CWU 2-Day Equality Event – Registration Reminder!

Further to LTB188/23, we are writing to remind Branches and Regions to register for the 2-day Equality Event due to take place on 27^th and 28^th September at the Albert Hall Conference Centre, North Circus Street, Nottingham, NG1 5AA.

The programme for the 2 days will include a diverse agenda of music, spoken word performances and speakers including a keynote session with our General Secretary Dave Ward and RMT General Secretary, Mick Lynch on the vital campaign against Ticket Office closures.

Branches can register by emailing the Equality, Education and Development department at equality&education@cwu.org If you have accessibility requirements, please contact the department ASAP.

For ease of reference, I have attached LTB 188/23 for further information. Any queries on this LTB should be directed to the email above.

I look forward to seeing you at the event.

Yours sincerely,

Kate Hudson
Head of Equality, Education & Development

LTB 237/23 – CWU 2-Day Equality Event – Registration Reminder

LTB 188/23 – 2-Day National Equality Event

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Royal Mail Group – Unagreed Trust Survey 2023

Branches and Representatives will recall the previous ‘Big Trust’ survey was jointly compiled and promoted during 2021 and the early part of 2022.

Following the endorsement of the Pathway to Change Agreement and as part of the joint work to improve culture, it made sense to jointly promote the previous survey during 2021 and the beginning of 2022 with the joint activity resulting in an industry leading participation rate of 69% with over 91,000 people taking part.

This previous joint activity effectively came to an end when the survey produced a trust score of 68%, resulting in the previous CEO reneging on his promise not to make management bonus payments unless the ‘trust score’ hit 70 or above.  The national disputes then commenced meaning joint activity was inappropriate in any event.

It has now come to our attention RMG have unilaterally launched a further ‘Trust’ survey.  To be clear and despite previous arrangements, on this occasion there has been no consultation with the Union about the timing or content of this questionnaire and as we haven’t been asked to be involved we cannot support or promote the 2023 Trust Survey.

This ‘go it alone mentality’ is outwith with the principles of the Business Recovery, Transformation and Growth Agreement and this survey has been started at a time when the concentration of RMG should be focused on treating people fairly in the workplace and abiding by the terms of our agreements.

I have written to the Chief People Officer to express my concerns regarding the lack of consultation and involvement of the Union over this matter that flies in the face of improving industrial and employee relations.

Further developments will be reported in due course.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey

A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

23LTB235

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BUSINESS RECOVERY, TRANSFORMATION AND GROWTH AGREEMENT – LUMP SUM PAYMENTS

Further to the membership communication attached to LTB152/23, Branches and members are advised the additional lump sum payment as part of the BRT&G Agreement has now been confirmed.

We had previously reported this payment would be at least £900 and we can now announce the final amount will be £1,007.

This means, including the £500 lump sum, our members in Royal Mail and Parcelforce will be receiving a total of £1,507 (pro-rata for part-timers).

Finally, we can also confirm these payments will be made on Friday 29^thSeptember to both weekly and monthly paid members.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward – General Secretary                            

Andy Furey – A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

23LTB234 – BRT and G AGREEMENT – LUMP SUM PAYMENTS

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Annual Leave Carry over RM policy – Use it or Lose it

 Branches will be aware that the CWU and Royal Mail have been engaging on the issue of carry over leave since 2017 with a view to ensuring leave cards are accurate and our members get every opportunity possible to take their leave.

During the recent dispute we were made aware that managers were being advised that the carry over system would be formalised electronically on PSP. This has meant that managers have had to go onto PSP to authorise the carryover of leave in excess of 5 days. Reps and members will be aware that our agreements allow for up to 5 days carry over without management agreement and that in excess of 5 days must be authorised. We have for many years had a situation where carry over leave has just carried over and no real discussions or authorisation processes have applied until 2023.

We were approached recently by management as they intended to invoke a further system whereby employees who have carry over leave currently above the 5 days will be given a defined period to use that leave or lose it. This will apply to all grades across RMG.

We have registered our opposition many times to this approach which has changed the business position in making it far easier for our members to take their carry over entitlement in a reasonable period.

We have also managed to get Royal Mail to agree to exceptions to this policy that will go some way to protecting our members, nevertheless there is still a risk that our members may find themselves in a situation where their carry over contractual leave is removed.

Management have continually expressed the position that it is not about employees losing their leave but it is about employees taking their leave. We have no opposition to our members being able to take their full annual leave entitlement; however, we are opposed to the forced removal.

As part of our representations we have stated that, if employees have their annual leave removed and management cannot evidence that the employee has chosen not to take their leave by all means possible or that management have refused employees being able to use their leave, that this will result in grievances and potentially breach of contract claims to an Employment Tribunal. Management acknowledge this position however they are not permitting managers to make an exception for carry over leave caused by operational requirements. This approach is a potentially positive position as it will force managers to give the leave or face grievances against them personally.

Both parties have committed to a monthly meeting where we will discuss how leave discussions are progressing where leave sits and any problem offices identified.

In terms of the numbers of employees with carry over leave this can be broken down as follows;

Operations, Central Functions including Parcel Force, RMPFS, HR International etc.

 Up to 5 days 67,518, These are agreement compliant and unaffected by this approach.

1. More than 5 days to 15 days 22,684 Who will fall into the end of August 2024 category
2. More than 15 days to 50 days 5086. These employees will fall into the category of end of August 2025

The final group which are more extreme leave carry over levels are 10-40+ weeks carry over and this number sits at 301.

The individuals/groupings as detailed above will be required to use their leave in this period of time or through discussions and circumstances with their line manager to agree an exception within the 3 categories.

The Members and representatives should be aware that annual leave is used in the following ways when leave is taken:

1. Any blocks of leave taken are deducted from the carry over leave entitlement first
2. Further Leave taken is deducted from the Purchased leave entitlement
3. Remaining leave taken is then removed from the renewed annual leave entitlement.

This means that if an employee has the maximum of 3 weeks carry over leave from 2023 into 2024, the said employee will have 5 months to use those 3 weeks. This should be achievable, due to the pecking order. Those in excess of this will have 17 months between April 2024 and August 2025 to use their leave.

We intend to monitor this closely and a spreadsheet exists which details by unit the number of employees in each group and the amount of leave. The intention is to share to relevant divisional and territorial reps for them to ensure we engage properly to achieve the following:

1. Members are afforded the leave;
2. Resourcing arrangements are in place to cover the workload; and
3. Support members where managers are not behaving correctly through use of the Grievance procedure and where appropriate legal processes.

Finally, to ensure that we look at improvements to the annual leave systems and processes/agreements it is the intention to relaunch the Annual leave JWG.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey

A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

23LTB233 – Annual Leave Carry over RM policy – Use it or Lose it.docx

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Terry Pullinger Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

The purpose of this LTB is to inform you that following a long period of sick absence, Deputy General Secretary (Postal) Terry Pullinger has taken the decision to leave the union and prioritise his health and family.

I would like to place on record the appreciation of the whole union for what has been an outstanding record of service to the CWU and its predecessors over many decades. Whether it be at local or national level, Terry has served the union with great distinction. This is something he can be rightly proud of.

As Deputy General Secretary (Postal) Terry played a crucial role in leading disputes, rallying our members, and delivering national agreements. I know I can speak for all CWU members when I thank Terry for his work and commitment in one of the unions most crucial roles.

Branches will be keen for us to recognise Terry’s achievements and we will be announcing plans to do this in due course as well as ensuring he receives National Honorary Membership at a forthcoming Conference.

Any Branches or Representatives wishing to send personal messages to Terry can do this via the DGSP Department where they will be collated and forwarded.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward

General Secretary

23LTB232 Terry Pullinger Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

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BUSINESS RECOVERY TRANSFORMATION & GROWTH (BRT&G) AGREEMENT –

APPENDIX 4 – FLEET UPDATE

Following the rejection of Appendix 4, we have continued to engage with our Fleet Reps and Royal Mail.

A further meeting has been arranged with Royal Mail Fleet on September 20th and with our Fleet Reps on 26th and 27th September 2023.

We have informed Royal Mail Fleet we are seeking to agree a satisfactory agreement as quickly as possible.

Following the meetings listed above, we will be holding members’ meetings to give an update on the current situation and discuss next steps.

Any enquiries to this LTB please contact: The PTCS Department reference 220, email address: khay@cwu.org or hmaughan@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Carl Maden

Assistant Secretary                                       

LTB231

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RMG/CWU Business Recovery, Transformation And Growth Agreement – Appendix 1 Seasonal Variation – Annual Leave

The CWU is aware that since the introduction of Seasonal Variation this week, there have been a large number of Branches, Representatives and members that have raised concerns in terms of how this has impacted and changed individual Annual Leave entitlements both in the PSP system and the Royal Mail PeopleApp.

Accordingly, this has been raised directly with Royal Mail and discussions have been held and continue in order to address this matter.

To confirm, the agreement on Seasonal Variation is clear in that this should not have any detrimental impact on members booked or planned annual leave for 2023/2024, or carried over leave into the next leave year. Therefore, the initial indication is that the changes in individual members’ annual leave entitlement is a Royal Mail system issue due to how annual leave is recorded and reported in hours, combined with the changes in attendance patterns under Seasonal Variation.

We know this is a further matter of frustration for members, therefore the purpose of this LTB (Letters To Branches) is to confirm we are engaged in further talks with Royal Mail to find the required and acceptable resolution, which will then be communicated as soon as possible.

Any queries to the content of the above please contact the Outdoor Department reference 532, email address: njones@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch
CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 229-23 – RMG CWU BRTG Agreement Appendix 1 Seasonal Variation Annual Leave (003)

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