RMSS/Relay – Creation of a Discrete Network For Covid 19 Drive Through NHS Testing Stations

Royal Mail Specialist Services/Relay contacted the union on Thursday 9th April 2020 and informed us that the business were in advanced discussions with the Government on the provision of a discrete network for the collection of Covid 19 Test kits from Drive Through NHS Testing Stations and onward delivery to designated Testing Laboratories. We understood that the expectation from Government was that the service would commence on the 15th April 2020 and that discussions would continue over the Easter weekend to ensure that arrangements were in place to meet that deadline.

We were informed that while the full operational details had not been established, the service would be based on the collection and delivery of lockable Tote Boxes and would not involve our members directly handling test materials. The business committed to share the full details of the proposed operation once they were finalised and that immediate discussions would be progressed with the CWU Health & Safety Department, to ensure that all relevant safety documentation and Safe System of Works were concluded to ensure the safety of our members.

Despite a number of requests for an update since last week other than verbal updates no further detail on the operational arrangements had been presented by the business, although it was confirmed yesterday afternoon that the Health & Safety compliance documents and SSOW are now agreed and in place.

Unfortunately, we were also made aware yesterday afternoon that management had been briefing details to our Relay members that had not been shared with the union Nationally, which led to some confusion. We contacted the business seeking an urgent update and after close of business yesterday evening finally received an update in relation to the operational aspects of the initiative. We have been informed that some elements of the detail with regard to full deployment are still being worked through but the current status is as follows:

• The contract commenced on Wednesday 15th April 2020 with a trial at 8 NHS Testing Stations, rising to 18 and then 26 Stations over the coming days. It is anticipated that the final number of Testing Stations may reach 48.
• Items will be collected in lockable Tote Boxes, containing a maximum of 50 test kits in each box. Members will not need to handle the test kits.
• Collections will take place between 17.00 and 18.00, 7 days a week and boxes will be conveyed to one of four Test Laboratories based in Antrim, Glasgow, Manchester and Milton Keynes to arrive by 08.00. It is anticipated that at full capacity the number of tests performed at each site will range between 200 and 1000 per day, so our members will collect between 4 and 20 items. Empty boxes will be repatriated from the Laboratories.
• SSOW have been concluded to ensure the safe hand over of items, maintaining social distancing at the Testing Stations and Laboratories at all times during the collection and delivery of the Tote Boxes. For the information of Branches the SSOW and SAC 1 documents are attached to this LTB.

While we understand that the business has had to move at pace to secure this contract and that detailed solutions have taken time to develop, it is regrettable that information share from the business in respect of the operational aspects associated to what is an extremely important initiative has been poor.

Discussions are continuing and further updates will be issued as the contract develops. Branches are assured that the safety of our members remains the absolute priority.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org quoting reference 014.14

Or

Ray Ellis, National Health and Safety Officer, email rellis@cwu.org quoting reference E 1/20

Yours sincerely

Davie Robertson – Assistant Secretary

Ray Ellis – National Health and Safety Officer (Acting)

20LTB203

Coronavirus Collections from testing hubs SAC1 (SHEI 5.3) final. – 16.04.20

COVID 19 Test Kit SSOW Relay collection from Test Centres (150420 Final Daft) – 16.04.20

Royal Mail Group COVID-19 Risk Assessment

The Health and Safety department has been liaising directly with the RMG Global Director Compliance & Sustainability on the subject of RMG business-wide assessments of risks associated with the COVID-19 Pandemic. The CWU strongly supports the development of a RMG wide risk assessment process together with specific risk assessments based on business and function.  We requested confirmation that the business is developing risk assessments on this basis and confirmation of the RMG leads on this activity for each business/function, and that appropriate consultation would take place with the CWU in line with health and safety legislation.

Shaun Davis RMG Global Director Compliance & Sustainability response is outlined below:

As you will be aware, employers have a legal duty to risk assess their undertaking, responding to changes in risk profile and emerging issues.  Sometimes circumstances occur that require an immediate response and I am sure you will understand that the global coronavirus pandemic is one of those occasions.  I am sure you will also appreciate that due the fast-moving nature of this unprecedented situation, we are continually risk assessing to ensure our response remains appropriate – it is therefore the case that our risk assessments remain live documents.

With regard to your question about the functional coronavirus risk assessments, I can also confirm that these have been undertaken.  It is normal practice for large, diverse organisations to undertake risk assessments at multiple levels to ensure that essential detail is not lost and that employees are adequately protected from harm.  With this in mind, we also intend to feed the functional risk assessments (and controls) into unit level coronavirus risk assessments – these site specific assessments will assist in capturing local variations and ensuring the adequacy of site-specific controls.

As requested, the names of the functional coronavirus risk assessment leads are as follows:

• Delivery – Freddie Warnock and Emma Tranter;
• Processing and Collections – Jayne Callaghan-Jarvis;
• Driving – Emma Tranter and Paul Simmons;
• National Distribution – Stuart Harrison;
• Loading and Unloading – Stuart Harrison;
• Non-Operational – Matt Chappell; and
• Parcelforce – Robert Kelly.

I fully agree that it is important that the CWU is consulted in line with the Safety Representatives and Safety Committees Regulations (1977).  I will therefore be covering these risk assessments in our discussions during the next national strategic involvement meeting via video conference   

I will also ask my team to provide the CWU with an update on the risk assessments during the next scheduled engagement meeting.  Again, this will be via conference call or video conference.  

Thank you for the support expressed for these essential risk assessments.  

Progress has been made in developing these risk assessments across RMG. The following Unit Risk Assessments – Controlling the Spread of Coronavirus have been developed:

• Air Hubs & Rail
• Collections
• Deliveries
• Distribution
• Vehicle Maintenance Workshops, Fleet Administration Centres and Vehicle Breakdown/Incident Services
• International
• PFW Hubs
• PFW/Relay Depots
• Processing (including loading/unloading, driving and collections where applicable)

All these Unit Risk Assessments are held in the RMG SHE Coronavirus Document Library.

The Health and Safety department will also be circulating these Unit Risk Assessments to all ASRs in Royal Mail Group separately.

The Coronavirus outbreak is a fast moving, unprecedented situation. The risk assessment will remain a live document and will be updated as required.

Any enquiries relating to this LTB should be directed to Ray Ellis (rellis@cwu.org).

Yours sincerely

Ray Ellis
Acting National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

20LTB202 Royal Mail Group COVID-19 Risk Assessment

A great session with DGSP Terry Pullinger. Please share the link as widely as possible

RMG – Coronavirus Temporary Driving Controls

Dear Colleagues,

We have received several enquiries into CWU Nationally in relation to Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs), and post training following an accident.

Attached to this LTB is what we have now received from Royal Mail following representations made from the Outdoor Department. The attached document entitled ‘RMG Coronavirus Temporary Driving Controls’ did not have agreement of the CWU, and we only became aware of its existence when it was brought to our attention by some representatives out in the field.

We have now had the opportunity to discuss this matter with the Royal Mail manager who is dealing with this issue, and whilst we had no initial input into this temporary process, we have now satisfied ourselves that under the present circumstance it’s the least that can be done to keep things in some kind of perspective.

The document deals with:

• Temporary controls for managers providing Operational cover for driving vans (Royal Mail up to 3.5T) 
• Temporary controls for OPGs moving onto driving duties (Royal Mail up to 3.5T) 
• Temporary controls for Agency Workers performing driving duties (Royal Mail up to 3,5T) 
• Temporary controls for drivers covering Parcelforce driving duties 
• Post-Collision Training

The link below is the link in the attached document, that shows pre-driving advice about the road worthiness of your vehicle and legal requirements prior to going onto the road.

https://vimeo.com/366233518/b31b766da0

While the above are all temporary measures to be used throughout the coronavirus pandemic period only, there will remain the necessity for proper on-the-road training for those who intend to stay driving. In regard the post collision training, you will note it is down to the judgement of the local manager to consider if it is safe for the driver to continue driving. You should further note that the current Road Traffic Accident Procedure (RTAP) continues to hold the field in determining blameworthiness, and where minor accidents should be treated as such, albeit, interventions should be discussed and determined locally. The RTAP has now also been inserted into the Temporary Driving Control document due to our request. Furthermore, all on-road training will resume once things are back to normal, and a note taken of those who will need to complete this.

Branches will note that the document includes references to a process for Drivers covering Parcelforce duties.  Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary has confirmed that his department has not been approached and that that no discussions have taken place with Parcelforce on the content of the document.    Urgent clarification is now being sought as Parcelforce have a separate, specific Road Traffic Accident procedure and different agreed arrangements for Post-Accident Training. Branches will be updated on these discussions accordingly.

Any enquires as to the content of this LTB should be directed to the Outdoor Department, reference 300.02, email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch                         

CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 197/20

Attachment – RMG Coronavirus – Temporary Driving Controls

RMG Guidance Social Distancing – Parcel Sorting Machine (PSM)

Branches and representatives will be aware that LTB 155/20 provided Royal Mail guidance in relation to changes to working practices to accommodate social distancing in the Mail Centre environment.

In addition to the above further clarification has been developed by Royal Mail in regard to social distancing on the Parcel Sorting Machine (PSM). A copy of the guidance document (Annex A) and slides (Annex B) that have been received by the department are attached for information. Colleagues should note that the attached relate to operational activities and do not cover Engineering processes or tasks.

For absolute clarity the attached documentation has been produced by the business. The documents do however seek to address some of the issues that have been raised by the department, following representations from the field in respect of how social distancing can be applied and maintained on the PSM.

The department will continue to monitor the processes and will raise with the business any issues that are identified to clarify or revise, in order to improve where necessary.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org quoting reference 014.14

Yours sincerely

Davie Robertson 

Assistant Secretary

20LTB201

Annex A – PSM Social Distancing – Operational Guidance 02_04_20

Annex B – Social Distancing PSM 3 Slides

PPE and Social Distancing – CWU Online Support

CWU representatives at all levels have worked tirelessly in making sure our members have access to PPE in the workplace and that social distancing measures are in place. This has been against a background of employers and managers not always acting as quickly as they should have and in some cases failing to prioritise the health and safety of our members. To this end, we want to thank again our local representatives and branches, who in very difficult circumstances have been outstanding in dealing with our members’ concerns.

To further support the members and the work our representatives have been doing, we have now developed a simple webpage where members can log their PPE/social distancing issues. From there, we will send the queries to branches locally to be picked up. This work will be supplemented as necessary through the union’s structures.

This web page is another advancement of our digital support for members and will operate for all CWU constituencies and every company we have members in. It will ensure the whole union is as visible as possible to our members in systematically logging and tackling these difficult issues during the Coronavirus pandemic. We want to reassure all representatives that this approach is designed to support and not replace the great work that is already taking place.

The web page can be seen here www.cwu.org/ppe and we would encourage branches to give this the widest possible publication.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Ward
General Secretary

Terry Pullinger
Deputy General Secretary (P)

Andy Kerr
Deputy General Secretary (T&FS)

LTB 200/20 – PPE and Social Distancing – CWU Online Support

CBRE – NOTICE OF FURLOUGHING

The CWU have been advised by CBRE, that as a consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak they intend to implement the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, known as furloughing. 

They advise that given the local and global constraints on normal business operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, their clients are adjusting their activities and, in some cases, closing sites, resulting in a reduction in workload for those sites and organisations. At the same time, some of their clients are stepping up their operations and require continuing or increased services. The job retention scheme is now being implemented as they state they need to make immediate cost savings, in order to protect the future health of the business.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme involves placing employees on a period of leave – “furlough”. The Government’s scheme will cover 80% of your normal pay, up to a maximum of £2,500 per month. CBRE have confirmed that they will top up the remainder of the 20% of salary. This may be reviewed moving forward. This amount is subject to deductions for tax and national insurance in the normal way. 

We realise this is a very worrying and uncertain time for our CBRE members and their families but we want to assure you that we are working closely with CBRE throughout and will keep you fully informed throughout. 

Key points:

• Wages of furloughed employees will be subject to income tax and national insurance as usual. Employees will also pay automatic enrolment contributions on qualifying earnings, unless they have chosen to opt out. Wages include basic pay plus all contractual pay components.
• It is at CBRE’s discretion whether to place an employee on furlough.
• The scheme is in place for 3 months, from 1 March 2020 to 31 May 2020.
• The government may revisit the scheme in May 2020 (and could extend it).
• Employees placed on furlough can be redeployed if an opportunity arises, but their furlough leave would officially stop at that point. They can also be placed on furlough again within the three-month period. Furlough periods cannot be less than three weeks.
• Teams doing the same work may be rotated on and off furlough to ensure fairness. Team rotation could be on a month on/month off basis.
• Furlough Leave will initially run until 31 May 2020 but could be extended.
• Annual leave during the Furlough period and will be paid in the usual way for leave (i.e. contractual holiday pay).
• During furlough, CBRE will continually review the situation – it may be that they can offer work. In this situation, furlough Leave will stop and employees will return to work (on usual salary). Furlough Leave will not generally be less than 3 weeks and employees can be rotated on and off furlough Leave.
• Furloughed employees are expected to remain available for work and contactable by the company during this period, in the event that any work, including any suitable alternative work, becomes available at short notice.
• Furloughed employees will need to sign a Furlough Agreement.

Eligibility 

Furlough applies to employees who started continuous employment on OR before 28 February 2020 and have little or no work to do due to the current pandemic. This can include:

• Site closure and role where home working not possible
• Reduction in work and role not needed
• Changes to working patterns that employee cannot facilitate
• Vulnerable groups that cannot home work (over 70; under 70 with underlying health conditions; pregnant)
• Care of dependants (school closure) and home working not possible
• Employee unable to come to work for another reason (e.g. health anxiety) associated with the Coronavirus and is on unpaid leave (which started after 28 Feb 2020)

Furlough does not apply to employees on sick leave, although once employees return from sick leave, they can be furloughed.

CBRE have confirmed that they will be seeking to furlough those who have an NHS letter requiring them to isolate, vulnerable employees including those with a known past history of an illness which could be fatal if they contract the virus, those who are at home with someone who is shielding and those who have caring responsibilities.

If members believe that they should have been furloughed and their circumstances are as described above, they need to raise their request to their line manager in the first instance.   

Please find attached a copy of the company Q&A which will hopefully answer the majority of your questions.

We are currently awaiting a copy of the company comms and confirmation of final numbers of furloughing at this stage. We will keep you updated accordingly.

If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Yours sincerely,

Tracey Fussey

NEC member, Chair of CBRE National Team

On behalf of Brendan O’Brien National Officer  

LTB 199/20

Q&A

DAVE WALTON – EX BRANCH SECRETARY, NATIONAL AUDITOR, SUB DIVISIONAL REPRESENTATIVE

It is with great sadness that I write to Branches to inform you that Dave Walton ex CWU National Auditor, Leeds Amalgamated Branch Secretary and Sub Divisional Representative, passed away suddenly over the weekend.

Dave had taken early retirement a few years ago and during his long career he led the Leeds Amal Branch for many years and was very well known and respected throughout the CWU. He had also been elected on many occasions as one of our National Auditors. 

Dave was union through and through and made an enormous contribution in supporting representatives, members and our work in the wider movement.  I know I speak on behalf of his many friends and the whole union in saying he will be sorely missed.

Our thoughts at this time are with Dave’s wife Karen, his son Aidan, his daughter Sarah and the family.  We will convey to them our deepest sympathy and condolences on behalf of the CWU.

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

Yours sincerely,

Dave Ward                                                               

General Secretary 

LTB 198/20

Guidance for Professional Drivers – NHS Voluntary Work

Branches will be aware that the Government recently sought volunteers to assist the NHS during the current Coronavirus crisis. Following this request, the department received a number of enquiries from representatives seeking clarity on the implications for Professional Driver members should they wish to volunteer to drive for the NHS.

The department immediately sought clarification from Royal Mail in relation to Professional Driver Grades who wish to volunteer and any necessary processes which our members would need to follow in these circumstances. The business indicated at that time that they had not formulated a position but committed to do so to enable our members to perform their Royal Mail duties and provide the opportunity to support the NHS where desired, while remaining legally compliant with driver regulations.

Discussions have focused on enabling a situation where Royal Mail Professional Drivers can volunteer to offer their services by driving a NHS owned/hired vehicle to transport medical supplies, organs, blood, equipment or personnel only. It is imperative however that the performance of voluntary work does not adversely affect the availability of driving resource in Royal Mail, ensures that the that the risk of driver fatigue is not increased and that compliance with Drivers Hours and Working Time regulations is maintained and recorded.

A guidance document has now been compiled which is attached for the information of Branches (Annex A). The guidance document contains links which are only accessible via the RM intranet site and as such the corresponding documents are also attached for your ease of reference (Appendices 1 to 4).

It should be noted that while all of these documents have been produced by Royal Mail, the department has been able to review and influence the final versions. The department believes that the attached process is robust, will provide welcome clarification and enable those members who wish to support the NHS to do so.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org quoting reference 014.14

Yours sincerely

Davie Robertson

Assistant Secretary

20LTB196

Annex A – Guidance Document – 10.04.20

Appendix 1 – NHS Voluntary Driving Declaration – 10.04.20

Appendix 2 – Forecast_Planner Example – 10.04.20

Appendix 3 – GUIDANCE FOR PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS – NHS VOLUNTARY DRIVING -10.04.20

Appendix 4 – GUIDANCE FOR MANAGERS – PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS WHO REQUEST TO UNDERTAKE NHS VOLUNTEER DRIVING – 10.04.20