I had a quick look at a few old union papers this morning and we started resisiting privatisation twenty three years ago. I think we will try and fight this one and if and only if the Tories can not get what they want for it, then it will proceed. Its too close to an election and the Tories ( both parties) will not want a row going on about being ripped off. One thing is for sure the mail system will alter for the worse forever, Monday to Friday deliveries , universal tariff etc, because no private company will continue with Royal Mails current profit sapping delivery system. The Labour party has not been very supportive and wanted to sell us off earlier, the country has bigger problems then RM to worry about.

Why whould not people living in the Orkneys, Cornwall or the depths of Scotland pay more for mail and people living in London, Birmingham and Glasgow pay less. Why should people have six day a week deliveries when we can do it in five and make bigger profits, we could deliver three days a week to some rural area's. Changes are a foot now to alter the delivery times to even later in the day, decisions are now taken on cost grounds not quality of service. They are doing things now to alter the way we organise the union, not to save money but at a cost to the business to destroy our organisational structures at local and national levels. Bullying and harrassment are part of working for Royal Mail, its part of our daily working day and its not coming from the public or our brothers and sisters. The place is no longer the same, there is no longer the same will to help each other people are now more dog eat dog too many "bosses knarks" around willing to drop you in it.

The mail centre where I work is due to close this October, so no one gives a toss either way anymore. No chance of getting anyone motivated for a fight for privatisation, pay rises or TNT mail, most are looking to a pay off and a new job. Sure they all voted in the consultative ballot, BECAUSE THATS ALL IT WAS A, ask them on a full rule 19 strike ballot and I bet the result will be a whole lot different.

I do not intend retiring just yet, I could go and some say I maybe should given my health. I am still able to perform my duties with little problem and I will continue for a while longer, but I am sorry for those at the begining of there RM service whilst I consider myself very lucky to near the end. In what itme I have left I will continue to fight to make it a better place for those left.

As one who uses Royal Mail regularly for parcel post in preference to any other private courier I wish you well in your fight.

Just as an example yesterday I walked to my local Post Office (5 minutes walk) and posted a 60cm long, 5cm wide, 200gm weight tube to the Republic of Ireland for £3.50, first class.

In the past I have used a parcel booking service such as Parcel2Go which gives quotes from all of the major couriers, just checking that now the lowest quote on there is £15.90 and if I want it to go first class then TNT wil charge me £29.24 for a 3 day service.

I'm willing to wager that my client in Ireland received his parcel today.

But its not only the cost, I've booked seven or eight deliveries in the past via Parcel2Go and its not their fault (or their problem either), but the courier that you eventually choose and pay in advance for really can't be bothered collecting your single parcel when they already have a full list of collections and deliveries from regular business customers, they are not set up for the domestic business at all and I have not yet had one collection made on the day they said they would collect, in one case I gave up waiting after five days, got a refund and took it to the post office - you could always leave the parcel at one of their "drop off" points of course, yes of course you can, but each time that option has been suggested to me the address has been either a local sweet shop or a dry cleaners, yep, I'll trust that sort of service above the post office every time.

Add me to that list.

Couriers do seem to be getting better but I still prefer Royal Mail, they always find my address (maybe they understand what a postcode is for), and if I'm out and they leave a card, the office is only 10 mins away on foot... and I don't have to drive to another county to collect my "delivery" from my "local" depot.

I use both RM and Interparcel (another courier consolidator) on a regular basis.

Since April 4th, the new RM rates for parcels are a bloody minefield. It was bad enough before with Letter, Large Letter and Parcel, now you can add in Small Package, Medium Package and Large Package (only available through Parcelforce WW). For UK (excepting highlands & islands), [url=http://www.interparcel.com/Interparcel[/url can often undercut both RM and Parcelforce on medium or large parcels, if you use their 48 hour service (invariably UPS). UPS have never failed a collection and I only ever had one problem when a Christmas Cracker (seasonal temp), decided it was easier to leave a folding bike in a neighbour's derelict shed but we got to the bottom of the matter and I got a refund.

I only ever ship on a signed-for basis and for anything getting towards RM Airmail's 2kg max, it's often cheaper by a courier.

I have no wish to see RM privatised and we could see a vision of the future if the proposed refusal to deliver 3rd party mail on the "Final Mile" does materialise. RM have been placed under a tremendous "commercial" disadvantage by having to make the final sort and delivery on behalf of DHL et al. The courier companies offering "mail deliveries" offer nothing of the sort: they collect bulk mail that has already been sorted into postcode areas, this is then delivered to RM sorting offices and it's RM who have to sort and deliver. All the courier companies do is collect and deliver some boxes.

If anyone wants an easy to use postal calculator for various RM delivery options then I can highly recommend [url=http://www.seajays.org.uk/postage/Seajays Postage Calculator[/url

s'easy for me, I use the same sized 60cm tube for everything now and it fits into the "package" zone without needing to get ParcelForce involved - we had to jump through the hoops the first time though as they didn't have "tube" on the list, trying to apply length depth and height to a tube doesn't work - she knows me now and has had a "tube guide" sent



Mind, I once had to send a large but light parcel to Australia with ParcelForce, approx 100cm x 70cm x 10cm - £58 - I almost got on a flight myself with it.