JUSTICE4GRENFELL CAMPAIGN

As you will be aware, 14^th June 2019 marked the two year anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire in which 72 people lost their lives. In the two years since the tragedy occurred, trade unions, and a number of CWU members in the London Region, have played an active role in supporting the local community.

One of the campaign groups that was established by the community in the wake of the fire is Justice4Grenfell (J4G), which has been working closely with and has been strongly supported by the FBU. J4G has organised the monthly silent walks that take place in Kensington on the 14^th of every month and organised the march on 15^th June which was publicised to CWU members in LTB 368/19.

J4G is campaigning to ensure the individuals and authorities that were responsible for the fire are properly held to account and has been a critical voice over the lack of prosecutions, the continued failure by the government to remove cladding or install sprinklers in other buildings, the number of people who have yet to be rehoused and the paucity of the local Council’s response. Together with public campaigning it is engaging with the Grenfell Inquiry which will enter its second stage at the end of this year.

We believe the work J4G is doing is hugely important and that the Grenfell disaster would never have happened if the voices of working class people had been listened to in the first place. The NEC has agreed to make a donation to support the work of Justice4Grenfell and we would also ask CWU branches to consider doing so themselves. More information on Justice4Grenfell can be found on its website https://justice4grenfell.org.

Any queries on the contents of this LTB should be addressed to gsoffice@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward

General Secretary

19LTB397 Justice4Grenfell

CWU MENTAL HEALTH STRATEGY – NATIONAL EVENT 17^TH OCTOBER 2019

All Branches will be aware, that in line with Conference policy, the union is developing a proactive agenda to tackle mental health issues in the workplace and society.

As part of this, it has been agreed to hold a major national event, the details of which are as follows:-

The Comedy Store

Arches 3 & 4 Deansgate Locks

Whitworth Street West

Manchester

M1 5LH

The event will cover a number of different and interactive sessions and one of these will be hosted by Ken Loach the film director and political activist.

More information on our plans for the whole event will be sent out in due course.

In the meantime, we would ask that Branches to diarise the date and advise all representatives who may be interested in attending.

Any enquiries on the above LTB should be addressed to the gsoffice@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward

General Secretary 
396-19 CWU Mental Health Strategy National Event 17th October 2019

SAFE DRIVER CHECKS’ PROCESS – LICENCE CHECKS FOR LOGISTICS AND AREA DISTRIBUTION PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS

Branches and representatives will be aware that trial activity has been taking place at Swindon Distribution and Coventry VOC in line with the Joint Statement between Royal Mail and the CWU regarding the New ‘Safe Driver Checks’ Process for Logistics and Area Distribution Professional Drivers (LTB 192/19 refers). 

The trial activity has been considered as very successful with the feedback received being that the process was easy for the drivers to complete, with the average time to complete the licence check greatly reduced to around 2 minutes.

It has therefore been jointly agreed that the process is suitable for further deployment to Logistics and Area Distribution units. Due to legal requirements it will however be necessary to commence collecting the required driver data and have this completed in August 2019, prior to the next licence checks in September.

Discussion has therefore taken place with the business in relation to concluding a Joint Statement for the new process, which has been endorsed by the Postal Executive, a copy of which is attached for your information.

In summary the required data for Professional Drivers (LGV and MGV 3.5t and above vehicles) will be collected using the following PDA process:

 All drivers will receive their own individual PDA log ins – this will take approximately two weeks through IT, be led by the project team and communicated to the individual VOC’s. 

 Through June/July the VOC managers will ask drivers to complete the licence check process using the PDA ready for the data to be communicated to the DVLA in August in line with all other functions. 

 The licence checks will be conducted by managers and not ADC’s. 

 Where PDA’s are already available to the VOC’s on co-located sites, these will be made available to the VOC through local discussion. 

 Where we have VOC’s with no natural access to PDA’s the Special Events Team will organise PDA’s for the licence checks. 

In addition to the Joint Statement also attached for information is supplementary information in relation to the Safe Driver Check process, which we hope will be of assistance to Branches and representatives in dealing with any enquiries that may be received:

 Annex A – Safe Driver Checks NI – PDA Input 

 Annex B – Safe Driver Checks – PDA Input 

 Annex C – Safe Driver Checks FAQ’s 

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org or shayman@cwu.orgquoting reference numbers: 202.09 & 502.02.

Yours sincerely

Katrina Quirke

Acting Assistant Secretary

19LTB392

Attachment 1 – JS Safe Driver Checks Logistics & Area Distribution 25.06.19

Attachment 2 – Annex A Safe Driver Checks PDA Input N.I. 24.06.19

Attachment 3 – Annex B Safe Driver Checks PDA Input Guide 24.06.19

Attachment 4 – Annex C Safe Driver Checks FAQ’s 24.06.19

TRADE UNION ACT – POLITICAL FUND NOTICE IN RELATION TO MEMBERS WHO JOINED THE CWU ON OR AFTER 1^ST MARCH 2018

Under the Trade Union Act, the union is required to notify members who joined the CWU on or after 1^stMarch 2018 of their right to give a withdrawal notice to paying the political levy.

As set out in the CWU rulebook, such notice may be given:

(a)    by delivering the notice (either personally or by an authorised agent or by post) at the head office or a branch office of the union;

(b)    by sending it via e-mail to the following email address: membership@cwu.org;

(c)    by completing an electronic form provided by the union which sets out the notice and sending it to the union by electronic means with instructions by the union;

(d)    by any other electronic means prescribed under the 1992 Act (as inserted by the 2016 Act).

Branches are asked to publicise this LTB to members who have joined the union on or after 1^st March 2018.

Any queries on the contents of this LTB should be addressed to gsoffice@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Dave Ward – General Secretary

Tony Kearns – Deputy General Secretary 

19LTB393 – Trade Union Act – Political Fund notice in relation to members who joined the CWU on or after 1st March 2018

TUC Sexual Harassment Campaign

The TUC and an alliance of 20 organisations and trade unions have launched a campaign called #ThisIsNotWorking. This calls on the government to introduce a new, easily enforceable preventative duty that would require employers to take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

Attached is a copy of their manifesto for change.

We would be grateful if Branches could assist in pushing this worthwhile agenda forward by sharing the petition to your members via email and social media. Please include #ThisIsNotWorking in all social media posts.

The suggested social media texts are as follows:

 Facebook:

1. Sexual harassment has no place in the workplace. But every day, people across the UK are sexually harassed at work. Join the call for the government to take immediate action. #ThisIsNotWorking. https://www.megaphone.org.uk/p/endsexualharassmentatwork

 Tweets:

1. Everyone should have the right to work free from harassment. We need govt to change the law to prevent sexual harassment at work. #ThisIsNotWorking https://www.megaphone.org.uk/p/endsexualharassmentatwork
2. We need a new law to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace before it happens. Join the call for the government to take immediate action. #ThisIsNotWorking. https://www.megaphone.org.uk/p/endsexualharassmentatwork
3. Harassment shouldn’t be a fact of working life – and it’s time the government did something about it. #ThisIsNotWorking https://www.megaphone.org.uk/p/endsexualharassmentatwork

Any queries on this LTB should be directed to Fevzi Hussein fhussein@cwu.org or Lee Wakeman lwakeman@cwu.org in the first instance.

Yours sincerely,

Trish Lavelle

Head of Equality, Training and Development

19LTB391   This is Not Working Campaign

TUC Pride Campaign – CWU Support

Last year, the TUC and affiliates ran a joint campaign to encourage more young LGBT+ people to join a union. A number of unions have asked the TUC to put together and help coordinate a similar “Pride Campaign” for the movement drawing on the TUC’s “LGBT Sexual Harassment Report” which can be found at:

https://www.tuc.org.uk/research-analysis/reports/sexual-harassment-lgbt-people-workplace

As it is 50 years since the Stonewall riots, which was clearly a political response to oppression – the theme is ‘Pride is Political.’ It is intended to allow you and your members to explain why pride is political.

There are updated assets for 2019, which point out why Pride is, and must, stay political. The assets all start with ‘Pride is Political because:’ and pull out the following statistics and quotes.

In total there are 7 covering the following:

• “When I was sexually assaulted, my supervisor thought it was hilarious and told everyone at work. They made fun of me for weeks.”    26 to 33 year old bisexual man
• “I was told I should be out if I didn’t want to talk about the details of my sex life.” 46 to 55 year old lesbian woman
• 7 out of 10 LGBT people have experienced sexual harassment at work
• 1 in 8 LGBT women have been seriously sexually assaulted or raped at work
• 1 in 6 LGBT people said that sexual harassment at work had a negative effect on their mental health
• 66% of LGBT people don’t report sexual harassment at work
• 25% of LGBT people won’t report sexual harassment at work because they don’t want to out themselves. 

These can be used in conjunction with the 6 ‘Life is Better” when you’re in a Union’ images, which can all be downloaded, along with the campaign materials by clicking on the ‘TUC Pride assets’ link:

https://www.tuc.org.uk/tuc-pride-campaign-assets

Also included are a couple of suggested tweets and links to make supporting the campaign easy.

The TUC’s micro-site has been updated to reflect this year’s theme, please see:

https://www.tuc.org.uk/tucpride

Please tag any social media activity with #TUCPride #PrideisPolitical so the success of the campaign can be tracked.

We would encourage all Branches to join in this campaign to keep “Pride Political” and to show how much work still needs to be carried out to address workplace inequality.

We have been extremely pleased and grateful to Branches who have been present at Pride Events up and down the country recently.

To continue to underpin and promote CWU Equality relating to LGBT + work, we hope that as many Branches as possible can support future Pride events over the summer by continuing to attend and promote.

Any queries on this LTB should be directed to Fevzi Hussein fhussein@cwu.org or Lee Wakeman lwakeman@cwu.org in the first instance.

Yours sincerely,

Trish Lavelle

Head of Equality, Training and Development

19LTB390

Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Board – Trade Union Representative Appointments

Further to LTB571/16, this is to update Branches, Regional Health and Safety Forums and Health and Safety Reps on the Government (DWP) announcement this month on a number of new appointments to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Board.

The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, established the Health and Safety Executive enforcement body and its controlling Executive Board which was to be a balanced, “Tripartite” body consisting of a Chairman, 3 members from employers, 3 members from Trade Unions and up to 4 others from organisations such as local authorities and professional bodies. Parliament also decided that in the first place there will be consultation with the C.B.I., the T.U.C., local authorities and that the role of the Trade Unions and consultation was to be greatly strengthened.

For 40 Years the process of appointing the Trade Union HSE board members was carried out in consultation with the TUC who would put forward nominees on behalf of Trade Unions.

In 2014, that was halted by the Tory led Coalition and subsequent Tory Government when Ministers refused, for the first time in history, to appoint a TUC-nominated candidate to the HSE board and TUC nominated Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) was rejected.

This led to a long drawn out battle between the TUC, Trade Unions and the Government over appointments to the three Trade Union HSE Board seats.

The Government first filled one of the seats with Jonathan Baume, the retired general secretary of the First Division Association (FDA), which represents the interests of senior civil service managers.  Baume who was ‘hand-picked by the Tory Government wasn’t supported or nominated by a single Trade Union, including his own former Union the FDA.

With Kevin Rowan of the TUC the only remaining Trade Union nominee appointed to the board the Government then attempted to fill the third remaining Trade Union seat with a ‘boss’ in the name of Susan Johnson OBE the retired Chief Executive of the Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service and former Chief Executive of the Northern Business Forum, and Executive Director of Business Development for the Yorkshire Regional Development Agency.  She was a director of Greggs plc, Legacy Trust UK and Network Rail.

The TUC, CWU, all UK Unions and the Hazards Campaign collectively condemned the appointments which caused outrage across the Trade Union and Labour movement.

After a huge public furore kicked up by the Trade Unions, Hazards, FACK, Professional Safety Organisations and Trade Press, Johnson’s appointment was withdrawn and she was given an alternative seat but vindictively the third Trade Union seat was kept vacant by the Government for several years and Trade Unions and the TUC had just one instead of three HSE Board members.

The move was the latest in a series of Government actions to silence the voices of working people on health and safety at work. Many of the joint industry groups that gave advice to the HSE were also disbanded. The right of Trade Unions to nominate members to the Board of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority was also abolished.

These moves and appalling decisions outraged every Trade Union who collectively, with the TUC, objected in the strongest possible terms, raising the matter with the Secretary of State and the Chair of the HSE Martin Temple.

Since then Unions, including the CWU have been campaigning and lobbying, pressing the Prime Minister, Ministers and MPs from all parties, SMP, MLAs and HSE, protesting at the appointments process which led to three Trade Union seats on the HSE Board shrinking to one.

The 2016 TUC Congress debated the matter and carried Emergency Motion E6 committing the TUC and Unions to fight to protect the tripartite composition of the HSE Board and to restore the balance on the board by reinstating the three Trade Union seats.

After a long and protracted battle campaigning on the issue, I’m pleased to be able to inform you that the TUC and Trade Unions (CWU included) have won back the three seats on the HSE Board, filled by TUC nominated individuals who will take up their appointments in August/September.

The three are:-

• Kevin Rowan TUC Head of Organising, Services & Learning.
• Claire Sullivan TUC General Council Member and is the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy’s National Health and Safety Officer. (Claire has just completed ten years as a TUC representative on the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council).
• Ged Nicholls TUC General Council and is the General Secretary of the Banking Union ‘Accord’.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

19LTB389 Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Board – Trade Union Representative Appointments

It’s time to order your Organ Donation Week materials – Organ Donation Week 2019 is happening between Monday 2nd and Sunday 8th September

In line with CWU Conference Policy we are once again supporting Organ Donation Week and urging all Branches, Regions, Reps and Members to give their support to the week by raising awareness, urging members to talk about it to their families and sign-up and carry a donor card.

Ordering Organ Donation Week Promotional Materials

Organ Donation Week 2019 is happening between Monday 2nd and Sunday 8th September. Please follow the link below to order promotional materials for you to use in your promotional activities during the week and at other times during the year:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/odw2019

Please note, the deadline for ordering a promotional pack in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is Friday 28^th June.

A key priority for Organ Donation Week activities in England this year will be help explain to people that the law is changing, what this means and to encourage people to make and share their donation decision. Therefore, different packs are available which have been tailor made to reflect the legislation around organ donation in that country as follows:

England – packs will consist of a mixture of ‘Yes I Donate’ promotional materials and materials for the opt-out campaign “Pass it On”. Also included is a key fact sheet, so that supporters have the relevant information available to answer questions on the new legislation if asked.

Digital promotional materials for the Pass It On campaign are already available to download from the Get Involved Hub.  Please use these and raise awareness that the law is changing.

Wales – packs will consist of a mixture of Yes I Donate materials in both English and Welsh languages. There will also be bilingual promotional items sent from the Welsh government for anyone who requests a promotional pack.

Northern Ireland – packs will consist of Yes I Donate materials in line with the current opt-in system operating in Northern Ireland.

Scotland – If you would like to order promotional materials for use in Scotland during Organ Donation Week 2019, you can place an order online at:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/odmaterialorderform

or email:

Organ_Donation_Scotland@gov.scot to discuss your requirements.

There is a checkbox on the survey if you wish to be kept informed about future promotional activity too.

If you have any questions, please contact marketing.comms@nhsbt.nhs.uk

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

19LTB387 Order your Organ Donation Week materials – Organ Donation Week 2019 2 – 8 September

Organ Donation1