We all know its coming ,what the CWU should be doing is getting good packages for the people who want to leave then Royal mail can start taking on people who are willing to deliver a parcel for 50p ,most people have had enough and want to go.
I really don’t understand this line that people regularly trot out. From the day you join RM you are free to leave at any point. No- one holds a gun to your head and says you have to stay for the rest of your life. In all jobs people come and go all the time, yet in RM there’s this mentality that you only leave if you can get VR. As for most people have had enough - I or anyone else on here doesn’t know whether that’s true or not and unless you speak to 120,000 odd people to find out it’s again just a line that’s trotted out as fact. Where do people think they’re going to pick up work if they do leave? Do you think other employers are any better? I would love to know how many medium/long term RM employees leave and go on to better themselves. Yes working at RM can be s**t at times, yes it’s bloody hard going and the workload can be relentless, however I doubt that these mythical jobs that some think exist elsewhere are any better.
There are better jobs out there, obviously, depends what target you set yourself. If you don't plan to change industry then ofc you'll get worse pay elsewhere. Right now might not be the time for a career change either way.
Hoping once things go back to normal and I have finished my degree I can move on. I'm 28 and only been in the job 7 years but I can already start to feel the effects it's having on my hips / feet long term. I can only see a downward trend for the company, but also for working conditions in general, looking at other employers. Amazon's new flexible delivery jobs being a benchmark of how awful our terms could be!
I would seriously consider VR, depending on the circumstances I'm in if they do offer this. Though I very much doubt RM will go that route, and it will be to get rid of older folk if it is the case!
yet in RM there’s this mentality that you only leave if you can get VR.
Most of those looking for and likely to be offered VR will be in their late 50s-early 60s.
They are looking for VR because.
A) Unlike most people and jobs these days they have a lot of service with the same company so have accrued a large potential payout. That's a big thing to walk away from.
B) They're mostly not looking for a full-time replacement job, just enough to get through to retirement.
Yes when you're young and haven't been with a company long people come and go in jobs all the time but when you're approaching 60 and you know most potential employers won't get past the D.O.B on your CV you have to leave with something. That is the "gun to your head" you talk about.
We have a few staff in their late thirties and early 40’s who would jump at chance of VR. They all started at 16 so at least 22 years service.
To do that you really need another job lined up beforehand.
I've seen people burn through £30k in 6 months.
Not necessarily, they are lucky to be “professional “ at other jobs, painting, decorating, electronics, even barbers . They tell me once things pick up they can refer to that or their partners working full time plus their VR money will be suffice for a few years and took on a mortgage at a very young age so will be mortgage free soon if not already depending on their age. Of course we are all different when it comes to personal finance but these few see the future different to myself.
Re: other jobs and being thankful for having a job, It’s a tough situation.
The job has gone massively downhill but just looking at the positives for a moment: I personally think it’s a good rate of pay (everyone has different opinions on that). I know my day off and start/finish times for next week. If I’m a bit tired I can have a sit down and a breather (or my full break) in the van. Sure some rounds are vastly different but as a floater who knows 70 rounds they all follow a similar theme - you put letters and junk (sorry door2dustbins) through letterboxes and knock on doors with parcels. It’s still the same role no matter what round I do. Plus we get paid breaks even though some of the idiots choose not to take them.
I’m just comparing this to my partner who works in retail: She’s just been told she’s now in on Monday, 31 hours notice. She earns nearly £3 an hour less than me. She’s been sworn at by the manager. She only gets an unpaid break if she works more than 6 and a half hours so her shift is always 6 and a quarter hours. Still awaiting a uniform after 2 months. Spoken to rudely and aggressively by some customers. No chairs allowed behind the till, no bottles of water allowed there either. No union. Every member of staff (apart from management) has to empty their pockets at the end of shift to show they haven’t stolen anything. And expected to clean up when the store shuts, unpaid.
I’m not saying we should compare and lower our jobs to low paid retail workers but I’m thankful that in my office at least I’m treated with respect and paid (again imo) fairly.
The day is gonna come when we’re all gonna have to testify.
I've never seen so much outrage posted by so few moaners. If you don't like your job then leave. If you can't/won't leave then try to change it for the better with POSITIVE words and actions. CWU is trying to change and influence the future. It can't be easy. If you think they are doing a crap job then point out how YOU would do it better. I'll wait.
Instead we get "what a s**tty worthless update" but prior to that the same moaning minnies were begging for an update. No win situation for Martin and union guys.
Finally, if you can't/won't leave and you can't/won't bring about effective change with direct action then accept that your only recourse is through a democratic vote on specific actions and on representation. That's it. Leave. Change. Accept.
Re: other jobs and being thankful for having a job, It’s a tough situation.
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I’m not saying we should compare and lower our jobs to low paid retail workers but I’m thankful that in my office at least I’m treated with respect and paid (again imo) fairly.
When I look around my office I see a lot of infirmity caused by stress injuries. Posties limping, unable to walk long distances. Waiting on hip operations, knee replacements. £11/12ph might seem good in the short/medium term compared to the minimum wage but is not really compensation for the risk you are taking of becoming long term disabled.
I don't think an in-house injury insurance scheme operates but if it doesn't then it's something I'd like to see.
Re: other jobs and being thankful for having a job, It’s a tough situation.
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I’m not saying we should compare and lower our jobs to low paid retail workers but I’m thankful that in my office at least I’m treated with respect and paid (again imo) fairly.
When I look around my office I see a lot of infirmity caused by stress injuries. Posties limping, unable to walk long distances. Waiting on hip operations, knee replacements. £11/12ph might seem good in the short/medium term compared to the minimum wage but is not really compensation for the risk you are taking of becoming long term disabled.
I don't think an in-house injury insurance scheme operates but if it doesn't then it's something I'd like to see.
Fully agree with you, that’s why I see RM as a cash cow, I’m taking what money I can while until I retire when I’m in my mid 40s. There’s so many broken bodies here with people doing what is a physical job well into their 60s and I don’t want to be one of them.
The day is gonna come when we’re all gonna have to testify.
I've never seen so much outrage posted by so few moaners. If you don't like your job then leave. If you can't/won't leave then try to change it for the better with POSITIVE words and actions. CWU is trying to change and influence the future. It can't be easy. If you think they are doing a crap job then point out how YOU would do it better. I'll wait.
Instead we get "what a s**tty worthless update" but prior to that the same moaning minnies were begging for an update. No win situation for Martin and union guys.
Finally, if you can't/won't leave and you can't/won't bring about effective change with direct action then accept that your only recourse is through a democratic vote on specific actions and on representation. That's it. Leave. Change. Accept.
I've never seen so much outrage posted by so few moaners. If you don't like your job then leave. If you can't/won't leave then try to change it for the better with POSITIVE words and actions. CWU is trying to change and influence the future. It can't be easy. If you think they are doing a crap job then point out how YOU would do it better. I'll wait.
Instead we get "what a s**tty worthless update" but prior to that the same moaning minnies were begging for an update. No win situation for Martin and union guys.
Finally, if you can't/won't leave and you can't/won't bring about effective change with direct action then accept that your only recourse is through a democratic vote on specific actions and on representation. That's it. Leave. Change. Accept.
Well said. So many baby’s on here it’s untrue
Not only that they moan about the CWU leadership salaries - but if they earnt £70K, guess what? They'd be on here moaning about how much tax they were paying.
I've never seen so much outrage posted by so few moaners. If you don't like your job then leave. If you can't/won't leave then try to change it for the better with POSITIVE words and actions. CWU is trying to change and influence the future. It can't be easy. If you think they are doing a crap job then point out how YOU would do it better. I'll wait.
Instead we get "what a s**tty worthless update" but prior to that the same moaning minnies were begging for an update. No win situation for Martin and union guys.
Finally, if you can't/won't leave and you can't/won't bring about effective change with direct action then accept that your only recourse is through a democratic vote on specific actions and on representation. That's it. Leave. Change. Accept.
Well said. So many baby’s on here it’s untrue
Not only that they moan about the CWU leadership salaries - but if they earnt £70K, guess what? They'd be on here moaning about how much tax they were paying.
Nah if I was on Dave or terry wages I would probably donate a bit more towards the country’s tax bill whilst pissing myself laughing I’m being paid 10k a month to do f**k all for the members.
I've never seen so much outrage posted by so few moaners. If you don't like your job then leave. If you can't/won't leave then try to change it for the better with POSITIVE words and actions. CWU is trying to change and influence the future. It can't be easy. If you think they are doing a crap job then point out how YOU would do it better. I'll wait.
Instead we get "what a s**tty worthless update" but prior to that the same moaning minnies were begging for an update. No win situation for Martin and union guys.
Finally, if you can't/won't leave and you can't/won't bring about effective change with direct action then accept that your only recourse is through a democratic vote on specific actions and on representation. That's it. Leave. Change. Accept.
Unlike previous negotiations with the Royal Mail and the CWU we are really being kept in the dark during this one. In previous negotiations, the Union were telling us regularly what the Royal Mail demanded; things like no paid breaks, collapsing 1 walk in 6, getting rid of parcel force or even franchising the walks. But this time round the Union are being really sparse in their comms and in the backdrop of Royal Mail saying that they have made record losses, laying off 2,000 senior managers, as well as the fact that there will be some major changes is obviously going to lead to a lot of pessimism. How I would do it better then is to inform the workforce about what changes have been planned and how it might affect people's working lives would be a great place to start.
For the record, I love my job and negotiations will hopefully be concluded any time soon, and the sooner the better because its been well over 6 months.
On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world.
In the New year now I reckon, won’t wanna upset us during the peak, after all we’ve waited this long what’s a few more weeks, hope I’m proved wrong tomorrow
. They tell me once things pick up they can refer to that or their partners working full time plus their VR money will be suffice for a few years and took on a mortgage at a very young age so will be mortgage free soon if not already depending on their age. Of course we are all different when it comes to personal finance but these few see the future different to myself.