the union exec. or RM's exec. will be seriously out of pocket over this. Frontline workers lose pay, managers end up working seriously long hours and don't get paid extra as they signed away their over time a few years back. It's a shite situation and happy to be in the telecoms sector now!

F0zz over and out

Bletchley

[dogfood]

and its decision to block changes in 240 sites, as already agreed with our people locally

What 240 sites?
What changes?
Agreed by who?

[mdtomuk]

HAVING READ THE CWU STUFF - THIS IS NOW 'THE BUSINESS', LET'S GIVE THEM HELL - THE MOTHER OF ALL DISPUTES - NO PRISONERS, ETC, ETC. IN FACT (DO YOU AGREE?) I'D BE RATHER DISSAPOINTED IF RM CAVED IN (NO...........ed?) - OH YES!!!!!

:cfo :cfo

[ulster postie]

now where did i hear that before ONWARDS AND UPWARDS

[mlkj]

what a load of bullshit, the sooner the cwu take out adverts in all the national papers. the better, this would inform the public of what a pair of lying w*****s
we've got to deal with. :lfo :lfo :cfo

[dogfood]

Full page adverts in the national press are bloody expensive.

So a letter to Gordon Brown expalining that funding of his party by the CWU will have to be cut back due to the extra expense
of funding a major dispute.

[Big Daz]

Goverment ministers have invited the CWU to have direct meeting/talks with them.

lets hope that it results in tweddledum and tweedele dee seeing sense.

We need the big meeting with all stakeholders to thrash out the future of the uk postal service and all its issues!