20/02/25 Community Union. Our Chairmans opening remarks.
"Hello and thank you everyone for coming today, I’d like to welcome you all to my home city of Sheffield, a city steeped in union tradition, from the vast steel works to the once thriving coal industry, the city has certainly seen it’s fair share of instances where unions have given essential support to its workers.
I welcome you here as the current Chair of Voice of the Postmaster, an organisation started just over 3 years ago to support Postmasters disillusioned by the lack of support and independence of other organisations, the general feeling being that it was not and still is not appropriate for an organisation representing postmasters to be funded by the very company who had anything but postmaster’s interests at heart.
We quickly grew as we strongly and publicly challenged POL continuously over the pathetic rate of remuneration given to postmasters and the extraordinary amount of money taken to run the organisation, we also challenged on the deep-lying culture within Post Office management that Postmasters were guilty of stealing money, when in fact it was a faulty IT system, compounded by the fact that they knew this and actively covered it up.
We have now been accepted as one of the three postmaster representative bodies and now have a place on the consultative council, which reports directly to the board, a fantastic achievement for a bunch of volunteers who have funded themselves for trips to London to see ministers of state and postal affairs ministers and to meet with various senior management within Post Office to challenge the status quo as being unacceptable to our futures. I would like to place on record my gratitude for everyone who has and continues to work on behalf of postmasters.
As with all successful voluntary organisations, you reach a point where your success demands more and more of your time, and you need more professional guidance to ensure that you are optimising every opportunity to properly represent the very people who have put their faith in you to protect their futures.
To this end, we started looking for a credible partner to join us in our mission. After much debate and research, we decided to approach Community Union, who we believe are best placed to help us on the next stage of our journey. This has proved to be an excellent choice, Community have been welcoming, open and patient with us from the very start. They have guided us through the process with no pressure and have even opened up contact with some of the other organisations that they have helped, to give us a better understanding of what we can expect.
Our hope is that this relationship will help us to better represent all postmasters to safeguard their investments and their futures. Never again should a postmaster be turned away when they need help most. I would urge every postmaster to join with Community Union to make sure that you have your say, not the opinion of someone who thinks they know what is best for you, but someone who asks you what you want for your future and demands it for you."
Welcome.
"Voice of the Postmaster" is an Organisation run by Postmasters, for Postmaster.
We offer support for all Postmasters where we can.
Members are regularly online to offer support on problems that you may be experiencing.
Our Mission
1) Fair remuneration for the work & responsibility we do for Post Office Ltd (POL). Taking into account the overheads involved.
2) The right to democratic independent representation on all matters.
3) The truth from Post Office Ltd about every branch’s future.
Network Strengthening
Through our network strengthening service, we work to enhance collaboration and communication among postmasters, leading to a more cohesive and resilient postal network.
"Join us" making a difference