Joint Statement Between Royal Mail And The CWU Covering Tracked 24 High Volume Extended Collection LATs At NDC
Branches and representatives will be aware that Royal Mail and the CWU are working together in order to develop mutual interest solutions and factor into them opportunities to deliver on the core commitments contained in the Agenda for Growth, Stability and Long Term Success Agreement.
That agreement recognised the need for a greater focus on growth via introducing enhanced customer offerings on current product range, creating growth through better utilisation of our existing pipeline and exploring more radical solutions.
It has been decided to introduce an improved collection option from Monday to Friday which will allow our customers to process orders later into the day and get the item to the consumer faster.
This positive development will enable Royal Mail to compete for more of this business and in doing so it is hoped to build and retain traffic volumes that might have otherwise been lost to other competitors.
It is against this backdrop that a Joint Statement covering the introduction of Tracked 24 High Volume Extended Collection LATs at NDC has been agreed and is attached for the information of Branches and representatives.
The improvements to Monday to Friday collections and distribution for high volume Tracked 24 customers accessing the National Distribution Centre (NDC) will incorporate the following from mid August/early September 2015 and will put the business on par with its competitors:
• NDC extend LATs by 1 hour from 20:00 to 21:00 for National next day coverage;
• NDC extend LATs by 1.5 hours from 22:00 to 23:30 for core coverage;
• Core will now include parts of Scotland, i.e. EH1-17 & G1-84
The attached Joint Statement provides information in relation to the operational changes. The main effect of this service change will be experienced by NDC and the Mail Centre operated distribution services at the following sites:
• Edinburgh MC
• Glasgow MC
• Bristol MC
• Cardiff MC
• Carlisle MC
• Dorset MC
• Exeter MC
• Ipswich MC
• Manchester MC
• Newcastle MC
• Norwich MC
• Portsmouth MC
• Southampton MC
• Swansea MC
Branches are requested to ensure that this LTB and its attachment are circulated to the attention of all affected representatives as a matter of urgency.
Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Joe Malone, Acting Assistant Secretary, e-mail: dwyatt@cwu.org or shayman@cwu.org quoting reference number: 709.02
Yours sincerely
Joe Malone
Acting Assistant Secretary
JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL AND THE CWU COVERING TRACKED 24 HIGH VOLUME EXTENDED COLLECTION LATs AT NDC
Background
Royal Mail (RM) and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are working together in developing key business policies, mutual interest solutions and a new culture, all of which are at the core of the commitments in the Agenda for Growth, Stability and Long Term Success Agreement.
Both parties recognise that creating the right joint working environment is key to the success of the business and the commitment to provide employment security in all operational functions of the business.
Both parties recognise the pressures of the increasingly competitive and rapidly evolving environment and are committed to the strategic objective of creating and developing an agenda for traffic, product and revenue retention & growth, as a positive alternative to simply managing decline across the RM operational network and defining a tangible competitive response.
Introduction
Parcels competition continues to increase with competitors expanding their networks and delivering enhanced customer services. Royal Mail is responding to the market challenges through a number of initiatives designed to defend and grow revenue & traffic, and to extend Royal Mail service capabilities.
Online retail is increasingly becoming 24/7 with shoppers ordering later into the evening. Retailers are now picking and packing their orders later into the evening to improve delivered service times. Therefore we are introducing an improved collection option for Royal Mail Tracked 24 high volume to retailers, which will allow our customers to process orders later into the day and get the item to the consumer faster.
We are introducing these changes so that we can compete more effectively with competitors who are already offering this facility. These changes will enable Royal Mail to compete for business we would otherwise not have access to and in addition we can retain volumes that might otherwise go to our competitors. This is good for our company and our people.
What We Are Changing
Against that backdrop we are improving our weekday collections and distribution for high volume Tracked 24 customers accessing the National Distribution Centre (NDC) i.e.
a) NDC extend LATs by 1 hour from 20:00 to 21:00 for national next day coverage;
b) NDC extend LATs by 1.5 hours from 22:00 to 23:30 for core coverage;
c) Core will now include parts of Scotland, i.e. EH1-17 & G1-84;
d) Available Monday to Friday.
This puts us on par with our competitors.
When Are We Changing
Currently the sales teams are being briefed and customers will be able to access this enhancement to collection from mid August/early September 2015.
Operational Impact
This enhancement to the service will have the following impact on operational units:
a) Vehicle Operating Centres will plan and resource T24HV customer collections according to customer demand;
b) National Distribution Centre will plan and align resource to later collection arrivals and process to revised LAT T24HV workplan 23:30;
c) An investment in despatch to final wave of T24 Mail Centre services (including 12 new shuttle services);
d) Mail Centres operating 12 new shuttle services from NDC departing 01:30;
e) Services timed to connect with MC to DO and MPU feeders with no changes, apart from the EH1-17 and G1-48 postcodes where connectivity to the DO’s will be supported with additional feeder services (where current CSS waves cannot be utilised);
f) G & EH – Operate 1 shuttle service to Carlisle Mail Centre for mails transfer;
g) Glasgow Deliveries operate up to 35 DO feeder runs into Glasgow Mail Centre to depart 07:50 (fewer if CSS feeder runs already exist);
h) Edinburgh Deliveries operate up to 10 DO feeder runs into Edinburgh Mail Centre to depart 08:11 (fewer if CSS feeder runs already exist).
The introduction of any revised duty/attendance arrangements will be negotiated at local level in line with the IR Framework to meet customer collection times.
This service enhancement does not affect any part of the National workplan, including deliveries.
The change of service will have a minor impact in regard to Network services which will be dealt with in line with existing agreements.
Involvement
Timely engagement will take place between local managers and CWU IR representatives in the process for taking on new customers and appropriate Union release time will be provided for the CWU representatives to ensure meaningful involvement.
Any questions of interpretation, implementation, or application of this Joint Statement shall be referred to the respective Headquarters for resolution.
Joe MaloneFrancis Williams
Acting Assistant SecretaryHead of Parcel Design
CWURoyal Mail
Date: 4th August 2015
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 
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