FAO Posties

Wastyke, this is going to be long. Mainly because I make my living in this industry and therefore have to stay quite close to whats happening in the industry and why. I therefore feel quite qualified to comment.

I'm sure what you meant to say is that you think/assume TNT will -
a. Charge 4 times what RM charge but you have absolutely no information to back up this claim.
b. Ignore POSTCOMM and the terms of their licence and break the universal service if they are given responsibilty for delivering the nationwide service at a uniform price.
c. Not give a Monkeys about the old and infirm inexactly the same way as RM don't.
d. Fight tooth and nail to maintain the monopoly it's taken them 5+ years to win and RM 150+ years to loose.
e. Stuff their profits into the dutch economy.

Trust me, None of the above is going to happen anytime soon. Firstly RM are not doomed just yet, TNT have very publicly stated that they will not consider buying into RM, neither has anybody else, the universal service is protected by law as are public rates, so if anybody does come in, they would have to change legislation in order to do any of the above but e.

With the greatest of respect to you and everyone else, there is far more to this strike than meets the eye. IMO the posties are fighting for a just cause but some of the arguments they're using to justify their cause are pathetic and not even related. What they are fighting for are mainly fair and reasonable working conditions and despite what they say there is a hidden agenda of protecting their earnings potential. Sadly they're doing it when the rest of the country are having to put up and shut up which has played right into RM's hands. If the posties want the publics support, they have to stop all this protecting the service rubbish and start highlighting and publising the real issues i.e. some of the unreasonable requests/orders managment are dishing out. For instance, one instruction our local posties have been given is to maintain 4mph throughout his walk. I live in the fens where it's flat, but even my postie is now legging it (and I mean legging it) with a full bag of mail from door to door because 1. he's dedicated, 2. he's conciencious, 3, he wants to show management it can't be done even on an easy round, 4, he can't be doing with the ball cocxing when he gets back if he fails and most importantly 5, he wants a full pay packet at the end of the week. I know many have worked in one of the most testing of environments, but a grown man legging it round the streets with a heavy bag of mail for hours is not what I call, reasonable working conditions in this day and age. That's just one of many things he's told me and I'm sure there are other examples in other offices. So on that front the posties have my full support.

Sadly I can only bring myself to support the cause and not the strike. The CWU are living in the dark ages. I don't care what anyone says, Letter volumes are dropping faster than the world economy. I'm not basing that claim on anything but fact. Independant proof can be found if you care to look. A good starting point is the POSTCOMM website or perhaps the website for the Universal Postal Union or other industry bodies for postal customers such as the DMA or PPA. However not all mail volumes are dropping. Packets and large letters are actually rising as home shopping via the internet takes off. I can therefore understand why posties think volumes are not falling, but believe me. They are. This means things have to change. Perhaps not in the way RM are imposing change, but wholesale change has to happen. Until the CWU realise what battles they can fight and win through negotation, and RM learn what is reasonable and what isn't, I suspect this is going to drag on.

Another thing I can say with certainty is that striking now is only driving business away from RM and a good proportion of it will not return for a long time, if ever. I talk to major mail customers and over the last 3 weeks we've been talking a lot more than usual. Much as it pains me to say it, the main topic of conversation is where we can move our business or how quickly we can convert what is currently a letter into an email. Anything that is converted to electronic delivery will NEVER come back. Anything that is move to courier is likely to stay there at least until companies can be confident there will be no more walkouts. If this happens, more posties will be laid off, there will be more change to working practices and more strikes and then what? Couriers and Email only perhaps? It could happen sooner than you think. And then what. Who's going to pick up the tab for the pension blackhole? Each and every one of us, that's who. he Gov took their pound of flesh from RM and it may be time for us to pay it back to the very people it was taken from. The shop floor Postie in their pension.

I don't have the answers but I can see through the propoganda to the what I think are the problems.

Right. My first rant on here ever. Sorry guys but I keep wathcing this subject develope on various forums and this time I felt I just had to get a few things off my chest.

Rant over.

 

whats the deal with those trolleys?

Some postmen pull their mail in a trolley, others carry it. who decides?

 

Appreciate what you are saying but I too have had 25 years experience in dealing with TNT and
other companies. Their rates are based on 'get what cost you can' for delivery, when the customer
has little alternative but to use them (and it happened to me a few times) and as such they have a
monopoly on that particular destination. Then the cost goes through the roof.

Just what will happen when these private companies get a foothold in the postal service.

I will agree, however, that the Postal Workers are perhaps their own worst enemies.

 

Westie, Is that TNT Post or Express? I can't speak for Express as I've never had the pleasure but TNT Post were until recently a supplier of mine. Apart from a trial they ran near Liverpool they don't deliver anything and like all carriers, they've realised that opening an alternative delivery network is impossible even if you limit it to city centres. No. As far as I can see, the national mail delivery network is the only monopoly RM still enjoys. The growth in home shopping now means that there are few UK addresses that only a single carrier will deliver to. Oh and don't be fooled about RM delivering to every address. They don't, never have and never will. In fact the number of addresses they won't deliver to is growing in an attempt to further cut costs. cut costs and as they also charge to deliver to some, increase revenue. What I'm saying is that in the 21stC, RM are no better or worse than any commercial supplier.

 

Hang on...............

So they do a 40 hr week spread over 5 x 8 hr days, no Sundays.

Is it me?

And they wonder why the general public think they're a bunch of whinging, lazy bunch of militant dinosaurs.
**** em.