Post Office staff in Easter strike

[super jumbe]

Press Association - About 370 Crown Post Offices will be affected by strike action on East Saturday

Workers at hundreds of Crown Post Offices are to strike on Easter Saturday in a dispute over closures, jobs and pay.

Members of the Communication Workers Union will walk out for 24 hours after backing industrial action by almost 9-1.

The union said up to 4,000 workers will be involved, at 373 Crown offices - the larger sites usually situated in high streets.

The action is in protest at plans to close or franchise more than 70 Crown offices, as well as over pay and jobs.

Picket lines will be mounted outside the offices, which handle around a fifth of Post Office business.

A number of Crown offices have already been franchised to firms such as WH Smith.

The union said Post Office staff have not received a pay rise since April 2011.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/post-office-staff-easter-strike-083006967.html

[gc1966]

good luck to them I say

[Snowy79]

You can always rely on Unions to screw it up for workers. They cost the Post Office millions in lost business after the last round of strikes when a lot of major businesses jumped ship to private courier companies like DHO, TNT etc. due to this lost business cut backs were needed. They never learn. Look out for even more job cuts for the sake of fighting to protect something they may never get as there will be no Post Office left.

[GastonJ]

Yes of course the unions decided to strike without a vote taking place didn't they? ... not At the end of the day it's the postal workers who voted for the strike, they know what they're up against and are willing to not be paid while they're on strike. However I'm sure there'll be plenty of people saying they should just take the cuts up the rear end as usual since they don't have the nads to do it themselves and it inconveniences them.

[Bulld0g]

You can always rely on Unions to screw it up for workers.

Yeah and without the Unions your kids may well be coming down from a 18 hour shift cleaning chimneys or the likes.
Or maybe it was because one day the employer decided out of the goodness of his heart to give his worker fair terms and conditions


Or was it was because the workers decided to join together and form a union and fight for their terms and conditions because they were sick of being treated as slaves or second class citizens eh?

[thered]

Royal mail is its not very cost efficient, most old employees get well paid, had it very easy and didnt want any change at all, they wanted the old system which lost money hand over fist

snowys right what he says its out of neccisity sometimes as there is a real chance the RM as we know wont see out the next ten years if it cant compete with other couriers

Its making money at the minute after price rises and a change in how its run, but when it was losing money employees were on strike

Strikes can be a good thing but are rarely good in anything that is on the ropes and with a sell off looking imminent may not be the wisest time imo

[Bulld0g]

When your on the ropes, is the best time to fight back. People seldom fight unless they are on the ropes.
How do you mean, most old employees are well paid? Are you saying there's a two tiered workforce there now, Older employees are on a better contract than others? Serious question there red.

[Snowy79]

They balloted 4,000 members and 2400 voted for the strike according to the CWU web site which is fair enough as it's their right.

What I can't get my head around is they are striking because the company which is losing ?40,000,000 per year has worked out that by Franchising 20% of their Offices they can save money. If it was my money and I was losing that every year and they dug their heals in then I'm afraid I'd sell the company. It's better to have a job then be unemployed in my books.

Fair enough if you have a skill base that can't be replaced but sadly just about anyone can do their job, they've not a lot to bargain with.

[Bulld0g]

Is that fact snowy or is that the bosses take on it? I don't know the facts but i'm pretty sure if the unions are against it, it's because they think there's an alternative.

It pisses me off when people talk about "the union" as a third party. The union IS a number of employees joining together to protect their terms and conditions. A Union is only as strong as it's members.

[GastonJ]

Royal mail is its not very cost efficient, most old employees get well paid, had it very easy and didnt want any change at all, they wanted the old system which lost money hand over fist

snowys right what he says its out of neccisity sometimes as there is a real chance the RM as we know wont see out the next ten years if it cant compete with other couriers

Its making money at the minute after price rises and a change in how its run, but when it was losing money employees were on strike

Strikes can be a good thing but are rarely good in anything that is on the ropes and with a sell off looking imminent may not be the wisest time imo

Do you have photocopies of their payslips then?

I don't recall "losing money hand over fist" in the final accounts for the post office, though I could be wrong. The government took their pension last year, and it wasn't because it was loss making either - it was so they could spend it.

Their accounts are here

http://www.postoffice.co.uk/sites/default/files/Post_Office_Limited_2011-12_report_and_%20accounts.pdf.pdf

Profit for the financial year from continuing operations 2012 ?37 million

It's paying premiums to shareholders (the government) that kills them....

[Bulld0g]

What he said

Do you have photocopies of their payslips then?

I don't recall "losing money hand over fist" in the final accounts for the post office, though I could be wrong. The government took their pension last year, and it wasn't because it was loss making either - it was so they could spend it.

Their accounts are here

http://www.postoffice.co.uk/sites/default/files/Post_Office_Limited_2011-12_report_and_%20accounts.pdf.pdf

Profit for the financial year from continuing operations 2012 ?37 million

It's paying premiums to shareholders (the government) that kills them....

[GastonJ]

They balloted 4,000 members and 2400 voted for the strike according to the CWU web site which is fair enough as it's their right.

What I can't get my head around is they are striking because the company which is losing ?40,000,000 per year has worked out that by Franchising 20% of their Offices they can save money. If it was my money and I was losing that every year and they dug their heals in then I'm afraid I'd sell the company. It's better to have a job then be unemployed in my books.

Fair enough if you have a skill base that can't be replaced but sadly just about anyone can do their job, they've not a lot to bargain with.

Can't force people to vote, otherwise we'd have had a real government that was elected by the majority. I seem to recall Maggie had votes for getting rid of houses to housing associations, and she made it so that if you didn't vote it was counted as "Yes" http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/c...0/housing-bill , can't have it both ways. The majority voted and voted in favour.

When they sell it off, which they will you'll be able to complain that your mail didn't arrive, the call centre will be in India, cost 50p a minute and to post your letter will cost a lot more. I await that day.

People have the right to withdraw their labour if they're unhappy, end of. It's their choice and they've made it.

[Snowy79]

The figures I used were taken from the CWU website. The Union website that ballotted it's members. A lot of people think of the Post Office as being part of Royal Mail but they officialy seperated in 2012 following the Postal Services Act.

The Post Office are now a seperate commercial arm that has to earn it's way. As a sweatener the Government have agread that Royal Mail will use the Post Office for the next ten years for it's core business which means it has some money coming in until it can become self sufficient. Unfortunately following the last round of strikes the businesses it was hoping to get onboard have been frightened away and it's no surprise that the Government are looking at ways of bach tracking on it's agreement to use the Post Ofice.

I'm all for sticking up for an individuals rights but I'm smart enough to know what battles to pick. Do they seriously think the Government gives a toss about 4000 people. If they Franchise it some jobs will transfer to better organised private companies and these jobs will at least be secure. If they dig their heals in the Government will look at it as an excuse to also use Private Companies instead of the Royal Mail. They'll save money, pay off the workers then sell the Company.

I can just see the spin now. Our beloved Government has saved the tax payer ?40,000,000 this year alone by transferring the Post Office to Tescos Deliveries and in doing so picked up ?20,000,000 in the sale. We're also saving x million per year by using Private Postal Companies.

[Bulld0g]

The figures I used were taken from the CWU website. The Union website that ballotted it's members. A lot of people think of the Post Office as being part of Royal Mail but they officialy seperated in 2012 following the Postal Services Act.

The Post Office are now a seperate commercial arm that has to earn it's way. As a sweatener the Government have agread that Royal Mail will use the Post Office for the next ten years for it's core business which means it has some money coming in until it can become self sufficient. Unfortunately following the last round of strikes the businesses it was hoping to get onboard have been frightened away and it's no surprise that the Government are looking at ways of bach tracking on it's agreement to use the Post Ofice.

I'm all for sticking up for an individuals rights but I'm smart enough to know what battles to pick. Do they seriously think the Government gives a toss about 4000 people. If they Franchise it some jobs will transfer to better organised private companies and these jobs will at least be secure. If they dig their heals in the Government will look at it as an excuse to also use Private Companies instead of the Royal Mail. They'll save money, pay off the workers then sell the Company.

I can just see the spin now. Our beloved Government has saved the tax payer ?40,000,000 this year alone by transferring the Post Office to Tescos Deliveries and in doing so picked up ?20,000,000 in the sale. We're also saving x million per year by using Private Postal Companies.

So what do you do? Lay down and die because you can't win, or fight because you believe you can win.
The government want to make decisions and they don't want the little people challenging what they say. If you think you're being wronged, you have to challenge it and fight back.

[GastonJ]

The figures I used were taken from the CWU website. The Union website that ballotted it's members. A lot of people think of the Post Office as being part of Royal Mail but they officialy seperated in 2012 following the Postal Services Act.

The Post Office are now a seperate commercial arm that has to earn it's way. As a sweatener the Government have agread that Royal Mail will use the Post Office for the next ten years for it's core business which means it has some money coming in until it can become self sufficient. Unfortunately following the last round of strikes the businesses it was hoping to get onboard have been frightened away and it's no surprise that the Government are looking at ways of bach tracking on it's agreement to use the Post Ofice.

I'm all for sticking up for an individuals rights but I'm smart enough to know what battles to pick. Do they seriously think the Government gives a toss about 4000 people. If they Franchise it some jobs will transfer to better organised private companies and these jobs will at least be secure. If they dig their heals in the Government will look at it as an excuse to also use Private Companies instead of the Royal Mail. They'll save money, pay off the workers then sell the Company.

They took their pension money and spent it. When it's privatised the pension money will not go, we'll be left paying that. Even though the pension fund was making one hell of a lot. The government will be able to claim that the taxpayer is having to pay the pensions and cut them. The second it's privatised it will make money in the same way BT, British Gas and BP did. Nothing changed apart from the accounting and the shareholders.

The government doesn't give a f**k about 59,999,350 of us in the UK - as usual it only cares about 650 people in this country, it's MP's. The rest of us can all die as long as they can tax it.