Royal Mail/CWU Terms of Reference – Industrial Engineer Observations Planning Values Maintenance Delivery Offices

Dear Colleagues,

Branches will be aware that the Outdoor Department has continued to hold talks with Royal Mail around Industrial Engineer activities and in particular around Annual Planning Values Maintenance within Delivery Offices.

The Department has, over the past number of years, agreed Terms of Reference documents covering particular or specific Industrial Engineer activity both in relation to the indoor and outdoor elements. Most notably they are the ‘Full Outdoor Route Production Study and Future Planning Value Maintenance’ (born out of the Royal Mail/CWU National Joint Statement regarding the ‘ACAS External Mediation Delivery to Neighbour Resolution (contained within LTB 143/17) and some previous annual validation exercises on indoor planning values which date back to 2014 and 2015.

However, to date we have not had in place a generic or complete TOR covering this particular and ongoing activity by the company whilst also detailing the CWU trained IE’s involvement.

As such, the attached TOR has been agreed to cover the general points concerning Industrial Engineer’s (IE’s) visits to Delivery Offices in line with the ongoing and annual Planning Values Maintenance exercises and studies which Royal Mail undertake.

The TOR also confirms that:

The purpose of these annual Planning Value Maintenance exercises and studies is to carry out checks on the national planning values which are used for product costing, pricing and efficiency purposes and used by Royal Mail in respect to its reports on costings/efficiency to Ofcom the regulator.

The general delivery maintenance activity will be undertaken on an annual basis, with a 12 month rolling programme of observations and study work which will be discussed and communicated on an ongoing basis with the CWU at national level at the regular (quarterly) meetings between the Royal Mail Industrial Engineering Department and the CWU Outdoor Department, including the CWU IE Trained Representatives. This is set out in the December 2018 ‘Terms of Reference between Royal Mail and the CWU for Joint Working in relation to Work Measurement and Planning Values Development within Deliveries’ (contained within LTB 041/19).

The Royal Mail Industrial Engineering management will advise the Outdoor Department on a monthly/ad-hoc basis of all such planned IE’s visits to Delivery Offices, noting that this may be subject to alteration.

Prior to the Industrial Engineers visiting a Delivery Office, the local DOM and CWU Representative will receive advance notice. Equally, all employees will be briefed to make them aware of the visit and the purpose and advised that they are not being monitored as individuals, as the observations and studies are focused on identifying what the workload is for different tasks/activities and keeping these up to date.

All activity observations will be made on compliant processes and, the Industrial Engineer(s) will be issued with a checklist of common non-compliances that might save time, which needs to be included in the time allowed to do the job to the required method and standards. Employees should follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Safe System of Work (SSOW) and that is what will be observed and accounted for.

The IE’s studies and observations are not about checking the performance of individuals against standards or assessing the performance of units against standards or other units. Their activity is about assessing how long each task takes, and identifying the specific data that is used within the values.

The local CWU Representatives will be invited to observe Industrial Engineer(s) carrying out their work and to also ask questions about the activity. Adequate and relevant release will be provided for this.

The CWU IE Trained Representative(s) will, whenever possible, also support and be included in such Delivery Office visits.

All information/data and possible impact on current planning values will be shared with the CWU at national level at the regular (quarterly) meetings between the Royal Mail Industrial Engineering Department and the CWU Outdoor Department, including the CWU IE Trained Representatives.

Additionally, separate national level discussions will be held in the case of revised or new values resulting from these annual Planning Value Maintenance exercises and studies in order to understand possible impact on current performance and on the use and application of these revised or new planning values. Equally, both parties will continue to undertake joint reviews of current values and how they are devised at the national level regular (quarterly) meetings between the Royal Mail Industrial Engineering Department, the CWU Outdoor Department and the CWU IE Trained Representatives, to confirm and further build confidence in planning values.

The Terms of Reference only cover the particular subject matter of annual Planning Values Maintenance exercises and studies for Delivery Offices and the delivery operation. Any further planning value activities or studies will need to be subject to further National discussions and where relevant a separate Joint National Terms of Reference.

Whilst this Terms of Reference (in the main) mirrors previously agreed TORs covering similar annual validation exercises, it is hoped that the establishment of a generic and agreed standard document and the approach outlined will offer ongoing clarification to Branches and Local Representatives around this activity.

Any queries to the content of the above please contact the Outdoor Department reference 230.03, email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch

LTB 232.19 – RM_CWU Terms of Reference – Industrial Engineering Observations Planning Values Maintenance Delivery Offices TOR – Industrial Engineer Observations Planning Value Maintenance – Delivery Offices

15/04/2019 0

POST OFFICE: HORIZON TRIAL – BATES & OTHERS VS POST OFFICE LTD

POST OFFICE: HORIZON TRIAL – BATES & OTHERS VS POST OFFICE LTD

Background

Branches may be aware of a Group Litigation Action against the Post Office by 557 Postmasters who have been sacked, financially ruined and in some cases imprisoned for what they believe are errors with the Horizon computer system. The Post Office contends there is nothing wrong with the system and that the shortfalls in balancing were caused by and the fault of the Postmaster.

This matter goes back over a period of over 10 years and has finally been brought to trial after the Justice for SubPostmasters Alliance (JFSA) spent many years campaigning for justice. In January 2016 Alan Bates from the JFSA secured the financial funding (through Therium Group, a specialist litigation funder) to take the Post Office to the High Court. Litigation specialists such as Therium cover the costs of a case in return for a proportion of any damages awarded. There will be four trials on this issue in total taking place over a period of around 15 months from November 2018 to Spring 2020.

The Common Issues Trial – Judge Rules Against the Post Office

The “Common Issues” trial (the first of the four trials) concerning the legal construction of the contract between the Post Office and Postmasters took place last November/December. On 15th March 2019, the Honourable Mr Justice Fraser in ruling in favour of the claimants stated that the Post Office showed “oppressive behaviour” in response to claimants dismissed for accounting errors they blamed on the Horizon system.

The judge also heavily criticised the Post Office’s unhealthy relationship with the National Federation of SubPostmasters (NFSP), the representative body recognised by the Post Office (the NFSP is a Trade Association rather than a Trade Union). The judge noted:

“… in my judgment… the NFSP is not remotely independent of the Post Office, nor does it appear to put its members’ interests above its own separate commercial interests…The Post Office effectively controls the NFSP”

It was very revealing that the judge also questioned the legitimacy and probity of and the reasons for the financial arrangement agreed between the Post Office and the NFSP:

“…the NFSP put its own members’ interests well below its own, and I also find that the NFSP is not fully independent.”

The judge also questioned the attitude of the Post Office in the way it conducted itself throughout the trial. Additionally, he also heavily criticised two of the Post Office’s main witnesses. In particular he stated the following:

“The Post Office has appeared determined to make this litigation, and therefore resolution of this intractable dispute, as difficult and expensive as it can.”

“There are two specific matters in which I find that she did not give me frank evidence, and sought to obfuscate matters, and mislead me.”

Post Office Application for Recusal of the Judge – Mr Justice Fraser

Following the Judge’s ruling against the Post Office and in favour of the claimants, on 21st March, the Post Office made an application for the sitting Judge to be recused (remove himself from the trial) which would have meant trial two (which began on 11th March) starting afresh with a new judge, which in turn would create further delays to the entire legal process. The Post Office cited “apparent bias” as the reason for the request for recusal.

The recusal hearing took place on 3rd April and the 77 page judgment was handed down on 9th April. Mr Justice Fraser, the Judge presiding over the Horizon court case made the decision NOT to recuse himself from the second trial and indeed the third and fourth trials. The Post Office’s QC asked the Judge for permission to appeal which was not granted. Therefore the Post Office has subsequently gone directly to the Court of Appeal to ask for permission to appeal.

If the Post Office is not successful in their appeal application, the costs are likely to be substantial, especially as they hired a “super QC” in their attempts to get the judge to recuse himself. This is a further set-back for the Post Office. If they continue to seek leave to appeal it would indicate significant desperation. However, tactically in our view they are trying to elongate the legal process and in turn increase costs for the claimants with the aim of making it prohibitive.

Parliamentary Briefing

A parliamentary briefing has been prepared in conjunction with the General Secretary’s Department and is being sent to all MPs to bring this matter to their urgent attention.

The briefing paper (attached to this LTB for your information) notes that the CWU is recommending to MPs the following:

 An investigation should be made into the appropriateness of using a Public Authority Grant to fund the NFSP.

 The Government must publish where the money is coming from to fund the POL legal costs and how potential liabilities, that could total hundreds of millions, will be met.
 POL’s right to prosecute without CPS scrutiny needs to be assessed with a view to revocation, and the POL Chair’s conflict of interest needs to be determined and acted upon as appropriate.
 An overhaul of POL governance is needed and a review of whether the Government has fully exercised its oversight functions, or whether those powers need to be significantly strengthened.

Further Details on the Horizon Trials

Finally, a useful website has been set up by the journalist Nick Wallis who has been following the case closely and he provides a concise and clear summary of the events so far. The link to the website is as follows (note parts of the website are free and some sections you have to subscribe to):

https://www.postofficetrial.com/2018/07/about-me.html

Further developments will be reported.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary

19LTB234 – Post Office – Horizon Trial – Bates & Others vs Post Office Ltd

Attachment 1 – PB Horizon(MPs)

14/04/2019 0

Labour Party BAME leadership programme

Labour Party BAME leadership programme

We are writing to notify branches of an opportunity for BAME members of the Labour Party to take part in the party’s Bernie Grant Leadership Programme, which is designed to help BAME members stand in elections or for leadership roles within Labour.

The programme is named after Bernie Grant who was one of the first black MPs in modern times. He campaigned tirelessly for the elimination of racism both in Britain and the world and the programme has been established to address the under-representation of BAME members as Labour politicians.

Promoting our own members and supporting them to get more involved is a key element of our political work and we would encourage BAME members to consider applying for the programme. It is aimed at members who are already active in the Labour Party in some way and the closing date for applications is 11.59pm on Monday 22nd April 2019.

Places are limited and will be chosen on a regional basis. The application form is at the following link:

https://labour.org.uk/members/take-part/bernie-grant-leadership-programme/?utm_source=bsd&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BernieGrant&source=20190325_BernieGrant&subsource=bsd_email

We would ask branches to circulate this to any members who may be interested in taking part in the programme and any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to gsoffice@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Ward
General Secretary

Trish Lavelle
Head of Education, Training & Equal Opportunities

19LTB233 – Labour Party BAME leadership programme

14/04/2019 0

POST OFFICE: JOINT STATEMENT FROM GOVERNANCE GROUP OF THE DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PENSION SCHEME

POST OFFICE: JOINT STATEMENT FROM GOVERNANCE GROUP OF THE DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PENSION SCHEME

I would like to advise Branches and Post Office members that the Post Office Defined Contribution (DC) Pension scheme has a Governance Group which meets on a regular basis to consider all matters pertaining to the scheme, including the general performance of investments in the fund which is administered by Scottish Widows (formerly Zurich).

The Governance Group, which includes representatives from CWU, Unite and Post Office, supported by Aon pension consultants, discusses any issues arising from the scheme, including matters which may be brought to the attention of the Governance Group by scheme members or indeed from the Post Office or Scottish Widows.

A Joint Statement from the Governance Group has been agreed and issued, which we hope members will find helpful:

Pension Plan Governance Group

Recent and upcoming communications relating to your Post Office Pension Plan

Firstly, we wanted to let you know that we have established a Governance Group to consider and monitor all aspects in relation to the Defined Contribution pension plan. This Governance Group includes senior representatives from CWU, Unite and the Post Office.

We meet regularly and are supported in this activity by Aon (a large firm of pension consultants) who have been engaged to provide appropriate advice and guidance. Additionally, the client manager for Scottish Widows (previously Zurich) attends the Governance Group meetings to provide updates on the performance of your investments.

The most recent Governance Group met on Monday 25th March and as a consequence of our discussions we felt it important to communicate on the matters below. The Governance Group is due to meet again in June.

Zurich to Scottish Widows transfer

As a member of the Post Office Pension Plan, you may have received a letter in March 2019 from Scottish Widows headed “The transfer of Zurich funds to Scottish Widows”.

We know from feedback received that a number of you have asked questions about its content and whether you should be concerned about it.

In summary, the letter is part of Scottish Widows’ legal requirement to write to you about the final stage of the transfer process which began almost a year ago. Apart from a change to the name by which your funds are known, everything else will remain the same and there is no cause for concern. Importantly, this is a branding change which requires legal communications; however crucially we can reassure you there will be no impact on the value of your pension directly arising from the transfer from Zurich to Scottish Widows.

Coming soon – your annual benefit statement

Every year you receive a statement showing the value of the funds in your Post Office Pension Plan. This will be posted to your home address towards the end of May so please look out for this. We are alerting you to this matter so that the statement doesn’t come as a surprise. We would also point out that the statement reflects the value of investments specifically at a point in time and this can fluctuate positively and negatively from day to day depending on the markets.

Your statements, along with planning tools and other helpful information can be accessed and stored online in your own, secure, Scottish Widows account. If you haven’t already registered for this (or if you have forgotten your details), we would encourage you to call Scottish Widows on 0800 032 1260 between 8:00am and 5:30pm Monday to Friday and they will be happy to get your account set up.

If you have any questions on the above, please email them to Stephen Tiley, Pensions Manager (interim), – stephen.tiley@postoffice.co.uk

The Governance Group of the Post Office Pension Plan

I would be grateful if Branches could bring this LTB to the attention of Post Office members.

Further developments will be reported.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey

Assistant Secretary

19LTB231 – Post Office – Joint Statement from Governance Group of the Defined Contribution Pension Scheme

12/04/2019 0

CWU Conference 2019 – Standing Order Reports

CWU Conference 2019 – Standing Order Reports

Please find attached the following:

General Conference SOC Report Supplementary No.1
General Conference SOC Report Supplementary No.2
Telecom and Financial Services SOC Report Supplementary No.1

Branches are reminded that credentials and voting cards and any further Standing Orders Reports will be available to pick up from the registration desk in the Windsor Hall Foyer in the Bournemouth International Centre from 3.30 pm – 5.30 pm on Saturday 27^th April 2019.

Branches are also reminded that speakers cards need to be completed and returned prior to conference to enable the information to be input onto the system.

Any enquiries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed to Chris Tapper or sent to ctapper@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Tony Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

19LTB230

General Conference 2019 SOR1

General Conference 2019 SOR2

TFSE 2019 – SOR No.1

12/04/2019 0

Cervical Screening Saves Lives Campaign

Cervical Screening Saves Lives Campaign

Public Health England (PHE), with the support of NHS England has launched a new national multimedia campaign to encourage all eligible women to not ignore their cervical screening invite or if they have missed their last cervical screening, to book an appointment with their GP practice.

Two women die every day from cervical cancer and Public Health England and the NHS have requested help to reduce this number.

Cervical screening can stop cancer before it starts by checking the health of the cervix and preventing any potentially harmful cells from developing. The NHS Cervical Screening Programme has made a significant impact on cervical cancer mortality since it was established in 1988 and screenings save an estimated 5,000 lives per year, which is why it’s vital we all support and encourage women to attend.

However, the number of eligible women attending their tests is at a 20-year low and coverage is at its lowest amongst women aged 25-35. Figures published by NHS show that, at 31 March 2018, the percentage of eligible women (aged 25 to 64) screened adequately was 71.4%. The national target for cervical screening coverage is 80% with coverage at its lowest amongst those aged 25 – 35.

About the campaign:

It’s not unusual for women to feel a bit uneasy about going to their cervical screening, however the thought is normally worse than the reality. The campaign seeks to put minds at ease and reassure women that screenings are nothing to be worried about and can stop them developing cervical cancer.

The campaign focuses on the important relationships in women’s lives, reminding them of all the people that want them to be healthy and well.

TV ads have been running throughout March featuring the voice of a woman thanking the friends and family who have reminded her about her upcoming screening. PHE/NHS are keen to keep the momentum going and continue to spread the word.

Target audience:

The target audience is all eligible women aged 25 – 64, and in particular women aged 25 – 35 as they are the least likely to currently book their cervical screening check.

There are also some small sub-groups who are disproportionately less likely to participate – including women from ethnic minorities, people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and lesbian and bisexual women. The campaign is designed to include these groups.

The campaign:

Highlights and Reminds women of the risk of cervical cancer.
Highlights the importance and preventative benefits of screening and the often misunderstood screening test.
Dispels feelings of unease or embarrassment around getting screened.
Encourages women to respond to their cervical screening invites.
Encourage women to consider booking an appointment if they have missed previous invitations.
Aims to tackle barriers to screening highlighted by research, issues such as fear and embarrassment.
Shares helpful advice on what to expect during a screening and tips on how to make it a more comfortable experience.

Campaign call to action:

Cervical screening saves lives – encourage the people that you know and love to get screened if they are overdue a test.
Don’t ignore cervical screening invitations.
If you or someone you know has missed their last screening, book an appointment with the GP practice now.
For further information, please visit https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cervical-screening/

Why support for the campaign is needed:

The more women we can encourage to get their screening done, the better. That’s why we need everyone’s help to spread the word.

Campaign Resources:

Additional resources such as downloadable and hard copy, posters (copies attached), pocket cards, leaflets, stickers, toolkits, digital tools – social media toolkit and digital screens, are available from the PHE Campaign Resource Centre at:-

https://campaignresources.phe.gov.uk/resources/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=cervical

Branches, Regions and Regional Health and Safety Forums can either download or order more materials from this site should they need to.

‘Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust’

Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust is the only UK charity dedicated to women, their families and friends affected by cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities. As Branches and Regions will know the CWU Health, Safety & Environment Department established a close working relationship with ‘Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust’ in 2009 and has worked with the charity and supported their campaigns since then and proudly we are the only Trade Union listed with our Logo on their ‘Time To Test’ supporter’s page. The CWU has been active in campaigning on this issue for years, supporting Cervical Screening Awareness Week and we will be supporting it again this year, continuing our strong working links with ‘Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust’ as we have done in the past, supporting the ‘HPV Vaccination campaign’, ‘Put Yourself in The Picture’ campaign, the ‘Smear For Smear’ campaign and we are registered supporters of the ‘Time to Test’ campaign with the CWU Logo on the Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust Website.

Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust was established in 1999 by James Maxwell after his wife Jo passed away from cervical cancer. I have met the late Jo Maxwell’s sister and the Jo’s Trust Chief Executive Robert Music on several occasions – both have thanked CWU for its support and we intend to continue that working relationship.

Contact Details for further information, resources and Helpline:-

Address: Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust 7-14, Great Dover St, London SE1 4YR

Phone: 020 3096 8100

Helpline: 0808 802 8000

Email: info@jostrust.org.uk

Website: https://www.jostrust.org.uk/

Cervical Screening Awareness Week 2019

The dates for Cervical Screening Awareness Week 2019 are 10 – 16 June 2019 and the intention is to support the campaign and run a co-ordinated campaign with the ‘Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust’ Charity across the CWU. Further information and updates will be published in due course.

Further information and support can be found at:

NHS website – www.nhs.uk/cervicalscreening
PHE cervical screening programme – www.gov.uk/topic/population-screening-programmes/cervical
PHE cervical screening: ideas for improving access and uptake – www.gov.uk/government/publications/cervical-screening-coverage-and-data/cervical-screening-ideas-for-improving-access-and-uptake
PHE Screening blog – https://phescreening.blog.gov.uk
NHS Cervical Screening (CSP) Programme – https://www.gov.uk/topic/population-screening-programmes/cervical
NHS Cervical Screening – https://www.nhs.uk/cervicalscreening
Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust – www.jostrust.org.uk/information-healthcare-professionals/information-practice-nurses-and-gps

Attachments:

2 x Cervical Screening Campaign Posters (Downloadable pdfs).

We hope all Branches and Regional Health and Safety Forums will support this important campaign.

[Previous Cervical Cancer Campaign LTBs & Resources: 937/10, 938/10, 1064/10, 171/11, 172/11, 200/11, 036/12, 036/14, 242/14, 062/15, 370/16.]

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

19LTB228 Cervical Screening Saves Lives Campaign

Cervical Screening Poster 1

Cervical Screening Poster 2

12/04/2019 0

CWU Annual Conference – New Delegates Briefing – Saturday 27 April 2019

CWU Annual Conference – New Delegates Briefing – Saturday 27^th April 2019

This is to advise all Delegates, Visitors and Observers that there will be the usual new Delegates Briefing Session taking place on Saturday 27^th April 2019 at 6 p.m. in the Windsor Hall at the BIC.

The event will be hosted by the President Beryl Shepherd and Jane Loftus Vice President. The aim is to give those attending and who are new to conference the opportunity to understand how conference works and ask any questions they may have.

There will also be the opportunity to stand at the rostrum and speak into the microphone to help delegates feel more confident about speaking during a debate.

Branches are therefore asked to encourage all new and young delegates to attend this session – it should last no longer than 45 minutes.

Following the new Delegates Briefing all CWU Young Workers are invited to an informal gathering at Sixty Millions Postcards bar, which is a two minute walk from the BIC. Anyone is welcome whether you want to drink or not. The Chair and Vice Chair of the Young Workers Committee will be there to meet everyone.

Any queries on this LTB should be addressed to Chris Tapper at ctapper@cwu.org at CWU head office.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

19LTB227

12/04/2019 0

CWU Consolidated Accounts 2018

CWU Consolidated Accounts 2018

Please find attached the CWU Consolidated Accounts for the financial year 2018.

The audit of these accounts is now substantially complete and the final version will be signed prior to CWU General Conference 2019. However it is not anticipated there will be any financial changes to the final signed version of the accounts attached.

Accordingly Branches are now invited to forward questions to the attached CWU Consolidated Accounts 2018 to arrive by no later than 12:00 hours on Thursday 25^th April 2019.

Please note all questions should be sent to the email address sdgs@cwu.org or by post addressed to the Finance Department at CWU HQ. Please note, any emails sent to any other email address will not receive a response and will not be included in the published questions and answers.

Any other queries on this LTB should also be addressed to sdgs@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

19LTB226

2018 CWU Accounts

12/04/2019 0

NEC, Industrial Executive, National Officer & Regional Secretary Elections 2019

NEC, Industrial Executive, National Officer & Regional Secretary Elections 2019

Branches will recall that that LTB 714/18 advised of the NEC decision to defer the above National elections until June 2019.

For ease of reference the deferment was necessary so that the relevant policies and rule amendments, which are required as a consequence of the policies carried at the Redesign Conference held in Bournemouth in November 2018, could be placed for approval before the CWU Special Rules Revision Conference taking place in Bournemouth on 29^th April 2019.

The purpose of this further LTB is to provide formal notification that the NEC has now approved the timetable for the elections which is published below for information.

It is essential that this information is brought to the attention of the members of your branch via the normal communication channels.

In respect of the election regulations (including the required additional guidance on the revised election arrangements) these will be placed before the NEC for approval at a Special NEC meeting to be held on 16^th May 2019 and then published to branches accordingly.

The timetable for the election (s) is as follows:

Nominations Open:  21 May 2019
Nominations Close:  11 June 2019 (14:00)
Accept Nomination:  14 June 2019 (14:00)
(TFSE NEC/IE positions only)

Dispatch ballot material from: 2 July 2019
Close of ballot: 24 July 2019 (first post)
Result: 26 July 2019

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

19LTB229

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