CWU Youth Conference – Saturday 23rd January 2016 

The CWU Youth Conference will be held on Saturday 23rd January 2016 at The Mechanics Centre Ltd, 103 Princess Street (Major Street Entrance), Manchester, M1 6DD.

 

a) Motions

 

Each Regional Youth Committee will be entitled to submit ONE motion to the Conference Agenda.

 

Each Branch will be entitled to submit ONE motion to the Conference Agenda.

 

The Youth Committee will be entitled to submit THREE motions to the Conference Agenda.

 

Motions should be submitted electronically to conferences@cwu.org using the template attached. Branches or Regions who do not have this facility may request paper motion forms by contacting Angela Niven on 020 8971 7256.

 

Motion forms must be returned by Wednesday 9th December 2015. Anything received after this date will not be accepted. All sections of the form must be completed.  

 

Branches, Regions and the Advisory Committee are reminded that the Standing Orders Committee will not alter or amend any of the motions submitted therefore it is important that motions are checked before they are submitted.

 

If motions are being sent electronically they will only be accepted if sent to the above email address.

 

As with previous Conferences, the agenda will be structured in such a way as to maximise debate and participation by delegates. There will be 2 sections to the agenda, one for motions which are eligible for consideration for submission to General Conference, and one for motions that in the view of the Standing Orders Committee would not be admissible to the General Conference agenda.

 

 

 

 

 

Branches will be aware that the Youth Conference has the entitlement under the rules of the union to submit 2 motions to stand in the name of the conference to General Conference. It is therefore important that if branches wish their motions to be in this category, they must contain policy that is capable of being discharged by the NEC, as opposed to either of the Industrial Executives.

 

As with previous Conferences, the 2 motions for submission to the General Conference agenda will be decided from amongst those motions adopted at the Conference. A ballot to select the 2 motions will be held at the Conference.

 

b) Delegates

 

Details for registering delegates and observers will be issued in a further LTB. Any queries regarding the registration process should be directed to conferences@cwu.org

 

Regional Youth Committee Secretaries shall attend Youth Annual Conference in an

ex-officio capacity with the right to speak and move Motions on behalf of their

Regional Youth Committee but not to vote. Funding for Regional Youth Committee

Secretaries to attend Youth Annual Conference shall be from the General Fund.

 

Branch delegate entitlement to this Conference as agreed by the NEC is as follows:

 

 

Number of Young Members

Delegate

entitlement

1-249

1

250-499

2

500 and above

3

 

 

Branches are urged to make every effort to ensure that their delegation comprises members who are either 30 and under as of October or who are serving Branch Youth Officers. The expectation is that voting delegates aged over 30 will be present on an exceptional basis.

 

 

In order that we can cater for any delegate with special needs such as seating, etc., it is important that you advise us in writing of the name of the delegate(s) and the particular requirement by return but no later than Friday 8th January 2016.

 

c)​Election of Delegates to General Conference

 

As you will know, the Youth Conference will select two delegates to represent the Youth Members to attend General Conference 2016.

 

The Standing Orders for the Youth Conference will advise a ballot to select these two delegates and it will be conducted during Conference itself. Nominees must be members of the Union and have the support of their branch and/or Regional Youth Committee.  

 

Additionally, individuals must be willing to accept nomination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The exception to this are members of the Youth Committee themselves who may be proposed for these positions but need to have the nomination of the Youth Committee and/or any Regional Youth Committee.

 

Branches and Regional Youth Committees should forward any nominees on the attached form for this ballot to conferences@cwu.org

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

A P Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

 

CWU Retired Members Conference – Thursday 21st January 2016 

The CWU Retired Members Conference will be held on Thursday 21st January 2016 in the Crystal Suite, Britannia Hotel, Portland Street, Manchester M1 3LA.

a)​Delegates

Only Branches with Retired members Sections are entitled to send Delegates.

 

Branch delegate entitlement to this Conference as agreed by the NEC is as follows:

 

Number of Retired Members

Delegate

entitlement

1-249

1

250-499

2

500 and above

3

 

Retired Members Regional Committee Secretaries shall attend the Retired Members conference with the right to speak and move motions on behalf of their Retired Members Regional Committee but not to vote. Funding for Retired Members Regional Committee Secretaries to attend Retired Members Conference shall be from General Fund.

 

In order that we can cater for any delegate with special needs such as seating, etc., it is important that you advise us in writing of the name of the delegate(s) and the particular requirement by return but no later than Friday 8th January 2016.

 

b)​Motions

 

Each Branch is entitled to submit one motion for consideration to be included on the agenda of the Conference. Motions should be submitted electronically to conferences@cwu.org using the attached template. Confirmation of receipt of motion will be sent to branches within 72 hours. Should confirmation not be received within this time branches are asked to contact Angela Niven on 020 8971 7256 Branches who do not have this facility may request paper motion forms by contacting the Angela Niven on 020 8971 7256.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Branches, Regions and the Advisory Committee are reminded that the Standing Orders Committee will not alter or amend any of the motions submitted therefore it is important that motions are checked before they are submitted.

 

Each Retired Members Regional Committee is entitled to submit one Motion to the Retired Members Conference.

 

The Retired Members Advisory Committee are entitled to submit up to three motions to the Conference, standing in their name.

 

Motion forms must be returned by Tuesday 8th December 2015. Anything received after this date will not be accepted. All sections of the form must be completed.

 

If Motions are being sent electronically they will only be accepted to the above email address.

 

As with previous Conferences, the agenda will be structured in such a way as to maximise debate and participation by delegates. There will be 2 sections to the agenda, one for motions which are eligible for consideration for submission to General Conference, and one for motions that in the view of the Standing Orders Committee would not be admissible to the General Conference agenda.

 

Branches will be aware that the Retired Members’ Conference has the entitlement under the rules of the union to submit 2 motions to stand in the name of the conference to General Conference. It is therefore important that if branches wish their motions to be in this category, they must contain policy that is capable of being discharged by the NEC, as opposed to either of the Industrial Executives.

 

The 2 motions for submission to the General Conference agenda will be decided from amongst those motions adopted at the Conference. A ballot to select the 2 motions will be held at the Conference.

 

c)​Election of Delegates to General Conference

 

As you will know, the Retired Members’ Conference will select two delegates to represent the Retired Members to attend General Conference 2016.

 

The Standing Orders for the Retired Members’ Conference will advise a ballot to select these two delegates will be conducted during Conference itself.

 

Additionally, individuals must be willing to accept nomination, and must have the nomination of their own branch and/or the Retired Members’ Advisory Committee, to be eligible.

 

The exception to this are members of the Retired Members’ Advisory Committee themselves who may be proposed for these positions but need to have the nomination of the Retired Members’ Advisory Committee and/or any Regional Committee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to Chris Tapper either by post to head office or by email to Conferences@cwu.org

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

A P Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

 

National Network Review (Network 15) Update – Deployment Date 

Further to LTB 588/15 please find attached for your information a Joint Statement which communicates the 25th January 2016 as the agreed deployment date for the National Network Review (Network 15).

 

The aim will now be to ensure that duty sets and re-picks are concluded in readiness for the deployment date, in line with the terms of the attached Joint Statement. The NWG will remain available to offer advice and assistance where necessary.  

 

Branches and representatives are requested to ensure that our Network members are made aware of the contents of this LTB at the earliest opportunity.

 

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, e-mail: dwyatt@cwu.org or shayman@cwu.org quoting reference number: 233.11

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Davie Robertson

Assistant Secretary

 JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL LOGISTICS AND THE CWU REGARDING DEPLOYMENT OF THE NATIONAL NETWORK REVIEW

This Joint Statement confirms the agreed way forward in relation to the deployment of the National Network Review.

Both parties recognise that we are currently experiencing positive increases in Tracked customer demand and the overall volumetric growth in the pipeline as we move towards Christmas. It is therefore vital that everyone is fully focused on this critical operations period.

Given the above it has been jointly agreed not to deploy the National Network Review prior to Christmas.

This Joint Statement confirms that the deployment date for the National Network Review will be the 25th January 2016.

Both parties recognise that there will be some final areas of adjustment to be concluded and that local and national discussions will continue, in order to finalise duty sets and complete re-picks ahead of the deployment date.

Any issues which could place the agreed deployment date at risk must be referred to the National parties at the earliest possible opportunity to ensure these are addressed in a timely manner.

 

Euan McMurdo      Davie Robertson

Director Logistics      Assistant Secretary

Royal Mail                      CWU

Date: 5th November 2015

Notification of Welcome to Royal Mail Sessions (New Entrant Recruitment)
Branches will be aware that as part of the New Entrant Induction process agreed in 2006, the CWU has a timeslot of one hour allocated to recruit new entrants as members of the Union. In the past there has been no official structure in place to notify Branches of when or where the Welcome to Royal Mail (WTRM) sessions were taking place.
Colleagues will also be aware that in order to address the resourcing shortfalls that have crystallised of late, Royal Mail has embarked upon a recruitment drive across the country. How these resourcing shortfalls materialised is the subject of ongoing discussion with the business but in order to maximise the number of new entrants being engaged, Royal Mail notified the Union that they were making a temporary change to the induction training programme, whereby new entrants received their first day training in the workplace (covering health and safety) with the remaining induction training being carried out within one month of their appointment.
The Union immediately responded advising the business that this was unacceptable and that whilst we acknowledged the need to close the resourcing gaps as expediently as possible we could not accept that the CWU would not have access to new employees on commencement of their employment. A meeting subsequently took place with the business; in attendance for the Union was Shelley Banbury – PEC Member and Lynn Browne – Senior Field Organiser. As a result of this meeting the business has confirmed that in addition to new employees being given Health and Safety training, they will also be introduced to the CWU Representative. It is therefore imperative that CWU Representatives take this opportunity to recruit new employees.
Royal Mail also confirmed at the meeting that the CWU’s one hour slot would remain in place on day one and that the WTRM sessions have been revamped to make them more informative and professional. Given the aforementioned revamp, the CWU have agreed to change the one hour slot to commence at 11:00 as this is the optimum time given in the new programme.

COMMUNICATION WORKERS UNION

URGENT INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS
In addition to the above, the negotiators were successful in securing details of dates and venues of the day one training sessions, up to week commencing 30th November 2015 (copy attached). Further dates will be circulated to Branches in due course.

Any enquires from Branches /Representatives should be referred to Lynn Browne, Senior Field Organiser, lbrowne@cwu.org in the first instance.
Yours sincerely

Terry Pullinger​

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

 

Trade Union Bill: Government response to picketing consultation 

As you may have seen reported in the media today, the government published its response to its consultation on picketing provisions in the Trade Union Bill yesterday evening. This followed the TUC rally and lobby in Westminster on Monday, which was strongly attended by CWU branches across the country.

 

While the media have presented the government response to its consultation as ‘a climb-down’, it is important to be clear that the government has changed its position on just two issues.

 

• The government has tabled an amendment that relates to the picketing supervisor. Under the original wording in the Bill, the union would need to appoint a supervisor on a picket who would be required to show a letter of authorisation to ‘any person who reasonably asks to see it.’ The government is proposing to change this to require it to be shown to the employer, or someone acting on their behalf, only.

 

• Alongside the provisions on picketing within the Bill, the consultation asked for views on whether the government should create a new criminal offence of intimidation on the picket line and whether unions should be required to publish in advance their plans for protesting, using social media and picketing. The government has now stated that it will not take these things forward.

 

• However, in changing its position on the above two issues, the government has also announced that it will now strengthen the restrictions in the Code of Practice on Picketing to cover intimidation, the use of social media and wider protests around industrial disputes. We do not yet have any details about these proposals, but a failure to comply with the Code would have legal implications for the union.

 

It should be clear from the above, that while some progress has been made, the Bill remains a significant and wide-ranging attack on the trade union movement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next parliamentary stage of the Bill will take place on 10th November, when it will be voted on by the House of Commons, and we are expecting the government to respond to two other consultations – on the use of agency workers as strike-breakers and on balloting thresholds in the public sector – shortly.

 

Following the strong CWU presence at the TUC’s rally and lobby on 2nd November, we would ask Branches to continue lobbying Tory MPs, writing to local media and campaigning against the Bill on social media. We will update Branches on any further developments on the Bill as these occur and any queries on the contents of this LTB should be addressed to the General Secretary’s Office at gsoffice@cwu.org quoting reference GS13.1/LTB 708/15.

 

Yours sincerely

 

​ ​

 

Dave Ward​

General Secretary

AGREEMENT BETWEEN CWU & PARCELFORCE WORLDWIDE ON 2015 AUTUMN PRESSURE AND CHRISTMAS REMUNERATION PROPOSALS FOR ALL CWU GRADE DEPOT EMPLOYEES 

Branches and representatives will be aware that in previous years agreement has been reached with Parcelforce Worldwide in relation to incentive for volunteers to attend on the Saturdays and Sundays in the run up to Christmas.

 

IN LINE WITH THIS TRADITION PLEASE FIND ATTACHED FOR YOUR INFORMATION A COPY OF THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN CWU & PARCELFORCE WORLDWIDE ON 2015 AUTUMN PRESSURE AND CHRISTMAS REMUNERATION PROPOSALS FOR ALL CWU GRADE DEPOT EMPLOYEES, WHICH WAS ENDORSED BY THE POSTAL EXECUTIVE AT ITS MEETING ON THE 3RD NOVEMBER 2015.

 

IN RESPECT OF INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR ATTENDANCE OVER THE STATED PERIOD ARRANGEMENTS MIRROR THOSE ACHIEVED IN PREVIOUS YEARS. FOR 2015 HOWEVER THE WEEKENDS TO BE COVERED HAVE BEEN EXTENDED FROM 3 TO 4 AND INCLUDE THE LAST WEEKEND IN NOVEMBER WHEN BLACK FRIDAY FALLS. THIS OF COURSE AFFORDS OUR MEMBERS THE OPPORTUNITY OVER A LONGER TIME PERIOD TO ACHIEVE THE £36 INCENTIVE FOR COMMITMENT TO ATTEND FOR TWO OR MORE SATURDAY/SUNDAYS.

 

Clarification is also provided in respect of Saturday 26th December 2015 as the USO does not apply to Parcelforce operations.

 

You will also note that clarification in relation to seasonal cull arrangements has also been included in this year’s document. This ensures that the incentive arrangements for additional attendances for the dates outlined in the attached agreement will also be applied as appropriate at any cull site that is established.  

 

The department would be grateful if Branches and representatives would ensure that this LTB and its attachment are brought to the attention of our members.

 

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, e-mail: dwyatt@cwu.org or shayman@cwu.org quoting reference number: 106A.06

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

Davie Robertson

Assistant Secretary

 

AGREEMENT BETWEEN CWU & PARCELFORCE WORLDWIDE ON 2015 AUTUMN PRESSURE AND CHRISTMAS REMUNERATION PROPOSALS FOR ALL

CWU GRADE DEPOT EMPLOYEES

 

 

1. Introduction

 

This agreement has been reached to ensure that the expected increased volumes of traffic during the pre-Christmas and Christmas period can be delivered to meet customer requirements and to provide great quality of service performance. It also confirms the payment arrangements for December 2015 and the operating arrangements for the holiday period.

 

 

2. Pressure Period Working

 

It has been agreed between both parties that during the pressure period the following terms will apply for all CWU Graded Depot employees.  

 

Weekdays: Additional hours to be put in if necessary to handle increased workload, with scheduled attendance offered where appropriate and subject to normal conditions

 

Weekends: Local discussions will identify the requirement for scheduled attendance working on Saturday and Sundays for the period 28th November to 20th December 2015 inclusive. Where workload requires attendance for Saturday or Sunday working, employees will be invited to enter into an advance commitment to attend for any or all of the required Saturdays or Sundays. Upon the signing of this advance commitment, employees will be eligible for a special payment of £19.76 an hour for those days worked, equivalent to double the normal duty hourly rate, instead of the normal pre-scheduled or overtime rates. These arrangements will also apply to advance commitments for additional attendances performed on the Friday/Saturday, Saturday/Sunday and Sunday/Monday night shifts.

 

In addition, employees who sign for an advance commitment for two or more of the four Saturdays/Sundays highlighted previously and perform the work will receive a single payment of £36.00 in addition to the above rate.

 

The special payment will be offered for attendance of a minimum of six hours on each of the Saturdays/Sundays or night shifts as required.

 

Anyone committing under these arrangements to attend for more than one Saturday/Sunday who fails to fulfil their commitment will only receive the pre-scheduled rate of pay for any days attended and any previous payments made will be rectified accordingly on the next pay date.

 

Operations managers will meet unit reps to discuss the work and manpower plans required in each office. These meetings will identify the extent, if any, to which additional attendance over normal is required. Against this backdrop both parties commit to work together to ensure that the appropriate number of applicants required in each of the depots, on all of the days covered by this agreement, is fully met. In advance of signed commitments being made, volunteers will initially be sought on a without prejudice basis in order to gauge demand and assist in matching attendances to planned traffic levels on each of the relevant days.

 

 

3. Payment Arrangements

 

December salaries will be paid on 24th December 2015, and will include variable payments for the weeks commencing 16th November, 23th November, 30th November and 7th December. 

 

 

4. Attendance Arrangements

 

Exceptionally this year, Parcelforce Worldwide will be closed for business on Saturday 26th December. Depots will be open for business on all other days, including Saturdays where applicable, that are not designated bank or public holidays. 24th December, Christmas Eve, is a normal working day. Local discussions will take place over any necessary adjustments or reductions to duties, in line with previous agreements, on shifts either just before or just after the public holidays due to changes in network arrangements affecting the flow of work.

 

 

5. Seasonal Cull Operations

 

Arrangements in relation to seasonal cull activity, i.e. the Southern Cull, will be subject to a separate local agreement between the relevant Regional Organiser and AGM. Remuneration for additional attendances on the aforementioned dates will be on the same basis as detailed in this agreement, where applicable. Any variations to the remuneration package or standard terms and conditions as outlined in this agreement will be subject to negotiation at National level.

 

Any enquiries appertaining to this agreement should be referred directly to the respective Headquarters.

Davie Robertson​Sharon Sherriff

Assistant Secretary​Head of Employee Relations

Communication Workers Union​Parcelforce Worldwide

 

 

Date: 4th November 2015

National Youth Education Event 2015

Aston University Birmingham

 

Matt Bellamy – Youth Officer-Report Back

NYEE 2015 Report Back

Overview

Every year the CWU and National Youth Committee organise a weekend education event aimed at members and CWU activists under 30. This year the event was held at Aston University in Birmingham and saw members under 30 from across the country (as well as two members from CWU Ireland) come together for an intensive weekend of education and guest speakers. Below is an overview of the 3 day event.

Friday Evening

The evening started with a welcome from the chair of the Youth Committee Ben Adams followed by an ice-breaker session so everyone could get to know a bit about each other.

Saturday

The morning kicked off with a debate on the upcoming EU referendum and we was lucky enough to have two Labour Party MPs, one for and one against the EU to debate this issue. Before the debate started a vote was held with an overwhelming majority voting to remain within the EU. Emma Reynolds MP gave some very good arguments for the UK to stay as it is including, The EU arrest warrant, the new trade deal with Jaguar Land Rover to build it’s latest models in the UK rather than the cheaper option of India for the basis of easier trade within the EU, also, no other EU country has ever left the EU so it would be impossible to predict what would happen. Kate Hoey MP was against the UK’s membership with the EU and also gave some very good arguments including, trade would get better as it would be easier to trade with worldwide countries, the ability to secure our own trade deals, a Labour government would have the power to better human and workers rights, Royal Mail privatisation would have been potentially avoided, the billions it costs to be a member could go back into critical services like the NHS. I myself asked the question regarding the cost of membership and where did the money go? Emma Reynolds explained that although the true cost is unknown even to the government, money goes into poorer eastern countries in Europe as well as infrastructure and investment. Kate Hoey’s reply was that the UK public never sees a breakdown of money spent and explained that the UK usually is worse off and quoted that, ‘it costs the average family of four over £1,200 a year of their income to remain in the EU’. A vote was then held to see if peoples opinions had changed and the overwhelming majority were now ‘undecided’ over whether to stay or leave.

Afterwards the group was split into separate workshops. I attended the Generation Rent workshop, Generation Rent is a charity campaigning for better housing at an affordable rate. Betsy Dilner (director of Generation Rent) gave a very inspiring speech on the housing crisis that faces the UK, especially in cities and how the richer more densely populated areas of the UK are seeing renting and house prices spiral out of control and how a small box flat can cost more than a 4 bed farmhouse with acres of land in the country side.

Dave Ward (CWU General Secretary) gave an excellent speech on the Youth movement within the union. He expressed how he enjoys attending this event each year and is always left feeling confident of the future of the CWU from the passion and commitment young members have. He also said that the name ‘CWU Youth’ can be misleading and a bit demoralising and said that the name ‘CWU Next Generation’ would be more applicable and attract more young members into becoming activists. Dave also spoke about the Trade Union Bill currently being debated in parliament and how it will have a detrimental effect on all unions right to strike as well as terms and conditions negotiations with employers. I myself had a few minutes alone with Dave and used the opportunity to introduce myself and we talked about the social media campaign for his recent election and his commitment to the youth of the union.

Later in the day a round table discussion was held with Terry Pullinger (Deputy General Secretary Postal) and he spoke on the difficult challenge ahead for the CWU and the recent privatisation of Royal Mail. He said that the Agenda for Growth agreement was a first in the privatised sector and is a great agreement to secure our t&c’s if used correctly. He conducted a Q&A session which most questions were about people wanting to increase from PT to FT and how to go about doing that. Other discussions included, Bespoke D2D’s, Management pressure on members,  Management performing OPG work, New pay deal, Unrealistic budgets and targets. I myself did not get the opportunity to ask any questions but the questions raised by others showed problems that seem to be on a National scale.

Simon Sapper (National Officer for CWU and responsible for the Youth movement) gave a speech on the procedures of Youth and General Conference, he explained that motions submitted and debated have a real impact on the CWU and sets policy for the union. Simon gave us a small story on how CWU Youth started and explained how a young activist Dave Westbrook from Eastern Number 5 Branch in Peterborough submitted a motion to conference for a Youth Committee and this motion created what we see today regarding the youth movement within the CWU. He specified how one person created a whole new path for the CWU and how it as brought in new activists who have now excelled to national positions.

Saturday closed with a social event and dinner, the social included a set from Stephen Morrison-Burke a poet who speaks about his life and experiences. Although poetry is not personally my cup of tea, he did have a very good way with words and gave me a picture of his past life.

Sunday

Began with a Mock Conference where activists got up to speak and debate on motions submitted from the workshop groups from the Saturday. Some great debates and points were heard with first time speakers using the opportunity to gain confidence and experience of speaking at a conference. The day closed at 13:00.

The event was a brilliant way to connect with other young members and I recommend this event to other young members wanting to have more of a say within there workplace/CWU.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

 

Any Questions or Feedback?

 

Feel Free to contact me…                                          Matt Bellamy

YOUTH OFFICER

PO BOX 438

Peterborough

PE4 5PE             or email… mattbellamy.cwu@outlook.com

 

Useful Links

 

CWU

www.cwu.org

 

CWU Youth

www.cwuyouth.org

 

CWU Youth FaceBook Page

www.facebook.com/CWU-Youth-142657849100687/?fref=ts

 

Generation Rent

www.generationrent.org

 

Dave Ward

www.facebook.com/groups/davewardcwu/

 

Terry Pullinger

www.facebook.com/terrypullinger4dgsp/?fref=ts

 

Eastern 5 Branch Website

cwueastern5.wordpress.com

 

Eastern 5 Branch FaceBook Page

www.facebook.com/CWU-Eastern-No5-Branch-140817819301619/

Click on the link below to view the full report

NYEE 2015 Report Back