Post by Londonbus1 on Aug 17, 2022 5:15:19 GMT
A letter from a Postman in the area where I grew up and when I can, revisit. I knew about the problem and upcoming strikes.
Here is his side:
"Why I am going on strike. A message to the public from your local postie. Please consider sharing.
It’s a privilege to be your local postie. It’s a job I love. In my time on your round, I’ve met friends, helped vulnerable members of the public, been shouted at a lot, been bitten by a dog!
Why do I stay in the job? Because of you and because I am a small part of an incredible service where a letter can be posted in Penzance and arrive in Scotland the next morning. There’s nothing quite like Royal Mail when it’s at its best.
I now need your support. I’m sorry for the length of this post but it’s important i tell you why I am striking.
Firstly, there have been two strike ballots. One on pay and one on change. We won the pay ballot massively and the result on the change one is on Wednesday 17th.
On pay, we take four days action at the end of august and beginning of September.
Are we greedy posties? Are we militant union members? Well not quite. During the pandemic we had to work every single day. Many people were understandably furloughed. Many others commenced working from home. We couldn’t do that. We felt exposed and at risk but the overriding feeling was one of wanting to keep the country connected, so we carried on. You clapped us on a Thursday night. We felt your support.
The explosion of mail and packages during this period delivered Royal Mail Group £758m profit. They handed over £400m of that straight to shareholders. The senior executives in the company were so happy with things that they took over £2m in bonuses.
The reward for us posties? They imposed, without our unions agreement, a 2% pay rise. Inflation was over 9% at the time.
You may have seen Royal Mail in the media claiming they’ve offered us 5.5%. This is a complete lie. They have imposed 2%, put 1.5% on table if we agree to sell out our terms and conditions (more on that later) and a £500 cash bung that even they’ve admitted they’ve no idea when it would be paid. They are trying to lie to you like they’ve lied to us.
So, I hope you have a little more understanding on why we will all strike on pay.
On change, I want to say that since I’ve been in the job, all we have done is change. Remember the second delivery? Remember post in the morning? Remember deliveries on cycles? I’ve changed my shift pattern dozens of times, moved offices and taken on more and more work.
This isn’t, as Royal Mail say, about us ‘not wanting to modernise’. It’s about us not wanting to have the (censored) taken out of us.
They are proposing a list of changes which would mean I would have to leave the job. Thousands of my colleagues are saying the same thing.
They want start and finish times to be up to 3 hours later than they currently are - this means your mail coming 3 hours later. Imagine the impact of that on businesses or people working from home. What company would ‘modernise’ to get the product there later?
They want to change terms for new entrants, reduce sick pay, force mandatory sunday working, change our shifts with little of no notice, send us onto the streets in the heat in the peak of summer and the dark in the depths of winter.
Let me finish by saying this - we will accept change. But we will not accept the (censored) being taken out of us. I’m sure we will win the change ballot and support strike action on this.
I am asking you as my local postie to consider sharing this post so the truth is out there. We need your support more than ever.
We’ve been there for you and we know you will be there for us.
Give us a shout if you see us out and about and let us know you back us. It means the world.
We are striking for fair pay. We will strike to protect our jobs. We are also striking to protect the service we provide to you.
Thank you for reading this.
Your local postie 📮"
This of course applies to Royal Mail (UK) but could so easily apply to other postal services of the world. Let us know about your Postal disputes here.
Profits from all the insipid and unnecessary new issues just go the executive's coffers ? Is that how it works ?
Londonbus1
Here is his side:
"Why I am going on strike. A message to the public from your local postie. Please consider sharing.
It’s a privilege to be your local postie. It’s a job I love. In my time on your round, I’ve met friends, helped vulnerable members of the public, been shouted at a lot, been bitten by a dog!
Why do I stay in the job? Because of you and because I am a small part of an incredible service where a letter can be posted in Penzance and arrive in Scotland the next morning. There’s nothing quite like Royal Mail when it’s at its best.
I now need your support. I’m sorry for the length of this post but it’s important i tell you why I am striking.
Firstly, there have been two strike ballots. One on pay and one on change. We won the pay ballot massively and the result on the change one is on Wednesday 17th.
On pay, we take four days action at the end of august and beginning of September.
Are we greedy posties? Are we militant union members? Well not quite. During the pandemic we had to work every single day. Many people were understandably furloughed. Many others commenced working from home. We couldn’t do that. We felt exposed and at risk but the overriding feeling was one of wanting to keep the country connected, so we carried on. You clapped us on a Thursday night. We felt your support.
The explosion of mail and packages during this period delivered Royal Mail Group £758m profit. They handed over £400m of that straight to shareholders. The senior executives in the company were so happy with things that they took over £2m in bonuses.
The reward for us posties? They imposed, without our unions agreement, a 2% pay rise. Inflation was over 9% at the time.
You may have seen Royal Mail in the media claiming they’ve offered us 5.5%. This is a complete lie. They have imposed 2%, put 1.5% on table if we agree to sell out our terms and conditions (more on that later) and a £500 cash bung that even they’ve admitted they’ve no idea when it would be paid. They are trying to lie to you like they’ve lied to us.
So, I hope you have a little more understanding on why we will all strike on pay.
On change, I want to say that since I’ve been in the job, all we have done is change. Remember the second delivery? Remember post in the morning? Remember deliveries on cycles? I’ve changed my shift pattern dozens of times, moved offices and taken on more and more work.
This isn’t, as Royal Mail say, about us ‘not wanting to modernise’. It’s about us not wanting to have the (censored) taken out of us.
They are proposing a list of changes which would mean I would have to leave the job. Thousands of my colleagues are saying the same thing.
They want start and finish times to be up to 3 hours later than they currently are - this means your mail coming 3 hours later. Imagine the impact of that on businesses or people working from home. What company would ‘modernise’ to get the product there later?
They want to change terms for new entrants, reduce sick pay, force mandatory sunday working, change our shifts with little of no notice, send us onto the streets in the heat in the peak of summer and the dark in the depths of winter.
Let me finish by saying this - we will accept change. But we will not accept the (censored) being taken out of us. I’m sure we will win the change ballot and support strike action on this.
I am asking you as my local postie to consider sharing this post so the truth is out there. We need your support more than ever.
We’ve been there for you and we know you will be there for us.
Give us a shout if you see us out and about and let us know you back us. It means the world.
We are striking for fair pay. We will strike to protect our jobs. We are also striking to protect the service we provide to you.
Thank you for reading this.
Your local postie 📮"
This of course applies to Royal Mail (UK) but could so easily apply to other postal services of the world. Let us know about your Postal disputes here.
Profits from all the insipid and unnecessary new issues just go the executive's coffers ? Is that how it works ?
Londonbus1
