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The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) has received a further intake of write-ins from postal workers in Delivery and at Mail Centres around the UK.
There is widespread anger over the last-minute decision to pull the ballot of 115,000 postal workers for a second time over the sellout deal signed with Royal Mail a month ago by Communication Workers Union (CWU) leaders Dave Ward and Andy Furey a month ago.
Accounts sent in show the shared experience of postal workers is crippling workloads and failed deliveries resulting from the cost cutting revisions rammed through. The write-ins are in response to the two latest WSWS articles exposing the CWU isolation of the walk out by Glasgow delivery workers and the undemocratic methods resorted to by the CWU Postal Executive to forestall a No vote by the membership.
Ward and Furey hurried into back room talks with Royal Mail from Tuesday last week. On June 1 the CWU announced that Royal Mail had come to a set of “agreed actions” on a review of “failed revisions”. The membership has been kept in the dark over the contents of this agreement, with a joint statement to be confirmed only at a planned online meeting between CWU reps and managers across Royal Mail Group.
Postal workers are encouraged to attend the next online meeting of the Postal Workers Rank-and-File Committee at 7 pm on June 11 to oppose the sabotage of their struggle by the CWU and develop a strategy to defeat the biggest assault in the history of Royal Mail on their pay, jobs and terms and conditions. Register here to attend.
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Caerphilly, South Wales: The deal on many counts is shocking, an absolute disgrace. Remove the white flag wavers from office now.
Rochester, Kent: Fed up with greedy shareholders. Fed up with inadequate pay and fed up with being told there is no money when we are in the 6th richest country in the world. Such a sham. Fed up with the non-communication workers union being useless and not telling us what’s going on more regularly. Just get the ballot done.
Thanet, Kent: I bet Dave Ward and his cronies didn’t lose any pay during strike action.
Londonderry, Northern Ireland: Everyone afraid to voice opinions, so management can force through revisions. No one cares about the work anymore as no backing from CWU and no correspondence since Thompson announcement. Morale at all time low, workers feel Dave Ward and Andy Furey pushing this through. There will be no union if this is agreed as we will all stop paying dues.
Luton, Hertfordshire: Workers need to change the union if they are not being supported by their existing one. Royal Mail is not interested in delivering letters and are cherry picking more profitable parcels. They should be stripped of their contract and the government should take over before it sinks any lower.
Redcar, North Yorkshire: Ward and Fury should go and with the same pay off the workers have taken, £17,000, not the huge payout they no doubt will get. Simon Thompson may have wrecked the company, but these two have done the same to the union.
Dorset: I work in Dorset area in mail centre. In our office revisions are being forced through with staff hours being cut, we are told part timers can only have up to 20 hours maximum a week. Staff working over these hours (for example 30 hours) will be compensated with a buy down paltry amount. This is being applied to some fulltime workers as well and looks as if it is staff volunteering for this, not being pressganged. Managers are enforcing this and the choice is accept it or there will be no job for you to do. So far the union stance is sign for a duty because they will not be responsible for anybody being unemployed. I am not even sure of the legal implications of these actions.
Blackpool, Lancashire: I am now hearing rumours from reliable sources in my office that big packets are going to be put back on all walks on top of the extra lapsing (merger and increase of delivery spans) that we now have to do. How is any of this achievable in the time given?
Hampshire: The workload is ridiculous. They have added 2 extra loops to my round. I’ve not been given any extra time to do them and they sure as hell ain’t paying me any extra to do it. Every day i take out 2 extra bags and end up bringing 2 bags back. What’s the point of it? I love my customers and I hate letting them down on a daily basis. Royal Mail is on the path to self-destruction, the USO is not being met… Somebody’s head should roll.
Bristol, Avon: Forcing out good loyal workers for higher paid agency workers. Where is the sense in that? Loyal staff made it Royal Mail and Parcel force. Now workers bullied.
Birmingham, West Midland: What’s happening with the ballot papers for Royal Mail deals offer?
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Workloads and routes are extremely increased resulting in injuries or general wear and tear on oneself, physically and mentally! The revision does not work at all, It’s all unreasonable, unmanageable and totally unhealthy… There’s some unfairness too in the way of having a few people who don’t have to do a rural job, why?… Everyone should be trained to do one… Very sad, to go from loving your job to not wanting to be there.
West Midlands: My walk with my partner was already over the USO in the last revision. They then added another hour and half to mine and an hour to my partner’s. No matter what we say about ‘completing’ it gets pushed away and we are expected to finish. They question us why we cannot finish and someone else (who runs) can. I have also been trying to ask for something new, training in the cage with customers and specials as well as any jobs within the depo, but I was patted on the head (not literally) and ignored. While someone else got given the job that wasn’t advertised, and I had been asking for weeks to go in and train. I also wasn’t told or given the option to apply for a job that I now found out was never actually accepted and isn’t a real job. The girl then left for a week and the job which was supposed to be removed was given back to her when she returned to the job.
West Yorkshire: I’ve been a postman for 36 years and never have I been so angry with this union. The deal is an absolute nightmare. We’ve been sold down the river. Sick pay, terms and conditions, extra workload everything we’ve fought for over the years to improve the quality of our working lives have been destroyed by weak, corrupt union officials. I’m voting no and pulling out of this disgrace of a union.
Woking, Surrey: Work at Woking Post office on delivery. The workload after a recent revision is just too much and it’s rumoured they are looking to cut further. USO is still being ignored. You can’t even take your rest day off or go on holiday without coming back to 2 or more days mail in the frame. You need your rest day as the job is just to physically demanding but are constantly feeling like you have to work 6 days to keep on top of your delivery.
Newbury, West Berkshire: In my delivery office we are told to clear the frame, take everything out. This is so that the managers can report that the deliveries are clear. We are told if we cannot complete, we are to fail letters, packets and parcels but NOT Tracked items. They must have an attempted delivery scan. Most deliveries fail daily but this this is not reported as the managers are always gone home before we return from delivery, and they do not do a count which they are supposed to the next morning. Tracked items are priority even though it has been claimed that they aren’t and the report of mail clearance is never true.
Leeds, West Yorkshire: Leeds mail centre. One of our Reps is definitely in cahoots with management, spending time chatting with them most days in the office, then going outside for a social smoke. Just happened to pick up a Tuesday to Saturday duty while remaining on Monday to Friday
Wiltshire: Though I am not a postie, I am a CWU Member. I work in a DO Admin Office. I have seen 1st hand how our posties have been treated and it is appalling. Managers are putting revisions in place, when they clearly have not got a clue.
In my 25 years at Royal Mail, I have never seen moral so low. Our amazing posties are at breaking point. The management know what they are doing is wrong, but they are ignoring the concerns of our postie and going ahead regardless.
It is a complete and utter shambles. It’s about time Managers grew some balls, put their heads above the parapet and were honest about the chaos in the DOs.
Enfield, London: Fight to the death.
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