JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL AND THE CWU COVERING THE SORTING OF SPECIAL DELIVERY GUARANTEED (SDG) ITEMS IN YORK CONTAINERS –EXTENSION OF USE
Dear Colleagues
Branches and representatives will recall that in May 2016, further to trial activity that had taken place and endorsement by the Postal Executive, the department communicated via LTB 309/16 the Joint Statement between Royal Mail and the CWU Covering the Sorting of Special Delivery Guaranteed (SDG) Items in York Containers.
Green Sleeved Yorks, secured using Unique Numbered SD seals, were used to ensure easy identification and security of this premium product stream and this new method was successfully trialed in Croydon, Manchester, Greenford, Newcastle and Bristol Mail Centres from October 15 to January 16.
The project eliminated a considerable amount of bag cutting and tipping in SD lockers, enhanced security and had no adverse impact on quality of service and was subsequently deployed at 24 Mail Centres in October 2016.
Further analysis and scoping has taken place since that time on the practicality of adopting the standard method on the Inward phase by dispatching SDG items to Delivery Units in Sleeved Yorks. The joint analysis which included a survey of current practice at all sites revealed that 21 Mail Centres are already dispatching SDG items to high volume Delivery Units in their catchment area in Red Sleeved Yorks, effectively adopting the method without one of the key elements.
Following full consultation with the CWU Outdoor department an extension of this standard practice has now been agreed to be deployed for the sorting and dispatching of SDG items from Inward Mail Centres to Delivery Offices.
The design principles already established and communicated via LTB 309/16 will be retained for the Inward operation resulting in a deployment of the standard method at 33 Mail Centres, including the 21 sites currently dispatching in Red Sleeved Yorks. 810 Delivery Offices served by those sites will receive their SDG items in Green Sleeved Yorks.
The remaining Mail Centre sites do not process sufficient volumes of SDG items to justify the change in method.
Given that on average Delivery Offices receive the equivalent of 1 York of SDG items, the introduction will have a minimal effect on Indoor workload in Delivery Units.
Attached for the information of Branches and representatives is the Joint Statement between Royal Mail and the CWU Covering the Sorting of Special Delivery Guaranteed (SDG) Items in York Containers – Extension of Use to allow the local activity to commence.
Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org or shayman@cwu.org quoting reference number: 709.03
Yours sincerely
Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary
JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL AND THE CWU COVERING THE SORTING OF SPECIAL DELIVERY GUARANTEED (SDG) ITEMS IN YORK CONTAINERS – EXTENSION OF USE
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 paramount to the success of the business and the commitment to employment security in all operational functions of the business.
The pressures of the increasingly competitive and rapidly evolving environment mean that we are committed to the strategic objective of creating and developing an agenda for traffic, product and revenue retention & growth and defining a tangible competitive response as a positive alternative to simply managing decline across the RM operational network.
Introduction
In keeping with the National Generic Trial/Deployment Frameworks, both parties agreed to trial the sorting and despatching of Special Delivery Guaranteed (SDG) items in sleeved York’s as the primary container. This new method was successfully trialled in Croydon, Manchester, Greenford, Newcastle and Bristol Mail Centres from Oct 15 to Jan 16.
Following a National Review of the trial by the Trial Co-ordination Joint Working Group the Outward SDG sleeved despatching is currently deployed at 24 Mail Centres (Annex A), establishing a new standard for sorting and despatching SDG items between Mail Centres.
Following full consultation with the CWU Outdoor Department and managerial colleagues from the Delivery Function, an extension of this standard practice has been agreed to be deployed for sorting and despatching of SDG items from Inward Mail Centres to Delivery Offices.
Operational Process
The new standard for despatching SDG items from Inward Mail Centres to Delivery Offices will be deployed at 33 Mail Centres despatching to 810 DO flows (to be validated during deployment, considering space/vehicle type/vehicle capacity etc.) listed in Annex B. The new process will enable c76% of total Inward SDG traffic to be processed in sleeved Yorks.
The following high level operational processes will be applied:
➢ Where a Mail Centre produces greater than half a York of SDG items per day for a single DO, they can scan and sort directly to a green sleeved York.
➢ SDG items transported where a York container cannot be utilised continue to be bagged.
➢ SDG items will be despatched in green zipped sleeves sealed with a unique numbered security seal.
➢ Each green sleeved York can accommodate up to 280 average-sized SDG items (the equivalent of 8 bags).
➢ If a sleeved flow produces less than half a York of SDG items or less than 35 items, this can be bagged.
➢ Only the green zipped sleeves may be used for SDG. If an office runs out they will need to revert to bags as a contingency.
➢ Where a Mail Centre provides a multiple breakdown (e.g. 09:00 items/SPDO items etc.) for a DO, they can sort the items in bags and label them accordingly before placing them in the sleeved York.
➢ Sleeved despatch will apply Monday to Friday only, as volumes at weekends are lower. Mail Centres will revert to bags for Saturday despatches.
➢ Heavy oversized items will continue to be despatched loose as per the current standard process.
➢ The National Circulation Team will review flows annually taking into account changes in volume and amend the master list accordingly and communicate changes.
Deployment
Deployment of the new process will commence in January 2017 and is scheduled to be completed by April 2017.
There will be effective meaningful consultation between local management, CWU representatives and employees/members on the changes to be deployed with this equipment. The introduction of any revised duty/attendance arrangements will be negotiated at local level in line with the IR Framework.
Local discussions will take place prior to implementation and will take into account/focus on all possible concerns, risks or difficulties associated with this project. This will ensure any unforeseen employee concerns are also resolved as quickly as possible, local parties will also meet regularly to monitor and review deployment arrangements.
Timely negotiations will take place between local managers, CWU IR Representatives and H&S Reps will be fully involved in all aspects of the planning for and actual deployment of the required new arrangements.
Training will be provided for all affected staff in the form of WTLL (Work Time Listening and Learning) and subsequently supported by Workplace Coaches.
CWU Representatives shall be given appropriate additional release to facilitate this and enable them to consult with members on the proposed change.
Any questions of interpretation, implementation, or application of this Joint Statement shall be referred to the respective Headquarters for resolution.
Davie RobertsonFrancis Williams
Assistant SecretaryHead of Parcel Design
CWURoyal Mail
Date: 10th January 2017
List of Outward Mail Centres despatching SDG items in Green Sleeved Yorks:
1. Birmingham
2. Bristol
3. Cardiff
4. Chester
5. Chelmsford
6. Croydon
7. Gatwick
8. Greenford
9. Home Counties North
10. Jubilee
11. Leeds
12. London Central
13. Medway
14. Preston
15. South Midlands
16. Peterborough
17. Romford
18. Sheffield
19. Swansea
20. Newcastle
21. Manchester
22. NW Midlands
23. Thames Valley
24. Warrington
ANNEX B
List of Inward Mail Centres flows:
1. Belfast
2. Birmingham
3. Bristol
4. Cardiff
5. Carlisle
6. Chelmsford
7. Chester
8. Croydon
9. Dorset
10. Edinburgh
11. Exeter
12. Gatwick
13. Glasgow
14. Greenford
15. Home Counties North
16. Inverness
17. Jubilee
18. Leeds
19. Manchester
20. Medway
21. Mount Pleasant
22. Norwich
23. Nottingham
24. Peterborough
25. Preston
26. Romford
27. Sheffield
28. South Midlands
29. Southampton
30. Swindon
31. Tyneside
32. Warrington
33. North West Midlands
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 
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