CURRENT AGREEMENTS
RECOMMENDATION 1
1
Delete Recommendation 1 Add New Recommendation 1:
NOT CARRIED
That no agreement is reached until all outstanding BT2010 payments have been made. When an Agreement is reached it must be consistent with the above report and which reaffirms commitment to our current Agreements, builds upon them and the growth agenda, resolves all outstanding issues and seeks to extend the agreed commitments, MTSF and the legally binding Agreement for a further five years.
South Central Postal
2
COMPOSITE 1
CARRIED
Add at End: that this Policy Forum welcomes an extension of the legal guarantees and MTSF, however this Policy Forum agrees that this must not be dependent on the CWU agreeing to Royal Mail’s ‘vision’ of the future strategy for the business or a pilot/agreement to extend the current OMP trial or a move to single wave sequencing.
Midlands Divisional Committee
Anglia Divisional Committee
London Divisional Committee
West London Postal
London South West
South East London
Northern/North West London
Mount Pleasant International
East London Postal
London Parcels and Stations Amal
London Phoenix
Eastern No.5
3
COMPOSITE 2
Add at end:
CARRIED
This Policy Forum believes that there is no coherent automation strategy. It is apparent that Royal Mail is inclined to finance a number of competing initiatives without any clarity around priorities or compatibility as well as the need to remove essential existing equipment to facilitate new machines.
This Forum is also concerned at the lack of any meaningful involvement of the CWU.
The Postal Executive must urgently engage with Royal Mail to prevent further occurrences of machine moves taking place without full involvement of the CWU, including Technical Services Representatives, to ensure such
decisions are in line with the BT2010 and the Agenda for Growth agreements for full consultation and genuine consensual change based on mutual interest.
This intervention is necessary in light of a recent undisclosed machine move of an iLSM from Peterborough Mail Centre to Chelmsford in February. This move took place without local, regional or National consultation with the CWU or notification to the NPG.
No further machine moves should take place until meaningful consultation has taken place in line with the principles of the Agenda for Growth, ie. Working together in a transparent way to develop letters strategy in a mutually beneficial way.
Consultation must consider the requirement to sustain the agreed Standard Maintenance Procedures (SMP) process to improve automation performance, quality and safety.
Should consultation not satisfy the above conditions it will be viewed as serious breach of current agreements and consideration will be given to raising a point of principle at National level.
Meridian
East Midlands
South Yorkshire
North East Anglia
4
Add at end:
CARRIED
This Policy forum recognises that with the inevitable reduction in the workforce going forward, that there should be no depreciation of the terms and conditions which are covered by the MTFS agreement and legally binding agreement.
Cleveland Amal
5
Add at end:
CARRIED
That management and CWU continue to explore more options to maintain the overall resourcing model based on predominately full time employment, with a diminishing indoor workload in Delivery and the option to look to extend outdoor delivery spans we must start to address the fatigue associated with longer spans. The CWU need to be at the forefront of developing spans that ensure our members are able to take breaks aligned to the structures, even if that means returning to the office to do so, thus giving a real opportunity for refreshment and replenishment which would be a mandatory requirement.
South and East Thames Amal
6
Add at End:
NOT CARRIED
That across RMG the CWU will engage in no further revision or savings activity until such a time as agreements are concluded on Recommendations 1.
Plymouth and East Cornwall Amal
7
Add at end:
CARRIED
However, if the business attempts to replace any of the agreements in recommendation 1 by executive action then a ballot 13 will be put in place
South East Wales Amal
RECOMMENDATION 2
8
COMPOSITE 3
Delete and Insert New Recommendation 2:
CARRIED
This policy forum recognises that Royal Mail have for some time systematically broken or not adhered to the following agreements
Filling of Vacancies (Stoke Agreement)
Increasing part time contracts hours in line with the agreed criteria in the Job Security agreement.
The Pay and Modernisation and the Agenda for Growth agreement in relation to reducing the use of agency staff and casuals.
Royal Mail’s contempt for these agreements has led to huge numbers of casuals, agency and managers performing OPG work at a time when we are being told that Royal Mail is inefficient.
Equally the above has led to falling quality of service standards and has put more pressure on CWU members.
The PEC is therefore instructed to negotiate a new Resourcing and Manpower agreement that is legally binding which includes the following points:
An improved filling of vacancies process which allows offices to agree a TM1 / establishment and for that to be recruited against and a process for filling any new vacancies.
That there should be the ability for the CWU and management to agree to recruit a vacancy to full time where there is suitable workload to support this and that this will be agreed at local level and not simply be blocked by the centre or HR.
That in line with the decision makers in the IR framework that local agreement can decide to increase a part timers contract where they are working above their contracted hours in line with the criteria of agenda for growth agreement.
That all sites where there are either casuals or agency staff working will undertake an review to establish what resourcing is needed against workload and if there is a need for an increase in staffing than this will be advertised as new Royal Mail jobs to be filled.
This list is not exhaustive
This policy forum further agrees that until the CWU achieves a new resourcing agreement than no further extension of the Walsall trial will be agreed and no agreement to roll out of their one wave strategy. If no agreement is achieved by conference 2016 than consideration will be given to suspending all support for revision activity.
An update on progress will be given at the CWU postal conference.
This PEC is instructed accordingly
London Divisional Committee
Anglia Divisional Committee
West London Postal
London South West
London Phoenix
South East London Postal and Counter
Northern/North West London
Mount Pleasant International
East London Postal
London Parcels and Stations Amal
London Postal Engineering
9
Add at End: If Carried 10 Falls
CARRIED
The 6-month reviews are a fundamental collective activity associated to both Agreements – Job Security and Agenda for Growth Stability and Long term Success (paragraph 2.7.7). So far Royal Mail has not matched its recorded commitments with actions, in the majority of cases. Therefore, going forward we need a framework process that provides assurances that these reviews have actually taken place inside a timely schedule.
These joint reviews will now take place in all Offices during the months of April and November. Local reviews will be undertaken and the outputs will be shared in area functional strategic involvement meetings. To support this, the Divisional Reps will meet with all the functional directors and IR manager to oversee that this commitment has been fulfilled. The headline data on staffing profiles and contractual reviews will form part of these higher level reviews. Once completed the collated data will then be fed back to the National Parties.
Midlands Divisional Committee
10
Add at End:
FELL AS 9 WAS CARRIED
Consideration will be given to introducing a formal process nationally that all joint reviews will now take place in all Offices during the months of April and October and the outputs shared with Divisional Representatives and National Officers.
Eastern No.6
11
Add at End: If Carried 12 Falls
CARRIED
In keeping with the principle of seeking a settlement for members that enforces and extends our existing agreements, in particular the JSA a comprehensive consultation exercise takes place, engaging our part time members to establish the size of the problem in terms of non adherence and application.
To ensure its application does not contravene the principles of seniority when increases in contractual hours are being considered.
That the 6 monthly reviews becomes a joint mandatory initiative overseen at HQ level. And is subject to National review on an ongoing basis.
Greater Manchester
12
Add at End:
FELL AS 11 WAS CARRIED
Time has now come for this union to use its influences in the workplace to expose Royal Mails failure to honour the job security agreement thus continuously obstructing opportunity to uplift part time to extra hours despite the glaring facts presented by the CWU at resource meetings and 6 monthly reviews. We need to consider where the unions priorities lie and use all means at our disposal to secure the terms of the policies contained in Motions in 31 at Conference 2014 and 97 in 2015 without further delay. It is no longer acceptable that our members lose out on average pay and permanent uplifts in hours whilst management work against the spirit of joint statements and legally binding agreements in place.
South and East Thames Amal
13
Add at End:
CARRIED
Given Royal Mail’s now preferred recruitment model of Agency staff conversions to OPG contracts, as a union we must ensure these members / workers are treated with fairness. Considering the time periods many such workers are in the industry ahead of receiving their contracts, the current business policy of new entrants terms & conditions (particularly around probationary periods and loss of sick pay) needs to be reviewed so it’s fit for purpose and a formal national Agency contract conversion agreement should be achieved to complement our existing nationally agreed policies on Resourcing. Furthermore, the CWU should strive for further recruitment and formal trade union recognition within these Employment Agencies where we have members to further ensure the betterment of these workers terms & conditions within our industry and fairness in opportunity.
South Midlands Postal
14
Add at End:
NOT CARRIED
This policy forum recognises that nearly half of Royal Mail’s workforce is currently over the age of 50, and that any future negotiations involving a 6 hour delivery should take this into account. The recent Long Term Fatigue Study No, 041/16 Ref; 600 highlighted some of the problems that our members have suffered as a result of prolonged workloads.
The postal executive is instructed to conduct a full examination prior to any negotiations, to ensure that our members don’t suffer any lasting effects as a result of Royal Mail’s 5 year savings plan. The finding are to be presented to all branches accordingly.
Cleveland Amal
15
Add at End:
NOT CARRIED
To ensure the business is serious regarding any commitment to cease the practice of managerial grades performing uniform grade work and to remove any budget and/or performance incentive for operational managers to attempt to circumvent such a commitment; the PEC is instructed to achieve agreement that in all cases where a manager performs uniform grade work, the hours will be recorded and a cash equivalent to the hours worked will be placed in an office bonus pot.
The sum accrued in the office bonus pot to be shared equally amongst the OPG graded staff in each office every 12 months in the second week of December.
Eastern No.3
16
Add at End:
CARRIED
This policy forum agrees that the job security agreement is in the main is an excellent national agreement. However, we recognise that that managers have not been deploying the agreement in spirit or intent.
Consequently this policy forum agrees the following;
The DGS(P) will inform RM that where a manager refuses to follow the Job Security Agreement we view this as a breach of the agreement which will deemed as executive action to which we will respond to accordingly.
In addition to (1) above we recognise that there is an anomaly with the agreement namely when additional hours are identified in line with para 3.3 less senior staff may be getting the advantage of increased contractual hourage. Therefore, any additional hours identified in line with para 3.3 should be attached to the duty that they are being regularly used against. This duty will then be deemed vacant, advertised and given to the most senior applicant thus ensuring the principle of seniority is maintained.
The PEC is instructed accordingly.
NW/NW Division
17
COMPOSITE 4
Add at end:
CARRIED
This Policy forum agrees that the CWU develop a training workshop to assist reps on the job security agreement and resourcing agreements as well as manpower planning assumptions.
North East Divisional Committee
Durham County Amal
South Yorkshire and District Amal
York and District Amal
Hull and East Ridings Amal
Newcastle Amal
18
Add at End:
NOT CARRIED
That across RMG the CWU will engage in no further revision or savings activity until such a time as agreements are concluded on Recommendations 2.
Plymouth and East Cornwall Amal
19
Add at End:
NOT CARRIED
If it is identified that Royal Mail are not adhering to the National Agreement and joint statement by Monday 25th April 2016 the CWU will call for a Rule 13 ballot.
South Central Postal
FUTURE DESIGN
RECOMMENDATION 3
20
Delete and add New Recommendation 3: If Carried 21 Falls
NOT CARRIED
That no agreement is given to OMP/Single Wave until a new pipeline/workplan is agreed which embraces the spirit and intent of the above report and ensures that the core of delivery duties will commence no later than 7am and which ensures that all deliveries are performed properly in line with our Agreements e.g. start times, equipment, tools and meal breaks.
South Central Postal
21
COMPOSITE 5
Add at end:
CARRIED
That this Policy Forum recognises that Royal Mail’s vision for the future is to artificially delay the work in the network to drive one wave and later deliveries.
Royal Mail’s far reaching strategy is based on significant numbers of job losses in all functions and the creation of a predominately part time flexible workforce.
This Policy Forum rejects Royal Mail’s strategy, and will oppose it by all means necessary.
Alternatively the CWU will launch a campaign amongst the Public, Businesses and Charities etc. which highlights the fact that Royal Mail’s first business plan post privatisation is to worsen the time that customers receive their mail.
Additionally the CWU will explore an alternative strategy which allows work to be delivered from 0700 on one or two or three deliveries.
This strategy will allow for bespoke services to be delivered later to grow the business i.e. later acceptance times and same day.
The CWU strategy will allow the opportunity to grow in the parcels business and protect full time jobs with well-paid part time jobs.
A joint working group will be set up with involvement of Officers, PEC, Field officials and Area reps and Branches to design the strategy which will be presented to Conference 2016 or another Policy Forum.
Any attempts by the Businesses to introduce one wave or other parts of their strategy without agreement will be resisted by all means necessary.
London Divisional Committee
Midlands Divisional Committee
London Parcels and Stations Amal
West London Postal
London No. 7
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 
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