Member Info for Scampthedog

"Good luck, I hope the posties reading this get a half decent pay deal but if you expect actual help when the cull comes, you won't find it from the CWU or any other union. Pay your dues, do as you're told, follow your designated leader and if you end up unemployed you'll soon find out how much your membership is 'valued'."

Absolutely bang on !!!

Firstly, its not so much the content...but the jingoistic fighting talk by Pullinger, who else, that preceded it.

"we will smash the company to bits before we hand it over to the shareholders"...words that Pullinger has used more than once before in previous confrontations.

Terry needs to be careful of wielding that threat like a sword...the company is in a far stronger position than last time. More importantly...so is Kretinsky. And more importantly to that...if you are reading this Terry: the company DOES belong to the shareholders...NOT the CWU executive. This is something that both Wardy and Tel Boy have never been able to come to grips with.

Most of you know much of what the company is demanding...but to just to recap on a few points.

1. Annualized hours for full time employees. In other words, you can be sent home early if not required. Basically, just an agency worker.
2. Attacking the sick pay. No more six months on the sick with full pay. The company is of the opinion that some employees use this to their full, unscrupulous advantage. Oh really? Lol.
3. Pushing back the AM service...looks like they want the company to be more PM orientated. This would severely disrupt the normal lives of many posties in delivery for sure.
4. Putting more mail on the trains in pursuit of their carbon footprint. Something I have expounded upon before several times recently.
5.And the big one!! Reducing/getting rid of the fleet and replacing it with owner/drivers.

According to one of the speakers this is why R.M of late have been sidelineing the drivers and engineers (Romec I presume) from ongoing talks concerning pay and conditions.

I have long espoused that this is where R.M could make massive savings...and was stating this quite sometime back on this very site.

However, this is a highly,highly contentious issue as far as the union is concerned. They see it as a massive assault on the exsisting network...and indeed mentioned just that in their meeting in Liverpool.

In truth, the CWU (and just about every R.M driver you speak to) is very, very anti train...and for all the most obvious reasons.

Trouble coming? You bet your sweet @rse there is.

and other CWU Executive members said yesterday in Liverpool at one of the latest regional briefings

Frightening!!!

Don't buy any shares now at any price. The s.p will be down at £2.27 very, very soon.

This time the strike is almost unavoidable.

The company is as good as sold. Kretinsky is going to get it handed to him on a plate...by way of the CWU leadership.

I would say your investment will bear plenty of fruit in not such a long time out from now, AngerSharkz.

If Kretinsky starts to unload I would most certainly advocate selling a good portion of your stock. But he is not selling...he is waiting.

As long as he is stays fully invested I will play the waiting game alongside him. If he buys...I will buy.

Simple as that.

Quite right AngerSharkz...I would have to agree with you in the main.

The sad truth is the CWU is led by two people, Ward and Pullinger (the two most influential), who are also heavily involved (Ward a lot more so than Pullinger) with the TUC.

Ward in particular would love to see a general strike; I believe also that Pullinger would not lose any sleep if indeed that were to happen...but, unlike Ward, does not so actively promote it.

As you are all too painfully aware, the language, during any dispute, is always, regarding the aforementioned individuals, highly combatative and uncompromising...downright aggressive, at times, is an understatement. In my opinion this is purposefully done. Because in the past, when it was a regarded by ministers in government as just another unspoken about, out of public view, governmental department, the CWU leadership knew they could demand almost anything they wanted -- and get it!

In the 'old days' before it was a public company (and before emails were fast replacing letters) posties regarded the Royal Mail as just that: some sort of quango with limitless supplies of money...something that had to cough up or the economy would fail.

Most posties, in all fairness, don't see it that way any more...not, regrettably, the union leadership.

They would appear to have never grown up. Who really believes (and by WHO I mean anyone in any other industry) that they are going to get a 10% pay rise this year?

As far as I am concerned this situation has been deliberately manipulated by the CWU high leadership knowing full well Royal Mail's answer to their ridiculous pay demand.

In short: Ward (the shadowy, most militant, out of sight agitator) and Pullinger (Ward's high profile mouthpiece) care more about their own left-of-left-wing politics than getting a fair pay deal for Royal Mail employees.

10%? What glaringly obvious nonesense!!

judging by what has been said, I think that unless the company offers somewhere in the region of 5% no strings attached...then, unfortunately...it would seem there is going to be a strike. I just cannot see any other outcome.

And 5% on its own won't swing it...there would have to be a top up come January, at the very latest, to give any proposed deal at least a sporting chance of getting the unions blessing.

Not buying yet. To much slack in the rope at present.

so here are a few immature ones --

Go baby, go, go, go!!! Yowl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the clear favourite at this moment in time, in fact he is galloping ahead, is -- Redceo!

RE: Union deal...

"Oli. I don't dispute that. It's a pity that these negotiations are via a union. I know the tone and rhetoric is all for show but these guys irritate."

AWESOME!!!! Lol. Sob!!!

Speechless. And no, Redceo, I am not being 'obtuse' either. Howl!!!!

on their own without any help from Nanoco.”

“We’ve worked with these materials for years and years and can’t figure out how to make them any other way,” Tenner said.

It's quite simple then for Samsung: just get their world renown big-hitters to produce their (Samsung's) registered patents detailing their own intellectual property concerning their production process for producing cadmium-free quantum dots.

Job done -- no case to answer!!

Errrrr... but they have'nt as of yet. Errr... why not?

IsleworthSpy. Yes, Vesa did acquire quite a few shares sub £2.00...but they also bought quite a few more plus £3.00 as well.

I would think Kretinsky's average is quite a bit above £3.00 a share.

For him, buying now would represent good value...even more so if the share price continues to slide and he can buy even lower.

The most important fact (at the fear of repeatedly hammering the point) is that Kretinsky has never sold a single share...not even when the s.p reached the dizzying heights of £6.00 plus. Why?

At £6.00 plus he was sat on an enormous profit. Surely he should have trimmed his position and took some big earnings? But no; and that is what I find compellingly intriguing -- and so should everyone else if they have any sense!

I have stated on here before that I am of the view that Kretinsky never set out to try and acquire this company from the first time he bought in. Now I am not so sure...logic does dictate otherwise...and is further reinforced by his actions. Or should that be inactions?

If you look at Kretinsky's 'modus operandi' you will see that he likes to invest in 'unloved' companies which he believes are being undervalued by the markets...companies whose tangible assets are quite large and who have a sustainable business model. He has never overly bothered himself if this particular company holds large cash reserves...he looks at the free cash flow that a company can generate...and from that trys to discern where large savings can be made; obviously this also involves selling off either the most profitable or unprofitable part(s) of the company depending on his objectives.

Kretinsky is not your classic 'value investor' (the sentiment which drives the present market forces) he is more of an out of favour 'growth investor'.

In other words, he invests for the mid to long term future...not the short term.

I am totally transfixed by the whole ongoing saga...something which the media and press seem completely disinterested in. Much to my amazementment I have to add.

Many thanks to the posters who put forward their thoughts concerning any amounts of possible damages being awarded...upon a successful outcome of course.

Now regarding this recent hearing that took place on June 2nd...might we not have the details revealed in a RNS on Monday morning...or should it more likely be in a couple of weeks before all is revealed?

to a couple of bob over a nicker then.

Does anyone here REALLY have any idea what succesful litigation means for the s.p?

Could somebody perhaps quote me the common consensus?

AngerSharkz. In answer to your question below...

"It’s a good point on Kretinsky and why he hasn’t sold….. but I’m also asking the question why at this point has he not bought more? Is he anticipating it to drop further? Is he happy with what he’s got?"

I will be extremely, extremely surprised (absolutely dumbfounded actually) if Kretinsky, at some point very soon, does not buy more Royal Mail stock. No doubt in my mind that he is just waiting for the right opportunity at what he considers the best judged moment in time...he will have to take into consideration there is a chance that this time around there will be strike action of some sort...whether that be by the posties or the managers. Or indeed both!

In fact I just cannot envision Kretinsky not buying in again. It would make no sense whatsoever, from his perspective, not to. He might not want to launch a bid for the company...but why accumulate 21% at higher prices than the present share price to then pass up on an opportunity like this to buy many more at a big discount to what he was paying 12 months ago? That is totally illogical to say the least.

Don't be surprised on Monday if there is an RNS announcing he has upped his stake. Faiing that...then sometime in the next few days I would wager. Just depends on what he thinks the chances are of a strike I guess.

So just sit quietly, consider these following questions...and then try to answer them objectively without particular biasis.

1. (and most important...for the short term that is) Why is it that Kretinsky, up to this point, has still not sold any of his stock even when the share price was double what it is now?
2. Are the tangible (land and buildings) assets of Royal Mail worth considerably more than 3 billion?
3. Does Royal Mail have a costed, clearly mapped out ongoing plan (not an aspirational vision that might or might not come to fruition) for the foreseeable future?
4. Is Royal Mail in a position, both logistically and geographically, to not just maintain the market share but to greatly increase upon it as it moves forward?
5. Is Ecommerce in the U.K going to keep increasing every single year-on-year for some years yet to come?
6. Is Royal mail actively embracing and employing new technology...and will it continue to do so?
7. As a business that has the highest, most instantly recognizable public profile of any other business in the U.K does it still command the trust of the greater populace?
8. Is it a brand that can always find new ways to constantly adapt and reinvent itself?
9. Does Royal Mail posses an unparalleled, second to none network compared to any other courier in the whole of the British Isles?
10. Will Royal Mail remain in front of all other couriers in the delivery business for many decades to come?

If, after some reflection, you can answer "yes" to all these 10 questions...then what on earth should you be worried about?

£3.30, £3.00 or £2.65...it makes no great difference in the mid to long term. Lots of profit to come at these prices.

And that is as certain as night follows day.

Returning once again to that most baffling of creatures...there is not just one way to skin him.

Offering the union 4.75% as a sole pay rise would not be enough to swing it with Pullinger...never mind the CWU membership.

It would need added incentives.

For instance. 4.75% now, followed by a further increase in January and another pay rise come April.

Also, R.M could increase the Christmas bonus from £200.00 to something like £275.00. This would be well affordable.

And maybe a bonus sharing scheme could also be initiated? The bonus could be based on just the Christmas quarter or on the whole of the twelve months. Perhaps something in the region of 12% of the overall profit? Or a monthly bonus scheme even? After all...it is the posties who make that profit...is it not?

I am quite sure Royal Mail used to have a bonus scheme for the posties (before my present employment with the company) so why not again?

In fact there is a lot of options available here for negotiation. Just a question of how much each side, as always, is willing to concede.

here's my five cents worth.

R.M's North West Hub in Warrington is now nearly at the point where the parcel sorting machine will be switched on; they are having a few minor problems at the moment...the engineers whom installed the machine, who will remain on site for 12 months as part of their company's contract, are thus now busily engaged sorting things out.

The cross docking operation is extremely busy over there...and has been so for over 12 months. More and more staff, and even as I type, are being sent over there to receive their individual training as per duties subscribed...this is in anticipation of the parcel sorting machine going semi-operational in the next week or two.

Although the machine will not immediately be at full capacity it should be fully staffed and fully operational by late July at the very latest.

The new midlands Hub at Daventry. This has been newly built, complete with its own rail platform, for some time; it is supposedly going operational next year...I personally will be very surprised if it is not fully operational for Christmas (2022). Thompson and co would most certainly want it to be.

Buying in at £3.25 seems like an absolute steal to me. Why would you want to take a short term view with all that is ready to fall into place?

Get the pay dispute sorted out. Get the regulator off our back. Get the Hubs up and running. Get the seven day delivery firmly established. And then sit comfortably back and watch the rest just go on wheels. Sure there will be a few dips along the way...but that will be on the way up not going further down.

Buying at these prices will never turn out to be a bad investment.

My advice is to hold...and not to buy at present. And at the first hint of a settlement between the CWU and R.M (and you will hear all about it on this board) start to cautiously and prudently accumulate at each bit of encouraging news.

Hope that helps you somewhat.

Schrodinger must have forgotten about that.

may just well be our fast diminishing pay rise going galloping by.

Someone representing Royal Mail at that negotiating table is going to delight in the prospect of shoving this latest announcement from Ofcom right up our Tel's big, fat derriere.

Spot on OliGarch.

I know R.M is obliged by law to deliver anyone's mail...but when its one of our direct competitors there should be an allowance for some adjustments.

How it can it be both fair and moral for one of our fiercest competitors to charge almost twice as much as what Royal mail would...and then drop it at the nearest depot for us to deliver.

Its manifestly and ethically just plain wrong!

And its about time R.M appealed the government to put a stop to it. Long overdue in fact.

and still waiting...waiting...waiting...