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.

And what did you do each time mail didn’t arrive? Did you report it to your local distribution office. Did ‘someone local’ challenge the dumper of the post, retrieve it or report it? Or did they do nothing? RM take this kind of thing extremely seriously.

You think 4/5 week holidays are the norm for postal workers? Do you know their salary?

The bosses are not picking up the tab at all, not sure why you've even mentioned the government?

agreed its not the norm, and that's my point really the higher paid workers who are striking have previously said it was a good job and far easier than working with other couriers.the posties not collection drivers have it worst.however I canonly go with what I have heard directly from who we see daily.

I support them. I'm very glad they have the option to demand better working conditions and pay.

Royal mail is outdated and other delivery companies are far more reliable. As the amount of letters seeng declines they're digging their own grave really.

Strikes are more effective when no one else can deliver the service you're withholding.

That is not my experience. It is virtually impossible to speak to anybody. It’s an automated helpline which doesn’t take messages. I have been waiting 11 months for an explanation why a publication sent from Sweden has still failed to reach me. It has been going round the RM system for several months but that’s about it.

The publisher has moved to UPS.

How? By not wanting their benefits taken away,, hours changed?

Your listening to propaganda saying we need to modernise, which is true, no one disputes change.

But why does that change need to mean the workers are worse off?

Do you work? If your hours were changed, would if mean your life would have to change, it terms of say childcare? Or your hobbies?

Would you be happy with that?

Other delivery companies run a gig economy, RM workers quite rightly don't want that.

The bosses on the occasion of the drivers will literally be picking up the tab of another pay rise is granted.its a downward spiral anyway as once the pay goes up, the cost of every letter or parcel goes up.then less mail is sent as they will be over priced, which eventually will bring redundancy.there needs to be a balance.

Wages have been (generally) driven down, in real terms, to less than one quarter of their equivalent, 30 years ago. Much of this drive by Employers to pay their staff less was caused by the introduction of the National Minimum Wage, and the stupidity of Labour’s Gordon Brown, in topping up people’s income by Family Credit, thus relieving Employers of their responsibility to their workforces.
Naturally, raking in higher percentages of profit, while Government and Businesses put up the smokescreen of Austerity, became far more attractive to Shareholders, who now demand higher remuneration than those actually doing, you know, the work, that generates the profits.
The workers going on strike for fair pay and conditions are the beginning of the fightback against this unfairness, OP: unless everyone who works for a living at a low wage starts to realise that they’re being screwed over, and takes appropriate action, the majority of workers will be heading back to Dickensian levels of poverty very soon…

I support all striking workers. They're holding the line for all workers.

And they're striking to keep their good job! They don't want to be treated badly, like other delivery workers.

That's the whole bloody point!

It doesn't matter you don't see what I'm saying.

DH postal worker of 30 years plus. His was a well paying job back in the day. Not so now and the pension is awful too.
No one wants to work for Royal Mail as the money is little over the minium wage. When anyone retires the post remains vacant and duties get reallocated to overtime. No one wants the letter business however I truly believe that they offer a safer parcel service. Funny how we have doorstep thefts from other couriers. Not so RM.
My husband is on strike for the first time in decades so there must be high stakes at play.

No I don't! But you don't see what I'm saying!

But according to @mrsbrightside1308 she knows two and they have four and five week holidays and they should live within their means and it's not up to the bosses of government to fund that!

Maybe they are acting like that because they are underpaid and overworked? Crap conditions don’t exactly bolster morale.

Can't say I have noticed much difference whether they are on strike or not and I order loads of stuff.

Mrs Brightside is talking out of her arse side. Time served posties could have 8 weeks leave under their 1980s contract. However they will also have knackered knees and a bad back. Possible letter dust on their lungs and an average life expectancy of 75 max.

Well yes but if they didn't disrupt it it wouldn't be a strike

As others have said, it's not as straightforward as that. And if a strike wasn't disruptive there would be no
point. Maybe look at the government and wonder if there's any correlation in relations breaking down in so many sectors.

And plantar fasciitis!

Yes its a backwards move when other companies are trying to move towards flexibile working.

Those criticising do some research. The changes they want to bring in are not sustainable. They want everyone to work longer hours as required. If you have children or other caring responsibilities you can't just stay without organisation. They want later starts and finishes. In the winter this is dangerous. I've already been robbed in the daylight.

Some of the "pay increase" will depend on certain conditions being met, such as a revision of rounds across a local office. This can't be done by the posties themselves so they'll be relying on the company to do it. And the increase won't be backdated.
So they'll be twiddling their thumbs and waiting potentially years for a pay increase which they can't do anything to speed up!
Royal Mail also want them to work Sundays for no extra pay, change the working day so they'll be finishing in the dark in winter (annualised hours so they'll do less in summer and more in winter plus later start/finish times).
Part of the conditions of the "offer" is that they'll get rid of the union. Can you not see how much unions have done for workers over the years? If they're scrapped we're all in the shit, if not now then at some point in the not too distant future.

Lastly if you actually look at the figures RMG aren't LOSING money, they're making less than they forecast. So still a profit just not as much as they want, the greedy bastards.