Alan B'Stard
Well-Known Forumite
I actually used to work for "The Post Office" before it changed to Royal Mail Parcels, Post Office Counters Ltd and the rest. I saw the separation of the business and received the payouts from changes in working practices involved as a result of Union negotiations back in 1989'ish. When I started the RM had the largest retail network in the UK, with over 28k retail outlets, surpassing WHS by miles.
By 1991 I was a Vice Chairman of the local branch and had to return from a conference in Blackpool to arrange a strike in defense of PO closures. Taunton being the county town of Somerset, my older colleagues advised me that "this would never go". Stafford has recently seen it's main PO transferred to WHS. I'm sure there would have been similar discussions up here. Taunton's PO is now also a 1 stop or similar.
The retail network of the PO is something like 14k now, the Union is strong amongst the "postal workers" but the handbag brigade (counter staff) has always been weak. The job that I did, (counter clerk) has been deskilled due to the advance of technology. I had to train for 6 weeks before I could sit behind a counter and then still receive on job training at the PO.
I was earning at least 16k a year back then, I was handling millions of pounds a day despatching cash to the PO network. In the end, I chose to leave and go to college (which is another story) but the PO remains as a forming experince for myself.
So, almost twenty years later, the PO network has diminished, industrial activity has increased and the job that I used to do is probably paid at minimum wage. To keep this on topic, are the Unions to blame for this?
It was not the UCW who decided to refrain from pension contributions from the employer, creating the huge deficit that now exists, it was PO management and subsequent governments (Tory & Labour) that allowed this.
At my interview, at a tender 17, I asked "do I have to join the Trade Union", I was advised yes, most people did.
20 years on, I wonder if we should subsidise a failing industry and support local PO's? The first thing to go was pension payments, a core earner for the PO, paid into bank accounts, no use for PO's.
Do we want a government that supports "efficiency" or one that supports local communities?
A quick, but poor summary, Trade Unions - Yes. In this particular instance they highlighted the present many years ago, I'm just glad I'm able to see it from the periphery and not be part of it.
By 1991 I was a Vice Chairman of the local branch and had to return from a conference in Blackpool to arrange a strike in defense of PO closures. Taunton being the county town of Somerset, my older colleagues advised me that "this would never go". Stafford has recently seen it's main PO transferred to WHS. I'm sure there would have been similar discussions up here. Taunton's PO is now also a 1 stop or similar.
The retail network of the PO is something like 14k now, the Union is strong amongst the "postal workers" but the handbag brigade (counter staff) has always been weak. The job that I did, (counter clerk) has been deskilled due to the advance of technology. I had to train for 6 weeks before I could sit behind a counter and then still receive on job training at the PO.
I was earning at least 16k a year back then, I was handling millions of pounds a day despatching cash to the PO network. In the end, I chose to leave and go to college (which is another story) but the PO remains as a forming experince for myself.
So, almost twenty years later, the PO network has diminished, industrial activity has increased and the job that I used to do is probably paid at minimum wage. To keep this on topic, are the Unions to blame for this?
It was not the UCW who decided to refrain from pension contributions from the employer, creating the huge deficit that now exists, it was PO management and subsequent governments (Tory & Labour) that allowed this.
At my interview, at a tender 17, I asked "do I have to join the Trade Union", I was advised yes, most people did.
20 years on, I wonder if we should subsidise a failing industry and support local PO's? The first thing to go was pension payments, a core earner for the PO, paid into bank accounts, no use for PO's.
Do we want a government that supports "efficiency" or one that supports local communities?
A quick, but poor summary, Trade Unions - Yes. In this particular instance they highlighted the present many years ago, I'm just glad I'm able to see it from the periphery and not be part of it.
