Can someone tell me who the villian is regarding the postal strike?

[frostyfingers]

I think I've missed what the reasons are for this proposed strike. All you get is that they won't talk to each other to sort it out - the actual reasons seem to have got lost.

On one hand I rely a lot on the post, as I work from home, in the middle of nowhere and get a lot of mail so I'm cheesed off that they are thinking of striking. It will really affect me work wise. On the other hand I assume the bosses of the RM are being unreasonable otherwise it wouldn't have happened in the first place.

Is there any one there who can give both sides of the story, and what do you think?

You may have noticed the standard of your postal service has gone down over the last few years. This is not due to the hardworking postal staff on the ground but more to do with management expecting staff to cover duties they don't know and putting pressure on people to complete more work in less time. Royal Mail call this "flexibility".

whenever I hear the words "flexibility" or "modernisation" I know somewhere a workforce is getting completely shafted...

Yes they are trying to privatise, but no-one will buy it in the current state. Break the union and divvy up the service as others have said and the government will have a deal. It's so obvious that this is what's happening.

I won't notice a difference during the strike TBH, as we get mail when they feel like delivering it - our whole street (which has 21 houses, so not long) can go a week without any deliveries then on a Saturday we get tons of it. The postie turns up at 3pm, 5pm during the week, yet mananges on a saturday doing the same round to have it all done and dusted by 9.30.

I also ahve huge issues with our sorting offie - they are incompetent. On several occasions we have used the keepsafe service when we ahve been away and every single time we use it they still deliver the mail, making it ovbious to all and sundry that we aren't in.
So I have lodged an official complaint with the regional mananger, and my sorting office manager and his staff are possibly facing disciplinary action.

However, I ahd a chat with the postie - one of about 18 different ones we have had in 2 years. I asked him why we have 3 different posties delivering to our street - when we of course get any mail. He said that the whole married quarter estate I live on is classed as a frame, and during "light mail months" they collapse the frame and give random strets or blocks of houses to toehr posties on toehr rounds to deliver. Sometimes they can't get it done so they take the mail back to the sorting office - surely if they can't get it done one day then having to do it the next, with possibly more mail will be difficult too.

I fully support anybody's right to strike.
I obviously am not happy with the inconvenience in the disruption to my post.
But, will I notice any difference?
The service the RM delivers is not up to much when the workers are not striking. I seem to get my post all in one go, and not every day.

If there was a private alternative to the post office, I would at least give it a go. I don't know if it would be better or worse. But, worse is difficult to imagine. The workers at our local post office are nice people. But, they don't really care if we get the service we pay for.

And I wonder, are the proposals to their pension in line with current trends in privaet industry? I mean I don't have a final salary pension. What are these issues that are "forcing" them to cut off my postal service.

Most people who work for RM these days are casuals who don't get a pension. Pension problem is historic.

(My final salary pension from the private sector is apparently due to pay me £900 a year btw.)

Heard someone on the radio who lives in Liverpool where TNT also deliver - but apparently they deliver junk mail i.e. make a lot of money from direct mail companies but don't actually do anything that is useful to residents.

Thing I don't get is that TNT is apparently the Dutch post office - why are they doing so well when they are subject to the same EU laws as us?

Has there ever been a comparison between mail delvery in different parts of the country and the reasons why? If not, why not? That's what management should be doing.

The service in my area is excellent. What makes it excellent in some parts and dire in others?

The collapsing frame business has been going on in our office too over the summer. They called it summer lapsing and it went on til October! THey call it modernisation.

Very interesting Ampster - thank you.

Saltire - presumably they don't have business mail to sort and deliver on Saturdays though?!

I think most people would happily forego a Saturday delivery, as long as they got a reliable Mon-Fri service.

Blimey, my postman is obviously not striking as a huge pile of mail has just landed through my door at the normal time. Do you think I should chase him down the road shouting "scab"?!?

There seems to be a alck of info out there.

But what I do know is that DH can't sell anything much (he retails mail orders on same day desptach) for 2 days, and that we are pretty defuinitely not the villains. So am annoyed about that.

As for the rest of it, people do need to fight for pensions (parents lost theirs so know a little about what that's like). So despite my little bit of annoyance that DH won' earn for 2 days, overall I back them.

Well Iw ould if the strike made any effects- post here deliverd earlier than ever by usual postie today.

Nancy66

I probably would, but if its signed for mail wouldn't most 9-5 workers lose a lot by not having the option of choosing Saturday delivery?

Tel, you what though, DH used to work for one of RM's main rivals. If they take over as much as they would like, we all lose. They didn't even have a sorting amchine that could recognise cardiff postcodes for the first six months of operation

I'm totally on the side of the RM workers. All those saying they should simply accept any terms given to them and be grateful will be lamenting when it's all privatised, they don't know their local postie anymore, and they have to pay year on year hikes on the price of deliveries.

They deserve to be treated fairly. I'm glad they can still stand up for their rights.