Postal Strike Information

[seasprout]

The Communications Workers Union (CWU) has announced further strike action, in the form of two 48 hour strikes, from lunchtime on Thursday 4th – lunchtime on Saturday 6th October, and from the early hours of Monday 8th – early hours Wednesday 10th October

This will be followed by an unspecified programme of weekly strikes, starting w/c October 15th, until the resolution of the dispute.


My copy of GYO just better get here in time.!!!!

Website info here. http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/c...diaId=51600692

[Sue]

Seasprout
Is this the postmen or the counter workers. Not forgiven the counter workers for the last time - thought it was unneccessary to turn off the air conditioning to make that hour long wait even more unpleasant than it usually is.
Having closed all but one post office in the Tunbridge Wells area, my weekly visit to the PO is a dreaded dark spot on my week, horrible long wait and endless queue out on the pavement nearly every time.
Sue

[Alice]

Hi Sue, please enlighten me. I'm not being facetious, genuine question here. I've not been in a post office for years. What do you do there. I'm sure I'm missing an obvious point here.

[Hazel at the Hill]

I'm guessing that Sue has to send guaranteed delivery items for which you need a 'stamp' over the counter, Alice? Or proof of postage?

We have SmartStamp downloaded for work which works out cheaper than the Pitney Bowes franking machine that we used to have for our volume of post, and as we send lots of odd size/weight items it's great to be able to work out our own postage and print off the 'stamp'. This means that I rarely have to queue at our post office (I just drop any parcels that don't fit in the post box into the parcel area in the PO) - I can even do Car tax on line, and if I do want to buy stamps I can do so at WHS or the supermarket.

My personal observation, however, is that in common with my local bank branch the PO always appear to have fewer counters open between 12.30 and 2.30pm as THEIR staff are taking lunch breaks, which happens to coincide with the very busiest time when peeps are wanting to use the PO services....?

[OverWyreGrower]

What do post offices do?

My mum used to own a small 1 counter village post office and shop, which she closed last year (it was not closed for her, as it was classed as "rural")

The shop was next door to sheltered housing accomodation for OAP's and as such, she did everything for them!

Pensions, postage, recorded/special delivery, car tax, savings, fishing licences, foreign currency, catalogue returns etc

None of the OAP's are online, so can't do car tax etc on a computer; and also a lot of them prefered to get their pensions etc in cash. The new postage rules confused them, so mum used to help them work out what they were doing with them.

Sadly, a lot of them were made to change their pensions over to go straight into a new bank account etc.

This meant that the money she got from basic grocery items etc was lost, as she didn't have the custom coming in regularly.

Unless she wanted to diversify into either a papershop or an off-licence; both of which required working much longer hours, hiring extra staff and getting into a whole new ball game, she felt she didn't have much of an option.

The post office paid salary for running the post office was less than £15k. She couldn't afford to hire anyone other than part time ladies to help out etc; and to be honest, it's hardly enough to live on when you consider business rates etc.

The post office where I work - on a university campus - is always heaving. They deal with lots of postage issues, as we have a large body of foreign students. They also take in dry cleaning, which is great!

[seasprout]

Seasprout
Is this the postmen or the counter workers.
Sue

The website is unclear on that one, so I am assuming its all of them.

[nick the grief]

aaahhh so they are all hopin to do Sunday at Double time eh .... or have I got a suspicious mind ..... sounds like a good name for a song that, now then how can it start ...

[OverWyreGrower]

The website is unclear on that one, so I am assuming its all of them.

Technically, Royal mail and the Post Office are 2 different companies. I know that last time there was a strike, counter workers were still there, but it was deliveries/collections that didn't happen...

[Sue]

Hazel
You're right, every week I have to queue to post one parcel which has to be special delivery - the illustrations for my weeks work to our London Office - no electronic transfer for these unlike the text.
Whats the system you have? would it be worth it for one parcel a week? Mines nearly always the same price £4.75 so would be quite easy to work out.
Anything, anything not to have to waste so much time every week. If I ever murder anyone it will be in the Post Office and probably in August when it's nice and hot and steamy. Or perhaps in Winter, rain pouring down, queue snaking down the pavement....
Sue

[Hazel at the Hill]

Although printing your own postage is easy peasy, Sue - (here's the link http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/j...diaId=26800663), and there's no extra charges to that of the stamp itself, where it'll fall down in your case is that you will still need the PO wallah to stamp your special delivery thingy.

[Two_Sheds]

I still write letters (yes, I know!) to my elderly auntie, non-techie father etc. I also post parcels every week, for eBay (OH buys loads of stuff online). I could print off postage labels, maybe (but I think you need a business account with them?) but I still need to get a Proof of Posting from the counter-wallah. And you can't get a parcel in a pillar box, I've tried

[rustylady]

They're also putting notices on the pillarboxes saying that they can't guarantee collection till the 9th October. If you have anything you need to send it would be a good idea to visit the Post Office and hand it in to the counterperson.

[Sue]

Really cross with this strike now, my company is having to pay £97 to get my work picked up tomorrow morning! I know it's not coming out of my purse but I'm going to miss a morning on the allotment waiting for TNT to come and collect - Grrr.
Sue

[rustylady]

I feel really sorry for the women at our local Post Office counter. Had to go there today to get stamps and post some mail for work and as I know them quite well I asked them if they were getting much trouble from customers. YES THEY ARE!! Problem is that Post Office staff are nothing to do with the strike. Post Office Counters and Royal Mail are two separate organisations, and it is Royal Mail staff who are taking strike action.

[Two_Sheds]

I went to Gorleston Post Office today, they were really cool and nobody was cross. I managed to hand over my parcels, but goodness knows where they are storing all the uncollected mail ... it will take them weeks to get thru the backlog won't it?