New Deal for Workers – TUC online Organise festival – 9-11 July

The purpose of this LTB is to notify branches of an online festival being held by the TUC on 9^th-11^th July on union organising.

The festival is being held as part of a series of initiatives the TUC is undertaking as a result of the CWU’s motions to TUC Congress on working together to deliver a New Deal for Workers.

The festival will have online sessions on new trends in organising and training sessions on new digital technologies and key elements of organising work. We would ask branches to register for information at the following link and once the final programme is confirmed, we would urge reps to attend (online) sessions relevant to them:

https://www.tuc.org.uk/organise-2020

Any queries on the contents of this LTB should be addressed to gsoffice@cwu.org and further information on the festival will be sent to branches shortly.

Yours sincerely,                     

Dave Ward                                                    Ray Ellis                                           

General Secretary  Acting Head of Recruitment & Organising

LTB 295/20 – New Deal for Workers – TUC online Organise festival – 9-11 July

View Online

Black Lives Matter” Campaign

The CWU is deeply saddened to hear of the loss of more black lives as a result of institutional racism and racial injustice. 

Since the execution of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, millions of people across the globe have taken part in protests against widespread inherent racism and the way black people have been treated by police officers in the US and beyond. 

The recent protests and media campaign for justice for George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and countless others, have once again highlighted the issues of inequality, racism, violence and injustice that exist in our society against black people today. Issues of police brutality and its links to racism should not be dismissed as just an American issue but an issue that affects black people globally. 

The CWU reaffirms its position of opposing all forms of racism and stands in solidarity with protestors and the “Black Lives Matter” campaign. 

Every day we see examples of racism in Britain. Hate crime for example has increased over the past several years, increasing significantly, after Brexit. Incidents of racism in football is still rife and British music artists, like Stormzy, constantly face attacks for speaking out against the institutional and systematic racism in the UK. Even during the current Coronavirus crisis we see the disproportionate impacts on our BAME communities with little action being taken by our nation’s leaders. 

Racism is not just a BAME issue, it is dehumanising to everyone it touches and the fight for racial equality is one that includes us all. How you can help? 

•  Call racism out – One example of action we can all take is to challenge acts of racism and the dismissing of black people and their experiences of racism. 
• Report acts of racism – contact the Equality, Education & Development department’s bullying and harassment helpline number on FREEPHONE 0800 090 2303 or email your concerns to equality&education@cwu.org Alternatively speak to your local CWU representative. 
• Sign the petition – Add you name to the Justice for George Floyd petition here: https://www.change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for-george-floyd 

Any queries on this LTB should be directed to equality&education@cwu.org 

Yours sincerely, 

Kate Hudson
Head of Equality, Education & Development

LTB 292/20 – Black Lives Matter Campaign

View Online

BT Personnel – Conference Motion 42 – Domestic Violence

Colleagues may remember Motion 42 (attached) from Conference 2019. The Personnel Team has been pursuing the instruction contained within Motion 42 for the past twelve months. Despite some difficulties with persuading the company that domestic violence is a significant issue for society and therefore CWU members, the company has agreed a domestic abuse guidance document (attached). Although not fully achieving the intent of Motion 42 at present, the Personnel Team believe the guidance contained within the attached document is a start to fully achieving the policy and worthy to be published to Branches and members.

The guidance contains information on what domestic abuse is, how to identify the signs of domestic abuse, and what to do if members are suffering from abuse and where to seek help. The help of the Equality Education and Development Department at Headquarters has been invaluable to helping the Personnel Team in our discussions with BT.

Although the guidance references the COVID-19 crisis, the document will be updated once the crisis has passed. The Personnel Team has also made it clear to the company that we will be pursing the full intent of Motion 42, and that we will still believe that this extremely important issue should have the status of a company policy and not just guidance.

The Personnel Team would be grateful if you could circulate the content of this letter to members

Any queries on this matter should be addressed to my office at CWU HQ.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Jukes
Assistant Secretary

LTB 291/2020
Attachment 1 – LTB 291/2020
Attachment 2 – LTB 291/2020

£200 COVID-19 Recognition Payment

Further to LTB 263/20 circulated on 20^th May 2020, colleagues are advised that a response has now been received from Royal Mail which provides clarification on their qualification criteria for this payment.

For ease of reference the questions raised by the union and the company’s response is listed below:

Q 1:     Will the payments be made in the spirit of the Christmas guidelines for such payments?

A:        “We make two separate payments to employees in the run up to Christmas.  You are right that there are some parallels with one of these, the Christmas Supplement that is paid to just OPGs, albeit not directly the same. 

This is a one-off discretionary non-contractual payment. This payment is based on appropriate eligibility criteria linked to colleagues contracted duty hours.”

Q 2:     In respect of part timers and the pro-rata nature of the payment (especially given the payment is focused on those who worked), will part-timers be paid for the actual hours they have worked?

A:        “For all eligible employees the calculation for the payment is based on contracted duty hours.  Additional hours worked on scheduled attendance and overtime does not count towards the payment for part time or full time employees. However, part-time employees that varied their contractual hours and worked full-time for a four-week period during the period (between Monday 16 March 2020 and Sunday 10 May 2020) will be paid the one-time Covid-19 payment in full.”

Q 3:     Attendance – To be eligible will an individual need to have attended work for the entire 16^thMarch – 10^th May 2020 period?

A:        “As we encouraged employees to take booked annual leave, employees who were absent due to annual leave do not have these days or weeks deducted for the purposes of calculating any payment.

The payments are proportionate. Ultimately this is not about judgement on those who could not work but a positive recognition of those who could and did support.”

Q 4:    Equality Act 2010 – Is there a potential risk that the qualification criteria could be discriminatory by excluding those who have been absent from work during the 16^th March/10^th May period due to conditions which mean they are likely to be considered disabled under the Equality Act 2010? Is there a further potential risk of discrimination claims by excluding those who have had to take unpaid leave due to caring responsibilities as in many cases this will be female employees. 

A:        “We believe our approach complies with all equality laws”

I trust the above information provides colleagues with clarification on the company’s position with regards to their qualifying criteria for the £200 recognition payment, although I appreciate the response may be disappointing for some members. It should however be remembered that we are dealing with a one-off, non-contractual, discretionary payment made to recognise the contribution of those members who were able to work and support the operation under the status of key workers.

Colleagues are however advised that I have written again to the company with the request that they reconsider the criteria for our part time colleagues who worked in excess of their conditioned/contractual hours, in light of the fact that many colleagues would not have had the opportunity to vary their conditioned hours of attendance at short notice. Branches will be updated accordingly once a response is received.

Any enquiries in relation to the content of this LTB should be addressed to the DGS(P) Department.

Yours sincerely,

Terry Pullinger

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)         

20LTB290 £200 COVID-19 Recognition Payment

Average Pay on Annual Leave (Holiday Pay) – Royal Mail Group

Further to LTB 243/20 issued on 5^th May 2020, Branches will recall that for Employment Tribunal (ET) cases in England and Wales, the respective legal parties were involved in dialogue concerning a simplified process for members who either have an existing ET claim and are now taking further annual leave, or for members who have not yet registered a claim and therefore need to do so. These talks took on added significance given that the new annual leave period commenced on 1^st April 2020 and annual leave taken from this time needs to be captured.

Richard Crabtree from Unionline has now contacted the DGS(P) Department to confirm that in relation to those cases in England and Wales, Royal Mail has agreed to the amendments proposed by Unionline, which to recap are as follows:

1. For existing claims new periods of holiday leave are added by this amendment without the need to submit individual applications to amend.
2. For new Claimants, once lodged in the normal way, then the future periods of holiday leave can be added without the need for further individual amendment.

Unionline has informed the DGS(P) Department that the Tribunal has confirmed that the above amendment and the Respondent agreement to that amendment stands and is to be repeated every three months. Richard Crabtree will therefore be repeating this again in July and has no doubt that Weightmans (the solicitors for Royal Mail Group) will continue to accept by way of agreement.

To summarise, Unionline has already made the blanket application to amend on behalf of all Claimants by saying “…additional claims for subsequent periods of underpaid holiday pay are to be added by way of amendment without the need to submit individual applications to amend”. Royal Mail has now agreed this.

Unionline has therefore stated that members who have current ET claims do not need to make further individual applications in anticipation of an eventual settlement or award. These members should however keep a legible record (supported by documents) showing:

1. The dates taken for the additional/new holiday leave
2. The pay they received for this leave
3. The pay they should have received (using an average of the 52 weeks’ pay prior to the start of the leave in question)

For the time being members can keep this record themselves but should be ready to disclose the information when needed, along with their payslips that show the above calculations. This information should therefore be kept safe and updated for every period of leave that is taken. Unionline will be in touch when this is required.

Those members who do not have an existing claim with the Tribunal will need to make an online application using the standard ET1 form, bearing in mind the three month time limit from the date of the deduction in their holiday pay. When completing this, members will need to:

1. Name the CWU as their representative
2. Quote their ACAS certificate number
3. Check that the names of both parties match the names on the ACAS certificate

It must also be reiterated that the Tribunal has asked that members do not contact them for updates.

Richard Crabtree has further advised the DGS(P) Department that in respect of the case itself and given that there are several thousand, the Tribunal will not be hearing from each Claimant.

The Department is therefore already taking steps to liaise with Unionline in order to prepare the ground for selecting a series of “Lead Claimants” from our members. Whilst a number have already been proposed we will need to ascertain that these will be representative of the various job roles and also reflect any geographical, organisational and  factual differences in the way that overtime is performed in Royal Mail Group. Going forward, these lead members will be the individuals giving evidence in the Employment Tribunal and upon which all cases will be decided. Royal Mail Group will still reserve the right to take issue with any individual amounts if it were to come to deciding the “remedy” but will essentially now restrict the case to the lead Claimants.

Branches in Scotland and Northern Ireland should however note that the position in relation to both Scottish cases and those in Northern Ireland remains unchanged at present from that contained in the aforementioned LTB 243/20. This information has been reproduced below for ease of reference:

SCOTLAND 

Branches will recall that all employment tribunal claims in Scotland were originally sisted until 20^th April 2020. This was then extended by just over a week to 28^thApril 2020.

Following an update from Unionline in Scotland, unfortunately the position is that all Tribunal hearings scheduled to take place from the middle of March until 30^thJune 2020 have now been cancelled.  These claims will be prioritised when the Tribunal list in person hearings again. 

In the telephone case management discussions involving the respective parties, in order to reschedule cancelled hearings, the Tribunal has advised that these Employment Tribunal cases will now be listed for a final hearing through Jan 2021 until March 2021.

The cases are of course safely in the system and it is possible that the timeframe for final hearings will be reduced. However, rather than raise expectations, at the time of writing we have to work on the assumption that there is likely to be a significant delay in arranging a final hearing.  Unionline will be writing to the Tribunal this week to request that a telephone case management be arranged so that cases can start to be progressed.

NORTHERN IRELAND

The situation in Northern Ireland remains unchanged at present, with all cases awaiting the outcome of the case involving the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

It is unfortunate that mainly due to the COVID-19 crisis the process for Employment Tribunal hearings has become elongated, but it is still vital that Branches continue to maximise the number of claims from members. The information contained in this LTB should therefore be circulated as widely as possible.

In closing I would like to thank you for your continued hard work regarding average pay on annual leave and hope that you and your families are safe and well. Further developments will be relayed in due course.

Any enquiries in relation to the content of this LTB should be addressed to the DGS(P) Department.

Yours sincerely,

Terry Pullinger

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)            

20LTB289 Average Pay on Annual Leave (Holiday Pay) Royal Mail Group

Temporary USO Changes – Cessation Monday 8th June 2020

Further to LTB 239/20 Branches will be aware that the temporary changes to USO Deliveries on a Saturday were due to cease no later than Saturday 13th June 2020, but that the changes were subject to review.

On receipt of consistent negative feedback from the field on the impact of the cessation of Saturday letter deliveries on the operation, the union has made further representations on our view that normal USO deliveries should be resumed as a matter of urgency.

During discussions today, Royal Mail has confirmed that following consultation with the Regulator, the current temporary arrangement will cease one week early with normal USO deliveries and agreed duty arrangements resuming from Monday 8th June 2020.

We would request that Branches and Representatives engage to ensure that any temporary arrangements are removed and agreed duty and attendance patterns are restored in time for the resumption of normal USO deliveries. For the avoidance of doubt Saturday 6th June 2020 will be the last day of the temporary arrangement to cease Saturday USO letter deliveries.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to:

Mark Baulch, Assistant Secretary, email: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org quoting reference: 230.03 or

Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org quoting reference: 014.14

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch 
Assistant Secretary

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

LTB 288/20

Temporary USO Changes – Cessation Monday 8th June 2020

Further to LTB 239/20 Branches will be aware that the temporary changes to USO Deliveries on a Saturday were due to cease no later than Saturday 13th June 2020, but that the changes were subject to review.

On receipt of consistent negative feedback from the field on the impact of the cessation of Saturday letter deliveries on the operation, the union has made further representations on our view that normal USO deliveries should be resumed as a matter of urgency.

During discussions today, Royal Mail has confirmed that following consultation with the Regulator, the current temporary arrangement will cease one week early with normal USO deliveries and agreed duty arrangements resuming from Monday 8th June 2020.

We would request that Branches and Representatives engage to ensure that any temporary arrangements are removed and agreed duty and attendance patterns are restored in time for the resumption of normal USO deliveries. For the avoidance of doubt Saturday 6th June 2020 will be the last day of the temporary arrangement to cease Saturday USO letter deliveries.

Yours sincerely

Mark Baulch Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary Assistant Secretary

POST OFFICE: BEIS SELECT COMMITTEE INQUIRY INTO POST OFFICE NETWORK – GOVERNMENT RESPONSE

Branches will recall the Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee published its report last October following the inquiry into the Post Office Network earlier that year. We welcomed the clear and strong recommendations and in particular the call on the government and/or Post Office to:

• Reconsider the ill-conceived strategy of privatising Crown Offices
• Fairly reward all hard-working Postmasters
• Involve the CWU in the working group for Postmasters’ pay
• Extend the Network Subsidy Payment beyond 2021 giving long term certainty for Postmasters

Today the government published its response to the BEIS Select Committee report, which was delayed firstly due to the general election and secondly presumably due to practical circumstances relating to the Covid-19 pandemic.

An analysis of the government’s key responses has been undertaken by Bill Taylor, Head of Research, and is attached to this LTB for your information. We are generally disappointed with the government’s responses, which have failed to embrace the recommendations that the Select Committee put forward. However this government and the Post Office will be failing customers and everyone providing Post Office services if they don’t take meaningful steps to address the criticisms the Committee put forward.

Darren Jones MP, Chair of the Select Committee, in reply to the government’s response, has today published a letter to the BEIS Minister Paul Scully MP in which he notes the Committee is “disappointed that not all of the issues have been addressed”. In an accompanying press release, Darren Jones states the following:

“Post Offices are an essential public service, rooted in communities up and down the country and offering a lifeline to many who rely on them not only for postal services but to help them avoid financial and social exclusion. The reality, however, is that our Post Office network remains fragile and, on the central issue of the Network Subsidy, the Government fails to give an assurance that future funding will continue beyond 2021. Nor does the Government take the opportunity to explicitly commit to maintaining the 11,500 Post Office branches that BEIS Ministers barely months ago said were necessary to sustain a national Post Office Network.”

The government response to the Inquiry, the letter from Darren Jones and an associated press release from the BEIS Select Committee can be viewed by using the following link:

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/365/business-energy-and-industrial- strategy-committee/news/146711/government-response-to-post-office-network- report-published/

We broadly welcome the letter from the Committee to Paul Scully and we are pleased with much of the content, particularly the following key questions to government:

• Network Subsidy – “The Network Subsidy will stop at the end of 2020/21 . When will [the Minister] confirm that this funding will continue?”
• Citizens Advice Public Consultations – “Can you provide the Committee with any new guidance that is produced regarding these consultations?”
• Framework Agreement, BEIS, UKGI and Post Office – “It is crucial that this relationship is transparent so that the public and their representatives can have confidence that there is proper scrutiny of Post Office Ltd decisions, especially in terms of value for money and treating those who work for the Post Office fairly. Can you update the Committee in detail as to how this new Framework Document differs from the previous Framework?”
• Future of the Post Office Network, including Crowns – “Can you confirm that [the optimum of 11,500 Post Office] is still the view of Post Office Ltd, BEIS and UKGI and that it is not under review? It would be concerning if this number was reduced, bearing in mind that the Report drew attention to the fact that many Post Offices are temporarily closed or operate on a part-time basis. I would also welcome an update on any plans regarding the future of the remaining Crown Post Offices.”
• The Role of the CWU in Postmaster Pay Negotiations – “In addition, we are also concerned that you will not allow the Communication Workers Union to take part in discussions with the Post Office, BEIS and the National Federation of Sub- postmasters as part of the Working Group that you chair… We are not confident that the National Federation of Sub-postmasters has always provided an effective challenge to Post Office Ltd, as evidenced by their role during the Horizon scandal.”

A central theme of the letter and press release is that the Select Committee quite rightly highlights a serious area of concern relating to the oversight of the Post Office by BEIS and UKGI (UK Government Investments). In the press release, Darren Jones states:

“It is important the Post Office is held properly accountable by Government… it is crucial there is confidence in Government oversight of Post Office Ltd decisions, not least in terms of value for money and treating those who work for the Post Office fairly”

We are pleased the Committee is holding both the Minister and the Post Office to account and it will be interesting to see how the Minister responds to the legitimate challenges outlined above.

It is clear there are now a number of issues converging on the future of the Post Office including government funding (with the existing funding package coming to an end in 2021), the economic impact on the Post Office of the coronavirus outbreak and the wide-ranging implications of the Horizon case. We are at a critical time for the Post Office. We are therefore planning to have a serious discussion with the Postal Executive about our overall strategy to promote the Post Office and protect jobs.

Over the coming weeks we will obviously be responding to government’s reply to the BEIS Select Committee’s report and Dave Ward, GS, will be talking to the government and in particular Paul Scully, BEIS Minister, about the issues raised by the Select Committee and our views on the future of the Post Office.

Finally, we will be writing to the new Chair of the BEIS Select Committee, Darren Jones, who took over from Rachel Reeves in April following her appointment to Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, to put forward our views on the government’s response and to ask how the Committee can continue its work on the Post Office, alongside the inquiry it is currently running on Horizon.

Further developments will be reported. 

Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary

Terry Pullinger 
Deputy General Secretary (P)

Dave Ward 
General Secretary20LTB287 Post Office – BEIS Select Committee Inquiry into Post Office Network – Government Response

Attachment to 20LTB287 – Government response to BEIS Committee on Post Office – B. Taylor

Errata to LTB 276/20 – Pay Increases and Pension Contributions for the Defined Benefit Scheme in Royal Mail Group

Further to LTB 276/20 circulated on 28^th May 2020, Branches are advised that the second paragraph on page two of the aforementioned LTB should read as follows:

As a result of this calculation, pensionable pay contributions for RMPP members went up by 3.3% in April 2019 as this was the inflation figure as of 30 September 2018. However colleagues will recall that basic pay increased by 2% in April 2019, although this figure is still part of the current dispute on the funding formula for the second hour off the working week.

Please accept the Department’s apologies for any confusion/inconvenience this error may have caused.

Any enquiries in relation to the content of this LTB should be addressed to the DGS(P) Department.

Yours sincerely,

Terry Pullinger

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)            

20LTB285 Errata to LTB 276.20 Pay Increases and Pension Contributions for the Defined Benefit Scheme in Royal Mail Group