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The World Socialist Web Site continues to be sent comments by Royal Mail workers ahead of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) ballot finally arranged for June 22-July 11.
Postal workers are being told by the union to vote for a sellout cutting their wages in real terms, ripping up their working conditions and lowering the floor for new entrants.
After twice pulling the ballot out of fear that its rotten deal with management would be rejected, the CWU are now trying to push it through with phoney promises that workplace revisions in large part already completed will be “halted” and an insulting extra £900 lump sum—taken from workers’ own pension fund and subject to tax.
The Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee is holding its next online Zoom meeting open to all Royal Mail workers this Sunday at 7pm to discuss how to take up a fight against the company-union conspiracy. Click here to register to attend.
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Liverpool: It’s a clever ploy to undermine the USO [universal service obligation] and ultimately get it removed which is what they want. The service is being unutilised and walks going uncovered and uncompleted due to walks being made considerably larger without any consideration to the customers and the workforce. The hierarchy, the company and the CWU is a complete farce.
Newmarket, Cambridgeshire: In our office everyone who had a disability was forced out, no ring-fenced duties or duties made for you because of your disability. Local union rep and manager did revision and, surprise surprise, he has the easiest delivery in the office and others have so much they fail. Everything I went on strike for was done in my office with union backing to save him and his mates. Hate CWU for this and it upsets me the company is going down the pan and no-one cares.
Glasgow: I handed my notice in this week for health reasons. Tendons in foot inflamed due to job, and now they’ve made my walk even longer. First joined 9 years ago, thought it was a great job. So glad to see the back of it.
North Yorkshire: Further to my last comments, why is democracy only democracy if you give the answer they (CWU and management) want? What changed with Dave and Andy to completely capitulate to Royal Mail Management? Is it vested self-interest to protect their pensions and their salary? At the expense of their work colleagues being forced to accept a deal that will destroy our livelihoods, our pensions, our retirement benefits, EVR settlements, allowances etc.
Why not accept the workforces’ ballot and do what you said at the beginning of this dispute? We won’t accept a bad deal and we’ll fight for a good one. This is not anywhere near a good deal, Dave, and sadly you know it. If we must continue fighting to win a good deal what is so wrong with that?
If the threat of bankruptcy is real then surely privatisation and asset stripping the company of every penny to further enrich greedy people is the fault, not your postmen and postwomen. If we bring down greedy, privatising, asset-stripping corporate types again, who’s at fault? If the company was renationalised by their greed and failure is it really such a bad thing? It may be the way to provide a service rather than just a bank account for people that care not one jot for you, me or the customers.
Come on Dave and Andy for God’s sake. What was all the 18 strike days for and the London Rally about if at the end of it all you just give up and accept the company’s very disingenuous deal knowing it’s a deal that will once and for all bury our once respected company into the ground forever? What happened to you Dave! A very disillusioned postman.
Newcastle: If all officers worked to their time—no overtime, no working their days off etc—this would prove that the workload we are expected to deliver is impossible, resulting in a backlog of mail and parcels that the management will have to deal with. I appreciate that the only people who will suffer are the customers, who have been used to our great service for years and years, but we must make a stance.
March, Cambridgeshire: I recently quit Royal Mail after working for them for seven years. Increasingly crazy workloads that are completely unachievable, years of real terms pay cuts and a union that are as corrupt as the company… Most Royal Mail managers have no people skills and are just some guy that has worked there for 20/30 years and frankly shouldn’t be in the role.
They basically forced me out of the job due to mental illness (mainly to do with the stress of the job may I add) because of my sick leave. It’s so sad that we are seeing basically the death of a national institution.
Dave Ward and his cronies are as much to blame as Thompson and all the others that run this now joke of a firm. You’re better off out people you really are.
Perth, Scotland: Totally agree the union act for Royal Mail. I was unfairly sacked then reinstated; the union informed the management of my intention to go to tribunal, hid information from me on what I could do about the way I was treated. The management made things up that just didn’t happen in an effort to get rid of a 20-years’ service postie. I had a perfect record. I resigned in the end, but not before clearing my name.
Essex: The CWU are corrupt. I will never join a union again. The reps are only interested in what they get out of it. Shame on them, not that they are bothered about reputations!
Middlesborough: The only response in weeks from the union is to slag the members off. These two reps have lost touch completely. I will definitely be voting no.
Hampshire: I haven’t seen my union rep for a couple of weeks now… Has he been sacked or is he just hiding? Nobody knows!
All I can say is there is a total lack of COMMUNICATION from the Communication Workers Union. How ironic is that eh?! I love this job but I feel like I’m being shafted by both RM and CWU and it feels humiliating. It’s good to know I can always come to WSWS to find out what the real facts are!
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