I didn't think I mentioned euthanasia. I only expounded the idea that maybe Royal Mail should raise the bar on their standards of stupidity and criminal inclination. I would have thought education and honesty are traits every business and society should encourage.

You are right of course: No first from Oxford required here. Handling mail is not rocket science, and you'd expect even trained monkeys to be able manage simple tasks like putting a letter through a letter box. Unfortunately, the Royal Mail does not yet employ trained monkeys. That's another reason why I was suggesting they needed to raise the bar a bit on their minimum employee intelligence level.

Every business and every society should aspire to be better than it is. Royal Mail has consistemtly failed to do this for decades. It is a dead business model being kept alive artificially by its monopoly position and goverment funding. It's employees and management are parasites bleeding the business dry. It's about time they cut away the dead wood, and maybe the remaining 50% might stand a chance to run a successful honest operation and grow it in the future.

I don't think any operation that wastes money and exploits it's position to the point the Royal Mail does, can be considered honest. Especiaqlly given the level of service it consistently fails to provide.


US eBayers - I'd suggest stopping sending mail to the UK. With the RMs backlog handling system, the first mail into the system is the last mail out of the system, so if you have mail caught up in the first few days it'll be burried until it's uncovered at the end of the clearances. And remember, the longer they stay out on struke, the more they get paid overtime to clear the backlogs. If something must come through the system, use USPS Global EXpress which goes by Parcel Force once it leaves Heathrow, or UPS or any one of the private contractors. You get better prices over there than we do over here.

UK eBayers - Ask for Special Delivery and pay the extra for it for the time being. Special Delivery at the moment is being filtered through the system by depot managers. It's not getting through on time, and you'll be warned this when you pay, but it is getting through within 72 hours. After the strike starts propper, move to Parcel Force. They do not plan on joining the strike at this time. Outside of that, there's DHL, UPS etc., but they are expensive.

Getting back to the actual strike and away from other more inciting topics.  

I never even realised that there was talk of/a strike was was going on, but did wonder last I put up things on Ebay -  which was last week - why they (Ebay) actually have a place to tick and the privilege of paying an extra US10c, to have your auction visible in the UK. That seems a little strange with a postal strike going on. I will now NOT tick that for a while until I hear all is back to normal in the UK.

M

Hi,

nationwide Uk Postal strike expected 22nd October.

Unions to advise by 15th October of definite dates, but legally they must give a weeks warning, hence expected start date of 22nd october.

Cheers,
Malc

Smashing.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1221724/85-000-rush-apply-Royal-Mail-strike-jobs-ahead-national-walkout.html

Is anyone but the unions surprised that almost 100k people applied for jobs?  It's a recession and people need money....not the best time to go on strike...

Mike B.

Apparently the Union were even threatening to sue Royal Mail if they replaced the striking staff with temp staff...  

Edit. Although, personally, I'd take anything written by the daily mail as utter shite... I wouldnt wipe my arse on that rag...

Even the unions here in the US have the good sense not to strike in the middle of a recession..it would go over like a lead anvil, and they could count on getting zero good press or sympathy during the action.  Not to mention they might find out the job they are striking would be immensely preferrable to thousands of unemployed scabs than doing nothing, and they wouldn't be missed at all....their leverage right now is zilch. That the Royal Mail employees and their union haven't figured this out is mind boggling.

Mike B.

Why would you send surface mail?  

Workies.
Maybe one day the penny drops and a few of the evolve.
In the meantime, I presume they've finnished with their hissy fits and have decided to get back off their arses and do their jobs.
Thank God for small mercies.