JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL AND THE CWU REGARDING THE NEW ‘SAFE DRIVER CHECKS’ PROCESS FOR LOGISTICS AND AREA DISTRIBUTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS

Branches and representatives will be aware that a Safe Driver Process for licence checks has already been agreed for Delivery and Collections drivers (LTB 145/19 refers).

As with the activity for Delivery and Collections drivers, discussions have been taking place with the business in relation to a process for licence checks for CWU represented Professional Driver grades (LGV and MGV), who are required to undertake checks twice yearly. The aim of the revised process is to improve the regulatory compliance to conduct licence checks for all drivers and ensure they complete health and other employment declarations, whilst maintaining and ensuring compliance to GDPR.

Being a safe and qualified driver is a key part of the job roles at Royal Mail. The existing process that is used in relation to Professional Driver licence checks is performed twice yearly and is a paper based process, which is complicated and time consuming.

In addition, the current system whereby the driver sources a code from the DVLA is changing. Due to new laws regarding the security of data, each driver will need to undertake a lengthy process to obtain the code (estimated as 15 minutes). The new approach will eliminate the need for drivers to source a code, as their permission to undertake the twice yearly licence check via the PDA App, will be valid for 3 years. The proposed change to process is therefore seen as a way to simplify Royal Mail policies and ensure compliance.

A Joint statement covering a New Safe Driver Process for Professional Drivers has now been concluded and endorsed by the Postal Executive and will simplify the process by utilising PDA’s to maintain the required twice yearly checks.

Currently however Professional Drivers do not use PDA’s and as such a process has had to be developed that would ensure that their data is protected. To this end drivers will be supplied with a pin number by the business to access the PDA’s, they will then need to scan their ID pass which will ensure their data is protected and related only to them.

A copy of the Joint Statement is attached for the information of Branches and representatives and the revised process is summarised below:

Key Points:

• To ensure that all individual data is protected drivers will input their data with 2 levels of security, a PIN number and scan of the unique barcode on their RM ID pass. 
• This information will be automatically transferred into the People Systems Portal (PSP). This will allow automatic licence checking with the DVLA database and ensure secure, centralised, digital storage of the individual’s information.
• Individual mandates are valid for 3 years and will be securely held centrally within PSP. The licence data will be automatically checked with the DVLA database twice a year in April and October.
• Health & Other Employment Declarations are still required to be made and submitted by Royal Mail Logistics and Area Distribution drivers on a 6 monthly basis.
• Managers will not have access to the DVLA database, instead they will view a relevant PSP report sent to them that only includes the people within their direct line of management.
• Only the line manager of an individual will have sight of their relevant information. Individual data sourced from either the PDA/PSP or the DVLA database will not be published or shared with a wider audience.
• Outside of this bi-annual activity, all Royal Mail drivers will still have a responsibility to make their manager aware of any relevant changes to their driving licence provision or the onset of a health condition.

Who is covered by this process?

• Professional drivers (LGV and MGV 3.5t and above vehicles) including any currently working in the Delivery or Collections operations will continue to have their licences checked as they currently do on a six-monthly basis. 
• Drivers with a licence issued by the DVA (Northern Ireland) will complete the health and other employment declaration via the PDA but will still complete a bi-annual paper-based licence check – this is due to the DVA having a different licence checking process. Separate deployment instructions regarding these specific checks will be sent in due course.

Due to the late notification of change, the availability of PDA’s and the complexities of the Logistic and Area Distribution operations, we have agreed that a trial of the Safe Driver Process will take place in Swindon Area Distribution and Coventry VOC in relation to the scheduled April 2019 licence checks.

This will enable us to secure any learning from the new process and agree a joint deployment programme to all other units, to ensure that the process can be used by all Professional Drivers for the October 2019 licence checks.

Due to the logistical difficulties associated to procurement of sufficient PDA’s and the timelines involved it will not be possible to achieve a full deployment of the process by April 2019. Therefore

to ensure that we are compliant with the required activity in April 2019 all units outside of the trial will be brought forward and undertake their licence checks in March 2019 utilising the current process.

Colleagues will note that the usual provisions in relation to CWU involvement have been made, along with review and deployment arrangements.

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: 202.09/502.02.

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson

Assistant Secretary

19LTB192

Attachment 1 – JS New Safe Driver Checks for Logistics & Area Distribution

National Terms of Reference between Royal Mail and the CWU covering the trial of electrically assisted cargo trikes

Dear Colleagues,

As a result of recent articles and stories through various media channels Branches may be aware of this initiative. The brief history of these E- Trikes is that they (11 in number) were purchased and brought into the country at the behest of the new Royal Mail senior management team as these are used by GLS in other parts of Europe. As a consequence we have been in dialogue with Royal Mail over their suitability and use, along with a number of other related issues which we have raised since we were first made aware of the intention to introduce them as part of a limited trial last year.

As referred to above the other factor that Royal Mail are extremely keen to gain is publicity, recognising that the green/environmental agenda is a large issue in society generally with many towns and cities particularly within London in regards to the current Mayor’s policy of reducing fuel emissions etc. Accordingly, this has also driven the desire by Royal Mail to trial these E- Trikes as the Company has carried out publicity events already and in fact their official launch was on the 19^th of this month. On this general point we are of course supportive of alternative and more environmentally friendly solutions in regards to the usage of different equipment in order to reduce full emissions, however these alternative solutions have to be suitable for the job our members carry out as well as jointly developed and agreed along with full CWU involvement.

In addition, there are obvious Health and Safety, plus suitability concerns with regard to where and what type of deliveries, if any at all, these E- Trikes might be suitable for. These concerns have been raised and are being dealt with by the Outdoor Department, and the H, S & E Department respectively.

Although we have numerous reservations in regards to trialing these vehicles and also the way in which this issue has been raised by Royal Mail, we however believe that we are better served with a National agreed form of words making it clear that participation from individuals is voluntary and that there is also full CWU involvement in relation to the route selection and assessment process as well as all of the safety implications being satisfactorily resolved.

The locations for the trial are as outlined below, although these may change as this is also subject to National Agreement depending on the suitability of the route assessments which are still currently being undertaken along with sufficient numbers of volunteers;

1. Stratford (East London) – Olympic Park
2. Cambridge – University campus (cyclist areas)
3. Sutton Coldfield – Semi pedestrian areas

Branches will note from the Terms of Reference, that the necessary safeguards have been secured within the document and these include:

• Full CWU IR involvement at Divisional, Area and Local level plus relevant H & S Reps along with the full involvement of the CWU Health, Safety & Environmental Department.
• All current work equipment change processes to be followed as standard practice. The processes include full CWU involvement and joint agreement as standard.

• Feedback will be sought from users as an output of the trial process. Participation is with the agreement of the individual route-holders on suitable and assessed routes only.

• As outlined above, individuals will not be displaced off their own duty. If there is a volunteer who wants to be part of the trial and someone else in the unit with a suitable route who doesn’t, it is accepted that they can both agree to swap for the purposes of the trial.
• Individuals will have the option to cease their participation by informing the manager and the reason so this can be captured as part of the trial; however sufficient notice should be given in order to allow alternative arrangements to be planned.
• During the trial the equipment can only be used on routes which have been assessed for suitability and where the user has been trained.
• Full training will be provided for individuals. The training covers the need to travel slowly when in areas of mixed use with pedestrians/children, how to drive defensively and vigilantly with constant expectation of other space users to do unpredictable things, and be ready to come to a stop.
• The trial will be formally reviewed by the signatories of this TOR. Those identified above including local Managers and CWU representatives involved within the trial will feed into this review process and a joint report with conclusions will be finalised as part of this review.

Any enquires in relation to this LTB should be directed to the Outdoor Department, reference 540, and email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org.

Yours Sincerely,

Mark Baulch
CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 181.19 National ToR RMCWU trial of electrically assisted cargo trikesTerms of Reference RM_CWU – Covering the Trial of Electrically Assisted Cargo Trikes E-Trike