Postal Strike? Options

[Blake]

But where is the proof of your assertions?

They are baseless.

[user23]

Do you honestly think that a fully privatised Royal Mail will be there to deliver the one letter a week to the remote cottage way beyond Donnington Castle, for example?

Privatisation will bring a non-universal fee, reduced deliveries for rural communities, closure of the Post Bus routes, loss of Saturday deliveries, and that's for a start.

Exactly. Privatisation will be great for those in the big cities and towns, not so good for those where a profit can't be made, in the rural communities of West Berkshire for example. After all what's in it for DHL and other courier companies if they're not making a profit, they're a private company, it's not like they have any moral or statutory duty to serve everyone equally.

[dannyboy]

Do you honestly think that a fully privatised Royal Mail will be there to deliver the one letter a week to the remote cottage way beyond Donnington Castle, for example?

Privatisation will bring a non-universal fee, reduced deliveries for rural communities, closure of the Post Bus routes, loss of Saturday deliveries, and that's for a start.

In the meantime, feel free to use DHL and TNT. For an item up to 1kg, in the UK, DHL will charge £18.55. makes a first class stamp seem pretty cheap.

You won't miss it until it's gone...

DHL is owned by Deutsche Post, TNT is the Dutch national postal service, which is the point I was making by naming those two companies.
The best thing for the Royal Mail is to get rid of second class mail.

[gel]

NWN seems to give little coverage to Mail dispute; last week the closed Oxford sorting office had to be reopened because of backlog; apparently was used by Managers to ease the workload.
Oxford's office suffered badly from militancy in past (related to Union activities inherited from car industry), whereas Reading didn't, yet both were closed in name of so called efficiency.

Unfortunately more bad news this morning in Oxford press:
14/9/09
FURTHER delays to postal deliveries today are feared after a weekend walk-out by 70 Royal Mail staff.

Lorry drivers based at the Swindon sorting depot were due to return to work at 4am today after a 48-hour strike.

But Communication Workers Union branch secretary Chris Rye said they would walk out again tomorrow unless national negotiations resolved problems over changing shift patterns.

Union seem **** bent on destroying the service, but it's good they're doing in run up to Labour Party Conference so people remember how unions have held country to ransom in past.

Many people have alternative to using Royal Mail, but we musn't forget those that don't.

The service has gone downhill since the service was opened up under EU Diktat, but afraid we will only see improvement if it's taken out of public ownership, as under current arrangements Royal Mail have to provide a Universal Service (at same fee) whereas DHL etc., don't.

In private sector a company would not exist if it kept raising prices, but gave you less & less.

Any replacement for Royal Mail as we know it, would however have to guarantee that universal service.
Some colleagues in Scotland report they still get 2 daily deliveries, whereas I thought
Royal Mail had dropped everywhere; seems not.

I wonder how many European Countries have ignored the Diktat on opening up their mail services??

lordtup; you seem to assume the proposed sell off would be a bad move.

I think in fact Royal Mail could do with a good firm dose of commercial reality, mainly, start serving your customers better.

The service has gone downhill rapidly in the past 6 years. I find it hard to believe it could get worse still. It is just left-wing, pinko, fellow-traveller scare mongering and demagoguery as low as Arthur Scargill and Tony Benn.

[Darren]

But where is the proof of your assertions?

They are baseless.

I looked into my crystal ball.

[Rose8]

My post has been on a journey to lots of other peoples houses before it decides to pop to see me. And then of course, so i dont feel i am receiving special treatment, other peoples post is visiting me. The other day i had a bank statement (hadnt realised i had changed my name though). And next door got my credit card statement, wonder if they paid it for me. There was also the time when me new PIN number came through for me, however, it decided it wanted to sit in the front garden of one of my neighbours, about 6 doors down !!

Hmmmmmm

[Chesapeake]

I have to say that I haven't noticed any problems but then again my postie is fantastic.

When my son was only a baby he heard him crying one morning (as they do) and couldn't hear me so he rang the doorbell until I answered just to make sure we were OK. Wow, how great is that. It's a shame that this sort of postman is rare these days.

The only problem is when he goes on holiday and then the other posties have to do his round for him! Obviously not so good.

[Rose8]

I have to say that I haven't noticed any problems but then again my postie is fantastic.

When my son was only a baby he heard him crying one morning (as they do) and couldn't hear me so he rang the doorbell until I answered just to make sure we were OK. Wow, how great is that. It's a shame that this sort of postman is rare these days.

The only problem is when he goes on holiday and then the other posties have to do his round for him! Obviously not so good.

You are lucky. He sounds lovely. Such a shame the days seem to have gone, when we have the same postie year in year out, when we would leave the xmas card out for him etc ... Hopefully you get to 'keep your postie' for many years to come.

[Chesapeake]

You are lucky. He sounds lovely. Such a shame the days seem to have gone, when we have the same postie year in year out, when we would leave the xmas card out for him etc ... Hopefully you get to 'keep your postie' for many years to come.

Oh God I hope so. We did have a temporary postie who was older and used to ride a bike very precariously. One day I was driving home and out of the corner of my eye I saw him cycling along a path next to a wall. I looked over towards him just as he toppled sideways, with bike, over the wall. I couldn't believe it! I stopped the car and ran over to see him upside down, lying on the grass next to the wall with the bike still between his legs! i have never seen anything SO funny. He saw me and quickly jumped up and brushed himself down. I asked if he was ok and he assured me he was. As he cycled away around a corner he almost fell off again!

A couple of days later I saw him outside our house wobbling really badly on his bike and again he almost fell over. Mr husband said that he had also witnessed him falling off his bike on another occasion just outside our house..

It was a real dilema for me as I could not decide if I should ring the post office with my concerns for his safety and risk him losing his job or just ignore it. I only saw him for a couple of months and have not seen him since so I do hope that he is OK.

[Rose8]

Oh God I hope so. We did have a temporary postie who was older and used to ride a bike very precariously. One day I was driving home and out of the corner of my eye I saw him cycling along a path next to a wall. I looked over towards him just as he toppled sideways, with bike, over the wall. I couldn't believe it! I stopped the car and ran over to see him upside down, lying on the grass next to the wall with the bike still between his legs! i have never seen anything SO funny. He saw me and quickly jumped up and brushed himself down. I asked if he was ok and he assured me he was. As he cycled away around a corner he almost fell off again!

A couple of days later I saw him outside our house wobbling really badly on his bike and again he almost fell over. Mr husband said that he had also witnessed him falling off his bike on another occasion just outside our house..

It was a real dilema for me as I could not decide if I should ring the post office with my concerns for his safety and risk him losing his job or just ignore it. I only saw him for a couple of months and have not seen him since so I do hope that he is OK.

Blimey ..... after reading that, i guess we should be thankful he wasn't in charge of a Post Van !!

I hope he had a helmet on - sounds like he needed it !! Brilliant.

[Chesapeake]

Blimey ..... after reading that, i guess we should be thankful he wasn't in charge of a Post Van !!

I hope he had a helmet on - sounds like he needed it !! Brilliant.

I just wish that I'd caught it on camera/phone (my, how things have changed) just to prove to people that it actually happened.

[Hugh Saskin]

My local postman is fantastic, too, and a very kind bloke. Not sure what's going on with the post at the moment though, as a little parcel sent to us from Middlesborough on the 8th (last Tuesday) has only just been delivered today (15th). It was sent second class but the service is normally much quicker than that.

[JeffG]

after reading that, i guess we should be thankful he wasn't in charge of a Post Van !!

Have you seen the latest Specsavers ad featuring Postman Pat?

[Rose8]

Have you seen the latest Specsavers ad featuring Postman Pat?

Oh blimey YES !!!!! That ad is hilarious

[lordtup]

Seems to me that most people are pleased with the service of their postman , if not the service of Royal Mail .

The obvious answer is to replace the present management system with one that fits the requirement of the customer .

A correctly run company will not only meet the needs of the people it serves but by having a healthy balance sheet it will instill confidence in it's workforce so as to stifle the militant element .

Anyone fancy a fat cat job ? ( pun intended )

[Hugh Saskin]

When anyone mentions privatisation, it might be as well to remember how much Britain's railways are now costing us under the private sector - most agree that it is at least three times as expensive in real terms to the taxpayer as it was under BR. So much for the entrepreneurs like Beardie Branson and his mates, who have taken Joe Public to the cleaners, and will continue to do so.

[lordtup]

When anyone mentions privatisation, it might be as well to remember how much Britain's railways are now costing us under the private sector - most agree that it is at least three times as expensive in real terms to the taxpayer as it was under BR. So much for the entrepreneurs like Beardie Branson and his mates, who have taken Joe Public to the cleaners, and will continue to do so.

Another case of the old boys club looking after their own . Branson wanted a train set so we ( the tax payer ) gave him one .

To hades with the efficiency of the thing as long as our mates are ok .

[dannyboy]

When anyone mentions privatisation, it might be as well to remember how much Britain's railways are now costing us under the private sector - most agree that it is at least three times as expensive in real terms to the taxpayer as it was under BR. So much for the entrepreneurs like Beardie Branson and his mates, who have taken Joe Public to the cleaners, and will continue to do so.

The old BR was a paragon of efficiency. BR regularly had management from other national train opperators visiting the UK to see how it was possible to run a national rail network on so little cash.

I think the other problem in the UK is the size of the country - with modern cars it is easier to drive than take the train. Continental Europe is slightly different - a trip from La Coruna to Barcelona isn't an easy drive, taking many hours. Wheras it is quite a pleasant overnight train journey. We just don't have enough 'long haul' train routes in the UK to make the train a favourable option. Restricting the Chunnel to a few locomotives was another big mistake.

[Hugh Saskin]

The old BR was a paragon of efficiency. BR regularly had management from other national train opperators visiting the UK to see how it was possible to run a national rail network on so little cash.

For once, I totally agree with you. It was said in the 1980s that BR was the most efficient railway in Europe when it came to the taxpayer's subsidy. Just look what you've got now

[GMR]

I sent a letter to someone in Devon last Monday and they only got it yesterday. And it was first class.

They are talking in the papers that people could be in trouble with late mail; i.e. owing money.