to be getting a leeeetle bit hacked off with the postal strike...

[AtheneNoctua]

Today I have to take a 2 hour lunch to sort out a Halloween costume because I can't rely on the mail to deliver one if I order it online. That is 2 hours of my work which I will have to make up if I want to be paid for it.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8327158.stm

I selfishly hope they hire the contract workers.

What about the public who relies on this service? Where is our compensation?

I will add I don't know the details of the reasons for the strike (because they aren't reported and not because I haven't looked). So I don't have an opinion on whether the strike is justified.

But I am starting to feel they have made their bloody point and I want my mail service back.

Sorry, collapsing boxes in this sense means where previously in a sorting office there was for example 10 large boxes per round there is now 9 (because 1 is collapsed) meaning that there is now one less person to do the round and the extra burden is on the remaining staff.

PO workers resist collapsing boxes because royal main management do not count all the mail.

Collapsing a box always means that box has to be redistributed round the remaining staff.

The stuff that is not counted is really, really unfair - all the stuff that comes from junk mail and the large companies like Amazon are not counted even though they're delivered by the postie as they are owned by the company who owns them (even though they're delivered by Royal Mail).

So for example Amazon buy a million small parcels but they are delivered to the depot by Amazon - then sorted and delivered to the door by Royal Mail.

They are NOT counted. Also things like BT mailshots, have to be delivered but not counted.

Basically large companies deliver to the PO depot and those are not counted even though they are sorted and delivered by Royal Mail.

So, what is the pension issue if RM are already not getting final salary pensions?

Georgimama, there are many online Internet business, which although they have made alternative arrangements for their Christmas business are deeply upset about this strike action because Royal Mail is a cheap option for them. And that is a fact. Big business like Amazon might be able to afford to negotiate a deal with a courier company but small business need Royal Mail. That is a fact, backed up by the Internet companies they interviewed on BBC breakfast the other morning.

They need Royal Mail at the moment because Royal Mail is what there is. But if this kind of industrial action continues, Royal Mail will become an extremely unattractive option.

The miners thought strikes would get them what they wanted because they could in effect hold the country to ransom for energy. They were wrong.

Sorry Laurie, I thought you meant post boxes as I only skim read the thread. They are removing post boxes for the reasons I stated earlier.

There is a massive postal deficit, caused by Royal Mail management, which if not paid back will mean postal workers who have paid in for years not receiving their pension.

Over 10 years I have paid in and I am guaranteed to see that money again.

The alternative is far more expensive - I'm sure they would be overjoyed if the more expensive option became the only option

lioness, I would happily pay more money for a more efficient service.

I know that the latter does not necessarily follow the former of course.

"There is a massive postal deficit, caused by Royal Mail management, which if not paid back will mean postal workers who have paid in for years not receiving their pension.
Over 10 years I have paid in and I am guaranteed to see that money again."

Thelioness, did you mean you are not guaranteed to get your pension?

If so, that is - of course - outrageous. Could you tell me what the management's response to this situation is? What are they proposing to do about it?

Over 90% of first class post is delivered the following day. It's not a bad service.

I'm a postie.

Royal mail employ me 10 till 2 so I can do both school runs.

I often work more hours. I go in at 9am after dropping dd, sometimes finish at 12:30 sometimes at 2pm, its give and take.

My colleagues are striking because of working more hours than what they are paid for. Also the bosses want to bring in big machines to throw out the mail into order. This is done manually by full time staff first thing.

I DID NOT strike, in fact I did more hours and got paid overtime. I did however have to work 8 hours last saturday to clear the backlog, for which I will get paid for 4.

Don't really have a point. I will support my colleagues but will not strike because I don't like to disrupt my customers. Just wanted to share.

What kind of treatment are you getting when you cross the picket line (if there is actually a physical one) at your depot?

I did mean that notanumber. sorry for typos.

Basically. Government want to sell part of Royal Mail to pay back deficit. CWU says no to privatisation. Hence the currant deadlock.

It's a massive debate in itself.

That is still 10% which isn't. If the average postman has 250 letters to deliver on his round, that is 25 which don't get delivered that day. I'd be unhappy if my doctor only diagnosed 90% of her patients correctly.

Royal Mail isn't awful at delivering letters to be fair, but there are still the issue of the cards being posted through the letter box for parcels issues, and all the other little niggly things that we have heard anecdotally on this thread.

However, I do think the price of a stamp is very reasonable and I would be happy to pay more for one. Doesn't mean that the service is faultless though.

The others don't mind. Our office has 55 employees and 15 worked. In fact most of those who went on strike didn't come in at all.

"Government want to sell part of Royal Mail to pay back deficit. CWU says no to privatisation."

TheLioness, What is CWU's solution to the pension crisis, if they are opposing privatisation?

It's not 90% notanumber, it's over that I'm just sure of the exact figure atm. We used to get told weekly, it's something like 98/99%.

Government funding. I'm sure that will popular on this thread

But everybody needs to consider the effect privatasion will have on them as customers.

It doesn't matter anyway, once the Tories get in, they are guarnateed to privatise at least part of Royal Mail. On Question Time, I think it was 2 weeks ago, the Tory MP (can't remember who it was now) said the only reason Royal Mail wasn't privastised the last time the deal was on the table, was beacuse Labour bowed down to the Unions, he said this wouldn't happen under a Lib. Dem or conservative government.

So it's bye bye Royal Mail as we know it. Which is the real reason why these strikes are a waste of time.

If they can get any investors. I can't see anyone wanting to invest in the Royal Mail as it currently stands.

Well fingers crossed they can't get any Georgimama. Although I'm sure the conservatives will do anything to get rid of the burden that is Royal Mail, including selling it off for a pittance to anyone that will take it.

And that will really be the end of Royal Mail - maybe then people will realise what they have lost

TBH the current government would do exactly the same if their backbenchers would let them. The Royal Mail as it was is already lost.

i like the strikes- i haven't had any bills for nearly a week, tis fab

i need to re new my boys passports and im going in person to get them im not waiting for the mail man.....when he arrives

So CWU are striking because they want the government to make up the pension deficit to the tune of nine billion pounds?

The BBC claims that in July this year:

...a spokesman for the Prime Minister made it clear that unless the privatisation plan was revived, there would be no alternative government move to sort out the pension scheme deficit on its own.
"The government will not cherry pick the bill and... we have to take account of taxpayers. We have to look at the problems of Royal Mail as a whole. That includes restructuring and modernisation," the spokesman said."
"The pensions deficit remains a matter for the company," he added.

The full article can be read here

There has been an almighty screw up with the pensions. Staff are understandably upset about this.

But they are rejecting the company's solution (the only solution, unless they have got a magic money tree)and striking until the government makes up the nine million pound deficit despite the fact that it has categorically stated it will not do this ?

My apologies if I have misunderstood the situation, but if this is the case do you honestly expect public sympathy for your position?

I haven't once asked for sympathy. All I've done is ask people to realise what will be lost if privatise Royal Mail.

Personally, I think the CWU are crazy in expecting the government to stump up any money to help the pensions cock up, when the country has never been in so much debt.

However, many postman/women are not striking because of the pension, they are striking because of the bullying and harassment by management surrounding the working for no pay issue.

My issue with the postal strike is that the Post Office are shooting themselves in the foot again. Having already pissed off the public previously by striking, they are doing it again (and yes I know the arguments, I have read into it).

I'm finding it hard to understand why we still have a nationalised postal service TBH. I get junk mail and the occasional international birthday card. All my other mail comes by courier. In fact, there's a DHL drop box a mile away and the nearest post box is half a mile away so it's not really much difference to me. And I don't even want the junk mail so essentially if the Royal Mail didn't exist, I'd lose one birthday card a year.

I've got a courier broker who is arranging to pick up any number of parcels from me any day for a flat fee of £5 and it's cheaper to do this than use Parcelfarce anyway so I'm not entirely use what I have to gain by using Royal Mail.

Other than they hold the monopoly on delivering the post the last mile.

If I decided that I'd stick to doing my job the same way I did it even ten years ago I would not have a job. Situations change. The Internet has changed the nature of how we send messages. For lots of us the daily delivery service is a 'nice to have' rather than an essential. And frankly I'd be just as happy if it came every other day or to the local post office. So long as they sent me a text or email, I'd happily go pick up mail there - might even help fund the keeping open of the post offices.

I understand it's an absolute bugger for the workers at Royal Mail - but then the typewriter manufacturers probably felt the same way when word processors came along.