Royal Mail – Not For Sale!

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Feb 182011
 

Members of the Communication Workers Union will be holding a demonstration outside the St Nicholas Centre on Saturday February 26th to raise awareness of proposals put forward by the Government to privatise Royal Mail. Voice’s Stephen Davy-Osborne reports.

The proposal, set out earlier this year, sees the link between Royal Mail and the Post Office Ltd severed as Royal Mail becomes a privatised company, while the Post Office remains in public ownership under a partnership similar to that of the John Lewis Group.  These proposals have caused a great deal of concern to those employed by both organisations.

Once privatised, there would be no guarantee of Royal Mail making use of the Post Office network; which is already facing 900 closures up and down the country.   Once a vital amenity for any village, town or city; the Post Office has faced increased competition from other companies offering similar services resulting in decline in footfall, and therefore closures.

Alan Robertson, Secretary of the Grampian & Shetland branch of the CWU, is hopeful that further closures and subsequent job losses can be avoided:

“The future of the Post Office Ltd does not have to be gloomy.  If the Government stuck to its election promise of putting a fully-blown bank within the Post Office, then it would help secure its future. Last year alone 150 Post Offices shut down.  If privatised and not given banking services, then Post Offices will simply wither on the vine and the people who suffer the most will be the elderly, those in remote areas, and the most vulnerable in society.”

people think either it will never happen or it’s a ‘done deal’ – neither of which is true

Demonstrations and marches have been taking place up and down the country over the last few months, with many more yet to come.  Just last month following  the announcement of the proposed changes, the CWU marched on the constituencies of both David Cameron and Minister for Postal Affairs, Ed Davey, to highlight that privatisation is not in the best interests of Royal Mail or its users.

Members of the Grampian & Shetland branch of the CWU will also be journeying down to London at the end of March to join a march against cuts being organised by the TUC.

Royal Mail has attracted a lot of media attention over the past couple of years, with reports of inefficiencies and huge job losses on the horizon as it sought to compete in a modern market.  Despite the bad press, Mr Robertson is confident that things were starting to look up for Royal Mail:

“The long-term problems we have had are already being addressed.   Last April our membership ratified a three-year deal that accounts for things like the decline in mail, new machinery and ways of working.  This will lead to a significant drop in headcount for our members, but it has been done on a proper basis that will see a more efficient Royal Mail at the end of the three years.”

However, all of these agreed changes, which saw heavy campaigning from the unions to secure a fair outcome for all, could be put in jeopardy by privatisation.

The demonstration outside the St Nicholas Centre will therefore try and raise public awareness and let people know what the results of privatisation would mean to them.

“I believe that most people think either it will never happen or it’s a ‘done deal’ – neither of which is true.” adds Mr Robertson.

For further information and to show your support for one of the nation’s most vital public services, head along to the CWU’s demonstration outside Marks and Spencer, St Nicholas Centre between 11:00 and 13:00 on Saturday February 26th.

Taco Hell – City Team Roll On To Victory

 Aberdeen City, Articles, Community, Featured, Information, Sport  Comments Off on Taco Hell – City Team Roll On To Victory
Feb 182011
 

Roller Derby – Europes fastest growing sport – and Aberdeen is well up to speed. Voice’s Stephen Davy-Osborne and Fred Wilkinson were in attendance to check out the latest bout and spread the word about this new and exciting scene.

Last Saturday saw upward of two hundred brightly clad skaters and supporters descend on the Beach Leisure Centre for a roller derby of epic proportions between Aberdeen’s home grown team the Granite City Roller Girls and the Fear Maidens of Perth. The event was billed as ‘Taco Hell’ – sombreros and painted on moustaches being the order of the day as players and spectators endorsed the Mexican theme.

After an exciting display of speed, skill, balance, agility, and more than a few meaty challenges, the final score was a resounding success for the home team at 129 v 57.

Speaking after the derby, chairwoman of GCRG, Kirsten Reid (aka Krusty Thud) enthused by the success experienced by her up and coming team.

“Saturday was a huge success! 150+ spectators from all over Scotland and some from further field, made it a brilliant day.”

Equally enthused, treasurer Katrina Bird (Blood Red Bird) added:

“It was a good score from us but the Fear Maidens didn’t make it easy and we will have a fight on our hands with our return bout in Perth later on in the year”

The GCRG were founded in 2007 as the Aberdeen Aces, but a lack of training facilities meant that training could only take place in car parks, and other large, flat, open spaces.

It wasn’t until late 2008 that they were offered training ground with Aberdeen Lads Club in Tillydrone, that they re-launched themselves with a new name and set about recruiting new members, which initially proved somewhat of a struggle.

However, with the release of the film ‘Whip It!’ starring Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page, and an inspirational advertisement from Nike featuring roller derby, there came an influx of new members – with plans now to create a second team for the Granite city.

All this extra publicity can only do good for the relatively unknown sport, which has become the fastest growing contact sport in America and Europe.

“Finally, roller derby is being taken seriously and we are deeply proud to be a part of it” agree Kirsten and Katrina.

With their recent successes, the GCRG are keen to take their team to the next level, even considering the possibility of putting team members forward for the Scotland team competing in the first roller derby world cup, being held in Canada in December of this year.

The team are a non-profit organisation and fund everything themselves. They regularly hold fundraisers, with their sponsorship team always on the look-out for new sponsors, no matter how big or small, to help the team progress to their full potential.

However, it is not all about raising funds for the club –  a home bake sale at the derby this weekend past also saw the team raise over £100 for Northsound’s Cash for Kids charity.
Early March sees the girls heading down to Newcastle to play the Newcastle Roller Girls in their furthest away bout yet, followed by a home game against Edinburgh’s Cannon Belles at the Beach Leisure Centre on April 2nd. More details of these events can be found on the GCRG website:

www.granitecityrollergirls.org.