National Terms of Reference – Royal Mail Application Digitalising Something for You Cards and Redelivery Trial
 
Dear Colleagues
Branches and Representatives will be aware of the number of projects relating to delivery related trial activity as Royal Mail bid to compete in the Parcels market, and improve the service provision for customers by improving the final mile experience for the customer through digital/mobile applications.
As a result we have agreed to trial a process to digitalise the customer journey for P739 (Something for You Cards) and Re-delivery. The trial will run from 23rd January to 18th February 2017 inclusive and be undertaken at Kingston upon Thames & Surbiton, Newbury, Peckham, Glasgow 13 & 14, Chester, Ringwood and Chesterfield Delivery Offices.
The trial will take place in the following manner and explore:
The trial will utilise Royal Mail Group Employees in place of the receiving customer as “participants” to test the process and gather learning.

The trial will have an impact on Customer Service Points. There is no change to the delivery process.

Participants that have an item undelivered with a barcode will automatically receive an email with an electronic version of the P739 attached. The e739 is triggered by the unable to deliver scan.

The Participant on visiting the Customer Service Point will show the electronic P739 on their mobile phone and provide identification as per the standard operating procedure in order to collect their item.

The Trial will also include digitalisation of the re-delivery process. Participants will be able to request a redelivery via the Royal Mail Application which will appear on CLEO/SPS for action.

We have agreed that Colleagues working in Customer Service Points and Workplace Coaches within the selected trial delivery offices will be invited to input to training, communication and support aids to inform further expansion. 
A joint formal review will take place at the end of February 2017 by RM and CWU Nationally taking full account of all experiences and the feedback gathered in the trial units jointly from CWU/RM. Any wider roll out beyond the trial units will not be introduced without further joint discussion and national agreement.
Any queries to the content of the above please contact the Outdoor Department reference 530
Email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org
 
Yours Sincerely,
 
Mark Baulch  
CWU A/Assistant Secretary
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 755/17 – National Terms of Reference – Royal Mail Application Digitalising Something for You Cards and Redelivery Trial

UPDATE: JOINT COMMUNICATION ROYAL MAIL AND CWU REGARDING THE JOINT REVIEW OF ACTIVITY VALUE ANALYSIS (AVA) IN PROCESSING AND ADMIN
 
Dear Colleagues
Branches and representatives will be aware that LTB 724/16 was circulated on 15th December 2016 in order to communicate details in relation to the Terms of Reference between Royal Mail and the CWU Covering the Joint Review of Activity Value Analysis (AVA).
In line with the above mentioned terms of reference discussions and meetings with the business have continued to take place in order to develop and formalise the Joint Working Group approach that is to be adopted for the AVA activity.
To ensure that all parties are kept fully informed in respect of the activity that is to take place it has been jointly agreed to circulate the attached communication.
We believe that the attached is self-explanatory and provides clarification as to how the various strands involved in the activity will be progressed. If however you should require any assistance please use the contact details for Mahmood Ali or Ian Ward, Postal Executive Members, that are provided or contact the relevant department.
Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to the relevant Officer:
Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org or shayman@cwu.org quoting reference number: 052
or
Andy Furey, Assistant Secretary, email: lsheridan@cwu.org quoting reference number 900.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Davie Robertson Andy Furey  
Assistant Secretary Assistant Secretary  
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 003/17 UPDATE: JOINT COMMUNICATION ROYAL MAIL AND CWU REGARDING THE JOINT REVIEW OF ACTIVITY VALUE ANALYSIS (AVA) IN PROCESSING AND ADMIN

Attaching ment 1: Update 003/17 Update – AVA Joint Communication- 04.01.17

Royal Mail Pension Consultation
Further to LTBs 390/2016 and 479/2016, I write to inform Branches that I believe the long anticipated Royal Mail consultation on their proposed closure of the RMPP DB scheme is imminent.
Colleagues will recall that the business wrote to all RMPP scheme members in June 2016 confirming their belief that the scheme cannot remain open to future accrual beyond March 2018. In order that the Company meets its responsibilities and obligations under the current regulatory and pension rules the decision on closure has to be made by March 2017.
To ensure the Company meets its obligations under pension rules, Royal Mail are required to undertake a 60 day consultation on their proposal to close the scheme. The Company therefore has no choice but to commence the consultation process so that a final decision can be in place by this year’s March deadline. 
Royal Mail are also duty bound to ensure that the consultation is carried out in good faith, taking all responses into account and that the language of the consultation will not make employees feel that the proposals are fait accompli regardless of their views.
CWU Position
Branches will be aware that news of the pending consultation and the potential closure of the scheme were leaked to the press way before the Company wrote to the scheme’s members in June 2016. This act formed part of the much wider held suspicion that Royal Mail are moving away from the mutual interest commitments enshrined in our current National Agreements in favour of short term profits and shareholder appeasement.
As a consequence of these suspicions and the widely held view of activists that the Company were changing direction and moving away from the spirit of our agreements, a CWU Policy Forum was convened in March 2016 where Branches and the union’s Senior Field Officials set out the key objectives required to restore confidence that management are still committed to the spirit and intent of our Agreements.

There is no doubt that Branches and Representatives of all positions and the wider membership, are fully aware that our industry has never been under so much pressure with issues such as competition, regulation and new technology all intensifying at pace. The move on pensions, the desire to trial and use new technology which will impact on jobs and duty design and the incessant efficiency drive, dictates that the time is now right for us to negotiate a new Agreement with Royal Mail.
The key ‘Pillars of Security’ we need in order to restore our confidence in cooperation going forward are;
 An agreed solution to the pension situation which ensures that the pension promise and the principle of a ‘wage and dignity in retirement’ is in place for all our members in both the DB and DC schemes.
 An agreed commitment to and a timescale for a reduction in the current full-time 39hr week to 35hr gross.
 That the commitments and legally binding provisions of our current Agreements are reaffirmed and extended.
 That a new Pipeline/Workplan is agreed in line with our policies which reverses the trend for later and later delivery start times and enables Royal Mail to maximise the potential of our core USO delivery, offering to deliver new growth opportunities right across the day from 7am onwards.
Against that backdrop it needs to be understood that whilst pursuing our policies to secure and reach Agreement is our priority, the Postal Executive will not hesitate to enact our policy to ballot for industrial action if Royal Mail fail to reach Agreement with us or announce Executive Action on the closure of the DB pension scheme, the introduction of new technology or cost cutting efficiency initiatives that undermine both our current National Agreements and/or the terms and conditions of any CWU Grades within Royal Mail Group.
Clearly it is essential that Branches commence briefing their members on the content of this LTB with immediate effect. Equally, the Postal Department will, in conjunction with the CWU’s Communications Department, commence designing and developing communication strategies to ensure that our members fully understand both the policies and the direction we are taking in their interests.
Yours sincerely

Terry Pullinger

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)  
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 001/17 Royal Mail Pension Consultation

Health, Safety & Environment Department LTB’s Digest for 2016:
As in previous years the Health, Safety & Environment Dept are circulating, for the particular attention of Safety Representatives, a digest list of LTB’s issued by the Health, Safety & Environment Department for 2016. 
I attach for your information a digest list of LTB’s issued by the Health, Safety & Environment Department during 2016 which the department issues annually as a reference document. 
Copies of all back-number LTBs are available for downloading via the CWU Website or on request directly from the Health, Safety & Environment Department. 
Copies of minutes of the NEC HS&E Committee are also available on request. 
Yours sincerely

 
Dave Joyce

National Health, Safety & Environment Officer
 
 
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 002/17 Health, Safety & Environment Department LTB’s Digest for 2016

LTB Digest 2016

AIR NETWORK REVIEW – PHASE 5 PROPOSAL REMOVAL OF SKYNET 14 (NEWCASTLE EMA – NEWCASTLE), SKYNET 6 (NEWCASTLE – STANSTED) AND SKYNET 7 (STANSTED – NEWCASTLE) 
 
Dear Colleagues
Branches and representatives will be aware that LTB 767/14, Joint Statement on Revision of Air Network Services, communicated the details of the process that would be adopted in relation to review activity.
The business presented their initial proposals in relation to the Phase 5 activity in Summer of 2016. These proposals highlighted a number of concerns for the CWU and for the first time indicated that Delivery Arrival times would be impacted, which was out with the Joint Statement agreed in 2014.
Extensive cross departmental discussions have therefore been taking place with the business in order to address the areas of concern. Those discussions have culminated in the attached Joint Statement being agreed and endorsed by the Postal Executive, which now enables the Phase 5 review activity to commence.
Branches will note that the attached Joint Statement confirms the necessary safeguards and agreed actions to mitigate the impact on the Delivery Function and formalises the commencement of the formal Air Network process agreed in 2014, a copy of which is also attached for your ease of reference.
Branches will also note that the attached joint statement establishes that in effect the formal Air Network Review process commences from this point and discussions will be progressed in line with the established Working Group approach, including the full involvement of representatives from the affected sites.
Following discussions, in line with the agreed Air Network Review process the Air Network Working Group will be required to agree a formal recommendation to the NLSG on deployment and until that point the company will not serve notice on existing arrangements with the Air Service supplier.
In commencing the process both departments recognise that significant challenges remain in relation to the proposal. However, we believe that we are now in a position where the discussions can commence in line with the terms of the Air Network Review and the attached Joint Statement.
Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to:
Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, quoting reference: 211.08.
Email Address: shayman@cwu.org
or
Bob Gibson’s Office, quoting reference: 535. 
Email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org
 
Yours sincerely  
 
 
Davie Robertson Mark Baulch  
CWU Assistant Secretary CWU Assistant Secretary – Outdoor  
 
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 756/16 – AIR NETWORK REVIEW

Attachment 1 – Joint Statement – Newcastle Air Review