To think Royal Mail workers should not be striking

[Hitthehighseastoday]

They’ve already been offered a 9% pay raise and declined. Royal Mail is already making a loss. It’s a national service for the public which is now being severely disrupted by strikes, it’s appalling.

Would that be why I keep seeing "staff wanted" signs up and was in a long queue for a toasted sandwich at the station because there was only one member of staff available? In a free market with a labour shortage you need to put wages up and offer attractive conditions to recruit and retain staff.

we have a few business locally, that even though they have added 20% to NMW they are struggling to employ in unskilled clean labour. There just literally are not enough people.

Shortages of people are due to migrant workers returning home during covid. Low birth rates in the last few decades of the last century. An ageing population which makes extra work & takes people out of the workplaces as carers. People stopping work early/early retirement.

so even when companies put wages up, there isn’t a guarantee they’ll get staff.

And a similar/lack of posting history!

I don't know if it's a problem nationally, but staff have been leaving in droves from our local depot over the last few months. The combination of changing shift patterns and low pay has led to loads of people leaving and a fair few taking early retirement.

Since the start of the summer, we've only been getting 2 or 3 deliveries a week because they don't have enough staff to cover all the rounds. Our former postman is working part-time in Waitrose now, he says he's no worse off and has a much better quality of life.

YABVVVVVU

the point of the strikes is obviously to cause disruption ffs. Otherwise, what would be the point in striking?

The payrise is NOT the main issue, it's a by-issue

By your own admission you took a promotion which resulted in a change to your contract, that's a new contract that you agreed to, for I assume better pay and status etc etc.

If the postie strike is upsetting you, try getting behind them as they're obviously delivering a service you rely on.

I fully support all strike action. Its never taken lightly and the media will force the "they don't have it that bad" down your throats until we are all conditioned to accept the shitshow.

Spot on, @BananaBlue.

Well funded public services benefit everyone. It's a disgrace that people in work need to claim Universal Credit to keep their families fed and housed.

She thinks it because it affects her 🤷‍♀️

You'd better petition MN then for some kind of marker that will tell all other posters not to disagree or challenge OP, even on threads she's started and topics she's chosen to discuss. What crap you're talking. Patronising and offensive.

LakieLady

it’s a real problem for many industries and businesses.

there are many threads on not being able to get a gp appointment and that’s due to them leaving the profession, they’ve had enough of the government treatment

but people don’t equate people not working will have long term affect on them.

if Royal Mail fail it might not seem to people it will matter, but it will.DVLA and passport office are lacking staff and people don’t realise when they moan it’s 3 months to get a passport

we really do need to find middle ground with unions being strong enough to get decent wages but not over powerful as they were in the 1970s with closed shop. Or weak that services fail and only the rich can afford to buy them

Threads like this are getting a bit wearisome now.

I've got no reason to believe this is anything other than industrial propaganda dressed up as someone's personal thoughts.

OP pushes out the 9% pay rise but doesn't mention any pre-existing working conditions, executive pay and bonuses or shareholder dividends. They don't mentioned the timescale of the pay rise or any other linked changes to T&C's (there are always changes linked). She claims a false position for the company (that it is a "national service" when it is just a private company) and we've had attempts to silence criticism of this position by claiming special status for the OP and accusing those who disagree with them of being abusive.

It's pretty pathetic to be honest.

Royal Mail is just another company caught with its trousers down enriching the executives and shareholders when it can't really afford to do so as it can't really afford to pay workers enough to fully staff their operations. The strikes are a result of poor management decisions as will any failure of the business be. You don't get to take a 6 figure bonus hand out millions to shareholders in volatile market conditions and teflon that onto the shoulders of disgruntled workers.

100% support for the strikers

The problem is that many workers are reaching this cost of living crisis after a decade of pay restraint. The pips have already been squeaked here. I agree a middle ground does need to be found but it has to be a true middle ground that recognises the reality of the past decade where executive pay has soared and many ordinary workers have seen little change in their pay packet.

I would suggest that the reason why the Royal Mail pay offer has not been accepted is because it is probably not half as generous as it is being painted to be and probably includes some big denigrations in terms and conditions.

Royal Mail is just another company caught with its trousers down enriching the executives and shareholders when it can't really afford to do so as it can't really afford to pay workers enough to fully staff their operations. The strikes are a result of poor management decisions as will any failure of the business be. You don't get to take a 6 figure bonus hand out millions to shareholders in volatile market conditions and teflon that onto the shoulders of disgruntled workers.

I agree with this

also why are the CEO getting massive wage packets if they can’t run an efficient company which pays proper wages ( proper I mean mean average if £30k)

Totally agree, how utterly patronising @Mamabear197, you think the OP doesn't have the capability to hold an opinion as she's a care leaver?

As PP has said, do we have to go along with every person that starts a thread, in case they are a care leaver?

Are care leavers allowed to do whatever they like?

How tedious. Another thread bashing striking workers, whose meeting of the (high) 50% turnout threshold is indicative that they are at the end of their tether, and are falling back on last-resort measures because their employers will not listen to them.

I support them completely.

When inflation over the past year has been >10%, a 9% rise is a pay cut, in real terms. How the fuck can anyone think that is a reasonable offer, especially in a job that's not well paid to start with?

It wouldn't be reasonable even if all other terms and conditions remained unchanged.

I think an awful lot will vote with their feet, tbh.

I've known a few posties over the years, and the only way they could manage the (very) early starts and have anything resembling a normal family life was by sleeping for a couple of hours when they got home from work in the early afternoon.

There's no shortage of other jobs around, many of them flexible, and many of them don't pay much less than being a postie.

Some people really seem to struggle with the concept of collective bargaining imo.

This is outrageous

Sorry wrong screenshot, this is the latest outrageous behaviour from the ceo

Shameful!

He is trying to divide and concur!

@Conkersareback don't know what this country is coming to when this can happen. Think I will look for another job. I can't bring myself to stay there with people who have no integrity.

I'm sorry you feel that way, bloody awful!

I presume you also not received your Christmas stamps?

Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

@Conkersareback no stamps or bonuses this year no