UK: Postal Worker Strike

My company works very closely with the CWU and the news thats been trickling around the office today is that the strike has been agreed 3-1.

Not heard about when they were planning to do the strike, though.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8296660.stm

I actually work for the Royal Mail, albeit at a mail centre (huge sorting depot) and not as a mail carrier. No one particularly wants to strike but it's one of those deals where the workforce feels it has no other choice.

The best case scenario is that it'll go a week or two, ending at the end of this month or start of November. Management and the union have already been holding extensive talks for the last few weeks. Hopefully, both sides already have an idea of what kind of deal is possible and a national strike will be like a splash of cold water, bringing people to their senses.

Worse case? Deep into November and onto December. Neither side wants this. At a certain point, with a backlog built up by the strike, there's only so much the system can process. Plus, a lot of big parcel shippers like Amazon have already or are seriously thinking of canceling their contracts with us. If nothing else, you aren't going to get a lot of money trying to sell a burnt-out shell.

So yeah, I don't think Christmas will be ruined. It's the MAD scenario for both sides. Still, I'd mail your stuff as early as possible this year.

Sorry, but I think that 'won't be ruined' depends on where you live.   

Many of the other delivery services won't ship anywhere outside the UK mainland.  So, for people like my bf, who lives in the Western Isles, the Royal Mail is essential for the bulk of their shopping.  He buys from Amazon.com nearly every week, because the only alternative would be a two-day trip to Glasgow or Inverness and back.  The loss of the Amazon contract is going to seriously screw him over.

I support trade unions and their right to strike, but I really wish that they'd found another way to resolve this issue.  With all of the competition from other couriers, it's easy to forget how much some communities rely on the post.

I support trade unions and their right to strike, but I really wish that they'd found another way to resolve this issue. 

"They" are not the only ones at the negotiating table.

Lovely. Mailing wedding invitations this weekend to the family in the UK!

Lovely. Mailing wedding invitations this weekend to the family in the UK!

Do it quick. It's my understanding that the CWU is waiting 10 days before going on strike. You may be able to get it in there before they do it.

Sorry, but when I said "they," I meant everyone involved -- workers, management, government, Amazon.  Total fail.

Sorry, but when I said "they," I meant everyone involved -- workers, management, government, Amazon.  Total fail.

It's not as if this has only come into light the last week. I mean they had sent ballots out  in early September. Before that they were in talks but weren't getting anywhere.

It's a shame that it's come to this but obviously the postal workers feel they're not being heard. Personally, I blame Royal Mail. They are failing miserably and don't seem to be doing anything useful to help the failing company. We all suffer from Royal Mail's failures.

But I'm not so worried about the postal strike. I'm more bothered about the binman strike. 6 weeks and only had our bin emptied once.

I'm more bothered about the binman strike. 6 weeks and only had our bin emptied once.

Seen quite a biit about that on the local news.....are you taking rubbish to the dump or is it just piling up in the back yard?

Seen quite a biit about that on the local news.....are you taking rubbish to the dump or is it just piling up in the back yard?

Neither. We're very good with not creating too much rubbish and haven't gone above our bin line. Thankfully they happened to pick up last week and it was full, so we're back to an emtpy bin. Others, however, have stacks of bin bags surrounding their bins. It's pretty nasty.

Do it quick. It's my understanding that the CWU is waiting 10 days before going on strike. You may be able to get it in there before they do it.

They should be leaving PA on Saturday. Generally mail from here to Lincoln only takes 4-5 days, so we should be okay. But everyone knows when it is, so at least we can check with people.

I hope this doesn't put a wrench in our plans for applying for my visa in December with Tim needing his payslips and bank statements for November & Dec to come in the mail!

I don't like to think of it as the postal workers in my postcode are on strike. I'd like to think that they're so enamoured of the new US administration, that in an act of solidarity they are celebrating Columbus day.

Looks like they'll be striking again next week.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8320971.stm

It's a shame that it's come to this but obviously the postal workers feel they're not being heard. Personally, I blame Royal Mail. They are failing miserably and don't seem to be doing anything useful to help the failing company. We all suffer from Royal Mail's failures.

My husband works for RM and he says both sides are as useless as each other. The management are all basically posties that have been promoted past their respective levels of competence, and the Union are only interested in the interests OF the union. They're bullying people into striking.


No single side is to blame.