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Postal strikes - a few things the public don't know
Because of space limitations, this will have to be on two or more posts.
As you can probably gather from my screen name I am a postman, and have been for the last 18years. Oddly enough, when I started, they not only made bags of money for themselves, they also did so for the government, and so did we as postmen - I actually earned more in 1996 than I do now! The service was better too, because it was treated as a service and most had pride in the job. I've made this post so that the public may have a better idea of what is going on about the reason for the strikes.
Now I realise that for people waiting for stuff the strike is very inconvenient, and for that we are sorry. However, over the last five years or so to us in the know the postal service has been run down and down, and it's getting worse. This is just my opinion but I reckon the government is also behind that in some way - they certainly do little to improve it, and seem content to just let the decline continue. I suspect the same regarding Post Office closures, as they are also part of the business. Given Gordon Browns comments about we should go back to work, I for one will be withdrawing the political levy from my union fees, and I daresay I won't be alone � perhaps they should remember where a large part of their political fund comes from.
Anyway, this dispute is also about pensions and salary (our pension fund has had serious mismanagement for many years, making it worth less than it should, and we have not had a pay increase for nearly two years). However, it is fundamentally about changes management is determined to impose, changes which will have serious repercussions on the ordinary employees and the service. In a nutshell that could be 40,000 job losses and a job no better than being a slave at their master's beck and call for those left.
As you can probably gather from my screen name I am a postman, and have been for the last 18years. Oddly enough, when I started, they not only made bags of money for themselves, they also did so for the government, and so did we as postmen - I actually earned more in 1996 than I do now! The service was better too, because it was treated as a service and most had pride in the job. I've made this post so that the public may have a better idea of what is going on about the reason for the strikes.
Now I realise that for people waiting for stuff the strike is very inconvenient, and for that we are sorry. However, over the last five years or so to us in the know the postal service has been run down and down, and it's getting worse. This is just my opinion but I reckon the government is also behind that in some way - they certainly do little to improve it, and seem content to just let the decline continue. I suspect the same regarding Post Office closures, as they are also part of the business. Given Gordon Browns comments about we should go back to work, I for one will be withdrawing the political levy from my union fees, and I daresay I won't be alone � perhaps they should remember where a large part of their political fund comes from.
Anyway, this dispute is also about pensions and salary (our pension fund has had serious mismanagement for many years, making it worth less than it should, and we have not had a pay increase for nearly two years). However, it is fundamentally about changes management is determined to impose, changes which will have serious repercussions on the ordinary employees and the service. In a nutshell that could be 40,000 job losses and a job no better than being a slave at their master's beck and call for those left.
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Darling and others on this post Im sorry but when someone on here calls you a liar what are you meant to do?
Legend 26 47 whatever makes a habit of calling people liars and paedophiles. perhaps thats why he has so many user names because he keeps getting banned. Im saying nothing else. It was an intelligent discussion until he strated rampbling.
Legend 26 47 whatever makes a habit of calling people liars and paedophiles. perhaps thats why he has so many user names because he keeps getting banned. Im saying nothing else. It was an intelligent discussion until he strated rampbling.
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Monty
The problem is - big businesses would absolutely love to reduce their main outgoing - staff costs.
If they could get away with freezing pay and reducing benefits in order to maximise profits, there are more than a few bosses who would turn purple with happiness.
Not all bosses...not nearly all, but enough to cause concern if workers ever lost their right to strike.
It's all about checks and balances. We can't have unions as strong as they were in the 70s and we can have bosses as strong as were in the 80s.
The problem is - big businesses would absolutely love to reduce their main outgoing - staff costs.
If they could get away with freezing pay and reducing benefits in order to maximise profits, there are more than a few bosses who would turn purple with happiness.
Not all bosses...not nearly all, but enough to cause concern if workers ever lost their right to strike.
It's all about checks and balances. We can't have unions as strong as they were in the 70s and we can have bosses as strong as were in the 80s.
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Hmmm, obviously striking these days has a massive effect going forward.
I personally dont believe in strikes.
All that will happen, is the wages will go up for some people, but as a consequence, a lot will be made redundant to compensate for this.
The public wont accept yet another price increase on postage.
I still have yet to see what the wage for a postie is and what that compares to the minimum wage/average wage for that area.
I hope none of you gain any overtime out of this becuase of the backlog. You should be made to work weekends for normal time. I know i may sound a little harsh, but your making millions of people suffer for your cause, when there are other alternative ways...
I personally dont believe in strikes.
All that will happen, is the wages will go up for some people, but as a consequence, a lot will be made redundant to compensate for this.
The public wont accept yet another price increase on postage.
I still have yet to see what the wage for a postie is and what that compares to the minimum wage/average wage for that area.
I hope none of you gain any overtime out of this becuase of the backlog. You should be made to work weekends for normal time. I know i may sound a little harsh, but your making millions of people suffer for your cause, when there are other alternative ways...
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Hmmm I'm just wondering..... if these 'other companies' were to come in and take over the delivery of parcels and post, surely they need employees to deliver it? Whoever the company is, surely the same number of delivery staff is required? To me the only reason where the overall number of jobs would go down is what someone said earlier, about e-mails reducing the amount of post, which no-one can be blamed for.
So if the royal mail does lose a lot of it's deliveries, won't some people move to the competition?
I may have missed something, but I can't see why the total number of delivery jobs would go down dramatically - it just may mean some people have to move to the competition?
Does anyone remember when the fire fighters went on strike? I think it's very upsetting that people in key public service jobs feel they have to resort to striking when they provide such vital services, and why the government haven't stepped in to resolve the issues.
What kind of country are we living in when no-one gets any post for a week? Doesn't sound like 21st Britain to me.
So if the royal mail does lose a lot of it's deliveries, won't some people move to the competition?
I may have missed something, but I can't see why the total number of delivery jobs would go down dramatically - it just may mean some people have to move to the competition?
Does anyone remember when the fire fighters went on strike? I think it's very upsetting that people in key public service jobs feel they have to resort to striking when they provide such vital services, and why the government haven't stepped in to resolve the issues.
What kind of country are we living in when no-one gets any post for a week? Doesn't sound like 21st Britain to me.
When I worked on the post about 6 years ago I was earning about �15k a year, we were supposed to do 2 deliveries but usually the second delivery only had about 4 or 5 first class letters so they were left til the next morning.
It wasn`t the best paid job in the world or the easiest but there were plenty of chances to earn extra money by doing other posties rounds for cash because they couldn`t be arsed to do it themselves because they were either too stoned or p!ssed
I was earning more in backhanders than I was in my wage packet
I`d finish my round by 9am and do another 2 rounds and get home about 2pm
In the end I had to leave....them 9 hour days were killing me
It wasn`t the best paid job in the world or the easiest but there were plenty of chances to earn extra money by doing other posties rounds for cash because they couldn`t be arsed to do it themselves because they were either too stoned or p!ssed
I was earning more in backhanders than I was in my wage packet
I`d finish my round by 9am and do another 2 rounds and get home about 2pm
In the end I had to leave....them 9 hour days were killing me
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Just got in - didn't realise it would generate this many answers. I haven't read them all properly yet, but here are a few other things.
Our basic pay is not high - it is made up from allowances that want to be got rid of. Yes, some postmen get paid holidays and sickness, but some (newer ones) don't, and peronally I hate the holdays. It's nice having a break, but awful getting basic money.
Yes there are worse, lower paid jobs, but they start that way. It's a bit different to actually lose income once you have the job.
Emails are not the future. For a start, many years ago this was a worry, but in truth, the growth of the internet has generated more work. There wouldn't be an Amazon now if that were not the case. Also, not everyone has a PC or email, and many things HAVE to be on paper.
Regarding working hours, many postmen do the job so they can child mind or pick up kids while theit wives go to work. How can they do that if they are told to work a ten hour day or sent to an office miles away?
Also, there will NEVER be competition the public can use - it will cost too much to set up. As I said at the beginning, what will happen if we disappear is that you will have a mail collection point, and that will be that.
Just read Elvis's post. and yes, then we could earn overtime doing other rounds. The keyword there is "then" - as I said at the beginning, it has been going down and down over the last five years or so especially.
Our basic pay is not high - it is made up from allowances that want to be got rid of. Yes, some postmen get paid holidays and sickness, but some (newer ones) don't, and peronally I hate the holdays. It's nice having a break, but awful getting basic money.
Yes there are worse, lower paid jobs, but they start that way. It's a bit different to actually lose income once you have the job.
Emails are not the future. For a start, many years ago this was a worry, but in truth, the growth of the internet has generated more work. There wouldn't be an Amazon now if that were not the case. Also, not everyone has a PC or email, and many things HAVE to be on paper.
Regarding working hours, many postmen do the job so they can child mind or pick up kids while theit wives go to work. How can they do that if they are told to work a ten hour day or sent to an office miles away?
Also, there will NEVER be competition the public can use - it will cost too much to set up. As I said at the beginning, what will happen if we disappear is that you will have a mail collection point, and that will be that.
Just read Elvis's post. and yes, then we could earn overtime doing other rounds. The keyword there is "then" - as I said at the beginning, it has been going down and down over the last five years or so especially.
I know it's not nice being treat as you describe but if anyone else was being treated that badly, they'd leave.
Posties do a good job but I remember when I was younger I'd wake up and the post would be here, now we're lucky if we get it be 12 if at all.
It's annoying not having important mail delievered, the ony people who are missing out are the customers. I realise you need to stand up for what you believe, so I, and many others, can live without post for a few days, however, there are probably thousands waiting for that all important letter and they're not going to get it in time due to a disagreement about pay.
Surely, the posties are going to be worse off when they return at whatever day, and their bags are five times heavier?! What will that have proved exactly?
Posties do a good job but I remember when I was younger I'd wake up and the post would be here, now we're lucky if we get it be 12 if at all.
It's annoying not having important mail delievered, the ony people who are missing out are the customers. I realise you need to stand up for what you believe, so I, and many others, can live without post for a few days, however, there are probably thousands waiting for that all important letter and they're not going to get it in time due to a disagreement about pay.
Surely, the posties are going to be worse off when they return at whatever day, and their bags are five times heavier?! What will that have proved exactly?
First of all, sp1814 has made two posts that I absolutely agree with. That is the first (and probably last) time that'll happen.
Anyway, to the question. I work in a former nationalised now private company and I agree wholeheartedly with the action being taken.
As he points out, this action is being taken because all other avenues of negotiation have been exhausted. Most people are in jobs where this action is unnecessary but they need to have some sympathy for those who are.
Striking is something which isn't done lightly either by the unions or the individual. As postie says, if RM win this it will have detrimental effects for the public. How many of you have had your local post office closed. Ours closed two years ago.
Thanks for the thread and good luck postie.
Anyway, to the question. I work in a former nationalised now private company and I agree wholeheartedly with the action being taken.
As he points out, this action is being taken because all other avenues of negotiation have been exhausted. Most people are in jobs where this action is unnecessary but they need to have some sympathy for those who are.
Striking is something which isn't done lightly either by the unions or the individual. As postie says, if RM win this it will have detrimental effects for the public. How many of you have had your local post office closed. Ours closed two years ago.
Thanks for the thread and good luck postie.
Princess, as I said at the start, YOU are not the customer as far as management is concerned. The big money is made with business mailings and junk mail, and poviding they get that at the start, they don't care if trained monkeys deliver it (or misdeliver it).
Nor is the strike solely about money. You are getting your mail late because we have to go out later, and who brought that change in. Not the unions.....
Nor is the strike solely about money. You are getting your mail late because we have to go out later, and who brought that change in. Not the unions.....
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