Member Info for OliGarch

AngerSharkz, I agree there. The UK Government and OFCOM are only really interested in the UK operation's ability to uphold the USO although I think that selling off GLS would be seen as asset stripping of the highest order?

Redceo, It might be cobblers (great word, reminds me of Steptoe and son) but be honest, what shareholder wouldn't like to see a nice fat dividend served up by a CEO who's bonus is based on "shareholder value"?
I'm pretty sure that DK would be pleased with that.

https://www.cwu.org/rmg-update-170323
"If you see Sid … tell him"

simx, £370m would also provide a 37p dividend, or it could provide a 5% pay increase plus a 17p dividend. As AngerSharkz pointed out earlier, IDS has £1.7bn liquidity including a £900m credit facility that still hasn’t been drawn so the €400m bond is already covered.

Perhaps the increase in stamp prices was made to pay for the dividend ;-)
Are shareholders able to lobby the BoD for a dividend?
Surely worth a shot?

AngerSharkz, I wasn't thinking about reducing the USO but working within the existing framework.
I sometimes wonder whether the BoD have deliberately gone down this route in order to bring things to a head with both the Government and the regulator? This may sound extreme but needs be and all that....
We are currently living in times where the ruling elite, including those in Parliament seem to be pushing boundaries and openly lying through their teeth in order to push their specific agenda. They know that they are going to get caught out eventually but they just don't care.

Playing devils advocate......
It would be interesting to know if the BoD have done any modelling for the UK operation.
So for instance, what is the optimal modelling and what are the minimum costs for the business in order to fully comply with the USO whilst achieving their parcels targets?
I would imagine that this model would be in line with DPD, Evri and all the other couriers offering minimum wage, zero hours contracts with 100% owner drivers for deliveries.
Only then can the business get a true break even valuation and work upwards from there?

Investorjohn5, it won't be a surprise to anyone investing here that the UK operation will be posting some heavy losses. What is also a nailed on certainty is that GLS will be posting a decent profit, which although not making up for RM losses will soften the blow for the business as a group so the SP currently sitting at 222p is holding up quite well under the circumstances in my opinion.
What I am not certain about is the outcome of the ongoing negotiations. The CWU have stated that "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed" and "if we can't reach an agreement in the next couple of days then we will have no choice but to call for industrial action" although they do recognise that"this could be a risky strategy".
It's all balanced on a knife edge but will a failure of negotiations drive the SP lower? We shall see.
Newdealz, I had six eggs. Two are currently invested but I'm not going to stick them all in at the same time as a six egg omelette would be hard to digest....lol

Newdealz, not at all old boy. More of a rhetorical question really.....slow news day and all that.
It wasn't really a roasting. It was meant to be informative as many that are outside the business struggle to get to grips with the union thing.... It's complicated....lol

Looks like the SP has bottomed out? Perhaps the market is waiting for a joint statement..... either way?

It is, however, unclear as to whether the VR exercise which took place last November/December is still going ahead as this was technically an unagreed revision? I understand that the £6k bonus for those who agreed to take VR before the end of January has been withdrawn so this may mean that some workers will withdraw their applications?

Joint statement from Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU): talks extended

Negotiations under a new process between the senior leadership of both RMG and the CWU facilitated by Brendan Barber (former TUC General Secretary and ACAS Chair) supported by Marina Glasgow (Chief Conciliator of ACAS) have been taking place.

Talks continued this weekend. Progress has been made in some areas and it has been agreed to extend the talks into this week.

Both parties reiterate the importance of the full adherence to the joint statement and appendix agreed on Thursday 2nd March and the need for workplace tensions to be reduced. Both parties confirm that, as agreed, local disagreements on revisions will be referred to the fast track escalation process set out in the Annex to the joint statement and that any unagreed changes will not be implemented during this process.

We will update you as soon as we can.

Or is it just a case of market manipulators driving the price down artificially in order to capitalise when a deal is finally announced?

Redceo, if the CWU isn't the answer perhaps the rank and file should transfer to UNITE and join the other 1.4 million UK members or perhaps we could organise ourselves into a like-minded body and call ourselves the NCU?

Newdealz, and that has always worked for you?..... lol

Newdealz, " i get the whole safety in numbers thing but from my life experience you nearly always get better results fighting your own cause".
Can I just point out that the business will not negotiate with individuals for terms, conditions and pay so I'm not sure how your idea would work or how it would benefit the individual.…........or indeed on the SP?

Newdealz, as I posted earlier, "you either get it or you don't....."
The whole point is that intervention happens before it gets to the industrial tribunal process which is where the union steps in. Nobody wants to go down that route unless it's a last resort as it can be costly and time consuming?
I get the "lone wolf" thing but not every worker wants to do that when there is a perfectly good process already in place. If there are any lone wolves working for RM UK then they are perfectly within their rights to follow your example.
For what it's worth, there is a role for union reps to play on the shop floor. One example is Health and Safety where more often than not the safety rep has received much better training than the manager who quite often only has only received basic training.

Newdealz, as you are aware, the RM UK operation employs over 140,000 staff across over 1,300 locations across the UK. The CWU is a necessary evil for RM UK as the CWU provides a one stop collective bargaining point . RM UK even pays for a certain number of full time CWU reps (both industrial relations and H&S) to be detached from their duties in order to concentrate on their union position.
A knowledgeable manager will see a good union rep as a help rather than a hindrance and a good union rep will act as a buffer when things get fraught between the workforce and management.
Question...
"With the age of social media why dont you all come together in a fb group and save your monthly sub"
Well, actually the CWU does have a Facebook account and outputs many it's communications via Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and YouTube. The fact that we are all paying into Dave Ward's pay cheque is quite irrelevant as it would cost even more individually if the workforce decided to break into splinter groups for representation (because the organisers would want to recoup their costs) plus there's the fact that the RM Board will only deal with one union. Can you imagine Thompson having to deal with 1,300 union reps when negotiation pay or terms or perhaps you think that the Board should just dictate in which case we would all be self employed on zero hours contracts so no point in even trying to "come together to get heard" because we would be just another DPD.
I, and others have posted before on several occasions that working for RM UK is not comparable to working for any other UK employer. You either get it or you don't.....

Newdealz, a post of pure management statements.
"I didn't get where I am today by taking sick leave" usually translates into "I just went into work and gave everyone on the train/bus plus all my office colleagues my horrible germs"....lol
More flexible workforce.....agreed but many workers still need to know their start and finish times in advance. I used to get the cold shoulder from my children's nursery and primary school if I was so much as five minutes late and fifteen minutes late would usually incur a one hour charge as the teachers would automatically put them into after school clubs even if I had phoned in advance.
The best managerial statement of all thought has got to be "you don't need a union lads....trust me.... I'll see you right".
Do it on Facebook....lol.... that'll work....not.
Anyway, thanks for the comedy but I will stick with what we currently have......if that's okay with you.

Newdealz," i also think after the .gov threatened to ban the unions they have all been given their last warnings"
I'm not aware that the UK Government had threatened to ban trade unions although Shapps has recently brought out a piece of legislation called The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill which will ensure crucial public services such as rail, ambulances, and fire services maintain a minimum service during industrial action.
Unsure as to whether the RM UK operation fits within the parameters though?

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-introduces-laws-to-mitigate-the-disruption-of-strikes-on-the-public