O/T Posties Strike

Slightly off topic but this will affect a lot of us in different ways - it seems the post office delivery workers are likely to go on strike.

This will affect all those of us who recieve the updates and if the strike goes on as long as it did during the 1970's which was 9 weeks if memory serves. Only because the greedy unions want the pay to rise by £80 a week which is a huge amount!!!
I feel for the post office because I think this will bankrupt them, and in the long run will mean more junk mail through our doors.

And Paul wont be able to post out his stamps - that is the most serious bit

Arhh, the stamps!!! Shame teleporters havn't been invented yet!

Dizzy

They havent?

I can see both sides of the argument. Many of the problems the Post Office have are caused by Government meddling. They have taken away a number of services which were previously operated by the PO, eg processing television licencing and pushing people to having benefits paid directly into bank accounts rather than colecting over the counter, whilst at the same time have continued to impose very restrictive rules on what individual offices and the organisation as a whole can do. Talk to our local PO and they will tell you that they can only sell a very narrow range of goods unless they can provide a completely separate area for the post office counter, for example. My local postie reckons that in real terms his income has dropped around 15% over the last 5 years because of changes in the way overtime is paid, whilst at the same time he is forced to work increasing hours or see his basic pay docked if he doesn't complete the dramatically increased workload due to large amounts of new building in the area.

I have to agree on that one... however a true story I heard some years ago a postie was given a route and a bicycle, he did this route for ten years when he asked for a van to aid his deliveries, his request was rejected.
For the next few years he kept submitting his request for a van only to be told no he cant have the van. So the postie decided to "illegally use his car" to aid his round. After doing the round for over ten years he really pestered one of the managers for a van. The manager decided to go and find out why he wanted this van.
What transpired was his route of 50 houses in a village and a couple of hamlets had expanded into several massive houising estates of several thousand houses. To which the manager stated this was the routes for 15 postmen with vans and not one witha push bike.



I also think in a lot of cases the post offices have suffered not only at the government but at the post office hands as well. With ever increasing targets to be met by operators of these post offices.
I believe in 20 years there will be no post office anymore, most mail will be electronic, bills will be paid electronically. As for this recent thing with a certain size for envelopes to me is one of the nails in the coffin for the post office and its future.
I dont trust the post office because if something is stolen from any mail there is nothing the police can do to trace where it was stolen from as post crosses numerous police areas, and there is no way of knowing where it can be traced.
I also think the price of a stamp is far too excessive for the job it supposed to do. The post office is pricing itself out of the market.

Maybe the posties need a huge pay rise, but the post office cannot afford it, because they pay their management far too much money.

OK Rant over

Be aware that more strikes are on the cards and the real reason behind Royal Mail's problems is that the government wishes to privatise it - and thinks that by running it into the ground the public will turn against it and allow them to sell it off cheap to the Dutch, the Germans or the Yanks!!! As I work for Royal Mail I can sympathise with posties and management - they should stop blaming each other and wake up and smell the coffee!!!!

As I work for Royal Mail too (as a manager), I shall stay quiet on this one...

I am one of your k.a.m

As I work for Royal Mail too (as a manager), I shall stay quiet on this one...

No don't - shout it out loud so we can all hear from John o'Groats to Lands end

Nik - KOTM wrote:

As I work for Royal Mail too (as a manager), I shall stay quiet on this one...

No don't - shout it out loud so we can all hear from John o'Groats to Lands end

Whilst I would love to, there is the issue of commercial confidentiality, which could cost me my job if broken. Therefore, it's best not to start. Sorry.

Z.

so when are the strike days are we allowed to tell people

monkey's on the moor wrote:so when are the strike days are we allowed to tell people

I think there's some more around 4/5 October according to the local newspapers.

monday 8th is one my girlfriend told me as i have the hospital that day

The next dates have been annouced as Friday 5th /Saturday 6th October and Monday 8th/Tuesday 9th October. All good fun here as we do about half our business by post.