Royal Mail Group Disputes: National Briefing – Tuesday 10^th January 2023

Further to LTB 488/22 dated 9^th December 2022, a National Briefing will be held on Tuesday 10^th January 2023 to provide Branches with an update in regard to our disputes with Royal Mail Group.  Hopefully progress will have been made at this point however if this is not the case, we will need to build support for the re-ballot required under the Tory Anti-Trade Union laws.

The Briefing will commence at 11:00 and conclude no later than 15:00 at:

Friends Meeting House

173-177 Euston Road

London

NW1 2BJ

All Branches are requested to make this a priority engagement and attendance arrangements should be in accordance with normal protocols for National Briefings whilst ensuring the importance of our proportionality requirements.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to the DGS(P) Department – hford@cwu.org or acorbett@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,                                                                      Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey                                                                              Dave Ward
Acting Deputy General Secretary (Postal)                    General Secretary  

LTB 497-22 Royal Mail Group Disputes National Briefing – Tuesday 10th January 2023

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CWU Rally Friday 9th December highlights

Election of: CWU Delegates to the TUC Equality Conferences – 2023

Further to LTB 463/22 dated 24^thNovember 2022, at the close of nominations on 8^th December 2022 the following have been received:

TUC WOMENS CONFERENCE

Postal 

4 Lay MembersRachel DaleyBristol & District Amal*ELECTEDRuth MeadowsShropshire and Mid Wales*ELECTEDEsther RobertsonEastern No.4*ELECTED

Telecoms & Financial Services

3 Lay MembersBeverley KenyonBootle Financial Services*ELECTEDLiza MidgleyWest Yorkshire*ELECTEDLouise ShortTyne and Wear Clerical*ELECTED

TUC BLACK WORKERS CONFERENCE

Postal                                                                                                             

4 Lay Members (1 Woman)Adam AlarakhiaLeicestershire*ELECTEDAbbas SharifBristol & District Amal*ELECTED

Telecom and Financial Services

3 Lay Members (1 Woman) Naeem KhanPreston, Brook and Bury*ELECTED

TUC DISABLED WORKERS CONFERENCE

Postal

4 Lay Members (1 Woman)Adam AlarakhiaLeicestershire*ELECTEDEsther RobertsonEastern No 4*ELECTEDTony SneddonScotland No 5*ELECTEDLee Starr ElliottBristol & District Amal*ELECTED

Telecoms & Financial Services

3 Lay Members (1 Woman)   Jacky MorreyMid Wales the Marches & N Staffs* ELECTEDJoyce StevensonScotland No.1* ELECTEDTrish VollansWest Yorkshire* ELECTED

TUC LGBT+ CONFERENCE

Postal

4 Lay Members (1 Woman)Ruth MeadowsShropshire and Mid Wales* ELECTEDTony SneddonScotland No.5* ELECTED

Telecoms & Financial Services

3 Lay Members (1 Woman)Liza MidgleyWest Yorkshire* ELECTEDJohn MonksCapital* ELECTEDSophie WiltshireMidland Counties* ELECTED

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

22LTB496 – Election of National Delegations – TUC Equality Conferences 2023

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POST OFFICE: PAY DISPUTE 2021/22 & 2022/23 – NOTICE SERVED FOR ACTION SHORT OF A STRIKE – SUPPLY CHAIN

Further to LTB 490/22 dated 9^thDecember, Branches are advised the Postal Executive has authorised action short of a strike for our Post Office Supply Chain members.  The two-week legal notification has been served on Post Office today as follows:

Supply Chain – Action Short of a Strike

Overtime and Scheduled Attendance ban for all Supply Chain duties (for the entire duration of the scheduled duty) commencing at or after 00.00 on Monday 26^th December and before 23.59 on Sunday 15th January 2023.

It should be noted that the action described above has been discussed with our full-time IR Reps who fully support the strategy.

Further developments will be reported.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey
Acting Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

22LTB493 – PO – Pay Dispute 2021-22 & 2022-23 – Notice Served for Action Short of a Strike – Supply Chain

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General Conference 2023 – Monday 24^th April 2023

Attached with this Letter to Branches are motion forms for General Conference 2023.  Branches should note that the motion guide for submitting motions to General Conference 2023 has been attached. Submitting bodies are advised to read the guidance notes carefully prior to submitting motions to ensure your motions meet the criteria for submission.

Entitlements In relation to the General Conference 2023:

• All Branches are entitled to submit three motions to General Conference.
• Regional Committees are entitled to submit three motions to the General Conference – however one of the motions must be from the Regional Equality Sub-Committee.
• Regional Health and Safety Sub-Committees are entitled to submit three motions on Health, Safety and Environmental matters to the Health Safety and Environment section of the agenda.

Branches/Regional Committees/Regional Health and Safety Sub-Committees are also reminded that the closing date for the submission of motions to General Conference is noon on Thursday 9^thFebruary 2023.

Motions submitted by email and any other email correspondence must be sent to generalmotions@cwu.org and no other personal email address.

Submitting bodies ***Please note the new email address***

If sending Motions by post, Branches must ensure they use a signed for service which guarantees delivery by the closing date and time.

Motions received, will be acknowledged within 72 hours. If you do not receive notification of the receipt of your motions, contact generalmotions@cwu.org or call Angela Niven at head office on 020 8971 7256 to confirm receipt.

Branches/Regions/Health and Safety Sub-Committees/Minority Conferences and the NEC are reminded that the Standing Orders Committee will not alter or amend any of the motions submitted therefore it is important that motions are checked before they are submitted.

Any queries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed to Angela Niven on 020 8971 7256 or by email to generalmotions@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

A P Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

22LTB495 – General Conference – Monday 24th April 2023

General Motion Guide 2023.doc

General Conference Motion Form 2023

HS Motion form GC 2023

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Rules Revision Conference 2023 – Submission of Rule Amendments

Attached with this Letter to Branches are Rule Amendment forms for the Rules Revision Conference 2023.

Branches should note that the Motion Guide for submitting rule amendments to the Rules Revision Conference 2023 has been attached.  

Entitlements

In relation to the Rules Revision Conference 2023 all Branches and Regional Committees are entitled to submit up to three proposals to the Rules Revision Conference 2023.

Branches and Regional Committees are reminded that the closing date for submissions of Rules Amendments to the Rules Revision Conference 2023 is noon Thursday 2^nd February 2023.  Submission of Rules Amendments can be posted or emailed but must arrive by noon.

If sending Motions by post, Branches must ensure they use a signed for service which guarantees delivery by the closing date and time.

Branches, Regions, and the NEC are reminded that the Standing Orders Committee will not alter or amend any of the Rule Amendments submitted therefore it is important that Rule Amendments are checked before they are submitted.

Please note that all amendments must be sent by e-mail to ruleamendments@cwu.org and no other personal e-mail address.

Any queries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed to Angela Niven on 020 8971 7256 or by e-mail to conferences@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

A P Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

22LTB494 – Rules Revision 2023 – Submission of Rule Amendments

RR Guidance notes 23

RR Proposal Form 23

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Driving (Royal Mail Group) Safe System of Work (SSOW), Updated Version 1.7 (Associated Risk Assessment TRA-03 (Royal Mail Group) National Generic Risk Assessment)

Further to LTB 481/22, Royal Mail Group have updated their Driving Safe System of Work with the current version 1.7, a copy of which is attached.

In summary, there have been some updates to the Driving SSOW since Version 1.3, which include; removing the Covid-19 guidance, integrating the Parcelforce Driving SSoW with the Royal Mail SSoW so that the latest version covers Royal Mail Group and consolidation of sections from other driving related SSoWs to reduce the overall number of SSoWs.

Summary of the 12-page SSoW Sections:

• Hazards and Risks – including impacts, falls, musculoskeletal conditions, sun safety, cuts, stress etc.
• Controls – including RTCs, Yard Safety, PPE Severe Weather etc.
• Safety Instructions Dos and Don’ts.
• Pre-departure preparation and vehicle checks.
• Walking to/from vehicles – pedestrian walkways and vehicle routes – workplace transport safety.
• Safe Access and Egress to/from vehicles.
• Slow Manoeuvring and Parking.
• Loading Bays.
• Parking – Small Vehicles and following HIT (Handbrake, In-gear, Turn Wheels).
• Parking Large Goods Vehicles (LGVs) and coupling/uncoupling articulated vehicles.
• Loading & Unloading Vehicles – including manual handling technique
• Driving in Royal Mail Group or Customer Premises.
• Driving on Public Roads.
• Electric Vehicles (EVs) – Additional Instruction.
• Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Vehicles – Additional Instruction.
• Vulnerable Users – Additional Instructions – pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, horse riders etc.
• Severe Weather – Additional Instructions.
• Person Specific Risks – Additional Instruction – Including fatigue, stress, eyesight, fitness to drive.
• Vehicle Accident/Breakdowns.
• Vehicle Servicing/Washing.
• Driver Training/Competency.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

22LTB492 Driving (Royal Mail Group) Safe System of Work (SSOW), Updated Version 1.7 (Associated Risk Assessment TRA-03

Driving (Royal Mail Group) SSOW v1.7

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CWU Non – Cooperation to Royal Mail’s Unagreed Recovery Revision Programme & Unagreed Headcount Reduction Activity within Delivery

Branches and Representatives will recall that there have been several LTBs (Letters To Branches) and supplementary ODMs (Outdoor Department Memos) which have covered the issue of Royal Mails’ unagreed revision programme and planned headcount reduction activity within Deliveries and across Royal Mail.

As far back as July this year and from the start of our dispute, Royal Mail has sought to position its unagreed revision activity as being part of the ‘Year-Two’ revision and productivity targets in line with the Pathway to Change (PtC) National Agreement. Whilst this has never been the case and has been disproven many times; we are aware that in many locations local management continue to pedal the narrative that the unagreed revision plans and targets remain part of the PtC Agreement. This is despite the fact that Royal Mail has changed the revision plans, parameters and targets on countless occasions since July.

However, we are now aware that Royal Mail has again revised its revision plans, (which have not been shared with the CWU directly at national level) and we further understand that these plans are built on direct headcount reduction which is seemingly driven by an ‘across the board approach’ for each Delivery unit based on applying a forecasted reduction in traffic of 7% against the Q1 reference period (April to June 2022), increased improvements in WIPWH (Weighted Items Per Work Hour) productivity against the same reference period, and unit’s AWD level being planned on both a fixed and variable spend.

Indeed, at this point, it is relevant to advise Branches that Royal Mail has only provided CWU Headquarters with direct notification of headcount reductions for those Delivery units where their unagreed plans seek to reduce this by 20 or more, and in order to comply with Section 188 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act of 1992. The Union’s advice on this is also contained within LTB 450/22.

During the course of the disputes on pay and change we have sought to ensure Branches, Representatives and members alike are kept up to date and advised of any plans for revision activity. Accordingly, and given Royal Mail’s sharp escalation in this activity in regards to their unagreed recovery revision plans, it is timely to reiterate the CWU position of non-cooperation and non-involvement.

To recap, the revision processes and the criteria set out by Royal Mail for these revisions, which has been revised by the Company on countless occasions up to this point, have not been shared or agreed with the Union at a National level and the revisions remain based on the following unagreed parameters which are also contrary to several National Agreements: 

• Despite Royal Mail’s claims to the contrary the revisions are based on an unagreed targetry and forecasted reductions in traffic, which is not in line with the commitments within the Pathway To Change Agreement and recommendations of the Productivity Joint Working Group.
• There is no agreed Model Week baseline setting. Moreover, the unagreed revision reference period upon which the headcount reduction is planned does not account for any USO (Universal Service Obligation) or service and products failures, meaning that the revision start point used by Royal Mail could be set at a point within a unit when it is not even USO compliant and was failing service.
• The revisions are based on an unagreed process, unagreed forecasted traffic level and against a pre-determined criterion – which are not in line with our National Agreements and Joint Statements.
• PDA Outdoor Actual data to be directly used on outdoor route planning – which is outside of our relevant National Agreements.
• Pre-determined duty patterns and later start and finishing times for units – which are outside of National Agreements, and in many cases go beyond that which Royal Mail has set out in its direct employee communications within their current change proposals.
• The establishment of pre-determined Dedicated Parcel Routes and Hubs (DPRs) which is not agreed.
• Local disagreements and the application of the Industrial Relations Framework are only to be accepted on particular points, these are determined by Royal Mail centrally.

The clear limits and restrictions set out by Royal Mail on the application of the IR Framework negates any opportunity for meaningful engagement at local level and, in short, the suggested engagement being offered to our Reps by Royal Mail is effectively meaningless, as our Reps will have no opportunity to influence the revision pre-determined plans or their direct impact upon our member’s jobs and working lives. 

Royal Mail have been clear and this is repeated within their recent ‘best and final offer’ document, which is clear that at no point would Royal Mail managers be allowed to, or accept any points of disagreement on any of the outlined unagreed revision process, including the parameters; criteria; data; timeline; or the outputs. 

The union simply cannot accept Royal Mail’s arbitrary position that job cuts and changes to our members’ working lives are non-negotiable. If we accept this, then Royal Mail will simply announce further and ongoing job cuts whilst imposing endless unnecessary and unrealistic changes and expect the CWU and its Reps to make such change work with our members being placed under unacceptable pressures.

It is fully understood that this is not an easy task, but the position on non-cooperation and non-involvement is absolutely the right stance. We cannot lose sight of the need to remain collective and united in response to Royal Mail at what is another example of unacceptable and provocative executive action being taken against our members. We are equally mindful of the direct stress and anxiety Royal Mail plans are now having on our Representatives and members alike. As such, we will provide our Reps and members more detailed information and advice going forward, which the department will look to issue as soon as possible and via an ODM (Outdoor Department Memo).

If and where Local/Area Reps are contacted or approached by management in terms of such un-agreed revision proposals, can they please continue to refer this directly to their respective Divisional Reps.

Any queries to the content of the above please contact the Outdoor Department reference 555, email address: njones@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch
CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 491-22 – Un-agreed Recovery Revision Programme and Un-agreed Headcount Reduction Activity 081222 (00000002)

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RECORDING: The whole of the historic strike rally in Parliament – enjoy! #StandByYourPost

https://fb.watch/hlx0ezXfl0/