WTRM Sessions

WTRM Sessions
This LTB follows previous information circulated to Branches regarding the Welcome to Royal Mail events.
Against a backdrop of falling membership, it is clearly of vital importance that the Union and its Branches are in a position to provide adequate and trained resource to attend the Welcome to Royal Mail events and ensure that we maximise the number of new entrants we recruit into the CWU, prior to them being dispersed to their respective units. However, it’s clear that problems have been encountered meeting this commitment which, on occasions, has resulted in the Union losing the crucial opportunity we have to recruit new members from the outset of their employment.
Branches and Representatives will recognise the importance of securing new members as soon as they enter the business which helps to strengthen our workplace organisation and provide the Union with greater long term stability. As part of the ongoing activity around WTRM (and following an in-depth discussion at the last meeting of the Postal Executive) immediate action has been taken to ensure that the Union and its Branches are in a stronger position to make the best use of the time we have allotted under the current national agreement to introduce and recruit new members to the Union. We also need to recognise that, in many instances, this will be their first encounter with a Trade Union and the concept of organised labour in the workplace – so we need to make these induction sessions count.
In view of the limited success of the initial WTRM activity (and despite the best efforts of Branches and colleagues who support these recruitment efforts) a number of meetings have been held with the business aimed at reviewing the structure and accessibility to the WTRM sessions and to maximise the opportunity for the CWU to attend and recruit new entrants.
The revised process will include timely notification of the WTRM sessions and their locations. This will ensure that Representatives are able to prepare in advance of the meeting with new entrants, and focus on the areas associated with a particular workplace or function (i.e. local workplace organisation, name of Rep(s), number of members on site, Branch details etc). It has also been agreed to change the 1 hour time slot for the CWU to commence at 11am and conclude no later than 12pm.
We can also confirm that additional locations have now been added to the original WTRM sites so there are now 30 in total (listed below):
Aberdeen Mail Centre
Battersea DO
Belfast Delivery Office
Carlisle Mail Centre
Edinburgh Delivery Office
Glasgow Mail Centre
Leeds Mail Centre
Manchester Mail Centre
Preston Mail Centre
HR Service Centre
Tyneside Mail Centre
Croydon Mail Centre
Tonbridge Mail Centre
Norwich Mail Centre
Northampton East Delivery Office
Peterborough Mail Centre
Ilford Delivery Office
Leicester Delivery Office
Chelmsford Mail Centre
Greenford Mail Centre
North West Midlands Mail Centre
Bristol Mail Centre
Shirley Delivery Office
Plymouth Mail Centre
Wheatstone House
Birmingham Mail Centre
Chester Delivery Office
Swansea Mail Centre
Warrington Mail Centre
Cardiff Mail Centre
 
Branches and Representatives will be aware that the Postal Department, in consultation with the Senior Organiser and the wider Organising team have provided information to assist recruitment activity at WTRM sessions and have produced handouts, leaflets and booklets which detail the benefits of Union membership. This information is supported by a specially commissioned DVD to be shown to new entrants that focuses on the Union’s positive role in the workplace and other benefits of membership.
Notwithstanding the above, the Postal Executive believe it would also be appropriate to provide additional support to help deliver the Union’s message at the WTRM sessions and, in doing so, hopefully increase the number of new entrants who take up Union membership. Branches and Representatives will recognise the importance of having an agreement that gives the Union access to all new RM employees and provides us with a valuable opportunity to showcase the CWU and the benefits of Union membership.
As a result, a recruitment workshop has been designed to up-skill and support those Representatives who undertake recruitment activity on behalf of their Branch or workplace. This is an ideal opportunity for existing Representatives to expand their role and develop their approach in speaking to an audience, as well as drawing on their own personal experiences of the CWU and learn to recruit new entrants to the Union in a classroom environment.
The workshops are open to all CWU Representatives currently employed in a Royal Mail business unit or function and, in particular, those who have a genuine interest in growing the Union’s membership and being the face of the CWU at the WTRM sessions in your location.
Any Representative who is interested in participating in this workshop should contact Lynn Browne at LBrowne@cwu.org (Mbl: 07753 776364)no later than 30th September. We would encourage a range of applicants that reflect the diversity of the Union’s wider membership. 
The workshops commence at 11.00 and are scheduled to conclude by 15.00. They will be delivered by the Postal Field Organisers and arranged on a regional basis to maximise the opportunity for colleagues to attend. The details of the current venues are listed below.
North East – Regional Office, 4th October

Scotland – Glasgow and District Branch Office, 4th October

Midlands – Birmingham Branch Office, 11th October

Wales – Gwent Amal Branch Office, 4th October

Eastern – CWUHQ, 4th October

South East – CWUHQ, 18th October

South West – Bristol Branch Office, 4th October

South West – Exeter Branch Office, 11th October

North West – Greater Manchester Branch Office, 11th October

Northern Ireland – CWU Office Belfast, 4th October

London – London Regional Office, 11th October

 
Yours sincerely
 
Terry Pullinger

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 550/16 – WTRM Sessions