Royal Mail Strikes

[Small Man Big Horse]

I've noticed we've not had a thread on the recent Royal Mail strikes, and it makes me wonder, does anyone actually care in this newfangled computerised world?

The only reason I've even been aware of them is the fact that lovefilm post info about them each time one's about to happen, and the only annoying thing about them is that my dvds have been delayed by a day or so, bar that I get little mail and can't say I'm bothered if any of it is a day or so late.

I'm not even sure what it's over, though I imagine it's pay rates (I've just checked and that seems to be the case, along with worries about jobs being cut), but has anyone been directly affected by it? And does anyone think these strikes will have any effect? Personally I can't see it working unless they began a permanent strike, but I can't see that happening. And aren't all posties dope smoking thieves anyway?*


*Based on knowing one postie, but I do like to generalise.

[Blumf]

My New Scientist subscription didn't arrive today, the Bolshie bastards!!

I can't see why the Royal Mail would be struggling and unable to up pay, e-mail hasn't done any damage the fax already did whilst on the other hand, eBay, Amazon etc etc have all pushed up the number of parcels being sent which must be a good thing surely?

[Cack Hen]

I'm waiting on some really urgent documents from the interminably incompetent student finance department which haven't come because of this. Does anything work anymore?

[wherearethespoons]

I can't see why the Royal Mail would be struggling and unable to up pay

But weren't they going through some financial problems a while back? It was pretty bad if I remember rightly.

[Blumf]

But weren't they going through some financial problems a while back? It was pretty bad if I remember rightly.

Well yeah, apparently, I just don't see why as I pointed out.

[Famous Mortimer]

And I'm waiting on a pay rise which isn't below the rate of inflation, working for the Post Office as I do. As well as the pay thing, there's also the Government wanting to close thousands more Post Offices, which will mean job cuts across the board as there's less work coming in.

Amazon have taken their business elsewhere, as have a few other big companies. The only thing is, these companies will never handle personal mail as we do it at a loss, subsidised by the stuff we do which makes a profit. It's not inevitable that the Post Office should be being run down this way (clearly with designs on it being privatised a few years down the line), it's the deliberate result of policies which have taken things like Benefit Agency work away from us, still apparently an arm of the Government, and into the hands of private banks who make profit not for the Government but for their shareholders off it.

I think this is pretty important, as the companies this work is being given to don't pay their staff as well and have even worse terms and conditions than we do – the average punter may pay a few pence less for a parcel but the hundreds of thousands of employees are getting a shitty deal and it's not like the UK is swimming in jobs as it is.

[wherearethespoons]

Amazon have taken their business elsewhere

I thought that because they sent me books last week by some company I've never heard of but only yesterday they sent me some more through the Royal Mail. So, have they gone back or what?

[ziggy starbucks]

edit: i was posting as famous mortimer was

I think the royal mail lost its Amazon contract to a new business mail company which has new fangled sorting technology light years ahead of what royal mail has.

I think the royal mail has problems because its technology is ancient and from a purely business perspective it employs too many people. I think its looking to make something like 40,000 people redundant or some similarly massive figure. Which is why all these strikes are happening.

Competition from new companies in the de-regulated business mail section has really done Royal mail in. Because royal mail had a monopoly on posting, they could over charge business's massively and make a ton of cash from them. This profit was put into subsidising the normal mail that you or I send, keeping it cheap but preventing royal mail from making any profit from that part of the business. Now they are losing the business mail, all their profits are gone.

[Pseudopath]

Is domestic mail still regulated then? I've often wondered why no-one's set up a rival door-to-door postal service, but concluded that it was simply because there's probably no money in it

[Milo]

I thought that because they sent me books last week by some company I've never heard of but only yesterday they sent me some more through the Royal Mail. So, have they gone back or what?

Their second class stuff is done by someone else, first class is still done Royal Mail.

[Famous Mortimer]

Royal Mail make a loss on your average first class letter, and the only reason they can send em that way is because of business mail. If it all goes and the CWU lose, people will be paying double for smaller mail items.

[niat]

Whichever postal company is used, it's still the same Royal Mail postie who actually posts it through the door, isn't it?

[Artemis]

I've read that there will be different coloured post-boxes in the future for different companies and that there will also be different deliveries. I don't know how true that is, though. The strike is bloody annoying, especially since I'm trying to order foreign currency right now and the strike means I can forget about getting any delivered. Ultimately, who knows what the truth is. Maybe modernising the R.M. does mean some jobs have to go? I have no idea. Neither side seems at all willing to concede an inch.