Second walkout of postal workers
Friday 23rd October 2009, 1:30PM BST.
Post workers strike outside Wellington Post Office. Seen here are Chris Pryce, Richie Allen, Ian Leggat, Barry Brown and, front, Conrad Hunt and Ned Kelly
The postal workers’ strikes have led to 30 million letters being delayed, it was revealed today. The Royal Mail said the figure was equivalent to about 40 per cent of an average daily postbag.
The company branded the strikes as “unnecessary and irresponsible”, as a second day of action crippled deliveries. Royal Mail say they are doing everything possible to get mail delivered quickly.
Meanwhile the Communication Workers Union confirmed there will be a three-day strike from next Thursday involving over 120,000 workers.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We are very grateful to the 20 per cent of our delivery staff who have chosen to come to work today and who are doing everything possible to get all delayed mail delivered to customers as quickly as possible over the next few days.”
In Shropshire, nearly 700 postal workers walked again today, with picket lines being set up in Wellington and Oakengates, Telford.
Up to 78,000 union members joined today’s walkout, following a “solidly supported” strike yesterday by over 40,000 mail centre staff and drivers in a bitter row over jobs, pay and modernisation.
In Shropshire, centres in Oswestry and Shrewsbury, as well as those at Oakengates and Wellington, were hit.
Pete Kelly, area delivery representative for the Shropshire and Mid Wales branch of the CWU, said that yesterday’s strike involving 500 postal workers at the sorting office in Shrewsbury, had gone to plan.
He said they wanted a swift end to the dispute.
“We are not afraid of change but we want to be part of that change,” he said.
“Many members of the public have been wishing us luck and wishing us well,” he added.
Details of how long next week’s strikes will last and which group of workers will be involved are expected to be announced today.
The union offered “unconditional” talks at the conciliation service Acas in a bid to break the deadlocked row over jobs, pay and modernisation.
Mark Higson, Royal Mail’s managing director, said it was “appalling but sadly not surprising” that more strikes had been called.
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And with three days of strikes expected next week, where are the “it’s only one day” / “it’s just like a Sunday” apologists now?
I’d have no problem sacking all of the strikers.
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H. St. John Peasbody said:
“I’d have no problem sacking all of the strikers.”
Ah – the sort of attitude that made Britain great. Why so lenient ? – transportation certainly taught those Tolpuddle Martyrs a lesson.
While we’re keeping the workers in their place have you got any suggestions for the Post Office Chief Executive, Adam Crozier – £4.5m a year last thing I heard, after bonus and pension contributions? I’m sure you’ll agree that he deserves a generous pay rise as an incentive?
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Ship them out if you want but that wont change the reality, it does not matter to you how much someone else earns, what matters is that there are 3 million people that will do your job that wont care. Face facts you are lucky to have a job and if you are unhappy then leave it and get another. But you wont do that because you are after a redundancy payment so you strike and moan instead.
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Rob [#2] talks of workers – posting letters through letter boxes is one of the least skilled jobs in the world.
We have 3-4 million people not working in this country who’d love the opportunity to earn a wage. Meanwhile, people who carry letters and put them through letter boxes refuse to work in protest about modernisation. Th best way for the Royal Mail to continue its modernisation is to sack the strikers.
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I’d love a payrise to but nobody seems to be getting one this year, so why should royal mail workers be any different????????
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one of 3 millilon said:
“Ship them out if you want but that wont change the reality, it does not matter to you how much someone else earns, what matters is that there are 3 million people that will do your job that wont care. Face facts you are lucky to have a job and if you are unhappy then leave it and get another. But you wont do that because you are after a redundancy payment so you strike and moan instead. ”
If that was meant to be a reply to my earlier comment could I point out that I am not a postman, not on strike, and work for myself.
I do sympathise with the postal workers position and think the political situation in this country stinks – as does your attitude.
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these guys are MAD – they will ruin the post office and so ultimately lead to more job cuts for their comrades – insane
the public will have no sympathy in the middle of a recession for strikers – simple solution to wanting a pay rise is to MOVE JOBS !! Get a promotion or move on, if these people thing they are so highly employable and worthy of such a great pay rise – well get on your bikes lads – the q at the job centre is long, but im sure you super well qualified worthy of high pay lads will be easily in higher paid jobs in no time at all right ?
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Now i agree with the strike but i still went into work today and we delivered some mail and all special deliveries got there on time. Also there was about 30 of us who went in today so please dont say we are just after any payment i just have 3 kids to support that’s why i was not on the picket line
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they would never earn mroe else where
there is a recesion on so they should be glad to have a job at all
runing our post office will only cost their members jobs in the long run
im sending E-cards this Xmas as its greener too
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Rob it was meant at you, the only thing on here that stinks is that you fail to open your eyes. If you work for yourself then you of all people should realise what competition is. The country is in a mess, caused by nothing more than greed. From politicians to postmen everyone wants more for nothing. Problem is 3 million just want to get off benefits and will put up with a lot to get a wage. Hope it doesn’t happen to you.
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Come on Posties, get into the present ! The days of job and finish and then being paid for overtime during working hours are long gone. You should be thank full to have a job at the moment and this kind of action will only result in the demise of the Post Office. Its an unskilled job with good pay, what more do you want, you should try a hard days work for a change and you might just enjoy working for your earnings for once !
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Do you think the posties want to strike, can they or antone else for that manner, afford to lose money?
There are issues, things must be done to modernise the Royal Mail, but it’s the way it’s done.
The problems stem from a sort of class system in the Royal Mail, The People at the very top are rewarded for they signatures on papers to make many people redundant, those that find it tough going simply walk away with a massive golden handshake and walk straight into another job.
The managers of the office get big bonuses for passing names on for redundancies, WELL DONE! you make your mother proud.
Meetings take place between management and posties but no answers can be given as the management have not got a clue on what is going on!
I was not suprised to hear, that when letters went out to management saying they would be asked to deliver mail, there was an uproar from managers and their Union, saying, IT WAS BELOW THEM! There you go, no respect for the honourable, hard working postie out in all weathers.
Correct me if I am wrong, are managers not supposed to manage, When the S*** hits the fan, arn’t they supposed to manage, ie keep things going. What they doing during the strike? Drinking coffee?
I will leave you with one more thought, When the rounds were changed, more houses added, the managers did actually check some rounds to time how long it takes, i SAW IT HAPPEN! one manager held a bag whilst the other delivered the mail, probaly best they dont deliver, they dont know how!
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I think people should calm down, here people taliking about Christmas Post being delayed, Small businesses going under, they need the chq’s in! A couple of days disruption should not bring this country to a standstill!
Posties are awful people??? Do you think they want to strike and lose money, Do you think they can afford to?
Think about it, They see chairmen come in stir things up then leave with a massive golden handshake, then walk into another job!
The managers, who are armed with a Royal Mail rules book, no people skills and No idea, get massive bonuses, why, because they have made people redundant!!!
These same managers, who when recieving a letter from the top telling them they will have to muck in during the strike action, scream foul play with their union, saying, it is below them!
Is it not a managers job to manage? when the wosit hits the fan are they not supposed to step in and keep things going?
There lies the problem, posties will not be heard, in meetings between management and delivery staff, when asked a question, the managers have no answers.
the posties are not respected for the work they do, yet the managers wouldn’t do it!
The posties are worried about what is happening but the chain of command is not there to sort these issues, to listen to the fears of posties!
Maybe its all about slimming down the service so this british institution, like so many, can be sold abroad.
It makes you so proud!
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how about you guys knockin us posties get your facts straight…. were not after a payrise or a bonus!! all we want is to be able to deliver a good service to the public, the way royal mail are goin you’ll soon be gettin your post with your evening meal!! royal mail are concentrating so much on making savings they are forgetting they have a business to run a service to deliver and customers to please!! and there are plenty of jobs out there the only people that “cant find a job” are the lazy ones that dont really want to work because the bloody gov make it so easy to just claim benefits etc!!
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if you dont work for the royalmail you dont know what your talking about !keep your mouths shut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Nobody thinks the management in any company have a clue, unless you are a manager in which case go back to your spreadsheet!
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fed up said:
I’d love a payrise to but nobody seems to be getting one this year, so why should royal mail workers be any different????????
The problem is that, while postmen were told that there would not be a payrise this year, the manager’s still got their bonuses. What for?!
The dispute is about changes being forced through rather than after consultation, which the CWU have agreed to be involved in.
Maybe Mandelson, Crozier & all the others should try & help solve the problem rather than slagging off the workers & union.
Yes I am a postman & we work damned hard, regardless of the weather & opinions of people who have never tried the job. Many people start as a postman, but few make it past the first month.
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Hang on! Wasn’t Adam Crozier the man who made such a pigs’ ear of the Football Association?
If he can’t run football, how can he run the Post Office?
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So let me get this straight, post persons do not want bonuses or pay rises – they just want to be consulted about changes.
They have decided to prioritise their tantrum over not being asked nicely if something can be changed over going to work and providing for their families by walking out of their paid job to stand outside in less than pleasant weather (thus catching a cold, swine flu, etc and going off sick)shouting.
Says it all really.
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JASON
i still waiting for B-day cards from a week ago
i don’t care
good luck ..
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Back to reality.
1) The Post workers do WANT a payrise
2) This strike has absolutely nothing to do about the service they provide to the customers.
If the Post workers wish to prove to the British people that this is about service and not a payrise I would suggest they all agree to take a 10% pay decrease to fund the improvements to the service.
If this is unacceptable then I would suggest this strike is simply about pay rises and not service.
As for Adam Crozier getting paid the the quoted figure. Talented people do tend to get paid more than the general populance ie Premiership footballers get paid more than amateur footballers. It is a fact of life and those that gripe about it can put it down to the green eyed monster and nothing else.
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Jason at 15 say’s it all. That is the intelligence that pervades the CWU. This is the most militant, unresponsive and objectionable union in the Trade Union sphere in this country. The managers are not allowed to manage from what I can see, everything that has to be done must not come from a manager but from a union rep. In other words, the Post Office is run by the goodwill of the workers and the minute one of them get’s upset over some “Spanish practice” we get threats of strikes or the real thing. Anarchy reigns and it is long overdue when the CWU and the postal workers were cut down to size.
The Post Office subsidise the CWU with millions of our money, 2 million of this is then given to the Labour party, the main shareholder is the Government so, in effect, our money goes to the post which then goes to the CWU which then goes to the Labour Party. Great, then we hear talk of corruption in politics.
The Post Office, the CWU and the whole scene is an unhealthy edifice that should have no place in our society as it now stands. It needs sorting out root and branch and the workers given a reasonable time to return to full time work without threats of strike action or sack the lot, they deserve no better and should be thankful that they have a job when so many unfortunates are out of work.
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posty said: Oct 23rd, 2009 at 16:32 and there are plenty of jobs out there the only people that “cant find a job” are the lazy ones that dont really want to work because the bloody gov make it so easy to just claim benefits etc!!
Could you show all the 3 million unemployed where all these jobs are please then posty.
Do not stereotype people!!! Most are
hard working people, who only want to put fods on the table for kids, and buy presents for christmas!!!
Just be thankful your in a job.
Oh and fyi – I dont claim benefits. And i doubt a lot do!! So dont judge us all okay!!!
I understand your reasons, but be thankful, that at the end of the month/week, money goes into your bank account!!!
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