Yes vote

[Walking boots]

What happens if the company stands firm, surely in the end they have all the power, if we dont like it we dont have to be there, this is the first company I've ever worked for that recognises a union and it all seems very strange and old fashioned. I'm just worried this could become a stand off where we lose loads of wages and then give in to whatever Royal mail want.

[itinerant]

I'm just worried this could become a stand off where we lose loads of wages and then give in to whatever Royal mail want.

There is that risk but if the majority think that and vote no then you can be sure that you will lose far more in the long term. Remember also that a large Yes vote will put the union in a stronger negotiating position and, as a result, a deal may be struck without the need for action.

[Walking boots]

I'm just worried this could become a stand off where we lose loads of wages and then give in to whatever Royal mail want.

There is that risk but if the majority think that and vote no then you can be sure that you will lose far more in the long term. Remember also that a large Yes vote will put the union in a stronger negotiating position and, as a result, a deal may be struck without the need for action.

I've voted yes but I'm not convinced its going to work out the way everyone hopes it will

[itinerant]

I think it is always going to be an uphill battle now we are a privatised company as it's all about shareholders and profits. My fear is that we come to an agreement but make concessions. Then in a year or so we have another dispute..rinse and repeat. After a few years we could find we have given up too much. I hope I am wrong but I will be giving the CWU my full backing in this one.

[citypostie]

I've voted yes and expect the result to be an even bigger yes than last time. But i fully expect royal mail to go to court and get an injunction again. And if they do it will be the death knell for the union and probably alot of our jobs. Hope I'm wrong but the silence from royal mail and Rico's attitude just stinks of them thinking they will stop a strike and make the union look useless in the process. We will see soon enough

[Bernardson]

I have voted for every strike called for more than 25 years, in an attempt to stop the destruction of our jobs and preservation of the whole idea of Royal Mail. Despite my commitment to that I feel that the Union has always given in too easily, and will always accept what the company ultimately tells them. This is a game RMG plays, it gives an inch each time, allowing the union to claim victory. However just look at the reality of what happens, the company will always come back(and in recent times more regularly) with even more drastic changes. The job today has almost no resemblance to what it was when I joined as a result of effective Union collusion with the company. We are expected to do more work, we are constantly bullied my managers if we do the job by the book, and want to cut off. Vans are not suitable for the size of packets we now take. Our Pensions have been de-valued and we have to work longer to get them. loss of payments for DtD, later start times (that will have serious consequences for increasing skin cancer rates I believe),loss of shift allowances, effective electronic tagging of all, privatization. The list goes on, but I simply cannot list them all. So what exactly has the Union been up to all this time? When will the Union really draw a line in the sand. The Union really missed the boat the last time when we had overwhelming support for action but then messed it up legally, allowing the momentum to pass to the company. That led to this weak agreement that they are now trying to defend.
I will yet again vote for action, despite not actually being able to afford it any longer, But I will not expect anything from the Union except a rear guard action, as per recent history.
Just don't expect to have whatever concession the company may give to avoid a strike for long. Given the last mandate that the union had for a strike, we could have demanded much more, and actually may have put a stop to this race to the bottom. However it is the Union leaders and executive that seem to cave in. They do not even have the wit to go to the courts when an agreement is broken by the company. By contrast RMG ran as fast as they could to the courts to stop the last strike, citing a previous no strike deal that the Union and had ridiculously agreed to.

Although I have some sympathy with some of the sentiments of this statement. You can't deny that we are much better payed than we have ever been we have good attendance patterns and the best terms and conditions in the Industry not because of Royal Mails generosity but because of the CWU members who have made sacrifices and slaughtered some sacred cows on the way.

One thing that would focus the CWU more on the concerns on delivering agreements to the membership is to create a purely independent Union and pay for our own officials rather than them being on full release payed by the employer. Members would have to be prepared to pay higher subs but hopefully it could result in better simpler agreements than the complex of double speak we normally get.

I've voted YES.

[Gasman11]

What happens if the company stands firm, surely in the end they have all the power, if we dont like it we dont have to be there, this is the first company I've ever worked for that recognises a union and it all seems very strange and old fashioned. I'm just worried this could become a stand off where we lose loads of wages and then give in to whatever Royal mail want.

Securing an overwhelming yes vote is the only chance we have to force Mr Back in to engaging in meaningful dialogue with the CWU. He has shown flagrant disregard up to this point from a negotiating point of view and couldnt even be bothered to turn up to the first day of mediation talks.

[JKSmudge]

What happens if the company stands firm, surely in the end they have all the power, if we dont like it we dont have to be there, this is the first company I've ever worked for that recognises a union and it all seems very strange and old fashioned. I'm just worried this could become a stand off where we lose loads of wages and then give in to whatever Royal mail want.

So - just walk away and just hope you get to work for an employer who will respect and value your labour and give fair terms and conditions ?

Standing together in a common cause for fair treatment, respect and decent working conditions is 'old-fashioned' ? - Yes it probably is, so are common decency, manners etc. does that mean we should not adhere to them?

[paul1231]

I have voted for every strike called for more than 25 years, in an attempt to stop the destruction of our jobs and preservation of the whole idea of Royal Mail. Despite my commitment to that I feel that the Union has always given in too easily, and will always accept what the company ultimately tells them. This is a game RMG plays, it gives an inch each time, allowing the union to claim victory. However just look at the reality of what happens, the company will always come back(and in recent times more regularly) with even more drastic changes. The job today has almost no resemblance to what it was when I joined as a result of effective Union collusion with the company. We are expected to do more work, we are constantly bullied my managers if we do the job by the book, and want to cut off. Vans are not suitable for the size of packets we now take. Our Pensions have been de-valued and we have to work longer to get them. loss of payments for DtD, later start times (that will have serious consequences for increasing skin cancer rates I believe),loss of shift allowances, effective electronic tagging of all, privatization. The list goes on, but I simply cannot list them all. So what exactly has the Union been up to all this time? When will the Union really draw a line in the sand. The Union really missed the boat the last time when we had overwhelming support for action but then messed it up legally, allowing the momentum to pass to the company. That led to this weak agreement that they are now trying to defend.
I will yet again vote for action, despite not actually being able to afford it any longer, But I will not expect anything from the Union except a rear guard action, as per recent history.
Just don't expect to have whatever concession the company may give to avoid a strike for long. Given the last mandate that the union had for a strike, we could have demanded much more, and actually may have put a stop to this race to the bottom. However it is the Union leaders and executive that seem to cave in. They do not even have the wit to go to the courts when an agreement is broken by the company. By contrast RMG ran as fast as they could to the courts to stop the last strike, citing a previous no strike deal that the Union and had ridiculously agreed to.

Although I have some sympathy with some of the sentiments of this statement. You can't deny that we are much better payed than we have ever been we have good attendance patterns and the best terms and conditions in the Industry not because of Royal Mails generosity but because of the CWU members who have made sacrifices and slaughtered some sacred cows on the way.

One thing that would focus the CWU more on the concerns on delivering agreements to the membership is to create a purely independent Union and pay for our own officials rather than them being on full release payed by the employer. Members would have to be prepared to pay higher subs but hopefully it could result in better simpler agreements than the complex of double speak we normally get.

I've voted YES.

Isn't it more of a case that the others are underpaid rather then us been overpaid or at least a balance in the middle. If we lose out to the greed from above would you really say this is a fair job when your on less then £9 an hour slogging your body round the streets when there are plenty of jobs paying this amount. Like to see what people think of the safety of sensitive items passing through the mailing system to them if it becomes a minimum wage job with massive turnover.

[wandle]

It not only needs a big majority voting Yes, we also need a big turnout - i.e. people to actually vote !
I believe the legislation has changed so that for a strike to be legal, over 50% of those eligible to vote must vote in favour ?
So, if the number of eligible voters is 100,000
and 56,178 people return their ballot papers
and 49,999 of those vote YES (89%)
we could fall short of the legal threshold despite an 89% Yes vote

[anthonyok]

voted yes , but when has it got to be posted by?

[wandle]

voted yes , but when has it got to be posted by?

The ballot closes 15th October.
With respect, you haven't voted at all if you haven't sent the ballot paper off !

[yellowbelly]

It not only needs a big majority voting Yes, we also need a big turnout - i.e. people to actually vote !
I believe the legislation has changed so that for a strike to be legal, over 50% of those eligible to vote must vote in favour ?
So, if the number of eligible voters is 100,000
and 56,178 people return their ballot papers
and 49,999 of those vote YES (89%)
we could fall short of the legal threshold despite an 89% Yes vote

Not quite see the "CODE OF PRACTICE - Industrial Action Ballots and Notice to Employers"

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... ployers--2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You need 50% of eligible voters to vote and a "simple majority" of those that voted to vote in favour:

Ballot thresholds for industrial action
25. Section 226(2) of the 1992 Act sets minimum thresholds of a 50% turnout in
all industrial action ballots, and for a 40% level of support in favour of
industrial action where the majority of those entitled to vote are normally
engaged in the provision of a specified important public service unless at
that time the union reasonably believes this not to be the case. In all cases,
a simple majority (i.e. more than half) of the votes cast must be in favour of
industrial action in order for it to go ahead.

[billycat]

I was asked a straight forward question this morning which I couldn't answer if we were to go on strike in November as expected would we forfeit our £200 pound xmas bonus?

[Scrumpy]

At moment the only obstacle to Rico Back plans is the Union . The only bargaining card the Union holds is strike action. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rico and his team want the work force to strike , they will let the strike run and run until the work force drift back defeated and more importantly Union defeated . They will then proceed without any obstacles. Hopefully the Union have a Plan B and are not solely relying on strike action to solve the dispute.