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(Some links are to documents written in Microsoft Word. If you have
difficulty opening the file, a "reader" can be downloaded
HERE) |
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Thursday 20th September 2007 |
Victory!,
of a sort. At a briefing to staff - very similar to the one 359 days
earlier - staff were informed that Gloucester Mail Centre will not
now be closing "as part of the current project". Instead, Oxford
Mail Centre will be taking our place in being relocated to Swindon.
There were, however, no guarantees regarding the future of
Gloucester Mail Centre. The campaign will continue, to retain a Mail
Centre in Gloucester. Read
Royal Mail's Press Release |
|
Saturday 1st September 2007 |
Many people will remember the article in
The Citizen, on 2nd May, where Royal Mail refuted suggestions
that their plans for closure of Gloucester Mail Centre had been
delayed. Well, with building work in Swindon due to have commenced
in June, they are now three months behind schedule.
Read the article |
|
Tuesday 28th August 2007 |
The latest issue of Gloucester MP
Parmjit Dhanda's newsletter - Gloucester Rose - features an article
on the recent March & Rally.
See Parmjit's article |
|
Wednesday 1st August 2007 |
A video message of support has been
posted on the YouTube website, by the CWU Eastern No. 4 Branch.
Thanks very much for your support.
See The Video |
|
Thursday 26th July 2007 |
The campaign now has a presence on the
Myspace
website. So, if you have a Myspace account, please go along and take
a look, as we will appreciate all the friends that we
can get. |
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Thursday 4th July 2007 |
We have recently received two letters of
support for our campaign, each containing a cheque towards our
campaign costs. One was from the
Swindon Branch of the CWU,
whilst the other was from the
Gloucester Branch of Unison. |
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Saturday 23rd June 2007 |
A well attended march took place through
the streets of Gloucester, with a rally in the docks.
See Further Details |
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Wednesday 13th June 2007 |
David Drew, MP for Stroud, mentions the
proposed closure of Gloucester Mail Centre, during a debate in
Parliament.
Read The Debate. |
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Wednesday 23rd May 2007 |
The March &
Rally has been confirmed with the relevant authorities as taking
place on Saturday 23rd June 2007, starting at 1pm. |
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Tuesday 15th May 2007 |
David Drew, MP For Stroud, receives a
written answer to a Question put to Jim Fitzpatrick, Parliamentary
Under-Secretary, Department of Trade and Industry.
See The Question & Answer |
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Thursday 3rd May 2007 |
The number of visitors to this site
passes the 10,000 mark. |
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Thursday 26th April 2007 |
Two members of the local CWU branch
recently attended a women's conference - "Supporting Women At Work"
- where one of the speakers was Royal Mail Non Executive Director
Baroness Prosser. See Margaret
Hill's report |
|
Wednesday 25th April 2007 |
Following a meeting between CWU Branch
Representatives and Royal Mail, on Monday 23rd April, a Branch
Newsletter has been published, outlining Royal Mail's delayed plans
for closure and the weakness of their Business Case.
Read the Newsletter |
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Monday 16th April 2007 |
With so much information now contained
on this site, it has become necessary to add a "Search" feature, to
aid interested parties in finding what they are looking for. |
|
Monday 16th April 2007 |
Three of the nominees to the CWU
(Communication Workers Union) National Executive Council have
mentioned Mail Centre closures in their election addresses.
|
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Saturday 14th April 2007 |
One of the four motions put forward
by the Gloucestershire Amalgamated Branch to the for the CWU
Conference reads - "Conference
agrees that the announcement by Royal Mail in late September 2006 of
their preferred options to close the current Mail Centres in
Gloucester, Coventry and Reading and replacing these centres in
newly extended Mail Centres in Swindon and Northampton is a serious
breach of the National Pay and Performance Agreement, Annex C –
Processing Network and Structural Changes. This has seriously
inhibited the abilities of the branches effected to influence these
decisions and to submit viable alternative options.
Further more this conference
believes that Royal Mail are developing a Mail Centre closure
strategy in isolation of the National Union which constitutes
further breaches of the national agreement. Conference instructs the
Postal Executive to force the employer to halt the current closure
programme until Royal Mail’s strategy has been shared and agreed
with the CWU.
Until this policy has been
achieved any attempt to close a Mail Centre/RDC or announcement of
further Mail Centre Closures will invoke a national ballot for
industrial action.
The PEC is instructed accordingly." |
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Monday 9th April 2007 |
Communication Workers Union Branch
Secretary Paul Trehearne has received a letter from Gloucester MP
Parmjit Dhanda, detailing the progress he has made in support of our
campaign. Read The Letter
In his letter, Parmjit refers to a
letter received from Ian Griffiths, Managing Director, Royal Mail
Letters.
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Saturday 31st March 2007 |
Several staff from Gloucester attended a March and Rally in Coventry, in opposition to the proposed closure of Coventry Mail Centre. Amongst the speakers were all
of the local MPs and CWU General Secretary Billy Hayes. See The Pictures |
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Thursday 28th March 2007 |
In a Communications Workers Union "Letter To Branches", Deputy General Secretary (Postal) Dave Ward states "In order that the Union can deal with all these issues in the wider context of
Royal Mail’s Letters Strategy the Union will seek a moratorium on any Mail Centre Closures." Read The Letter |
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Wednesday 27th March 2007 |
Union Representative Shaun Shute joined Gloucester MP Parmjit Dhanda to discuss the proposed Mail Centre closure on the Mark Cummings show for
BBC Radio Gloucestershire |
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Friday 16th March 2007 |
Parmjit Dhanda, MP for Gloucester, has written to Baroness Prosser outlining some of the issues affecting female members of staff, should the Mail Centre close.
Read The Letter |
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Wednesday 7th March 2007 |
Following consultation with the local members, the CWU have issued a Press Release, detailing six alternative options to Royal Mail's plans, and the local member's lack of desire to relocate
to Swindon. Read The Press Release |
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Saturday 3rd March 2007 |
| There was a large turn out for the Branch CWU Annual AGM at Walls Sports & Social Club. Guest speaker Dave Ward, CWU Deputy General Secretary, (right) congratulated
the branch on their campaign to keep the Mail Centre open and pledged his ongoing support.
 Dave Ward, Sean McGeough (Branch
Chairman) and Paul Trehearne (Branch Secretary) prepare for the meeting (above). Jim Vickery, Branch Legal & Medical Representative, addresses the meeting (below). |
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Thursday 1st March 2007 |
As the online petition reaches 2,000 signatures, the paper petition passes 6,500,making a total of over 8,500. |
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Monday 18th February 2007 |
Staff within the Mail Centre have been sent details of the Local CWU Counter Proposals for the future of Gloucester Mail Centre, along with a "preference exercise" form, so that staff state
their views. The forms should be returned by 5th March, with the results expected shortly afterwards. Read the Counter Proposals |
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Thursday 15th February 2007 |
According to the BBC Website, a postcard is delivered in Wiltshire, 90 years late, after being found in the Swindon
Sorting Office. Is this the kind of service that the people of Gloucestershire can expect in future? |
|
Monday 5th February 2007 |
Laurence Robertson, MP for Tewkesbury, asks a question in Parliament, regarding the intended closure of the Mail Centre.
See the Hansard report |
|
Wednesday 31st January 2007 |
A special mention goes to Steve Mansell of the Late Shift, who today handed in 866 signatures for our petition. With the signatures from the paper and online petitions combined, we now
have over 8,000 signatures. |
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Tuesday 30th January 2007 |
The local branch of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are currently working on counter proposals which will go before the members in Gloucester for their views. They
are looking at 6 potential options, and will then undertake a consultation exercise with the members to see which option they want to put forward.
|
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Wednesday 24th January 2007 |
Staff are informed in small groups, by managers, that planning permission for the extension to Swindon Mail Centre - required to accommodate the extra work - has been granted. |
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Monday 8th January 2007 |
We have received some correspondence shared between Mark Harper, MP for Gloucestershire West, and Royal Mail Headquarters.
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Saturday 23rd December 2006 |
Everyone working on the campaign would
like to thank all of our supporters and everyone who has so far
signed our petitions. We wish you all Seasons Greetings and a Happy
New Year. The campaign will continue. |
|
Friday 22nd December 2006 |
| Gloucester MP Parmjit
Dhanda visits the mail centre to thank the staff for all
of their hard work over the Christmas period.
Wearing his "Save
Gloucestershire's Mail Centre" T-shirt and Baseball cap,
Parmjit met with staff and managers. |
Parmjit Dhanda MP
with Mail Centre Manager Peter Wilson |
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Thursday 21st December 2006 |
Due to the amount of work on hand at
Swindon Mail Centre yesterday (20th December) Gloucester Mail
Centre was asked to take a 50,000 item diversion. The mail was
received and processing without any delay or failure. Not bad
for a Mail Centre which is "not fit for purpose".
This clearance was achieved by the
dedicated and loyal workers at Gloucestershire's Mail Centre.
Imagine what could happen with a bit of investment in
Gloucestershire!
|
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Wednesday 20th December 2006 |
The number of signatures on our online
petition passes 1,500 with another 4,100 already on the paper
petition. |
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Tuesday 19th December 2006 |
Our campaign receives a mention in the
South West TUC's Christmas Newsletter -
"Save Gloucester Mail Centre
Royal Mail has announced the closure of the Mail Centre in
Gloucester where some 400 people work. The Communication Workers
Union members at Gloucester have agreed to fight this decision and a
campaign website is up and running. Part of the campaign is an online
petition to Alistair Darling calling on him to take the necessary
steps to stop this closure going ahead. Please go to the campaign web
address
www.savegloucestermailcentre.co.uk " |
|
Monday 18th December 2006 |
We have received a copy of the letter
sent to Royal Mail Chairman Allan Leighton, by Gloucestershire
County Council.
Read The Letter |
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Friday 15th December 2006 |
Gloucester MP, Parmjit Dhanda uses his
weekly column in The Citizen to write about the proposed closure of
the Mail Centre.
Read The Article
As promised, Gloucester City Council
has written to Royal Mail, outlining their opposition to the
proposed closure of Gloucester Mail Centre.
Read The Letter
David Drew, MP for Stroud, spoke
during yesterday's Parliamentary debate on the future of the Post
Office.
See The Debate |
|
Thursday 14th December 2006 |
The campaign to save the Mail Centre
features in local MP Parmjit Dhanda's Calendar
for 2006/7 |
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Friday 8th December
2006 |
Staff and local campaigners were
joined in Gloucester's Kings Square by Local MP Parmjit
Dhanda. As passers-by happily signed the campaign petition,
BBC TV's Points West programme recorded scenes and
interviews for their Lunchtime and afternoon bulletins.
Stickers (right) were also handed out for people
to attach to Their Christmas cards. If you would
like some stickers, please send us your name and
address by clicking on this one.
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 |
Read about it, and much more, at Parmjit's website
Parmjit Dhanda MP
(Gloucester) has been invited to a meeting with Royal Mail's
Area General Manager next Tuesday to receive a presentation
on the planned closure of Gloucestershire’s Mail Centre.
Parmjit requested that the
Communication Workers Union (CWU) is represented at the
meeting but the request was flatly turned down by Royal Mail
who said, “the meeting would not be constructive if the CWU
were present”.
Also, David Drew MP (Stroud) and
Martin Salter MP (Reading) have been invited
What have they got to hide? We
can imagine the slick presentation the MP’s are going to
receive. It will provide all the information that ROYAL MAIL
WANT THEM TO SEE without any input from the Union.
No matter how slick Royal Mail’s
presentation is or how they talk the proposed closure up it
will have a devastating affect on the employees in
Gloucestershire’s Mail Centre as over 400 jobs are in
jeopardy.
We also need to focus on is the
environmental impact this will have on Gloucestershire with
the additional large goods vehicles bringing mail back and
forth from Swindon.
Parmjit has requested some
additional information from the local CWU, which we will
gladly supply. He has also said that he will be taking notes
of the meeting and will share the details with us.
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Thursday 7th December 2006 |
A Christmas card, urging proper
investment in Gloucestershire's Mail Centre, has been sent to
Royal Mail Chairman Allan Leighton, Chief Executive Adam Crozier,
every member of the Post Office Board, every senior Government
Minister and all senior officers in the Communication Workers Union
(CWU). See the card |
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Wednesday 6th December 2006 |
The number of visitors to this site
passes the 5,000 mark |
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Monday 4th December 2006 |
So far, over 10,000 leaflets have been
delivered to addresses across Gloucester, with another 10,000 ready
to be delivered. If anyone can help, by delivering leaflets in your
area, then
Please Get In Touch |
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Friday 1st December 2006 |
Support for our campaign from
Solidarity
Magazine |
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Thursday 30th November 2006 |
|
The motion, listed below, was debated by
Gloucester City Council and was passed unanimously.
Read a
report of the Debate
(The document is written in Microsoft Word. If you have
difficulty opening the file, a "reader" can be downloaded
HERE) |
City Councillors and Postal staff, wearing their "Save
Gloucestershire's Mail Centre" T-shirts. |
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Sunday 26th November 2006 |
Following on from the motion approved by
Gloucestershire County Council, below, the City Council will debate the
following motion on Thursday 30th November -
"This Council notes with concern the
proposals by Royal Mail to close the Gloucester APC mail
processing centre at Eastern Avenue and transfer all
mail processing activities to a new facility to Swindon.
This Council notes and
congratulates at Save Gloucester Mail Centre Campaign
organised by the Communications Workers Union to raise
awareness of the proposals and to urge Royal Mail
management to withdraw them and retain mail processing
in Gloucester.
This Council therefore
resolves to:-
1) give
its support to the retention of mail processing at the
Eastern Avenue facility;
2) give
its full support to the Save Gloucester Mail Centre
Campaign;
3) write
to Royal Mail expressing its concerns;"
Further evidence of Royal Mail's
disregard for the environment has been brought to our attention.
|
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Wednesday 22nd November
2006 |
At a meeting of Gloucestershire County
Council it was unanimously agreed by the Council that a letter would be sent to the Royal Mail
Chairman and Chief Executive, expressing opposition at the planned
closure.
Read a report of the debate
Read the document prepared by the Communication Workers Union
(CWU) for the councillors.
(These documents are written in Microsoft Word. If you have
difficulty opening the files, a "reader" can be downloaded
HERE) |
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|
A group
of Postmen and Women at Shire Hall,
Gloucester, about to enter the Council
Chamber to see democracy in action. |
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There are now over
1,000 signatures on the online petition and over 2,000 so far on the
paper petition. With many more to come. |
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Friday 17th November
2006 |
The following objection
to the Planning Proposal to extend Swindon Mail Centre has been
lodged with Swindon District Council -
I wish to inform the
Authority that I object to the Planning Application
(S/06/2624) on the grounds that it is contrary to Planning
Policy Guidance. There are four pieces of
Legislation/Guidance that need to be adhered to with regard
to such planning applications as this one.
1. THE
PLANNING POLICY GUIDANCE (PPG MARCH 2001) 22.8 : The overall
objectives of the guidance are to integrate Planning and
Transport at the National, Regional, strategic, and local
level to reduce the need to travel, especially by car.
2. THE
ROAD TRAVEL REDUCTION ACT 1997 (RTRA) : Imposes a duty on
Highway Authorities to set targets for a reduction in the
level of traffic 92.2.13).
3. THE
TRANSPORT 2010 TEN YEAR PLAN (2.2.18) Clearly states that
all development proposals should not be reliant on private
car travel.
4. THE
WILTSHIRE AND SWINDON STRUCTURAL PLAN 2016 : One of the
policies (2.3.2) clearly expresses that plans should be
developed with a view to reducing the need to travel by
private car.
The Application
does not address any plans to reduce the reliance on the car
for people commuting from Gloucester or Reading. It is
simply not good enough to just say that the Railway Station
is 3.5 miles away and can be reached by the number 13 or 20
bus. There are no trains at 05.00hrs or 22.00hrs.And to
state that "it is often seen as the EASY OPTION to simply
jump in the car" is ridiculous. It is often the only option.
In its
conclusion on the Transport Assessment on page 49 they say
that "the traffic generated by this development will reduce
the overall traffic associated with the site by around 90
vehicles per day." How can this be? They are attracting
another 450 employees to the site yet say there will be 90
vehicles less per day! It just does not add up.
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Thursday 16th November
2006 |
There is to be a meeting
of Gloucestershire County Council, at Shire Hall, Gloucester on 22nd
November, which will debate the following motion -
"That this council
records its dismay at Royal Mail's recent announcement to
shut down its entire operation at the Eastern Avenue Mail
Centre, which will see 420 jobs lost.
No consultation had taken place at any level with the 420
employee's representatives, in fact Royal Mail have ignored
the agreements they had reached with respect to Mail Centre
restructuring.
This council
objects to Royal Mail's plans to send all mail posted in
Gloucestershire to Swindon. Their plan is going to have a
huge impact with the increase of heavy goods vehicles in and
out of the city. The loss of service is inevitable.
That this
council will contact the chief executive of Royal Mail
expressing this council’s opposition to the proposals.
The Council
would also wish to make representations to Swindon local
authority, about the effects on its own environment of
increased traffic from both Reading and Gloucester."
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Wednesday 15th November
2006 |
|
Staff show
their support for the campaign, by wearing t-shirts with
the slogan "Save Gloucestershire's Mail Centre". They
will continue to wear the t-shirts, every Wednesday,
until Royal Mail drop their proposals. For a montage of
other pictures, just click on this one
|
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Tuesday 14th November
2006 |
Who said
Gloucestershire's Mail Centre can't be extended.
With a bit of thought and money this temporary
accommodation could be removed, extended and
replaced with a proper building!
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Monday 13th November
2006 |
The trade and Industry
Secretary Alistair Darling was in Plymouth to address a meeting of
the city business leaders.
Not one’s to miss an
opportunity the CWU hand delivered a letter to Mr. Darling
detailing the campaign against the proposed closure of Gloucester
Mail Centre. Included in the envelope were snippets of media
coverage, the campaign website address and the Branch contact
details.
We hope that by
cutting through the red tape of contacting Government officials our
message will go straight to the top!
Read The Letter
(The document is written in Microsoft Word. If you have
difficulty opening the file, a "reader" can be downloaded
HERE)
The campaign is now
featured on the
Labourspace.com website, so please go along and add your support
for the campaign. |
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Saturday 11th November
2006 |
A members meeting at
Walls' Social Club saw speeches from Parmjit Dhanda, MP for
Gloucester, Martin Collins, CWU HQ Indoor Officer, Wayne Levvy, CWU
Distribution Rep Reading Mail Centre, and Paul Trehearne, Branch
Secretary Glos Amal. Pictures can be seen
HERE. |
|
Tuesday 7th November
2006 |
All CWU Shift
reps met with the Area General Manager and Kevin Cooper
recently to receive a presentation on the proposed closure
of Gloucestershire’s Mail Centre. Also in attendance was
Chris Tapper and Geoff Colwell, CWU Divisional Reps.
No new
information was presented to us but reps questioned Royal
Mail on a variety of issues such as:
-
Reasonable job
offers (Swindon)
-
Collection
Arrangements
-
Distribution
Arrangements
-
Conversation
from Full Time status to Part Time
-
Size of GL4 3AA
site and why it can not be made “fit for purpose”
Updates will be
available at the membership meeting on Saturday 11th
November.
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Monday 6th November 2006 |
We have received the
following confirmation from Swindon Council that anyone can post
comments, regarding Royal Mail's planning application -
"Further to your
email dated 01/11/06 - yes you can submit comments - it doesn't
matter where you live. if you visit the Council's website you will
see a list of
issues that can be considered. (www.swindon.gov.uk)
regards"
Janet Busby
So, please make your
objections clear, to planning application
number S/06/2624
You can now download
your own copy of the paper petition, by clicking
HERE
After a mention
in The Citizen, the number of unique visitors to this site
passes the 2,000 mark
|
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Sunday 5th November 2006 |
Our campaign is now
featured on the
Gloucestershire Green Party website |
|
Friday 4th November 2006 |
Branch
representatives met with Parmjit Dhanda MP and the director
of a major poster within Gloucester on Friday. The CWU
outlined its fears to the director if Royal Mail's plans to
shut the Mail Centre go ahead. We were told that part of the
reason he located his business in Gloucester was because of
the fantastic service he receives from the Mail Centre and
the close proximity to the Postal Service.
He told us that
he has already been approached by DHL, TNT and others who
have expressed an interest in taking his work away from
Royal Mail. He told us that he would not remove his postings
from Royal Mail, as he is happy with the current service he
receives from Gloucestershire’s Mail Centre. However he said
that if the service he currently receives were to be
effected he would seriously consider the approaches he has
had from the companies mentioned above.
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Thursday 2nd November
2006 |
Two items of news reach
us regarding Royal Mail Chairman Allan Leighton. Firstly, according
to
BBC News, the Government are
looking for a Deputy Chairman, in preparation for Mr Leighton's
departure from his job. Secondly, according to the
FT Website, Mr Leighton has been
asked by Prince Charles to set up work initiatives for young Muslims in
the North of England. This will come as little solace to the many
Muslims working in Gloucester Mail Centre, who will be put out of
work.
An objection to the
planning application - to extend Swindon Mail Centre - has been sent
by Shaun Shute.
"If
this planning application goes through then the Mail Centres in
Reading and Gloucester will close. This will result in the crazy
situation that a letter posted in Gloucester to Gloucester will have
to travel to and from Swindon before it can be delivered! The same
madness will prevail in Reading. Hundreds of workers will be
expected to travel to and from Swindon everyday in their cars. The
risk to safety from the increase in traffic is obvious particularly
on the perilous stretch of road between Crickley Hill and Nettleton
Bottom. Accidents on this part of the A417 are already 30% above the
national average. The effect on the environment that these extra
journeys will bring should also be considered. Huge Royal Mail
vehicles will also be entering and leaving Swindon seven days a week
morning, noon and night. I expect the increase in noise will also be
of concern to local residents." |
|
Wednesday 1st November
2006 |
To date, Martin Salter
MP's Early Day Motion
has been signed by 21 Labour MP's, 2 Liberal Democrats, 2 Plaid
Cymru, 2 Tory's and a Democratic Unionist Party MP. Please check to
see if your MP has signed. If not ,
then please
write to your MP and ask them to
sign, wherever you are in the UK.
(Residents of Gloucester should
note that as a Government Minister, Parmjit Dhanda MP is prohibited
from signing.)
Our campaign is now
featured at the
LabourStart website. Thanks for
their support. |
|
Monday 30th October 2006 |
A Members Meeting
will take place on Saturday 11th November 2006. The guest speakers
are Martin Collins CWU Indoor Officer and Wayne Levy - CWU
Distribution Rep Reading Mail Centre. This will again be at The Walls Club
starting 2pm, for around two hours. |
|
Sunday 29th October 2006 |
With people falling over
themselves to support us by signing our petition, the number of
visitors to this site passes 1,000 |
|
Saturday 28th October
2006 |
The
Online Petition
is now up and running |
|
Friday 27th October 2006 |
The Planning
Application,
number S/06/2624, has now been
submitted to Swindon Borough Council, to extend Swindon Mail Centre,
to cater for the additional work when Gloucester Mail Centre closes.
If you have good reason to oppose the application, then please
contact Swindon Borough Council. |
|
Monday 23rd October 2006 |
Postman Shaun Shute
receives a reply to an email that he sent to Royal Mail Chairman,
Allan Leighton -
"Shaun
Thanks for the email..
I can confirm that we are proposing to close Gloucester mail centre
and transfer the work to Swindon. The reasons for this
decision are explained below.
Firstly, we need to look at the wider context. Our business is
changing and we are facing increasing commercial challenges.
Our market share is starting to reduce and, with it, our income will
fall. Despite this we want to continue to improve things like
basic pay and working environment and we have committed to close the
significant deficit that exists in our pension fund.
In more recent years, the rate of performance improvement at Gloucester
mail centre has slowed with increasing competitive threat in the
area whilst other offices in Thames Valley have made some
significant improvements.
We know this is not due to the people who work at Gloucester who are
recognised as hard working, committed and with good team spirit.
However, the reality that other offices have improved their
performance so much, relative to Gloucester, is indicative of the
fact that the existing building is no longer fit for purpose and
that it is starting to hold back improvements in both cost and
quality of service.
Gloucester mail centre is an old building with significant space
constraints. As such, it is not suitable for the deployment of
new production control processes or automation equipment currently
being planned for letters, flats, packets and material handling.
We have looked at options to extend Gloucester mail centre and to
provide a new replacement in the Gloucester area. However,
these options are financially impracticable. The more viable
option is for us to extend Swindon Mail Centre and to absorb the
existing mail processing operation at Gloucester. I fully
realise our people at Gloucester won’t welcome this decision but
equally we needed to consider the full picture and implications for
the whole of the Thames Valley & Gloucester Area before
drawing up our plans.
kind regards
Allan" |
|
Friday 20th October 2006 |
Local
Communications Workers Union (CWU) representatives meet with Royal
Mail management in London.
A
meeting of the Gloucester Constituency Labour Party took
place where one of the speakers was Postman Shaun Shute.
Read Shaun's Speech.
They also received a report from the City's MP
Parmjit Dhanda. The report is reproduced below.
The proposed
closure of the Royal Mail Sorting Office on Eastern Avenue
has obviously come as a shock and huge disappointment to all
of us. I have been working with Martin Salter MP and David
Drew MP on an Early Day Motion 2803.
"That this
House condemns the proposal by Royal Mail to close its mail
centres at Gloucester and Reading and transfer operations to
Swindon; considers that Royal Mail should have consulted
fully, publishing all the evidence in full, before putting
forward such a proposal; believes that the centralising of
these mail centres will result in thousands of miles of
unnecessary and unsustainable journeys by road, thereby
causing entirely avoidable pollution and damage to the
environment; and further considers that this sets a
dangerous precedent for further closure of other mail
centres in the UK".
I am also in
the process of lobbying local companies who will be affected
by this decision and have been working with the CWU to
prevent this closure. I know that Shaun (Shute) is going to
talk in more detail about this issue; I think its really
important that we all show our utmost support for the CWU's
Campaign.
|
|
Thursday 19th October
2006 |
Without actually going public, this website has already had over 500
visitors. |
|
Wednesday 18th October 2006 |
An
Early Day Motion is tabled in the House of Commons, by Martin
Salter, MP for Reading -
'That
this House condemns the proposal by Royal Mail to close its mail
centres at Gloucester and Reading and transfer operations to
Swindon; considers that Royal Mail should have consulted fully,
publishing all the evidence in full, before putting forward such a
proposal; believes that the centralising of these mail centres will
result in thousands of miles of unnecessary and unsustainable
journeys by road, thereby causing entirely avoidable pollution and
damage to the environment; and further considers that this sets a
dangerous precedent for further closure of other mail centres in the
UK.'
Words
of support for our campaign received from Parmjit Dhanda, MP for
Gloucester.
Read Parmjit's Words |
|
Tuesday 17th October
2006 |
Reps had a
meeting with Parmjit Dhanda’s office today to discuss the
campaign and receive updates from him. We were told that the
MP for Reading, Martin Salter would be submitting an Early
Day Motion to Parliament on this matter. When this has been
submitted we will let you know.
The planning application to Swindon Borough Council is still
not listed on their website. The web address is
http://194.73.99.13/publicaccess/tdc/DcApplication/weeklylist_searchform.aspx.
We received information (from an unknown source) dated 13th
October, which states, “a planning application will be
submitted to Swindon Borough Council, seeking permission to
extend the current site at Rowland Hill Close….”. We assume
that there are problems with the actual application.
It was
expressed by Parmjit’s office that we need to keep the
campaign in the public eye. So keep your letters going into
the local press.
Words
of support for our campaign received from David Drew, MP for Stroud.
Read David's Words
Staff
have, naturally, been posing a selection of questions to the
management team behind the proposed changes. Local Union reps have
released a document, outlining their understanding of each answer.
Read The Document
(The document is written in Microsoft Word. If you have
difficulty opening the file, a "reader" can be downloaded
HERE) |
|
Monday
15th October 2006 |
 The
CWU National Youth event took place in
Bristol
between
13th and 15th October 2006. Delegates from the
Gloucestershire Amal Branch were Shuaib Bhaiyat (pictured),
Jess Spiers, Daniel Payne and Colin Graham. The main focus
for the Branch delegates was to get the message across to
everyone who attended the event that Royal Mail had
announced the closure of Gloucestershire’s Mail Centre in
2008 and for us to seek support for our campaign. The branch
delegates handed out cards advertising our website to all of
the delegates from across the country.
They also asked everyone to visit our website in order to
keep up with the campaign and to give their support, using
our online petition. There were people from all over the
country at the event. This gave us the opportunity to get
our message across to a wider audience.
Shuaib Bhaiyat addressed the meeting and spoke on behalf of
the Branch and told the General Secretary, Billy Hayes, and
other national officers that it has been announced that
Gloucestershire’s members wanted to fight Royal Mail’s
plans.
Shuaib stated, “we are a very good performing office but it
has not made any difference and now Royal Mail want to shut
our Mail Centre. This would have a huge impact on a lot of
our members”.
He continued, “If Royal Mail can shut Gloucestershire’s Mail
Centre regardless of us being a good performing office, they
will look at closing other down too”. Shuaib asked everyone
at the event to get support from his or her branches to help
save our Mail Centre.
The National Officers present at the event were asked to
support our campaign by lobbying Members of Parliament, as
we believe this is a national issue, which must be
addressed. The Youth Delegates from the Branch gained a lot
of support from those attending the event and gave our
campaign national coverage.
|
| Friday 13th October
2006 |
Branch Secretary and Political Officer met with Labour
Councillors from the County Council. It was a very productive
meeting where the Branch put across to Councillors the effects
of closing the Mail Centre. A draft motion was submitted to the
Councillors seeking their support for the campaign. It was
unanimously agreed by the Labour Group to support the fight to
keep Gloucestershire's Mail Centre open and have volunteered
themselves to help gain petition signatures etc when required.
It was also agreed that the campaign will be raised at the
Forest of Deal District Council with a view to getting support
from that local authority.
It was further agreed by the Branch Secretary and Political
officer that the councillors should amend the draft motion with
a view to getting it supported by all political parties on the
County Council at the next full meeting, which will be held on
22nd November at Shire Hall starting at 10am.
A letter
is received from Martin Collins at CWU Headquarters, confirming a
meeting with Royal Mail, for 20th October -
Further to my
previous letter of the 2nd October 2006 I can now confirm a
national meeting has been arranged to receive a presentation
in respect of the feasibility studies proposed that affects
Swindon, Reading and Gloucester.
The meeting
will take place at 10.30 am on Friday the 20th October 2006
at Rathbone Place, London and I would like the Branch
Secretaries and Area Processing Representatives from the
three Mail Centres and a Divisional Representative from
South Central and South West/South Wales to attend.
The intention
will be to hold a staffside meeting at 10 am prior to the
presentation and I would appreciate you confirming that you
will be available as soon as possible so that I can also
confirm the arrangement for this with you.
Yours
sincerely
MARTIN
COLLINS
ASSISTANT
SECRETARY
Our campaign
makes front page news on the Royal Mail users website
Hell Mail
|
|
Thursday 12th October 2006 |
Will the
Leader of the
House
have a word with the
Secretary of
State
for Trade and Industry about the policies that the
Royal Mail
is pursuing? I am thinking, in particular, of the decision
to announce the closure of both the Gloucester and Reading
sorting offices and to centralise those services on Swindon.
Will he ask, through his good offices, for the report on
which that decision is based to be made available to us?
Dare I say—on a day when environmental concerns are
uppermost in all our minds—that it is not very bright to
have a letter that is posted in Stroud possibly taken to
Swindon and then perhaps via Bristol back to Stroud. That is
not the way forward. Would he care to comment on that?
I understand
my hon. Friend's concern. There are questions to the
Secretary of
State
for Trade and Industry next Thursday and I hope that he
is able to raise that matter then. Meanwhile, I will
certainly pass on his concerns to my right hon. Friend
the
Secretary of
State.
We are all concerned. What he is talking about applies
not only to the
Post Office,
but to supermarkets: goods travel huge distances around
the country, apparently for no great purpose.
|
| Monday 9th
October 2006 - |
Email of
support was received from the local branch of the Communication
Managers Association (CMA) which stating "We ( CMA committee ) feel
that we can endorse your current campaign, subject to ratification
by our members at a meeting at the end of the month, to discuss this
& other serious issues facing our members. I can assure you this
will be a formality.We believe your campaign to be a sensible,
positive constructive one that we can sign up to and look forward to
sharing information & developing a strategy in serving all
stakeholders with an interest in retaining a Mail centre in Glos". |
| Thursday 5th
October 2006 - |
Extract
of letter from Dave Joyce at Communication Workers Union (CWU) Headquarters-
"Royal Mail Group is one
of the UK's largest consumers of transport services with a fleet of
some 33,000 vehicles. At the end of last month Royal Mail published
its third annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report for
2005-2006, in which the organisation continues to give a high
priority to minimising harmful emissions and reports on its
ongoing programme of reducing its CO2 greenhouse gas pollution
levels and fossil fuel consumption."
Yet Royal Mail still
intend to close Gloucester Mail Centre and endanger the environment by
sending staff and mail 34 miles to Swindon.
A CWU delegation
from Gloucestershire Amal Branch met with Martin Horwood MP
(Cheltenham) to discuss the impact the planned close would have on
the quality of service in Cheltenham. Martin was very supportive and
agreed to assist the CWU with its campaign to retain
Gloucestershire's Mail Centre.
Martin agreed to
write to the Area Manager for the Thames Valley & Gloucestershire
expressing his concerns. |
| Wednesday 4th
October 2006 - |
Royal
Mail concede that the way in which Mail Centre closures was
announced was not undertaken in line with previous agreements.
David Drew MP met
with CWU Branch Reps from the Mail Centre to discuss the impact the
planned closure would have. David Drew suggested that the potential
enviornmental impact would have a huge effect on the amount of cardon
emmissions within the Gloucestershire Area.
David pledged his
full support and would be writing to the Chairman of the Post Office
requesting a copy of the feasibility study they have undertaken. |
| Saturday 30 September 2006 - |
At a meeting of over 150 CWU members, it was decided to
oppose the closure. Speakers included Paul Trehearne - Branch
Secretary - and Parmjit Dhanda - MP for Gloucester. |
| Tuesday 26 September
2006 - |
Staff at Gloucester Mail Centre are informed of Royal
Mail's intention to close the office and relocate all work to
Swindon Mail Centre in 2008 |
Jack Straw
