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Arsenal I agree that Ofcom won’t be able to do anything to stop a strike, what they will focus on are actions they might take to mitigate the effects, e.g. by making it easier for rival operators to take on USO work, and adjusting the USO spec to make it cheaper for competitors to deliver.
Derek I’m afraid Ofcom won’t be able to do anything to stop the strike ,im sure the unions are aware of any outside interference hence the steady fall in SP
DR/AS totally agree the market is huge and to be fair to CWU they have been strong advocates of doing more in this area. Although I guess that's part of the issue around reliability, service levels etc. I think it is fair to say we did seem to do well with test kits etc. As you say if we could pick up a % of this could be huge and if using a tracked 24/48 service even better.
Thanks JB. Over 1 billion prescriptions are issued each year in the U.K. and the majority (70%) plus are repeat prescriptions. If RMG can work with the pharma industry to increase the proportion of these repeats that are delivered to homes rather than collected from chemists by just a few % the uplift in revenue is significant, add in specs, hearing aids, self test kits, logistics supporters for health and social care field workers, the transfer of medical samples from clinics to labs, patient appointment and outcome letters, patient satisfaction surveys, dispensary replenishment etc etc and you see a massive market.
I haven’t really been keeping up with what Ofcom are doing. It is inevitable that they will try to intervene if the USO is failed as a result of industrial action, because they are legally obliged to protect it. However Based on past experience I don’t expect that any intervention they make will be useful, and is more likely to have a negative effect.
DerekR thanks for the excellent posts and summaries of DSA and Consignia. How the rebranding went so wrong was dreadful. I know the prescription/medicines delivery market is something we could be getting more from and I believe this was also being pushed by CWU. As you say we did do pretty well with the covid test kits etc. I know the national ONS survey (lft's and blood tests) I take part in is moving from home visits to posting these materials out small numbers in the scheme of things but it all helps.
I truly hope with the rising numbers of cases our service are called upon in greater numbers.
Derek any views on Ofcom review currently underway or the current IR situation for me it feels very different from previous years?
OliGarch it wasn’t Crozier who oversaw the introduction of the company name Consignia it was John Roberts. The original intention was for Royal Mail, Parcelforce and Post Office Counters Limited to remain the company brands in the U.K. with the parent company brand name Consignia only coming into play in overseas markets where “Royal Mail” and “Post Office” couldn’t be used because they were already used by many incumbent postal operators.
Given the global aspirations at the time this actually made some sense, and they rejected some even worse candidate names on route to choosing Consignia, but then someone seemed to forget the script and started to plaster the name Consignia and (down the plug hole) logo over anything and everything that moved in the U.K. with the resultant ridicule flowing from all directions.
When Roberts went and Leighton and Crozier came in it was Leighton who made the early decision to kill off the Consignia name.
Going back to some of the earlier points. The margins on the upstream element of the business that DSA operators perform are very small which is why RMG has largely withdrawn from trying to compete with the likes of U.K. Mail and Whistl for this part of the pipeline. The downstream delivery part of the system in urban and sub urban areas is the more lucrative part in the system and it was this part that RMG was trying to protect with the pricing proposals that lead to the £50m fine.
Given that Whistl had started its own end to end network focused on cherry picking the most profitable bits of the delivery business it could be argued that the pricing proposals RMG made played a role in getting Whistl to curtail and then end their downstream operation and that a £50m fine was a price worth paying.
What can’t be argued is that the way competition was introduced into the mails market has been a total shambles, resulting in increased costs for most customers , reduced efficiency in the whole market and a dramatic reduction in a service specification for both posting and delivery customers. All in all a dreadful approached pursued by the last Labour government.
Apologies IsleworthSpy, I dont check this board every day. My thoughts where such that taking an RMG fine & distributing it among other industries is just plain wrong & as such the workforce & unions would be rageful. Fines & penalties are a part of RMG set up, and as such Ofcom are entitled to make that fine. However passing that fine directly to another industry to distribute among those workers is an abhorrent thought to me. ATB JMC
Oli "the higher one climbs up the slippery pole the shorter your employment will be with the company"
I would see that as a positive.
The CEO is paid to produce results and the tenure of employment should be adjusted accordingly.
I would imagine RMG would tax even the best CEO. It must be nigh on impossible to be fully aware and places a great deal of reliance on underlings. From what you report that reliance is misplaced.
Personally I doubt replacing the CEO is the answer.
Oli, My apologies, I understood from your post that you were far from happy. In which case no need for talk of resignation.
If you don't want the increase either ask advice from management as to a method of returning it. Failing that send the excess to me :-(
Of course inefficiency and wastage should concern everyone. I would imagine there are various avenues whereby these issues may be reported.
If you are genuinely concerned (I have no reason to believe otherwise) Surely it's easier to improve things from within.
As an aside, purely for confirmation and not connected with yourself. Am I correct in thinking that using the word "scabs" regarding RMG is an offence of some sort by Company employees?
Isleworthspy. "How's your alter ego FELINE thingy?"
I had hoped your character might have matured with age. OBVIOUSLY! not. As the above oft repeated comment proves. My recollection of the above poster was of a knowledgeable individual that enhanced the board.
I can only imagine how unpleasant you are in reality.
Fortunately this board has its own reality and I can choose to be incomunicado where your concerned. Bye
Ispy, ahh Consignia....best company that I have ever worked for (eyes most over in nostalgic haze). I believe that we had a decent wage rise that year as well? Of course it was a complete and utter waste of time and money..... wasn't that Crozier's idea?
I was trying to keep the conversation within the boundaries of privatisation but in reality nothing much has changed. Middle management are still clueless and RMG are leaking cash from every orifice.
Redceo, I understand the concept that no one employee is indispensable, not even the CEO but what I find funny is that the higher one climbs up the slippery pole the shorter your employment will be with the company.
@ OliG.
Remember Consignia??
Laughable.
I'm not sure where that idea came from. Could it have been the CEO at the time? Maybe it was RedCEO!
@ Redceo.
Before you start preaching to me,lets deal with your lengthy points:
1 - I never said i was irreplaceable. Correct?
2 - I never said that Thompson didn't deserve his salary. Correct?
3 - The workforce missing their targets? What targets? We haven't got any targets. It's management taht have failed, AGAIN!
4 - ""The Company scribes have calculated a return to Shareholders. They have also calculated a staff wage increase.""
Is that why the CEO is saying that the company could be in trouble? 400 million pounds and more to come! And they offer a pathetic 2%?
5 - ""Would be interesting if shareholders behaved as you do. Throw their dummies and withdraw all investment unless they got more"". What? Like you.
You'd do well to listen to me. There will be a yes vote for IA. And unless Thompson eats "sheet" we will be out. Yes. You will have your scabs, but we can deal with them.
What you don't understand is that there are only so many hours in the day.
IRREPLACEABLE???
I NEVER SAID THAT.
ANOTHER LIE FROM ANOTHER CEO. (ALLEGED CEO)
How's your alter ego FELINE thingy?
Why would I want to terminate my contract of employment? I'm not unhappy with my current employment situation. I think that the actions of the current BoD are bizarre but I guess we should expect the bizarre from a CEO that is out of touch with their workforce?
I'm talking about the fact that my employer has imposed an increase to my pay without consultation. I could of course take the 2% as a gift from the company but it won't stop me from asking for a pay rise.
The business claims that they simply don't have the finances for a pay deal in excess of 2% however commonsense's financial analysis yesterday and today blows that myth out of the water.
Then there's the sheer waste and inefficiency within the business itself. As a shareholder yourself you would be livid if you could do your own inspection of the physical state of the business and the amount of wastage whether it is equipment that is purchased and not used before it is scrapped or projects that fly for a week or two only to crash and burn without trace mainly with horrendous costs and implications. I shudder to think about how much the failed electric vehicle projects that will never come to fruition (despite much airplay on RMT) have cost the business over the last five years. I know that you have to crack some eggs to make an omelette but we haven't seen scrambled eggs yet!
Oli, You have the option of terminating your agreement also? Simply resign
Redceo, "Both shareholders and staff have an option to accept the award or terminate the agreement".
That may be true for the shareholders, however I have had a 2% increase in my pay imposed upon me. I didn't ask for it, I have no way of returning it and I certainly didn't agree to it.
Isle. I understand what it takes to be a successful CEO and they deserve a salary that reflects that.
As for managers missing their targets. Could the same not be said for the general workforce? after all Ofcom aren't happy.
Shareholders have invested a fortune in RMG from the outset and many under water currently.
You provide the Company with labour at a predetermined remuneration. This has always been paid as agreed.
The Company scribes have calculated a return to Shareholders. They have also calculated a staff wage increase.
Both shareholders and staff have an option to accept the award or terminate the agreement.
Would be interesting if shareholders behaved as you do. Throw their dummies and withdraw all investment unless they got more.
If you believe your irreplaceable why not resign and see what happens?
@ Redceo.
I don't begrudge Thompson anything.
But in the current climate, news of his rather large bonus, salary and bonuses paid to lower level management for missing their targets, doesn't sit well with me.
Then you have the 400 million in January for shareholders with more to come in September, yet he tells whoever wants to listen, that the company can't afford more than 2% for the real workers.
A large percentage of the population leave school asap take menial work and slowly improve their lot during their lifetime.
Another smaller percentage go on to further education, maybe also graduate University.
The result is usually reflected in lifetime working income.
Why begrudge an individual that's made sacrifices to improve themselves?
Isleworth thanks for the information and I take your advice on board ,I will watch what happens over the next few weeks before making a decision to buy ,it appears that a lot of higher mana are on huge salaries and seem out of touch with reality , Railways etc Good Luck
@ ARSENAL17.
I cannot see any other outcome. The CEO is not for turning, IMO.
The mood is the darkest i have ever seen. Even the scabs from yesteryear want back in to the CWU.
And when you then read about his wages and bonuses and the boss of GLS, it kind of grates a tad. I understand that management will be paid bonuses too, and they have failed to reach their targets.
My only concern is with the turnout. People tend to think their vote doesn't matter too much.
If you're thinking about buying back in, i wouldn't. There will definitely be a yes vote and dates announced for action.
Isleworth what’s the word on the street my union friend ,is the mood gearing up for a strike ? Waiting to buy back in again but as you know if ballot is fir a strike then SP will drop !
@ JMC66.
Can you elaborate please?
Why would this cause pandemonium among GREEDY CWU & RMG workers?
I'm all ears.
Oli. "handed over to H.M.Treasury? I stand to be corrected"
Well remembered Oli ;-)
The company must now pay the £50m fine to Ofcom, plus interest, and our legal costs. The money will be passed on to HM Treasury.