Socialist Resistance

An archive of socialistresistance.org, 2002–2022

20 reasons to vote NO to "deal." What we will have lost if this sell-out goes through

Socialist Resistance no49  |  page 4-5

This is scanned newsprint, not web text. The original PDFs carried no text layer at all, so every word here was read off the page by OCR. Expect dropped opening letters, run-together words and wrong characters. There was no contents page to cut the paper up by, so the articles were found from the size of their headlines: a headline may carry its kicker, and where an article ran beside a boxed panel a few lines of the neighbour can appear. The scanned issue is the authority; this text is here so the words can be found at all.

• Lost: 40,000 JOBS, agreed at local level through flexibility, productivity and mail centre closures. of this union. happen to them? to keep retirement at 60 on full benefits, nothing! nology talks for next to nothing. for dividing CWU members. to expand the industry, imposed by Royal Mail and again accepted! achieved locally! We have the insult of a 5.4% bribe now, then to agree 100%-not 95%!- local flexibility! unless the cuts were starting after 22nd October. compulsory 9 hour Fridays? minutes': but who decides what is 30 minutes? Who decides when we 'get it back'? Your manager of course! form compulsory.' but the full agreement says: 'nor is it about ager will!' davancemen to une madonal average • Lost: rewards for mechanisation: no shorter working week, just pathetic lump sums. happen. • Lost/gained? Our current door to door payments. Can we also? utes flexibility a day with 'annualised hours'? • Lost: the scrapping of 'colleagueshare', not long ago the policy • Lost: CWU reps victimised: No mention in the deal- what will • Lost: retirement at 60: We are offered a separate ballot "following the conclusion of the legal consultation process." What does this mean, other than current staff will pay more to go at 60, and new staff can work until 65? No pressure, no separate FIGHT • Lost: keeping our mail centre network: Not even mentioned, we can only assume they will be negotiated away with new tech• Lost: family friendly early delivery starts: Royal Mail the bully this, and our negotiators accept it! Compensation is a sure recipe • Lost: Sunday collections: not long ago the basis of a CWU plan • Lost: above inflation pay: the deal agreed on pay is a 'con'! £175 April to October 2007 money is already ours from job and hours cuts, it's not new! 1.5% is conditional upon 100% flexibility nothing in 2008, unless we accept 1.5% if we are stupid enough • Lost: fighting local job/hours cuts: all those offices who were striking to stop imposed cuts in local jobs have been abandoned, • Lost: job and finish/standard days: your manager will decide on a daily basis when you can go home! Looking forward to those • Lost: overtime for extra work: five or six of us will now have to 'muck in' daily and stay on for nothing. Oh yes, the deal says '30 • Lost: our right to challenge an unreasonable request. The deal is facing both ways on compulsory daily flexibility. The CWU summary says; 'individuals may be asked and is not in any shape or anyone refusing reasonable requests.' So who decides what is a reasonable request? The deal is silent. We answer: 'your man• Lost: an end to local cuts in jobs and hours: the deal makes it clear that the depressing cycle of endless cuts will continue, and for nothing or next to nothing- no shorter working week, or pay • Lost/gained? Our current redundancy terms. They will be dis cussed separately, when the pressure is off. Unclear what will maintain them when the pressure is off Royal Mail on this issue • Lost: weekly pay: Our right to weekly pay abandoned with talks on monthly pay and even 'annualised hours'. What price 30 minPersonal viewpoints of Dave Chapple, Bristol & District AMAL;

Pete Firmin, London West End AMAL