POL: Pay 2010 and 2011 and future of the Crown Office Networ

[POSTMAN]

Do you think this could be it Super...

Therefore we are pleased to have secured a one year extension of the guarantee on the existing 373 Crown Offices until March 2012.

[kathleen1]

Don't get me wrong i am not overwhelmed by the pay deal especially with the high living costs of petrol and all the utility bills we have to pay, but i do feel the union done the best it could. Paula vennells has lost all her respect from counter colleagues because she hasn't got a clue what she is saying and doing.The next year will be very interesting for crown staff when the transformation begins thats when POL will try and attack our working conditions e.g breaks, sick leave, holidays, duties thats when we do really need a strong union to rely on and get the best working conditions and pay for counter staff.Let the battle commence!!!!

[Super]

Thats the crux now - the transformation talks. OK so a one year extension to the no more franchising of crowns is good news-particularly in the current economic climate- however this may just be the calm before the storm. Although maybe we shouldn't necessarily see it as a battle with POL but a chance to work together to improve the situation and get CWU members views taken into account in a biiger way moving forward.

[PO1]

Thats the crux now - the transformation talks.

Everyone who works in a Crown needs to read this http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/bu ... ce-network

as the clock is ticking http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 2&p=367024

[ja_lo]

Please excuse me for my ignorance but im looking for some advice, I started working for POL in the end of last year, and wondered what (if any) of the lump sum i would get, I assume i wont get the 600 for the colleague share as i wasnt working in 2007 when they were launched, but just wondered about the 400.... Thanks!

[PO1]

Please excuse me for my ignorance but im looking for some advice, I started working for POL in the end of last year, and wondered what (if any) of the lump sum i would get, I assume i wont get the 600 for the colleague share as i wasnt working in 2007 when they were launched, but just wondered about the 400.... Thanks!

As far as I can see you'd get the £400 as it's not linked into anything just a payment to people in post. I'd also expect you to get a part of the £434 back pay for 2010-11 based on how long you've been in post. If you've been in the job 6 months this would be in total £617 less tax & ni so about £460.

[subbie]

Do you think this could be it Super...

Therefore we are pleased to have secured a one year extension of the guarantee on the existing 373 Crown Offices until March 2012.

Hi Postman

In 2012 the first tranche of Gov funding becomes available (subject to European consent) for modernising the Network.

Do you think that this is when Crowns will be done away with unless they can get to a cost positive situation, it seems to me that if this is the plan then this pay deal has just put a handicap on achieving such a target.

Hoisted by your own petard perchance?

Subbie

[onlyanother30years]

Hoist with your own petard

Meaning

Injured by the device that you intended to use to injure others.

Origin

The phrase 'hoist with one's own petar[d]' is often cited as 'hoist by one's own petar[d]'. The two forms mean the same, although the former is strictly a more accurate version of the original source. A petard is, or rather was, as they have long since fallen out of use, a small engine of war used to blow breaches in gates or walls. They were originally metallic and bell-shaped but later cubical wooden boxes. Whatever the shape, the significant feature was that they were full of gunpowder - basically what we would now call a bomb.

The device was used by the military forces of all the major European fighting nations by the 16th century. In French and English - petar or petard, and in Spanish and Italian - petardo.

The dictionary maker John Florio defined them like this in 1598:

"Petardo - a squib or petard of gun powder vsed to burst vp gates or doores with."

The French have the word 'péter' - to fart, which it's hard to imagine is unrelated.

Petar was part of the everyday language around that time, as in this rather colourful line from Zackary Coke in his work Logick, 1654:

"The prayers of the Saints ascending with you, will Petarr your entrances through heavens Portcullis".

Once the word is known, 'hoist by your own petard' is easy to fathom. It's nice also to have a definitive source - no less than Shakespeare, who gives the line to Hamlet, 1602:

"For tis the sport to have the enginer Hoist with his owne petar".

[Super]

It's a fine education this forum isn't it? I think perhaps as well another factor here is what is happening in RM. A proposal to close 2 MC's in London is bound to be confrontational, perhaps the business thought it best to let things settle in POL this fin. year so they could concentrate on other matters? Just a thought? Plus if RMG manage to bring in Compulsory Red. in RM London( something which the CWU have stated is a real possibility) then there will be nothing to stop them doing similar with CWU in POL.

[billyhayes]

@30years...

You use your tongue prettier than a $20 whore!

[kathleen1]

I wonder what payrise subbie got? i get the impression from his posts that he thinks the sub-office network is safe for some reason, i don't know why because if the government go ahead with its mutualisation every post-office will be in the local supermarket e.g the Co-operative, and with the POCA going out to tender Paypoint are a much cheaper option for benefits to be paid out to save the tax payer money and the government. A sherbet lemon comes to mind, very,very, BITTER.

[Lounge Lizard]

I've heard that the only Crown Office with anything like a secure future over the next few years is Chesterfield, and that's because of all they make from the Road Tax for all the Royal Mail vans.

[billyhayes]

If you take a look at this item in the News forum;
http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 18&t=35204" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
You will find that this trend has now accelerated the closure of subs at quite a rate.
As the governments plan is to remove core services from many subs and call them a 'local'
As the chap in the article states, business has been taken away from them so customers simply don't go there.
All this, and they can still say "no closures" as they didn't close the sub directly, but their throttling of business into the subs forces them to throw the towel in themselves.

Don't get subbie started on the pay issue!!! He was kicking off a few months ago saying why are we paid so much. Whatever you do, don't mention that we are now on just shy of £11 an hour.... oops

[takethat!]

I will be voting no to the pay offer - and hope many others do too,1.4 does not refelect the rate of inflation (running at about 5%).

Lump sum pay off's are not the way forward.

If this deal goes through then CIT will no doubt be getting 1.4 as the precedent has been set - if they get more then we on counters have been done - AGAIN!!