16^th July Members Meeting Report with Tony Bouch

Tony opened the meeting by informing people that Royal Mail on Friday 14^th July 2017 had shifted their stance on Pensions and submitted an improved offer to the Union. He wanted to make it clear, the business has shifted their position twice now regarding Pensions, purely on the strength of CWU members support for the Four Pillars Campaign. The new offer from the business will see them pay in 13.6% contributions (currently stands at 17.1%). This new scheme proposed by the business will see each individual with 3 separate schemes running alongside each other. It is the CWU view that this is a deliberate attempt by the business to confuse people into not understanding how much money they will be losing.

Tony went on to explain that on 28^th June 2017 the national officers of the CWU met with 20 financial experts from around the UK including MPs, business owners and media executives to outline the CWU counter proposal on Pensions. The union wish to expose the business and will use all media outlets when the time comes if national talks break down.

The business pay offer of £250 plus 30 minutes reduction in the working week (if all other proposals are accepted) Tony said was an absolute insult to delivery members, who walk up and down 29 million paths in all weathers 6 days a week. Some of these proposals include…

Monthly pay, removal of election payments, Christmas bonus payment linked to performance, attendance procedure reviewed (no appeal at stage 1 and 2) and a professional manager i.e. legal expert to undertake the stage 3 dismissal interview. This is for one reason only, to make sure the case is water tight should a tribunal be raised. There are currently 285 national agreements in place and it is the business’ wishes to review these and reduce in order to make it easier for managers to control.

The business also made it their intention for all new starters to only be on 80% of the pay of full time employees and with no shift allowance applicable to them. Under the business’ plans it will take a new starter 4 years to reach the same pay as an existing employee. This contradicts the 2014 national agreement ‘agenda for growth’ which the business signed up to a no 2 tier workforce.

As for deliveries Tony said the business has made it clear to the union, it is their intention for delivery finish times to finish 2 hours later and the USO moved from 1500 hours to 1700 hours. The union counter argument is come the winter months, in some parts of the country it is near darkness about 16:00 hours and our member’s health and safety will never be compromised. The business said 25% of all UK deliveries are not completed within their duty times and their plans are for Postmen/women to ‘have route ownership’ of their rounds, which each person would have to agree to never extend or cut off. They have also plans for individuals to work in groups where they would be responsible to cover annual leave and sickness. Data capture chips and swipe cards were another one of the contentious issues the business has put forward. Their wish is for chips to be blue toothed to various points around the local office in order for managers to track employees within a 5 metre radius. It is the CWU belief these plans are just to get members put on the conduct code.

Most of the business’ proposals are completely unworkable as any delivery member reading this will understand. The general feeling amongst CWU national officers is that the business have not thought any of their plans through. Tony said that across the country the business has some very good managers and directors who understand how things work, but these people are not what the business want. To confirm this Tony said the chief negotiator for Royal Mail in direct talks with himself and Mark Baulch CWU Outdoor Secretary has only been employed by the company for 3 years and has never undertaken a delivery in his life.

This dispute is not about improving the service or efficiency, it’s purely about saving money and cost cutting. This union will get this exact message out to the general public through various media contacts and members. Please continue to support your reps and turn up at gate meetings and spread the message in the workplace. With our members support, the business will have no option but to come to its senses and get an agreement with your union. Members doing nothing will only strengthen the business’ hand in bringing in all the ridiculous points raised above.

Cheers, Lee Walsh

Peterborough Deliveries Sub Rep

UNITE AGAINST FASCISM RALLY – SATURDAY 22ND JULY, ROCHDALE
The purpose of this LTB is to ask all CWU Branches to join and support the above rally which has been organised by Unite Against Fascism to counter the Britain First rally. 
 
The Unite Against Fascism rally details are as follows:
Date: Saturday 22nd July

Time: Meeting at 12 noon

Venue: The Butts opposite Weatherspoons, Rochdale Town Centre, OL6 1ES 
 
For further information please see links to social media and UAF site:
https://www.facebook.com/Unite-Against-fascist-Britain-First-in-Rochdale-1359389044138690/
http://uaf.org.uk/2017/07/protest-no-to-fascist-britain-first-in-rochdale-july-22/
Any enquiries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed to the Senior Deputy General Secretary’s Department on telephone number 020 8971 7237, or email address sdgs@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely,
 
TONY KEARNS

SENIOR DEPUTY GENERAL SECRETARY
 
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 405/17 – Unite Against Fascism Rally – Saturday 22nd July, Rochdale

Proud of the work the reps have put into delivering the 4 Pillars message to our members. Proud of the members for standing together to defend our terms and conditions. CWU and Proud! #4pillars #TheCWU #cwueastern5 

Royal Mail Group (RMG) Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Standard 2.7 “Management of Dog Attack Risks”:
To: All Branches
Dear Colleagues,
This LTB is to raise awareness amongst ASRs and Regional Health and Safety Forums of Royal Mail Group (RMG) Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Management System Standard 2.7 “Management of Dog Attack Risks”. The Health Safety & Environment Department wishes to raise awareness of the requirements of the Safety Standard and ensure compliance as we come to the end of the 2017 RMG/CWU Dog Awareness Week.  
The Standard applies across the whole of RMG and sets out the arrangements for addressing and managing the risks of dog attacks on collections and delivery members. Inherent in the standard is the belief that workers should be able to undertake their work without being subject to dog attacks. As a result it is agreed that the approach taken to manage the risk will be focused on prevention of dog attacks with the arrangements for handling an attack considered as necessary but a secondary approach to the overall approach.
Managers of Collections and Delivery will ensure that the appropriate Workplace Offsite Risk Assessment (E.g. WRAP) is completed and up to date for all duties under their control (See SHE Standard 2.4 – Off Site Workplace Risk Assessment).
The RMG SHE Team will maintain a procedure for the management of Dog Attack Risks. These are maintained in the Management of Dog Attack Risk Guidance (Appendix 1).
All incidents will be recorded using the Dog Attack Risk Template ‘DART’ Form (Appendix 2).
All incidents will be considered by the SHE Team for ‘Private Prosecution’ using the Dog Attack Report Programme (DARP) where the Police and CPS decide not to prosecute. To date around 12 such cases of dog attacks ending in CWU Members being attacked and injured have been taken via this route and all have successfully ended in the dog owner being prosecuted.
There is a Dog Attack Risk Control Matrix at Appendix 3 to provide guidance on suitable control measures.  
The standard sets out Royal Mail’s Zero Tolerance Approach to significant dog risks and confirms that under circumstances where the risk of a dog attack is unacceptably high, managers are supported in suspending deliveries or collections to the relevant premises or locations until such time as the risk has been controlled appropriately or eliminated.
It’s up to every collections and delivery worker to ensure that dog-related information for their duty is up to date and to adopt the control measures specified by their manager.
CWU ASRs will be fully involved and consulted on Walk Risk Assessments completion and in discussions on risk levels and the development and deployment of appropriate control measures to reduce and control the risk of dog attacks. Managers will monitor and review delivery and collection risk controls jointly with the ASR and where a Dog Attack takes place the manager will provide a copy of the Dog Attack Report Template Form to the ASR.
The Standard document and Guidance cover:- Routine Monitoring, Incident Investigation, Post Incident Actions, Controls, Analysis, Prosecutions and Private Prosecutions, Criminal and Civil Prosecutions, Communications and Auditing with the Guidance Document going into greater detail and it includes the DART Report Form.
This standard sets out the agreed Royal Mail policy approach which in summary is:-
“Royal Mail Has a Zero Tolerance Approach To Dog Attacks”

“Delivery and Collections Staff are supported in not completing a delivery or collection to premises where they find, as a result of their own assessment, on arrival at the premises that there is an unacceptable risk of a dog attack.”

“At the earliest opportunity, exposure to a dog threat or dog attack incident should be reported to the Manager”

Where there are Dog Attack Risk issues on a duty the manager must consult the CWU ASR to discuss the level of risk and the development and deployment of control measures.

Once measures are deployed they must remain in place as long as required and they must be monitored and regularly reviewed with the CWU ASR.

When a Dog Attack takes place the Unit Manager must share a copy of the ‘DART’ Report form with the CWU ASR and the victim.

IMPORTANT:
Too many dog attacks and dog incident near misses go unreported and that situation is unhelpful in many respects. THE MESSAGE TO MEMBERS IS TO REPORT ALL DOG INCIDENTS NO MATTER HOW MINOR. IT COULD BE FAR WORSE NEXT TIME!
Attachments:
RMG SHE Standard 2.7 “Management of Dog Attack Risks”.
RMG SHE Standard 2.7 “Management of Dog Attack Risks” – Guidance.
RMG ‘StaySafe’ Dog Attack Risk Control Matrix (App3).
‘DART’ Report Form (App2)
Yours sincerely
Dave Joyce

National Health, Safety & Environment Officer
Email Attachments – Click to download
Attachment 1 – LTB397/17 Royal Mail Group (RMG) Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Standard 2.7 “Management of Dog Attack Risks”:

Attachment 2 – Standard 2.7 Management of Dog Attack Risks (v 1.3)

Attachment 3 – Management of Dog Attack Guidance (v 1.3)

Attachment 4 – StaySafe – Dog Attack Risk Control Matrix (Appendix 3) (v2 2)

Attachment 5 – Copy of DART_(Appendix_2)_(v1.0)

Royal Mail Group – Fire Safety Week 17 to 23 July 2017 – Campaign to Raise Awareness of Fire Safety Management:
To: All Postal Branches

All Branch Area Safety Representatives

  All Regional Health and Safety Forums 
Dear Colleagues, 
Here are the final confirmed details of the 2017 Royal Mail Group, Fire Safety Week.
RMG Fire Safety Week is being deployed this year with the full support of the CWU and will therefore have the full involvement of Area and Workplace Safety Representatives who should now be proactively making contact with PiCs (Person in Charge) and Area Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Advisors to plan support and involvement during the week. See attached RMG Royal Mail Property & Facilities Solutions/CWU Joint Statement. 
CWU Safety Reps are entitled to be involved, consulted and to input in, Fire Risk Assessment Reviews, Fire Evacuation Plans, Fire Drills etc. 
CWU support has been welcomed by the Royal Mail Group Property & Facilities Solutions National Fire Safety Manager, so please make it happen locally. 
The purpose of Fire Safety Week is to raise or keep fire safety in focus and ensure fire safety is understood and supported throughout Royal Mail Group. 
Royal Mail must carry out fire safety risk assessments for their premises and keep it up to date. This shares the same approach as health and safety risk assessments. Based on the findings of the assessments, Royal Mail needs to ensure that adequate and appropriate fire safety measures are in place to minimise the risk of injury or loss of life in the event of a fire. The assessments need to be reviewed and kept up to date. 
The purpose of this forthcoming campaign is to help raise awareness of the role and responsibilities of RMG Persons in Control (PiCs) who play an important role when it comes to managing fire safety within the areas under their control. 
This is to ensure RMG’s legal requirements are met and to ensure the workforce and visitors to the properties/offices are kept safe at all times. 
“Fire Safety Week” will take place during Week Commencing 17 July and with it there will be a series of tasks that the Person in Control will need to complete as part of the SHE Task Calendar and associated PiC Task List. A Fire Safety Pack is being deployed across RMG for PiCs information and a copy is attached for ASRs, WSRs and Branches to cascade to Reps.
PiCs are required to complete three key tasks:-
Update and close out the Fire Risk Assessment Actions.

Check Fire Evacuation Plans and Personal Evacuation Plans.

Ensure that all Employees have received their fire training and test this by carrying out fire alarm evacuation exercise.

NOTE: Where Unit Managers are not the nominated Person in Control (PiC), then it is the responsibility of the Unit Manager to ensure the PiC is aware of Fire Safety Week and support them with completion of the tasks required of them. 
PiCs will involve and consult with CWU Area and Workplace Safety Reps about: –
fire Risk assessments,

proposals for improving fire safety,

informing and instructing staff on fire risks and precautions,

nomination of Fire Wardens,

any issues or risks identified which might affect the safety of the employees and proposed remedial action.

Work time learning should be used to ensure employees and building users understand their duties and responsibilities toward fire safety, for example: understand emergency evacuation procedures, good housekeeping or where unacceptable working practices have been identified. Tasks already undertaken may mean that staff only require a brief update and communication across the building users.
Any non-RMG occupants e.g. Quadrant, external tenants should be briefed on any changes of a joint fire evacuation plan.
Attachments:
RMPFS Fire Safety Week Pack (Includes: RMTV Fire Safety Summary, Fire Safety Week Task List and Guide, Fire safety Week WTL, Programme Summary, Fire Safety Weeks Opps Briefing, FSW Overview, SHE Task Calendar).

RMG Fire Precautions Guide.

Fire Safety Good Practice Guide.

Fire Safety Check List.

RMG Induction to Fire safety.

RMG Fire Safety Week 2017 Joint Statement.

Raising Faults or Queries
Raise faults or queries by contacting the Property & Facilities Helpdesk on 0844 800 9191
Fire Related Queries and Further Assistance
Any Fire related queries and further assistance can be obtained by email to: fire.safety@royalmail.com
Yours sincerely
 
Dave Joyce

National Health, Safety & Environment Officer
Email Attachments – Click to download
RMPFS Fire Safety Week Pack (ZIP)

17LTB392 Royal Mail Group – Fire Safety Week 17 to 23 July 2017 – Campaign to Raise Awareness of Fire Safety Management

Fire Precautions Guide

Fire Safety Check List

Fire Safety Good Practice Guide

Induction Hand Out Notes

RMG FIre Safety Week 2017 Joint Statement

The Taylor Review – World of Work – CWU Response
The purpose of this LTB is to set out the union’s response to the government-commissioned Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices, which was published today, and to reaffirm the CWU’s key strategy of calling for a new deal for all workers. 
While the Review does include a significant recommendation to abolish the Agency Workers loophole, which the CWU has lead the way in campaigning for over a number of years, on the whole it falls well short of putting forward the solutions that are needed to change the balance of forces in the world of work and address the problems in the UK labour market. 
The CWU has issued the attached press release in response to the Review. While our criticisms of the Review’s shortcomings have been echoed across the labour movement, crucially we go on to state that it is now incumbent on the entire trade union movement to do something about it and we then set out an appropriate course of action. 
This is consistent with the position the CWU has taken over the last two years and in our work at the TUC and within the Labour Party. In the coming weeks we will be stepping up our activities to work towards a stronger response from the trade union movement. 
Specifically, the CWU is calling for a concerted TUC campaign to end insecure employment and in-work poverty. This includes all TUC affiliated unions agreeing a common bargaining agenda and the publication of a TUC manifesto on what constitutes a new deal for workers, alongside a proper plan – including deliverable action – to achieve it. 
These proposals have already been the subject of CWU motions to recent TUC and Labour Party conferences and we will be submitting further motions this year to strengthen the response from the whole labour movement. 
As we continue to take a lead in calling for action from the wider movement, the union must now also look at new ways to root out insecure employment models in our own industries and sectors. At its meeting on 29th June, the NEC agreed that we will bring back a comprehensive paper in the near future fleshing out the detail of what a new deal for workers should look like and what we must now do to achieve it. 
In summary, it is very important that branches recognise the overall direction the union is taking and how we are determined to join up our industrial and political agendas, with the objectives we have set for redesign. 
With the general election result and Labour offering a transformative manifesto, it is time for the trade union movement to deliver a new kind of trade unionism and we will be working to ensure that CWU is at the forefront of reasserting trade union values and organisation across the UK. 
Finally, the link to download the Taylor Review can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/626772/good-work-taylor-review-modern-working-practices.pdf 
Further information will be sent out in due course. Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to the General Secretary’s Office at gsoffice@cwu.org quoting the reference GS1.1. 
Yours sincerely
 
Dave Ward

General Secretary
 
Email Attachments – Click to download
Attachment 1 – LTB 396/17 The Taylor Review

Attachment 2 – CWU Press Release

Royal Mail Official Statistics – Number of Recorded Dog Attacks on Postal Workers – April 2016 to April 2017 By Postcode Area

To: All Postal Branches
Dear Colleagues,
For your information, see attached National Statistics as produced and collated by Royal Mail on a Postcode Area basis.
There are around 124 Postcode Areas plus a number of Special Dedicated Postcodes and separate Postcodes for the three Channel Islands.
The official statistics were used in last week’s dog awareness week publicity to highlight the scale of the problem to the public and media.
Although there has been an overall slight reduction in the national figures, relating to “recorded” dog attacks, there was still approx 2,500 Dog Attacks in 2016/17 and there has been 15,000 over the last 5 Years. The numbers are still too high and the scale of the problem is enormous and unacceptable to the Union as we have again made clear through the media and to UK governments, Police and public, during last week’s RM/CWU Dog Awareness Week. Widespread media attention was drawn by our joint campaign week and we can only hope that our messages have been penetrating and have reached a wide audience amongst the nation’s dog owners.
The Health, Safety & Environment Department is also firmly of the view that around 500 – 1000 minor Dog Attack and Near Miss incidents go unreported by members and we would appeal to all CWU Reps to encourage the full reporting of incidents by members as we find in many cases (not all) after a major Dog Attack that it had been preceded by several or a number of minor non-injury, near miss or minor injury incidents which could, if reported, have flagged up the warning signs of worse problems to come, if something isn’t done. 
So would all Area Health and Safety Reps please prioritise this and ensure:-
WRAP assessments and Walk Logs are up to date.

Managers are reminded of the need to refer to Royal Mail Group (RMG) Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Management System Standard 2.7 “Management of Dog Attack Risks”, raising Managers awareness of the requirements of the Safety Standard and ensuring compliance. 

Yours sincerely
 
Dave Joyce

National Health, Safety & Environment Officer
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 395/17 Royal Mail Official Statistics – Number of Recorded Dog Attacks on Postal Workers – April 2016 to April 2017 By Postcode Area

RMG National Dog Attack Statistics

Royal Mail Group – Road Safety Communication Campaign July 2017 – Safety First – ‘Driver Distractions’:
To: All Branches
Dear Colleagues,
Introduction:
During July, commencing on Monday 24 July, Royal Mail Group will be launching a Road Safety Communications Campaign focusing on ‘Driver Distractions’. The theme is “Fatal Distraction”. 
Campaign Aims and Objectives:
For the Road Safety Communication Campaign July 2017 RMG are highlighting the issue of driver distractions and the actions that should be taken to reduce this risk which can have fatal consequences.

Driving requires the full attention of the driver at all times. 

There are four main types of driver distraction Visual, Auditory, Mental and Physical (VAMP).

Distractions impede a driver’s ability to spot hazards and react in time.

RoSPA, BRAKE and the Police Road Safety Division advise that:-
A driver is distracted when they pay attention to a second activity while driving. People cannot always safely multi-task in this way, especially if the second activity is time consuming or complex.

The second activity puts extra demands on the driver, which may reduce his or her driving standard. It may cause the driver to become less observant or to make worse decisions about how to control the vehicle safely. This lower standard of driving means that a driver is more likely to fail to anticipate hazards, and means accidents can occur due to the distraction.

Distraction can be either driver initiated where the driver starts carrying out a distracting activity or non-driver initiated by the unpredictable actions of something or someone else.

Objects, events, or activities both inside and outside the vehicle can cause distraction. In-vehicle distractions can be caused by technology, or by other sources inside the vehicle such as passengers. External distractions may be when a driver concentrates on unimportant events or objects, or when another person does something unusual.

ASR Involvement and Activities:-
ASR’s will be fully involved and consulted on this joint Road Safety Communications Campaign.
During this Road Safety Communication Campaign ASR’s are asked to focus their Safety Inspections on the initiative and checking on the completion of the planned line manager activities.

By carrying out the following activities during this Road Safety Communication Campaign, ASRs can help to raise awareness and the profile of Road Safety and keep our drivers safe.

Agree with your Operational Managers, which units you will jointly support during this Road Safety Communication, and:
Assist the Front Line Manager in delivering joint WTLL’s and sharing the posters and information.

Carry out a Safety Inspection and include the following:-

Speak to Driver Members:
Use the communication materials to raise awareness and talk to drivers about driver distractions.
Ask Drivers if they have seen the Road Safety Week – Driver Distraction Safety Campaign posters displayed?

Refer to the “VAMP” Driver Distractions:-
Visual – reading, looking at mail items, reading information screens, mobile phones, PDAs, Tablet computers, Sat/Navs, etc. looking at objects and people outside the vehicle unrelated to the driving task;

Auditory – listening to someone on the phone, radio, music, personal headphones and noises outside the vehicle;

Mental – thinking about something else, personal or work issues, appointments, deadlines, conversations with passengers and phone calls;

Physical – typing, smoking, eating and drinking.

NOTE: Using a Mobile Phone or Smoking Whilst Driving a Commercial Vehicle is illegal.
Ask Front Line Managers:
What activities have they completed for the driver distractions communication campaign?

Have they delivered the WTLL and displayed the poster?

Have they completed a Driver/Vehicle SMAT concentrating on driver distractions?

The objective is to raise awareness and encourage, coach and support drivers to adopt safe driving habits.
Observe Vehicles and Drivers:
Discuss with drivers the safe driving campaign, the risk of driver distraction and the importance of keeping their:-
eyes on the road ahead.

hands on the wheel

mind on driving

ASR Safety Inspections:
Ensure that you record your Safety Inspections using the agreed reporting processes.
Attachments:
2 Posters. The first one will be sent out to all offices and the second one will be available to print off on the intranet.

WTLL session.

ASR Activity Plan.

The attached information will all be communicated out on 24 July. The Posters will be sent out on 20 July and the item will be on RMTV on 24 July with Head of RMG Road Safety Mark Bromhall talking about the campaign. There will also be references made to the campaign on Workplace Plasma screens next week.
Royal Mail Group Road Safety Team welcomes CWU/HQ and CWU ASR/WSR support. Thank you for your support.
Yours sincerely
Dave Joyce

National Health, Safety & Environment Officer
Email Attachments – Click to download
Attachment 1 – LTB394/17 Royal Mail Group – Road Safety Communication Campaign July 2017 – Safety First – ‘Driver Distractions’:

Attachment 2 – Fatal Distraction Poster Final

Attachment 3 – Fatal DISTRACTION 2nd Poster Final

Attachment 4 – WTLL – Driver Distractions – July 2017 Final

Attachment 5 – Road Safety Communication July 2017 – ASR activity plan Final