Post Office - on strike again??

[O'Reilly]

I have just found a website with updates that I'll put here for anyone who is interested:-

http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?ca tId=1000002&mediaId=51600692&campaignid=update

I guess the strike starts tomorrow but happy to report in Devon where I live I have not seen a postman out today (or a post van) now, as far as I am concerned they can strike for as long as they want because as unemployed I am waiting to take over one of their jobs (on the hourly rate) and not expect to earn more as overtime that I don't work. However, the link as above I hope will help some of you knowing what on earth the postmen are doing workwise at the moment.

[Postdog]

Meredith, I bet you believe in faires too...

[Pippa68]

I agree with your sentiments, meredith.

I certainly don't think these complaints by postal workers are isolated to their jobs. Countless others in other careers have the same problems..

[MrBen5]

Hmmm, jedimistress, why is it so sickening to you that lots of AB'rs dont support the strike? Are they not entitled to an opinion?
A lot of these people rely on post to go about their everyday life. I dont think they are 'sickening' to want a service provided. After all, they have paid for it and should expect it. As someone above says, its nothing to do with the posties, what the management are getting paid.
They are employed to do a job and should get on with it. I cant believe your union cant come to some other agreement than striking.
Is there no cleaning up to do jedimistress?...

[MrBen5]

I like your comment about not posting anything recorded anymore jedimistress, as you know it will go missing.
Are you suggesting that the royal mail is corrupt, and that they are all uneducated monkeys?
Is this the same royal mail that you are supporting to strike?
Hmmm...

[jedimistress]

What sickens me in this society is the selfishness of people and their inability to stand together for or against something they believe in. Not the fact people have an opinion, but the fact when people try to stand up for what they believe in, they are knocked down. People who stand up for anything are just subjected to abuse by people who generally sit around doing nothing.

I don't understand your comment about cleaning?

I would not descibe Royal Mail as corrupt but there are some thieves. Hence the need for post office police.

Uneducated monkeys is not a term of phrase I would use sorry.

[Postdog]

BTW, that bit about recorded stuff. Recorded is for record of delivery only, and has no money value. If you send valuables use registered, which ALWAYS gets delievered one way or another.

Anyway, I have to get some sleep - I may have had an extra hour in bed this morning as a result of the new duty times, but I've just done a hard days work walking miles carrying heavy bags, and I have to go into work tonight to try and make a few extra quid so I can eat next week.

[squarebear]

You've had to walk carrying heavy bags as a postman?! No wonder you're striking. They'll be expecting you to push mail through letterboxes next...

[Pippa68]

By registered do you mean special delivery, postdog?

Not all mail has a monetary value, however you still want it to be delivered. I find it quite awful that you have to pay over �3.00 to guarantee delivery of a birthday card because the last few have never got there.

In total, over a fiver for a bloomin birthday card. I send e cards now :o)

[realist101]

Hi im a postie and after reading what has been said i wont be for much longer, ive had the job for about four months now ,the early start the 6 hour days and meeting different people the exercise [sounds easy].but the reality is so different, you cant do the job in 6 hours, i walk and cycle about 20 miles each day after sorting my own walk carrying anything between 80 to 140 kilos in weight. royal mail no longer employ full time staff ,in your 6 hour day there is a 1/2 hour lunch break included,in 4 months ive never had one you dont get the chance,i exceed my day every day by at least an hour [1/2 hour before] all unpaid.a postman is the hardest most physical job ive done and the worst .in the first three months imagine blisters on blisters back ache ,knee pain,dogs, soaking wet all over not by rain but sweat trying hard to do what feels like the impossible,trying to do a job your company wont let you do, the job i want to do for the people on my round is get them their mail as early as possible with as fewer problems as possible with a smile,they told us weeks ago that the public dont matter there is not enough money in them,so businesses come first[no change to start times there],what about the little guy who works from home ? or the people who dont have computers the elderly and poor,as for the alternatives dhl ,tnt ,etc they dont want your business on a large scale either , they give it all to royal mail to deliver the last mile,[ for about 13p not 33p].you are being mugged by the goverment and the royal mail not postmen , as for the comments on thieves and scams im disgusted by you, 99.9% of all posties are honest [not all hardworking].the turnover in staff is high the record where i work for a new starter leaving is 2 hours [unconfirmed they didnt see him after a requested toilet break] like me most people think its a walk in the park they last a week so the pickings are getting slimmer

[samsong7]

Going on strike will not solve the problem.
To Postdog and Jedimistress, how would you solve the problem?
From what you are saying, it would take an increase of possibly 10 or 15p on a first class letter to cover the increases you are asking for. Don't you realise that the knock on effect from this would close quite a few businesses or, at the very least, make them find another company to deliver their mail at a cheaper rate.? Royal Mail is still operating under antiquated practices which must be changed or it will not survive.

[gobbledegeek]

Postdog has got it right. As my brother told me long ago - there are no such thing as bad workers, just bad managers. It's the management (ie the government) that have caused these strikes.

[realist101]

the workforce of royal mail where i work is cut to the bone so much so , delays, mistakes, poor service, is down to the fact we are short staffed and over stretched ,along with poor organisation from our managers who i repeat have no real abilities other than intimidation and following a party line of a man who doesnt care for a non profitable part of the business, if you look at your delivered mail you will see that most businesses are going to alternatives for a cheaper rate on postage but the alternatives end up giving it to royal mail to deliver, most of the modernisation wont effect the average postie because its geared for businesses, also included in the modernisation ticket are not methods to improve the service but to increase the workload of an over stretched postie for no extra pay which in the long run will make him worse of over the two year period of the increase offered , i dont want to strike no posties really do ,

[meredith101]

interesting posts, realist, nice to have an inside view

[Postdog]

One final comment before I go to work for the next 13 hours - much of this came about because someone decided we needed competition. Well now we have that competition, except they don't actually deliver the mail, we do. All they do is cream off the profits from big business (where the money is) at the start, thus meaning less income for investment for Royal mail itself. Under regulations, RM HAVE to carry competitors mail, and do so at a cheap rate..

If the competition operated on a level playing field and did every aspect fro a to b, then they simply could not affaord it.

So, do away with the so called competition and the service (which it was once) could get back to something like it was - not perfect maybe, but less fraught with hassles and problems.

[realist101]

thanks meredith the strikes wouldnt be happening if the goverment would intervine they are the owners, but i dont suppose the spin doctor would be to happy,after all they are the new thatcherites[ love a bit of union bashing] im 47 and till last year i was never a union sort or have any membership or love of politics ,but now i believe that unions are needed ,the society we need is being dismantled block by block not just alienating the young but now the old and even more the poor