Hi everyone,
I am not sure if co-op staff who are under 90 days consultation are aware that their colleagues in
thomas Cook and going places are to receive a better redundancy package than they are.
Co-op staff who have been refused the unity package by Peter Marks are entitled to an uplift from
statutary redundancy by 75% whereas our colleagues at Thomas Cook/Going places
get 2 x their weekly wage for every year worked. Nobody seems aware of this, why not?
Hmmm. This is interesting. Can we ask how you have this information and do you have anything to support this? If this is the case then we need proof! Thanks
Hi, we forwarded this to Peter Marks, and the joint venture hr department are to contact
Sharon Hainsworth of USDAW to put a statement out regarding the fact that the
two companies have apparantley not yet been 'harmonised' and that the packages do vary.
Well seeing as the companies have only been in the JV for 5 months, why should Co-op get the same as their TCook colleagues?
Redundancy package, discounts etc clearly this is about, what co-op staff can get for themselves than anything else. Whilst I do sympathise with the unfortunate circumstances of redundancy, clearly if this had been a big issue then the union reps for co-op would have agreed to redundancy package before the JV went ahead. If the unions were not happy then the JV would not have gone ahead.
Also how many Co-op staff have applied for TCook jobs over the years? I dare say alot less than the number of people who applied for TC jobs. They choose to work for Co-op, so why should they suddenly get the TCook benefits simply because the companies have been in a JV for 5months?
TC seem to expext those that are being made redundant in the so called JV and working at the Co Op to follow the Tc guidlines for selling holidays and there daily routines so why shouldnt Co Op staff have the same priviliges as there counterparts at TC.
@ jorda525 what an idiotic thing to say. Thomas Cook took on Co-op Travel staff and we do the same job, we work for the same company and yet apparently we don't deserve to be paid the same redundency package...? I think not. Thomas Cook are ridiculous.
Thomas Cook did not take on Co-op Travel. It was and is a Joint Venture between 2 companies for 5 years, working under the name Travel and Financial Services, which in 5 years can merge to become become 1 company or go their seperate ways.
Co-op staff were claiming to have been sold out by Mike Greenacre when this was announced, now suddenly after working together for 5 months and co-op staff realising that Thomas Cook get better than they do, they are not happy, well that is just unlucky.
So because Co-op staff are not getting the same that now means Thomas Cook are ridiculous? Talk about spitting your dummy out when you dont get what others are getting. The decisions about redundancy packages were agreed by the unions before the JV went ahead and they were happy with the proposals.
You dont see the Thomas Cook crying that they are not getting the food vouchers or Co-op discounts that Co-op staff get.
I am really annoyed at these comments that you are making it is obvious that you are not been made redundant and that your job is safe at this time but maybe not for too much longer the way Thomas cook are losing there money.
By the sound of your comments you dont have a heart. Do you have kids and a morgage that you have to support and pay for.
I never asked to merge with The great Thomas Cook at least I would still have a job if we had not.
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Kat - You still having a job is detable seen at the co-op could only make 100,000 profit in an entire year, it wouldnt have been long before they announced redundancies, just like Cooks have been doing over the last couple of years. (Even before the JV was announced or went ahead).
To answer your questions, yes I do have a family and a mortgage, and I have been made redundant in the past, so I know the hardship, maybe thats why Im heartless as you put it or I just know how to accept life and reality.
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A JV is where companies pool their resources together for a period of time, in this case its the retail and FE business for 5 years. After 5 years there are several options available, these being TC can buy out Co-op or the 2 companies go their seperate ways. If this was a merger then the Airline and Tour Op divisions would have been included, but they were not.
Because of the options available in 5 years thats 1 reason why the Co-op kept their name. Yes Thomas Cook have had bad finances last year but dont forget as a company Co-op only managed to make £100,000, says quite alot if thats all you can make in 1 year. not forgetting the £10million that Co-op will recieve for the next 5 years for been part of the JV. (That would not have happened in a merger!)
I never said that Cooks were more important, what I am saying is Co-op staff should recieve their company redundancy package and Cooks staff recieve the Cooks package. Everybody chooses which company to work for, unfortunately your package is not a good as the Cooks package.
Looking at the other perspective 2 weeks pay for every year worked at Thomas Cook, so that means all co-op staff recieve less than a weeks pay, as the JV has been going on for 5 months.
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I acknowledged that Thomas Cook are in bad financial shape. Shares are plummeting every day? Are you still in November 2011, the shares have sat steadily at 13p or near that mark for last few weeks, not an ideal share value but not plummeting everyday as you claim.
Please highlight the parts where I am immature and unintelligence? I have merely shown the real co-op staff, their ignorance, their attitudes and most importantly their greed. End of the day Co-op staff failed to get the package their Co-op colleagues in different job roles now they want the Thomas Cook package. As I put in my original post, the unions agreed to the redundancy package, so thats what you have got. I guarantee before long the Co-op staff will be shouting about Thomas Cook staff getting better discounts of 75% and 50% per person off holidays.
Just in response to some comments that have been made by Jorda 525.
Thank you for your explanation of the difference bewteen a joint venture and a merger. However please see the statement below from Simon Robinson, posted on Co-operative intranet in October. Could you be so kind as to explain to us all why he repeatedly refers to it as a merger??
Statement from Simon Robinson 4-10-2011
'The merger makes us the largest, so our next move is to become the most successful. We look very impressive on paper, but the secret to us achieving measurable success, and delivering value for our shareholders and customers, lies within our people, and how we maximise the numerous opportunities the merger brings. '
Thank you
As a Thomas Cook employee facing confirmed redundancy, i have to say that if the joint venture or merger or whatever you want to call it hadnt gone through then thomas cook and coop would still have been announcing redundancies regardless and the payouts would have been the same as they are now. Without being disrespectful, the coop havent complained at all the extra business they have got from thomas cooks bad press, or all the tv advertising which has taken place for them while thomas cook tv adverts have been cancelled.
Having lost numerous bookings to coop over dividend points and jet2 holidays.com, we at thomas cook havent received these benefits but it seems coop have received lots of thomas cooks sales tools. Judging by figures, coop have done very well out of this venture and at the end of the five years, i do think it will coop which will have done better from the venture.
In the meantime, yes some of us are being made redundant and yes the figures are different between tc and coop, but the figures are different for tc retail vs tc airline so just because you work for the same company doesnt mean u get the same package.
Nice one Classic - reading what you want to read and ignoring everything else. In his statement he refers to JV 3 times and merger twice. Did you notice the part where he wrote Joint Venture Operating Board?
The multiple references you apparently see, Simon Robinson is hardly repeatedly referring to a merger. Also Im sure if you look at more notices/updates/posts you will see that from Oct/Nov 2010 it has ALWAYS been referred to a JV not a merger.
The fact is that we are getting conflicting information from a lot of sources. Merger/ Joint Venture? Statutory redundancy/ enhanced? Our union advised us that Thomas Cook would only get Statutory redundancy and it was only fair they got the enhanced package we are getting. Which I agree is fair. Now we find out that Thomas Cook are getting a better enhancement than us. Naturally we are going to ask questions. wouldn't you?
I think that whatever your opinion is on this subject there is no need to get so personal and in some cases just plain nasty.
Naturally in these redundancy situations tensions are running high, but come on people. We are all aiming for the same goal! Lets be supportive of each other, whoever we work for!!
Good luck to everyone going through this horrible process!
I agree I would ask questions but from what I understand it has always been Thomas Cook policy to offer the enhanced package of 2 weeks pay for every year worked to all eligible staff. My point was that even if the Thomas Cook package is better, then thats good for Thomas Cook staff but unfortunate for Co-op staff. As Redundancy Imminent wrote TC Retail gets different to TC Airline.
Whilst there has been information / updates mentioning different terms such as merger / JV it was always made clear through media reports, internal communications etc that this is a JV, obviously people mentioning merger have been inaccurate including Simon Robinson.