Postal Action

A bonus for delivering junk mail, I would pay them a bonus not to deliver it.

yep,about time the green party or someone pushed to make junk mail illegal...

WormThatTurned wrote:

A strike at Christmas for instance would have crippled RM, so it was in everybodys interest to find common ground.

But do you not think that the strike has harmed RM's reputation?

I think, though I might be wrong, that the only monopoly RM has left is the home, personal mailing. The business mailing has been fair game for years and businesses tend not to be brand loyal. After the shenanigans of the past few weeks, who's going to trust RM now?

People aren't going to blame RM either, even though it's their reputation on the line... it's the CWU and postie who's going to have to shoulder the blame for that one, especially when it appears the demands of the CWU were silly by being antiquated. Having such industrial action in this day and age is completely idiotic IMO.

The business community have absolutely NO loyalty to RM. They are a nightmare to deal with and their billing is antiquated to say the least.

They need to reform, and they need to do it quickly.

I think the press has been rather subversive in its portrayal of the strike, meaning that some of the key issues have been lost.

Ending a final salary pension scheme, for example, has an enormous impact on the retirement income of future employees. That's a significant issue (but one that these days is pretty much to be expected). Changes in working hours have a real impact on people's work-life balance. You can't ignore these things and say that people are just being awkward or won't move with the times.

For the consumer, it's worth bearing in mind that 30p gets your letter anywhere in the UK within 1 or 2 days - that's STILL fantastic value. And business customers need to remember that the competitors don't carry the burden of these services and can therefore afford to be far more competitive.

Nonetheless, if the Royal Mail is to survive it needs to manage deep-rooted change through its business and that's where you generally come unstuck. Many RM workers are of the generation that believes the world owes them a living and are therefore virtually impossible to work with. The reason that many people strike is because they doubt their own abilities to find another (better) job and as such would rather dig in and try and protect themselves where they are. This in turn throws up a smokescreen that tars everyone (good or bad) with the same brush.

RM's biggest challenge (whatever they agree to as a result of the strike) will be to performance manage these useless individuals out of the business and I suspect that there are thousands. People have to remember that in this day and age businesses can and will expect a bigger contribution every year from everyone. Managing that change is the biggest challenge these institutions face.

Either the company or the militant work force will die out. Place your bets on which way it will go with The Royal Mail.

If the only change to the pension scheme is one that affects new employees then that is a red herring and no reason to strike as many industries have seen this happen. The bank I used to work to went from a 50ths scheme (1% contribution and the doigs *Bad word* of a scheme) to a 60ths (4% cont), then to a defined contribution until finally a stakeholder, each change did not effect those already in the scheme (thankfully my preserved 50ths remains intact) In teaching the scheme changed the year I started training meaning I now have to work five years longer to 65 as opposed to colleagues who only have to go until 60 but a stike would only have been justified if they tried to change existing employees terms.

Personally if my pension conditions were under threat I would strike but to go out due to a change only affecting new employes is taking the michael.

My final salary pension has been changed recently and were waiting to hear what will replace it.

Ciao's Favourite Member wrote:

WormThatTurned wrote:

A strike at Christmas for instance would have crippled RM, so it was in everybodys interest to find common ground.

But do you not think that the strike has harmed RM's reputation?

I think, though I might be wrong, that the only monopoly RM has left is the home, personal mailing. The business mailing has been fair game for years and businesses tend not to be brand loyal. After the shenanigans of the past few weeks, who's going to trust RM now?

People aren't going to blame RM either, even though it's their reputation on the line... it's the CWU and postie who's going to have to shoulder the blame for that one, especially when it appears the demands of the CWU were silly by being antiquated. Having such industrial action in this day and age is completely idiotic IMO.

Probably. Permanently? Probably not.

By and large the posties do a fantastic job. They will have to face big changes IMO and hopefully this standoff has made them realise that.

We will have to wait and see.

Do unions still have a role to play in todays world ? I believe so. Others will probably disagree.

WormThatTurned wrote:

Do unions still have a role to play in todays world ? I believe so. Others will probably disagree.

Not if they continue to behave like the CWU, IMO.

atticusuk wrote:

Personally if my pension conditions were under threat I would strike but to go out due to a change only affecting new employes is taking the michael.

I don't think it's taking the michael. It would be rather nice to think that people were acting on behalf of others.

Rethinking that, there must be more to it as, let's face it, nobody does that these days.

WormThatTurned wrote:

By and large the posties do a fantastic job. They will have to face big changes IMO and hopefully this standoff has made them realise that.

Sorry mate, but I never seen any proof of them doing a fantastic job. My mail (personal) is nine times out of ten damaged, and most of the time I have someone elses left for me as well.

One time they actually delivered the mail for a cafe across to road to my flat. And if they can't see a name matching on any of the other door in my block, they chuck it to me - mine being the last flat they come to.

Many a time I have had mail for 339 and 399 as well (I'm the other combination of those three numbers)

Quote :

Do unions still have a role to play in todays world ? I believe so. Others will probably disagree.

I agree they do have a place. But not, to cause the trouble that the CWU have caused.

I am lucky in that I live in a small place and even partake of a small light sherry or two with the postman in the pub across the road, however when he is off on hols I get post for next door all the time - as it is a hike to their house and it is house number "A" to my house no..

however as far as this row is concerned it only takes the top 500 companies to have a rethink here and the RM is in strife.

Maybe Scottish postmen arent up to the Sassenach standards ??

I have experience of both, but would hate to compare/contrast..

helencbradshaw wrote:

however as far as this row is concerned it only takes the top 500 companies to have a rethink here and the RM is in strife.

A hell a lot of them already have. Just look at the mail mark on your letters (when you get them )

I got my phone bill today (EEEEEEEEEEK - all Broadband costs and fixed charges and about £11 of calls) anyway going to save myself £6 a year by subscribing to email bills...have done with bank statements ages ago so makes sense..!

About the only good thing I can say for RM right now is that it costs me the same money to send a letter to London as it odes to send one to the end of the street.

If the private letter monopoly is taken away from RM (or if it already has, if any of the other companies actually have a go at taking that business) then I fully expect my mail costs to rise as the courier company will charge some kind of surcharge for crossing the small body of water.