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.

Scumbags!

It's all just rearranging the decks on the titanic at this point. There isn't going to be a Royal Mail in 10 years.

I believe they currently get extra pay for working Sundays (and overtime).
And both are optional.

Can only speak as i find but there isn't "superior" delivery services, they are all shite compared to RM, who do deliver 7 days a week.

RM is by far the best way to get/send stuff and is unbelievably cheap.. even when letter small packet isn't delivered (no one in to sign for) there will be a reasonably local sorting office to collect from.. try that with Evri? or DPD?

RM bosses have bleed the company dry since privatisation, thats the issue here, should have stayed a public service with some private freedoms eg being able to charge a more realistic price for deliveries.

Privatisation simply doesn't work for many public services.

Thankfully RM will still exist, as you lot will get kicked out in 2 years time, having trashed the country over the last 15 years.

I’ve got to know a bit the other delivery drivers that do this route. Friendly, a bit of chat sometimes, professional

The postman I’m sure is a nice person but in terms of delivery and friendliness somehow the other companies have hired good people.

Currently, not what's now proposed!

I have no problem with them striking, but I think they are being a bit naive about what’s realistic, or that the possibility they will strike themselves out of jobs if businesses and individuals turn to other delivery services to avoid the impact of the strikes.
However I do think the strikes on 23 and 24 Dec are ill-conceived. They won’t influence RM management at all, but will piss off a lot of people that might have been sympathetic to their cause before.

get out and support your posties on the picket today everyone! ✊🏼

Been down with some yum yums ✊!

In that case so will the CEO be out of a job! Every cloud has a silver lining.

In that case so will the CEO be out of a job! Every cloud has a silver lining.
I’m sure that’ll warm the cockles (but not the homes) of the ordinary workers that will also have lost their job as a result.
Job losses will be the end result, even if (or perhaps as a direct result of) the strikers’ terms are met, it’s inevitable, unfortunately.

Considering the Royal Mail CEO's can't be arsed to negotiate with the workers/CWU the terms will always look 'unrealistic'. That's how negotiations work. You don't start at your lowest offer, unless your name is Simon.

Fucking hell, this is a like a thread posted by Thatcher from beyond the grave.

OP, your pleas of "but I came from a disadvantaged background!" don't make you sound compassionate and openminded, it reeks of pulling up the ladder behind you. You're calling people rude and bullies because they're disagreeing with you or trying to explain that you're working on bad intel.

So many people have tried to educate you about the real situation going on at RM right now and you're either misunderstanding or wilfully ignoring all of the strings attached to the pay offer. It's not about modernising the company, it's the CEO trying to wring every penny he can out of the business, stripping it down and selling it for parts at the expense of the employees.

DH is a postie, has been for years, and the media aren't scratching the surface of what's going on.

Considering the Royal Mail CEO's can't be arsed to negotiate with the workers/CWU the terms will always look 'unrealistic'. That's how negotiations work.
No shit Sherlock.
But the net result will be the same. People will lose their jobs.

The interview on sky news with Simon Thompson was laughable! He was asked to meet with Dave ward to have an interview to debate the current situation and he ignored the question several times.

He just keeps saying we are losing 1 million a day. Yes that is your fault because there is no back up money in the pot because you aren't investing it in the company but giving it away to your share holders and giving yourself a big juicy bonus.
The guy needs to go!

Inflation isn't a temporary issue, inflation may return to a more manageable level but the 10% is baked in now and won't vanish even when inflation settles.

Imagine pay has risen, on average by 2% p/a over the last 5 years, while inflation ran a 3% for years 1-3, 10% year 4 and 2% year 5. We'd get the following:

Pay (100 base) = 102, 104.4, 106.12, 108.24, 110.40
Costs (100 base) =103, 106.09, 109.27, 120.2, 122.6.

Inflation in year 6 is expected to be 2% again so pay will need to rise by around 14% in year 6 to reach parity.

More than a decade of wage suppression has reached a tipping point and will now have to be corrected. Nobody, AFAIK, is talking about or pursuing a policy of deflation so the only way is for pay to increase.

But pay isn't the only issue with Royal Mail and as had been explained on this thread numerous times the 9% had lots of unfavourable conditions attached.

The crux of the issue here is that the Royal Mail has been bought by people who clearly didn't understand the USO attached to the purchased and instead so it as a way to make some fast cash for.

Really the government should be getting far more flack than it is for a) selling it off to people who clearly couldnt handle the RM in the first place and b) failing to speak out about how the current owners of RM operate. Although, given the government's handling of the RMT, I'm not surprised they're staying quiet.

To be honest @Thebestwaytoscareatory I'm fully in belief that the government stand to profit off this RM shitshow somehow.

One good thing is it’s not a taxpayer issue. It’s up to RM to resolve

Sorry, yes, that was my point. It was in response to pp who thought working Sundays/overtime was standard nowadays and should just be accepted.

As I understand it, Royal Mail is crippled somewhat by it's charter to deliver letters. They have to do this every day, and to every address in the UK. And yet the letter side of the business is dropping off rapidly. (How many of you will be sending Christmas cards in the post this year, for example?) The other courier companies can say they don't deliver to "the Highlands" or charge extra for that.

Of course it is a tax payer issue because should the company fold for any reason, the Govt would be forced to step in and save it.

Electoral & economic suicide to get rid of universal delivery at a single price.

You’re right. Packages are likely where the profit is but other delivery companies are eroding that by being faster and cheaper

@7upandup see that Unite are failing their members and allowing them to act illegally!

They should be thrown out of the TUC!

@Conkersareback yeah it's a joke. Horrendous for a union to behave like that.

Dave ward on lbc radio answering questions tonight 8-9

I'll listen to that....

Thanks!