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These postal strikes are very annoying! If only someone could create a system for electronically sending messages instantly and free of charge! :rolleyes:
 
Need one highlight just how well the UK's automotive and coal industries are doing following extensive strike action?

But, to look at it another way, while they striked excessively at the end of the car industry, the management had screwed it up for years beforehand by not making enough decent models.

And with the coal it was becoming uneconomic to extract further coal, so them not striking wouldn't have helped them keep their jobs.

In this case some of the problem lies with RM's management (AKA the government) only earning 1/5th of what they do, so they aren't probably as competent as RM's management.
 
But, to look at it another way, while they striked excessively at the end of the car industry, the management had screwed it up for years beforehand by not making enough decent models.

That is, at best, about 50% true. The appalling job the workers did putting them together led to a reputation (well deserved) for unreliability. That coupled with the strikes leading to very variably supply drove many previously loyal customers to foreign imports. The workers were very much involved with their own fate.
 
These postal strikes are very annoying! If only someone could create a system for electronically sending messages instantly and free of charge! :rolleyes:
If it were just letters there would be no problems. Try e-mailing an online item purchase or a parcel and perhaps you'll see the reason for all the frustration.
 
That is, at best, about 50% true. The appalling job the workers did putting them together led to a reputation (well deserved) for unreliability. That coupled with the strikes leading to very variably supply drove many previously loyal customers to foreign imports. The workers were very much involved with their own fate.

It wasn't totally clear in my post :eek:, but I think both things are true and at fault for the problems in the UK car industry.
 
I'll be proposing a shift to TNT or someone else for posting stuff in the future.

Sorry Union - you're doing the opposite of what you want. You're not fighting for your members - you're fighting to drive away customers and ruin the company.
 
Good luck with your search for a cheaper more efficient service than the PO,Amazon can't but maybe you'll have better luck.The "causes" fought for in the past may not be important to you but things like a five day week,a eight hour day,no child labour,meal breaks etc etc are rights fought long and hard for by the unions you appear to despise and are very important to me and many others.

You're obviously a postal worker yourself (or close to someone who is) and therefore your posts smack of bias. Sure unions were important and helpful once, but they have outlived their usefulness and their strong-arm tactics have no place in 21st century society. The concept is quite simple, people want a service that will deliver their letters/packages with little to no issues. A company that will strike and disrupt things to get its way can not be that service.
 
Yesterday - RM attempted to deliver a recorded packet to my home address.

I was at work. Our neigbour saw him - said "I can take it if you like". "Sorry - I've already carded it". (he could, of course, have put another card through)

So - I have a card. This parcel has come from Glasgow to Leicester in about 18 hours. I now have to wait a further 48 hours (I tried today - they couldn't find it) to collect it from the collection office.

How can it possibly take two days to take a stack of carded items from the van, and put them on the shelves ready for collection. It's pathetic.

This is the sort of slapdash sub-par service I've come to expect from RM.

And the people providing this service want to be immune to modernisation whilst getting a pay rise in this economic climate?

Sod off.
 
Bah, Royal Mail. Useless monkeys. I get it, the workers want their jobs - but godamn, the service you provide is so poor nobody wants to use it.
 
You're obviously a postal worker yourself (or close to someone who is) and therefore your posts smack of bias. Sure unions were important and helpful once, but they have outlived their usefulness and their strong-arm tactics have no place in 21st century society. The concept is quite simple, people want a service that will deliver their letters/packages with little to no issues. A company that will strike and disrupt things to get its way can not be that service.

I am not a postal worker neither am I particularly close to anyone who is. Because I don't parrot the inane propaganda spouted by the main stream media and have some knowledge of the real reasons behind the dispute makes for much less bias than many other posts exhibit.It may have escaped your notice but wages and conditions for the great mass of workers in the U.K. have either stagnated or dropped over the last thirty odd years since the Thatcherite attack and partial victory over the organised workers.It is also interesting that nations with strong unions e.g. Germany and France are coping much better with the recession than the peasant style Anglo-Saxon ones (U.S. and U.K. ). Strangely enough the Guardian which published it's entirely inaccurate story about Amazon canceling it's contract have not (as far as I'm aware ) published this one:

http://www.roadtransport.com/Articles/2009/10/13/134764/royal-mail-in-16319.5m-contract-win.html

reagarding the PO winning a new 19.5 million contract.
 
Here is the letter that the CWU sent to RM yesterday:

Quote:
Dear Mark

I am writing to confirm that on Thursday 15th October 2009, the Union will serve the relevant notice in line with the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidated) Act 1992, announcing national strike action.

However, given the seriousness of the situation we are prepared to make a fresh offer that will avoid the planned strike action and assist in finding a resolution to this dispute.

The CWU offer comprises of the following:-

• That Royal Mail will reveal their business plan for the whole of the planned transformation programme. This will create an open environment that will allow Royal Mail and CWU to reach a 3 year agreement aimed at providing long term stability for the business, employees and our customers.

• That Royal Mail recommit to the key principle which underpinned the 2007 Pay and Modernisation Agreement i.e. that “change will be introduced by agreement”. This means Royal Mail will unequivocally agree planned 2010 change, including the rollout of new walk sequencing machines.

• That we agree, in principle, that improved Job Security arrangements and a new benefits package that rewards postal workers for delivering success for the business will form part of the final agreement.

• That Royal Mail agrees the principle that budgets should not drive staffing levels and that what constitutes a fair days workload will be based on transparent and agreed standards with the Union. We should jointly consider utilising independent experts in the field of work measurement to facilitate a resolution to all workload issues.

• That Royal Mail are prepared to step back from imposed change and resolve all current local disputes by agreement.

• That Royal Mail agrees to an independent enquiry into the bullying and harassment of postal workers and immediately ceases the use of unagreed HR procedures.

• That Royal Mail are prepared to jointly approach the Government on the urgent need to find a resolution to pensions and regulatory issues.

• That the national parties clear our diaries to allow for an intense period of negotiations to resolve all outstanding issues and conclude a comprehensive national agreement.

Your commitment to the aforementioned will enable us to restore customer confidence and provide a genuine opportunity to resolve this dispute without the need for any further strike action.

Separately and in addition to the above offer, the Union are proposing, without any preconditions, that the national parties jointly explore the possibility of third party mediation. As well as seeking third party mediation to resolve the dispute, the Union would also be prepared to engage third party assistance to help bring about a fundamental long term improvement to industrial and employee relations.

The Union is available for meaningful negotiations for the remainder of this week.

I look forward to your prompt response. If Royal Mail really is sincere about reaching an agreement with the Union that aligns the interests of our customers, employees and the company as a whole, then you will pick up this offer.

Yours sincerely



Dave Ward
Deputy General Secretary (P)

Sounds like the ravings of extreme left Trotskyist anti-Capitialist industrial wreckers to me.
 
Were I to receive those demands - I would tell them to sod off.

Sorry - the Union can go to hell - it's going to kill RM, and it's shafting those who require RM's services. If the workers don't like the conditions - they can leave and find work elsewhere.
 
I find these strikes selfish and ignorant from the postal workers.

I was staggered to find that a first class mailed item, franked October 3rd arrived at my home on October 12th... and amazingly the letter only had to travel between two towns, about 5-10 miles apart.

First class? My ass.
 
I find these strikes selfish and ignorant from the postal workers.

I was staggered to find that a first class mailed item, franked October 3rd arrived at my home on October 12th... and amazingly the letter only had to travel between two towns, about 5-10 miles apart.

First class? My ass.

Your particular example is bad although how you know this is due to selfish and ignorant workers and not ignorant, selfish and stupid management is beyond me.
 
I've got nothing bad to say about them. Our postmans pretty good actually, a few Summers ago whilst my folk were on holiday I sent off for some eBay items. He knew I was still asleep and posted the stuff in the wendy house in the back garden and posted through a note telling me to get my lazy arse up :D. Never had anything lost in the mail (that I know of, at least when it comes to internet shopping), always been a speedy service here.

But boo to the strikes. I've got international post heading my way, I hope this doesn't halt that process :mad:.
 
I've got nothing bad to say about them. Our postmans pretty good actually, a few Summers ago whilst my folk were on holiday I sent off for some eBay items. He knew I was still asleep and posted the stuff in the wendy house in the back garden and posted through a note telling me to get my lazy arse up :D. Never had anything lost in the mail (that I know of, at least when it comes to internet shopping), always been a speedy service here.

But boo to the strikes. I've got international post heading my way, I hope this doesn't halt that process :mad:.

My experiences of posties is similar to yours and I suspect of most peoples,and nobody is happy when strikes happen but often there is good reason.I swear some of the people in this thread are "disgusted of Tunbridge Wells" in disguise.
 
Interesting re: the Amazon thing.

I ordered a single book yesterday and chose to pay extra for 1st Class Delivery. I expected this would be dispatched with the Royal Mail as per usual. Just received my dispatch email. It's been sent with City Link...
 
Interesting re: the Amazon thing.

I ordered a single book yesterday and chose to pay extra for 1st Class Delivery. I expected this would be dispatched with the Royal Mail as per usual. Just received my dispatch email. It's been sent with City Link...

Amazon use a variety of delivery methods,this may not be accurate but I think anything under 300gms goes PO and larger stuff Citylink.
 
selfish and stupid management

If it was selfish and stupid management, then why don't the employees quit and work somewhere else?

Perhaps they should wake up - appreciate the current economic climate, and try to help the company they work for improve, rather that trying to screw it over.
 
1st class letter sent from London arrived at work yesterday.

It was posted on the 9th.

Awesome.

We have to spend a portion of the day preparing customers for the delay induced by the Thur/Fri strikes. Put a note up on our website. Try and send important things by other means. We're not a big company - it's not going to cost us much in real terms - but it IS costing us.
 
1st class letter sent from London arrived at work yesterday.

It was posted on the 9th.

Awesome.

We have to spend a portion of the day preparing customers for the delay induced by the Thur/Fri strikes. Put a note up on our website. Try and send important things by other means. We're not a big company - it's not going to cost us much in real terms - but it IS costing us.

I had an email from Amazon yesterday afternoon informing me my copy of Window 7 had been dispatched via Royal Mail.

It was delivered at 9:00 this morning. :)

We have had a lot of problems at work with mail to and from London in the last couple of weeks. I guess it's soon going to spread to the rest of the country. :(
 
I had an email from Amazon yesterday afternoon informing me my copy of Window 7 had been dispatched via Royal Mail.
It was delivered at 9:00 this morning. :)

Since the strike is only starting tomorrow that should be expected. ;)
I also think Amazon's warehouse (largest at least) is outside London.
We have had a lot of problems at work with mail to and from London in the last couple of weeks. I guess it's soon going to spread to the rest of the country. :(
Mail within London (M25) has been a nightmare.
Had to cancel 2 cheques (yes, some people will insist on them) because of undelivered mail.
Lease agreement "lost" or in limbo… sigh.

Roll on Christmas. :eek:
 
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