Postal strike for Christmas - you fools!

I agree, Ron.  It's really a stupid time to have a strike.  I'm not anti-union - many of the just labor laws we have over here, (and I'm guessing over there too) are due to unions organizing workers back in the days when they were totally exploited.  But now, with so many people out of work, it's a slap in the face to people who've lost their jobs to have to watch people lucky enough to still have them go on strike.  Especially if they're in an industry providing a much needed service.  They'd best be careful - when there a a lot of people standing in line for jobs while unions were making silly or untimely demands, they union could be broken.

We're all in this together.  I don't know what the postal workers' beef is over there, but shortened hours or furloughs are what so many people are going thru right now, as Stephanie said.  The postal service everywhere is suffering, just like any other business, due to reduced business.  Everything's going electronic, just like Peter said.  About the only thing I get in the mail nowadays are a couple of magazine subscriptions and the odd greeting card or letter (a lot fewer than years back).  The rest is all junk mail or solicitations from charities. 

One of the things I was glad to see over there is that the newspapers still seem fairly healthy.  Over here, all the big papers are going under.  No ad revenue, because advertisers are spending their money ot advertise where people get their news - TV or online.  The Phoenix paper is so skimpy now, it's barely worth reading.

"but shortened hours or furloughs are what so many people are going thru"

Well, that's a new word I've learnt today (furloughs), I had to Google it.  

Glad you learned a new word, David, like Ron said, the power of POE.  I've learned about a million new words since I've joined this forum. lol

Furloughs are a better option though, than layoffs, or, as you call them, redundacies.  The state government of Arizona is facing about a 3 billion dollar deficit for next fiscal year. Many agencies furloughed (it can be used as a verb too) their people by making them take one day off per pay period.  (One day out of 10).  Without pay.  So essentially the workers have to take a 10 percent pay cut to save the agency money, but they get the time off instead of having to just take a salary cut whilst working the same number of hours.  Most people would prefer being furloughed to losing their jobs.  And a lot of people, when surveyed, felt it was OK to take a furlough if it meant saving jobs.

Is that what they did at your husband's firm, Stephanie?

Lord Mandelson....Minister without responsibility says CWU. He apparently previously didn't have much faith in the Royal Mail management but appears to be in bed with them, is this the case, is it right?

Bottom line: The unelected Brown Government will do what they want anyhow!!

True enough, except for those folks who don't have computers at home.  Hard to believe, I know, that there's a human being out there getting through life without e-mail, but they do exist.