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08 Oct 09 - 12:46 PM (#2741246) Subject: BS: UK Postal strike From: Rasener It would seem that the posties have voted to come out on strike. It would seem they don't want a job. However, I thought this was rather interesting Before an individual starts hunting for an alternative mail delivery service, consumer rights group Consumer Focus says they should consider sending their letter or parcel by Royal Mail Special Delivery, which guarantees next day arrival, and gives the sender a receipt. While this is more expensive than sending mail by standard post, Consumer Focus says Special Delivery "normally operates" during a strike, as it is given special focus by Royal Mail managers and those members of staff who do still turn up for work. However, if an individual does want to try a different company to deliver an important item there are a range of alternatives. But they will almost certainly be more expensive than Royal Mail. One is the Service Point scheme, which operates from 391 WH Smith stores across the UK, plus outlets of Staples, Ryman and Cartridge World. It is operated by DHL who will deliver to anywhere in the UK, including outer-lying islands, and also to anywhere overseas. It's not cheap though, with prices starting at £5.95 for an envelope. |
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08 Oct 09 - 01:41 PM (#2741281) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: The Borchester Echo Royal Mail has a disastrous, feudalistic and fundamentally hostile attitude to its dwindling workforce. Told by the government almost a decade ago to get its house in order over modernisation and labour relations, it has relentlessly extended shift hours and the proportion of working time out delivering, overridden union agreements on overtime payments and manufactured a massive black hole in its pension fund. Is it any wonder that postal workers are at the end of their tether and in mortal fear of their jobs and livelihoods? Of course, their industry is dead on its feet as so few people send letters these days. The only postal sector in expansion is the parcels division, delivering all the stuff people order on the internet, and that was hived off from Royal Mail long ago. The only ray of light to emerge from the destruction of the coalmining industry a quarter of a century ago was that some (far too few) ex-miners managed to retrain. I wonder what prospects there might be for sacked postal workers? Is their only opening likely to be a nasty, capitalistic, exploitative overseas shyster outfit such as DHL? |
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08 Oct 09 - 02:12 PM (#2741320) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: GUEST,PeterC Trouble is that the workforce has been cut to a greater degree than traffic has been dropping. Its still a brilliant service, I can send a letter or small packet anywhere simply by dropping it into one of two boxes both within five minutes walk of my front door. A better deal than driving for 15 minutes to the nearest W H Smith and paying a quid for parking. |
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08 Oct 09 - 03:07 PM (#2741380) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Rasener A good example of how I don't need the postal workers to some extent, is related to my daughter. She is 18 and living for the first time away from home in the Netherlands. That is very tough and before all the modern technology, communication would invariably have been by letter. However, we e-mail her and we use skype with video to talk to her for free as often as we want. I have also bought and sent DVD's from this country and had then shipped to her at very reasonable rates. I can't remember the last time I walked into a post office to send anything or post a letter. Even with Faldingworth Live, I never send letters. I accept reservations for payment on the door. Websites and e-mail serve to communicate. The phone is on a anytime basis so I can call anybody for 60 minutes and that is covered in my monthly charge. If these postmen want to run the business into the ground, who am I to stop them. |
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08 Oct 09 - 03:59 PM (#2741440) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: SussexCarole During the last postal strike I had a couple of fairly large parcels to send and used parcels2go.com. This courier service was cheaper than the equivalent Royal Mail service and really reliable. I've used them instead of Royal Mail ever since. |
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08 Oct 09 - 04:23 PM (#2741449) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: GUEST,R. Oh who cares about all this? I just want my damn parcels. Their strike interveres with my and tons of people's orders... |
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08 Oct 09 - 04:31 PM (#2741453) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Rasener So don't use them. Find other ways. |
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08 Oct 09 - 04:36 PM (#2741455) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Newport Boy Discussing this with my postman this morning. The interesting figures were that 72% in his branch did not want to strike, but 66% voted to strike. As they see it, they have no other way of getting the management to talk. His solution is to start redundancies at the top - 100% of the top 5 tiers of management. Sure, the technically literate can use other communication methods, but for many the universal mail service is the only practical choice. In common with many others, I get the results of my regular blood tests by 1st Class mail the morning after the test - postage 38 pence. Let's see DHL beat that! Phil |
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08 Oct 09 - 04:41 PM (#2741460) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Rasener >>The interesting figures were that 72% in his branch did not want to strike, but 66% voted to strike. As they see it, they have no other way of getting the management to talk. << That sounds plain stupid to me. Are they sheep or what? |
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08 Oct 09 - 04:43 PM (#2741463) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Newport Boy When you've tried everything else, sometimes you have to try methods that you really don't want to try. Practical, not stupid. And it's worked in the past. Phil |
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08 Oct 09 - 04:50 PM (#2741468) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Rasener Thats a sort of blackmail, which I find very distasteful. You are the very person who I would fight to protect and not allow these people to go on strike. You need your blood test results the next day They are paid to do that, and thats exactly what they shoudl do. |
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08 Oct 09 - 04:58 PM (#2741471) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Newport Boy Unfortunately, organisations are not run by the workers, who know how to do the job, but by incompetent management and politicians. This is the real 'British Disease'. Phil |
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08 Oct 09 - 05:00 PM (#2741473) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Rasener I have never supported strikes and I never will. Sorry Phil. |
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08 Oct 09 - 07:01 PM (#2741563) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Richard Bridge Well said Diane. Power to the people. Villan, you have a choice - reform or revolution. There are more oppressed workers than capitalists and "managers". All you seem to want is servants. That time is over. |
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08 Oct 09 - 08:26 PM (#2741613) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Tug the Cox Look, I haven't got time to read all these emails on-line, any chance of popping it in the post? |
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08 Oct 09 - 10:27 PM (#2741671) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: GUEST,G Anything that causes more trouble for the Brown Gang must be good in the long run. On the other hand there are now plenty of people that would work for the PO on any terms. Let them. |
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09 Oct 09 - 12:11 AM (#2741738) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Dave the Gnome Since the strike breaking Thatcher years I often wonder what the real alternative to striking should be. No-one wants to return to the power cuts and 3 day weeks we had but on the other hand what tools do the genuinely downtrodden have available to them? Why could a genuine indepenant body, maybe based on UCAS, not be used to resolve the difficulties? I don't have the answers I'm afraid but neither more union power nor a return to draconian management seem a good idea. Well, not to me anyway! DeG |
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09 Oct 09 - 11:27 AM (#2742053) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: GUEST,folk1e The Cheque's in the |
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09 Oct 09 - 12:15 PM (#2742107) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Jos Some years ago during an earlier postal strike my premium bond won £50. The cheque turned up once the strike was over, and a few weeks later I got another, much smaller, cheque - for interst on the £50 for the duration of the strike. |
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09 Oct 09 - 12:30 PM (#2742124) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Rasener Cheques? Who TF uses cheques these days? Sounds like the Flinstones :-) Online banking. Yes. Don't have to stand in a queue and can make payments whenever you want to. Been using online banking for 10 years. |
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09 Oct 09 - 01:00 PM (#2742147) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: McGrath of Harlow I hate it when I want to buy something online and it turns out they don't allow me to get it delivered by post, but insist on using some poxy courier. The great thing with the GPO is that if you aren't in when they call, and it won't fit throughthe letterbox, they stick a note through the door, and you can pick it up the package locally at your convenience. I'd pay extra for that option, if need be. A couple of days delay every few years because there is a strike is a minor inconveniance compared to the nuisance of having to disrupt your days to fit in with an arbitrary delivery date and time. .......................... As for online banking, I'd never trust it. Banks these days are quite capable of screwing things up even without that extra way of doing it. .......................... Postal workers don't vote to strike for fun - they've been pushed in a corner by incompetant management, and feel they haven't any option. I very much hope they win, because they are fighting to defend servics that I value a greta deal. |
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09 Oct 09 - 01:57 PM (#2742191) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: ard mhacha Agree with all you say McGrath, Villan finds it alright to pay £5.95 to a private mailing firm, I pay 39p to send my old friend Norman Uprichard all the latest sports news from Ireland, the old former Pompey `keeper does not have a PC. Villan it`s a good job you are not in charge of Aston Villa or they would be bankrupt. |
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09 Oct 09 - 03:14 PM (#2742265) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Richard Bridge "return" to draconian management? When did it go away? |
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09 Oct 09 - 03:31 PM (#2742284) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Rasener You could use a pidgeon ard. >Villan it`s a good job you are not in charge of Aston Villa or they would be bankrupt< ard, I have enough problems watching them, I don't know about bankrupt, they drive me to despair. >As for online banking, I'd never trust it. Banks these days are quite capable of screwing things up even without that extra way of doing it.<< I check my accounts everyday, and if I suspect anything untoward, I notify the bank immediately. Never had to do that so far in 10 years. You have to be careful who you deal with on the internet. I always make sure the website has a telephone number in case of problems and I call them the first time I deal with them, just to check them out. I also have never used hotmail or anything like that. You just have to be wise to what you are dealing with. Howveer I have had the fraud squad get in touch with me to check out certain transactions. The system works very well if you use it properly. >Postal workers don't vote to strike for fun - they've been pushed in a corner by incompetant management, and feel they haven't any option< How do you know that? |
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09 Oct 09 - 03:47 PM (#2742297) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: McGrath of Harlow "How do you know that?" Take a few minutes to listen to this YouTube clip that explains what the strike is about |
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09 Oct 09 - 03:54 PM (#2742309) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Dave the Gnome When did it go away? Too true, Richard, too true. There were one or two inspired companies who, on the face of it, looked after their employees interests as well as the shareholders but the Thatch soon knocked that out of them... DeG |
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09 Oct 09 - 04:32 PM (#2742346) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Bonzo3legs Who needs postmen? I use email. |
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09 Oct 09 - 04:38 PM (#2742350) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: SPB-Cooperator It will be superb for me, if my clients' payments don't arrive then I don't get wages, so at best I pay exorbitant bank charges, and at worst I could lose my home. I assume, then, that Royal Mail will give me interest free loans....... |
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09 Oct 09 - 06:12 PM (#2742416) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Rasener The strikers I think SPB |
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09 Oct 09 - 07:31 PM (#2742468) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: McGrath of Harlow Takes two to tango. |
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10 Oct 09 - 02:41 AM (#2742626) Subject: RE: BS: UK Postal strike From: Backwoodsman Why not bring back The Good Old Days that some above apparently hanker for - send children back down the pits and up the chimneys, allow managements to pay their staff in vouchers which they can only redeem at the company store, do away with the minimum wage, make employees pay for the heating and lighting of their work-places (that's if we allow them heating and lighting at all), rent tied housing to the workers and kick them out when (or more likely if) they reach retirement age, force everyone to bow to the boss and tug their forelocks when he enters the room........that would show the snivelling hoi-polloi who's in charge. My old boss in a previous (engineering) life, a self-made and very successful man, always took the view that a strike was more an indication of a failure of the management to manage effectively, than a failure on the part of their employees or their employees' Unions. And that was in the days before the imposition of the pre-strike ballot, when striking was almost de rigeur. |