RMG/CWU Business Recovery, Transformation and Growth Agreement – Lord Falconer Review of Conduct Cases (Appendix 7)

Further to LTB 123/23 dated 18^th May, Branches are advised we have now submitted 2 further batches of consent forms to RMG totalling 126 to date.  Branches will have received an email receipt via independent-review@cwu.orgfor each consent form submitted.  Please contact Rob Wotherspoon, Postal Executive, via the dedicated email address if the acknowledgement has not been received.  In line with the words of Appendix 7, “The Review will cover:  Individual cases of both CWU members and CWU representatives referred to it by the union”.  To be clear, the union will be reviewing all casefiles received along with any documentation provided by RMG and submitting all appropriate cases to the Independent Review and the submissions will be totally at the discretion of the union, not RMG.

Suspended Members/Representatives – Consent Forms Required

Lord Falconer has directed that Consent forms have to be submitted by this Friday, 26^th May; however, we expect there to be some legitimate exceptions to this, such as where conduct decisions have not been notified to individuals along with those members who are still suspended (currently believed to be 37 people) and are therefore yet to face disciplinary charges.  With regard to the latter, we will be writing directly to all Branches who have suspended members/Reps, asking them to provide a separateconsent form on the basis there is the potential that the suspension may ultimately lead to a disciplinary penalty.  The Consent forms need to be sent into the dedicated email address: independent-review@cwu.org

Branches are reminded to give the Independent Review their fullest attention, particularly the provision of all case papers to the dedicated email address.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward – General Secretary                                            

Andy Furey – A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

LTB 127/23

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ROYAL MAIL GROUP NATIONAL AGREEMENT – SUSPENSION OF BALLOT TIMETABLE

As a result of Royal Mail Group’s failure to address quality of service and USO failures, in line with section 2.5 of the agreement, the Postal Executive met yesterday and agreed to suspend the ballot timetable.

A full update on the reasons for this and the position we have set out to Royal Mail Group is attached. Please share this as widely as possible.

We will providing a short update to Branches via Zoom at 3pm today. Please join using the details below.

https://cwu-org.zoom.us/j/81244659996?pwd=ZVdjSUJ6KzZXOTBFUFZrdFRpS2JTQT09

Meeting ID: 812 4465 9996
Passcode: 794581

Yours sincerely

DAVE WARD
General Secretary

Andy Furey
Acting Deputy General Secretary (P)

23LTB126 ROYAL MAIL GROUP NATIONAL AGREEMENT SUSPENSION OF BALLOT TIMETABLE

06962 ballot table suspension

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REMINDER – NATIONAL YOUNG WORKERS EDUCATION EVENT, 9-11 JUNE 2023, GLASGOW

Further to LTB 115/23 this is a reminder that this year’s National Young Workers Education Event is taking place over the weekend of Friday 9^th June through to Sunday 11^th June in Glasgow.

The event is taking place at The Mercure Glasgow City Hotel with accommodation at the Travelodge Hotel, Queen Street which is a 2-3 minute walk from the Mercure Hotel.   Both venues are close to the railway station and the airport.

An agenda for the event is attached along with a covering letter from the Branch Chair.

The cost for Branches to send a delegate will be £275 and will include two nights accommodation with bed and breakfast as well as an evening buffet on the Friday night and a buffet lunch on Saturday.

Branches are asked to advise us as soon as possible if they are intending to send a delegate so that we can inform the hotel of the names of the guests.

For more information and to secure a place for the weekend branches should complete the attached form and send to Angela Niven at conferences@cwu.org as soon as possible so that we can assess the numbers of those attending for meals etc.    Branches must make payment for their delegate(s) attendance by sending a cheque made payable to “CWU” addressed to Angela Niven, SDGS Department at CWU HQ   or by bank transfer to the General Fund Account No: 33019822   Sort Code 60-83-01 with ref “YWNEE”

Any queries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed to Angela Niven at Head Office on conferences@cwu.org or on 020 8971 7256.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Ward
General Secretary

23LTB125 – Reminder National Young Workers Education Event

NYWEE23-Application-Form

CWU NYWEE 2023 Agenda

NYWEE 2023 – Chair Letter to Delegation 1.0

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ELECTION OF NATIONAL DELEGATIONS – 2023 TUC Congress and Labour Party Conference (including Labour Party Women’s Conference) 7^th-11^thOctober, Liverpool

• TUC Congress
• Labour Party Conference (including Labour Party Women’s Conference) 7^th-11^thOctober, Liverpool

Further to LTB 109/23 dated 2^nd May 2023 at the close of nominations the following have been received:

TUC 

Postal Constituency

NEC (1 Member)No Nominations Received

Lay Members (7 Members at least 2 delegates must be women & at least 1 delegate must be BAME)Adam AlarakhiaLeicestershire*ElectedDes ArthurSouth Midlands Postal*ElectedSteve CrokeSouth Midlands Postal*ElectedScott HartlesScotland No 2*ElectedRichard WilkinsSouth Central Postal*Elected

Telecoms & Financial Services Constituency   

NEC (1 Member)Dave TeeMid Wales, The Marches & Nth Staffs, Capital, South Wales*Elected

Lay Members (5 Members at least 1 delegate must be a woman & least 1 delegate must be BAME)Graham ColkSouth Wales, Capital, Edinburgh Dundee & Borders, Mid Wales, The Marches & Nth Staffs Scotland No 1*ElectedJackie MorreyMid Wales, The Marches & Nth Staffs Capital, Edinburgh Dundee & Borders, Scotland No 1,  South Wales*Elected

LABOUR PARTY

Postal Constituency

NEC (1 Member)No Nominations Received

Lay Members (7 Members at least 2 delegates must be women & at least 1 delegate must be BAME)Paul BraithwaiteNorth Lancs & CumbriaBallot RequiredHuw DaviesLondon PhoenixKeith HamiltonSouth Central PostalScott HartlesScotland No 2Alan TateLondon Regional Motor Transport

Telecoms & Financial Services Constituency   

NEC (1 Member)Andrew MercerGreater Mersey, Capital, South Wales*Elected

Lay Members (5 Members at least 1 delegate must be a woman & at least 1 delegate must be BAME)Craig AndersonScotland No 1, Capital,  Edinburgh Dundee & Borders, Mersey, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, South Wales*ElectedEugene CaparrosSouth Wales, Capital,  Edinburgh Dundee & Borders, Mersey, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, Scotland No 1*ElectedBrian KennyMersey, Capital, Edinburgh Dundee & Borders, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, Scotland No 1, South Wales*ElectedJoyce StevensonScotland No 1,  Capital, Edinburgh Dundee & Borders, Mersey, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, South Wales*Elected

The ballot timetable is as follows:

Despatch ballot papers:               24 May 2023

Ballot closes:                                  7 June 2023 (14:00)

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

LTB 124/23

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RMG/CWU BUSINESS RECOVERY, TRANSFORMATION AND GROWTH AGREEMENT – LORD FALCONER REVIEW OF CONDUCT CASES (APPENDIX 7)

Further to LTB 121/23 dated 17^th May.  Branches are advised we have today submitted another batch of consent forms (27) to RMG totalling 85 to date.

Consent forms have to be submitted by Friday 26^th May; however, we expect some exceptions to this, such as where conduct decisions have not been notified to individuals, along with those members who are still suspended and therefore are potentially facing disciplinary charges.  

Branches will have received an email receipt via independent-review@cwu.orgfor each consent form submitted. In the event a Branch has not received an acknowledgement from this dedicated email address, this means the form has not been received.  In these circumstances, Branches must urgently contact Rob Wotherspoon Postal Executive, via the dedicated email address.

In order to carry out the vital preparation for submitting cases formally into the Independent Review, Branches must give this matter their fullest attention, particularly the provision of case papers, once again to the dedicated email address.

Further updates will be provided in due course.

Yours sincerely                                         

Dave Ward
General Secretary   

Andy Furey
A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

LTB 123-23

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RECRUITMENT & ORGANISING STRATEGY CONSULTATION

Please find attached a summary of the consultation results and proposed recommendations arising from the Recruitment & Organising Strategy Consultation which took place last year.

The NEC has endorsed a number of recommendations arising from the consultation as detailed in the attached summary specifically:

• Lead Branches – identify a number of branches in each region to lead on recruitment and representation outside the union’s traditional base; to be identified by consensus in discussion with branches and regional secretaries
• Establishment of Regional Working Groups – to share resources and best practices; provide training opportunities to fit the needs of the region; give newly unionising workers an active role in organising and recruitment work and allow UTAW members to become actively involved in the region
• Establishment of National Organising Network – to bring together lead branches, newly organised workers and the UTAW branch to enable a whole union approach to recruitment and organising outside our traditional “core”

It is the intention of the NEC to bring forward appropriate rule changes to deliver the strategy outlined in the document for consideration at Annual Conference.

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to the Head of Recruitment & Organising by email to rodept@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

RAY ELLIS

Head of Recruitment, Organising & Membership Growth

LTB 122/23 – Recruitment and Organising Strategy Consultation

Recruitment and Organising Strategy Consultation

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE DIVISIONAL REPRESENTATIVE ELECTIONS 2023

Dear Colleague,

ELECTION OF:  ROYAL MAIL DIVISIONAL REPRESENTATIVES 2023 – NORTH EAST & SOUTH WEST/SOUTH WALES DIVISIONS

Branches will be aware that LTB 110/23 dated 3^rd May 2023 contained the revised ballot timetable for the above elections.

RM Divisional Representatives Ballot – Revised Timetable

Branches will be aware that the timetable for the Royal Mail National ballot is as follows:-

Ballot Papers Despatched:           25^thMay 2023

Ballots Close:                                  14^th June 2023

Accordingly due to this,  the decision has been taken to defer the election for the Divisional Representatives and the revised timetable for these elections is as follows:

Ballot Papers Despatched:          14^th June 2023

Ballots Close:                                    3^rd July 2023

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

LTB 120/23

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ROYAL MAIL: EX-POST OFFICE “SAFENET” MEMBERS WORKING IN ROYAL MAIL – CONSOLIDATED PAY INCREASE OF 9%

Branches will recall we have a number of members who were redeployed from Post Office “Safenet” duties back into the Royal Mail operation under MTSF in 2009.

Following positive discussions with Royal Mail management, we can now confirm that these ex-“Safenet” members will receive the Post Office pay increase of 9% and lump sum payments as per the pay agreement endorsed by Post Office members in April 2023 covering the three years 2021/22, 2022/23 & 2023/24.

The following Joint Statement has been agreed with Royal Mail:

Joint Statement between Royal Mail and the CWU regarding Pay for ex-Post Office ‘SafeNet’ employees working in Royal Mail

Following joint discussions Royal Mail and CWU confirm that all ex-Post Office ‘SafeNet’ employees working within Royal Mail will receive the Post Office pay increase outlined below covering the three years 2021/22, 2022/23 & 2023/24.

Key Features of the Pay Agreement are:

9% consolidated pay increase on base pay from 3rd April 2023 (1^st April for monthly paid).

•  A £650 one-off lump sum applied to all CWU colleagues currently earning less than £24,000 and for all others a £500 one-off lump sum. These payments will be made in full for all and not prorated. 
• Further lump sums ranging between £1,325-£2,500 dependent upon pay level, and additional one off payments for London-based employees. Both these lump sums are prorated.
•  Royal Mail HR Services are currently processing the pay uplift and this will be implemented in May salaries for monthly paid and Friday 26^th May for weekly paid employees, including all back pay.

 We wish to thank people for their patience whilst we have been clarifying these matters.

 Graham Long                                        Andy Furey

Head of IR – Delivery                           A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

Corporate Functions

I would be grateful if Branches could bring this development to the attention of our ex-“Safenet” members working in Royal Mail.

If you have any questions in relation to this LTB, please contact Lea Sheridan – lsheridan@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey
A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

Attachment 1: 23LTB118 Royal Mail – Ex-Post Office Safenet Members Working in Royal Mail – Consolidated Pay Increase of 9%

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RESIGNATION OF ROYAL MAIL GROUP CEO SIMON THOMPSON

You would have heard the announcement earlier today that Royal Mail Group CEO Simon Thompson has resigned from his position. The CWU welcomes this development as will our members and representatives.

Simon Thompson is one of the key individuals responsible for the financial crisis that Royal Mail Group has created over the course of the last year.

The CEO was also one of the key people responsible for the appalling mantra of ‘It’s our business to run’ that saw the employer openly attack its own workforce on a relentless basis, including developing a culture of imposition which has now created quality of service and USO failures on a scale which threatens the future of the company.

However, we recognise that the CEO was only one of the senior leadership team responsible for the unacceptable actions and behaviours of managers across the UK throughout this dispute. Further change in Royal Mail Group’s leadership team is vital.

It is important that the next Royal Mail Group CEO is somebody who understands the only way to turn around the fortunes of the company is by taking the workforce with them.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward
General Secretary                             

Andy Furey
A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

23LTB119 RESIGNATION OF ROYAL MAIL GROUP CEO SIMON THOMPSON

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Mental Health Awareness Week – 15 – 21 May 2023 On The Theme Of ‘Anxiety’

The Mental Health Foundation announced that the 2023 Mental Health Awareness Week will run from Monday 15 May until Sunday 21 May 2023. The week will explore the experience of anxiety, its effect on our mental health and how we can all play a part in reducing anxiety in our communities and workplaces.

Anxiety is a normal emotion in us all, but sometimes it can get out of control and become a mental health problem.

Lots of things can lead to feelings of anxiety, including exam pressures, relationships, starting a new job (or losing one) or other big life events. We can also get anxious when it comes to things to do with money and not being able to meet our basic needs, like heating our home or buying food.

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems we can face. In a recent mental health survey, carried out by the Mental Health Foundation a quarter of adults said they felt so anxious that it stopped them from doing the things they want to do some or all of the time. Six in ten adults feel this way, at least some of the time. On a positive note, anxiety can be made easier to manage.

Focusing on anxiety for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week will increase people’s awareness and understanding of anxiety by providing information on the things that can help prevent it from becoming a problem. At the same time, we will keep up the pressure to demand change – making sure that improving mental health is a key priority for the government, employers and society as a whole.

To obtain resources to help you with your arrangements for Mental Health Week, go to the Mental Health Foundation website at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week

Other Useful Links To Organisations Providing Advice And Support:

• HSE Guide To Stress And Mental Health At Work – https://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/
• NHS Every Mind Matters – https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/
• MIND – https://www.mind.org.uk/
• SAMARITANS – https://www.samaritans.org/

Samaritans

For people in distress and urgently needing someone to talk to, Samaritans will listen, won’t judge or tell a person what to do, will offer help, support and guidance 24/7.  Members can call them any time, day or night – whatever they’re going through, they can call Samaritans any time, from any phone for FREE. CALL 116 123.

Attachments:

• Mental Health Foundation – Mental Health Awareness Week Poster 1
• Mental Health Foundation – Mental Health Awareness Week Poster 2

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

23LTB117 Mental Health Awareness Week 15 – 21 May 2023

MHF-MHAW-2023-poster-feeling-anxious

MHF-MHAW-2023-poster-anxiety-common

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