Sun Safety and Severe Weather Risk Assessment Process:

Temperatures in September have now risen to the highest for the year and are forecast to remain high as the current heatwave continues. These temperatures, intense sunlight and exposure to high UV ray levels bring dangers.  All CWU Reps and members need to be alert and aware of those health risks.

Sunburn – is painful and hurts you in more ways than one. The danger goes far beyond any short-term pain, redness and discomfort, because after the sunburn fades, lasting damage remains. Sunburn accelerates skin aging and is a leading cause in the majority of skin cancer cases. A sun tan is not a sign of good health – it’s a sign of serious skin damage!

Heatstroke – can quickly damage the brain, heart, kidneys and muscles.

Skin cancer – is the most common form of cancer in the UK, and rates continue to rise with 100,000 new cases diagnosed each year and 2,500 deaths. The main cause of skin cancer is exposure to the sun’s harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.

Dehydration – can cause organ damage and failure, seizures, fainting, heatstroke and shock.

IMPORTANT ADVICE TO ALL MEMBERS WORKING OUTSIDE:

Even this late in the year, it is important to:

• Cover Up – wear loose clothing, minimise skin exposure, avoid sunburn.
• Protect Your Head – wear a hat with a broad rim, wear sunglasses.
• Take Regular Breaks – preferably in the shade.
• Use Sunscreen/Sunblock – with a minimum SPF 30 and reapply frequently.
• Be Skin Safe – report any mole changes or any other skin concerns to your GP.
• Stay Hydrated – drink plenty of fluids and plan refills.

RMG Managers should complete a Severe Weather Risk Assessment when temperatures reach the high 20s to record the controls that have been implemented.

The assessment includes advice and support for managing the operation in the hot weather. For additional guidance on working safe in the sun see SHE Huddle FY23 041 Sun Safety (attached).

PiCs/Managers must complete a Severe Weather Risk Assessment daily in hot, sunny weather and must record the controls that have been implemented to protect the workforce.

Attachments: 

• SHE Huddle FY23-041 including link to Severe Weather Risk Assessment.
• ‘Plasma Screen Stills’ currently being displayed.
• The joint Royal Mail Group/CWU/IOSH poster.
• ‘Stay Safe In The Sun’ pocket z-card/leaflet.
• The British Association of Dermatologists information leaflet.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

23LTB228 Sun Safety and Severe Weather Risk Assessment Process

SHE Huddle FY23 041 Sun Safety

Plasma1

Plasma2

Sun Safety Poster

Stay Safe in the Sun – Royal Mail zcard

BAD – Sun Skin Risks

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Mail Centre Supernumerary / Surplus Issues Update – DRP

Branches and representatives will be aware of the extensive and prolonged discussions that have been taking place with Royal Mail senior management in an attempt to resolve the supernumerary / surplus issues in Mail Centres (LTBs 167/23 and 205/23 refer).

As highlighted previously, the CWU believe that the approach adopted by the company in respect of this issue represents a breach of the agreed MTSF processes and indeed the reaffirmed commitments in the Business Recovery Transformation and Growth (BRT&G) agreement to adhere to the MTSF agreement.

Numerous meetings have now taken place with the business in relation to the issues and while there has been some progress in some areas, this in the view of the CWU has not been sufficient to ensure that our affected members are protected, which is and will always be our primary objective.

Regrettably, despite the CWU submitting several proposals in an attempt to resolve the outstanding issues, the talks have reached an impasse and the business are indicating that they will move people via the use of their unagreed and unilaterally imposed redeployment pool process.

To add insult to injury, we have become aware that at a time when the business are continually raising the precarious financial status of the company and the need to resolve the surplus / supernumerary issues, an extortionate amount of money is being spent on agency staff at the Midlands Super Hub to process work. Despite the inability to process existing work at the MSH, we understand the business are still planning to migrate work from catchment area sites, which will clearly exacerbate the supernumerary / surplus issue further. We have made representation that no further work should be transferred until the current issues are resolved.

Given the above issues, the CWU have therefore had no other option but to advise Royal Mail that we are utilising the Dispute Resolution Process and a national disagreement now exists in relation to supernumerary / surplus issues and Section 3.1.3 of national BRT&G agreement.

The CWU are seeking meeting involving the GS, Acting DGSP, COO and Chief People Officer to resolve these issues as a matter of urgency.

Until such time as a resolution is achieved, Branches and Representatives should continue to refer matters to the IR Framework, where they believe that the terms of MTSF, the BRT&G agreement or the Section 2.5 Joint Statement have been breached. Representatives are also advised to register disagreements where replacement of our members on any given day is through the use of overtime, casuals and / or agency workers, managers performing work proper to CWU represented grades or where workplan failures are occurring.

In addition, Representatives should also support members affected by the business’ unagreed actions in submitting individual grievances based upon the above, as well as the following:

• Breach of the MTSF procedure on how surpluses are identified and should be managed;
• Impact upon them either on their private lives and / or medical situation / Equality Act;
• Unreasonable job offers, i.e. moving Shifts or work functions;
• Breach of the Royal Mail communications that stated employees not participating in a resign of the unagreed duty structure would be placed as supernumerary, as there were no stated consequences for this decision;
• Impact of unreasonable job offers in line with MTSF Appendix Considerations – individual cases section.

Members and Representatives are reminded that no employee can be subject to compulsory redundancy or forced to reduce their contract or grade. Additionally, our members under no circumstances should be compelled to apply for external jobs, if they wish to remain in Royal Mail employment. Any redeployment offers must be progressed in line with MTSF processes.

Branches are also advised that requests for Rule 13 ballots in relation to this issue will be progressed by the PE as a matter of urgency where breaches of the BRT&G and MTSF agreements are taking place.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org quoting reference: 733.02.

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

LTB 227/23 – MC Supernumerary Surplus Update DRP 08.09.23

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OFCOM REVIEW OF THE UNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATION

You will have seen the announcement this morning that the postal regulator, OFCOM have announced they are to undertake a review and subsequent consultation on the USO. The full details of the announcement can be read here https://www.ofcom.org.uk/news-centre/2023/ofcom-to-produce-potential-options-for-the-future-of-the-universal-postal-service

Royal Mail have responded here https://www.internationaldistributionsservices.com/en/press-centre/press-releases/royal-mail/royal-mail-statement-on-ofcom-looking-at-options-for-the-future-of-the-uso/

The OFCOM announcement has been expected for some time and the response from Royal Mail is entirely predictable.

Attached to this LTB is the CWU press release. We encourage Branches to share this with local media outlets and briefings to members.

The Business Recovery, Transformation and Growth Agreement commits both parties to exploring where they maybe opportunities to approach the regulator jointly and examine the potential for expanding the role of postal workers.

The USO has been deliberately run down over a sustained period so that Royal Mail can create the environment for this debate to take place. The dismantling of the USO, destruction of quality of service and the ever-rising price of stamps is part of a strategy to accelerate letter decline. No responsible employer would take this approach.

The CWU is not against change. We have an extensive track record to prove this. We want this review to seek and take on board the views of our members who have witnessed first-hand the running down of the USO. We also want any outcome to be based not on potential shareholder profit but on the protection of the service, jobs, and the future of the company.

In the coming days and weeks, we will be launching an extensive engagement programme on the future of the USO with our own members. This will include live sessions, podcasts, workplace activity and reps’ briefings. We will also be meeting with and briefing politicians at all levels.

This debate is too important to leave to Royal Mail and OFCOM.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward                                        Andy Furey
General Secretary                         A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

23LTB225 OFCOM REVIEW OF THE UNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATION

CWU Ofcom press release

ROYAL MAIL: WORKING ARRANGEMENTS FOR OFFICE-BASED STAFF

On Friday 1^st September Royal Mail unilaterally published a ‘Team update’ to all office-based employees entitled “Working well together – new working arrangements for office-based staff”. A copy is attached to this LTB for your information.  This was signed by a number of very senior people in the company amongst whom were Martin Seidenberg the new CEO, Grant McPherson, Chief Operations Officer and Angela Noon, Chief Financial Officer.

The statement relates to transitioning to a new way of working within the admin functions of Royal Mail from September 2023.  This is based on an assumption of moving everyone to a hybrid model to include working in their contracted unit or site for three days per week.  This applies to those members working in all Central and Commercial functions and Customer Experience.

Similar briefings have also been distributed in each business unit and give the impression the CWU has been involved in this decision.  I have to be clear there has been no meaningful consultation with the Union regarding this matter.  This is extremely disappointing, especially given the joint commitment to rebuild relationships in the national Business Recovery, Transformation and Growth Agreement where the IR Framework is enshrined.  There are also recent joint statements relating to home working which this diktat overrides.

Home working was put into place through agreement to ensure the provision of services through the Covid pandemic.  For many companies, the working world has changed post Covid and we also know many of our members who work from home have had changes in their domestic arrangements which must be given consideration in any proposed changes.

It is evident the management briefing has caused much concern and anguish amongst members at all sites, especially as many have varying childcare, caring, domestic and travel arrangements which will need to be revised.  There should be an agreed joint process where these concerns can be highlighted with mutually acceptable solutions being jointly formulated.

I will be writing to management to express my concerns about the lack of consultation, the manner in which this has been communicated and to request an urgent meeting to discuss the whole matter.

A document will also be placed before the Postal Executive later this week to highlight these developments and enable consideration to be given to the next steps.

Further developments will be reported in due course.

Any queries in relation to this LTB should be directed to Lea Sheridan on 020 8971 7361 or lsheridan@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Andy Hopping
A/Assistant Secretary

23LTB224 Royal Mail – Working Arrangements for Office-Based Staff

Attachment 1 to 23LTB224

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Dear Colleagues,

OFCOM REVIEW OF THE UNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATION

You will have seen the announcement this morning that the postal regulator, OFCOM have announced they are to undertake a review and subsequent consultation on the USO. The full details of the announcement can be read here https://www.ofcom.org.uk/news-centre/2023/ofcom-to-produce-potential-options-for-the-future-of-the-universal-postal-service

Royal Mail have responded here https://www.internationaldistributionsservices.com/en/press-centre/press-releases/royal-mail/royal-mail-statement-on-ofcom-looking-at-options-for-the-future-of-the-uso/

The OFCOM announcement has been expected for some time and the response from Royal Mail is entirely predictable.

Attached to this LTB is the CWU press release. We encourage Branches to share this with local media outlets and briefings to members.

The Business Recovery, Transformation and Growth Agreement commits both parties to exploring where they maybe opportunities to approach the regulator jointly and examine the potential for expanding the role of postal workers.

The USO has been deliberately run down over a sustained period so that Royal Mail can create the environment for this debate to take place. The dismantling of the USO, destruction of quality of service and the ever-rising price of stamps is part of a strategy to accelerate letter decline. No responsible employer would take this approach.

The CWU is not against change. We have an extensive track record to prove this. We want this review to seek and take on board the views of our members who have witnessed first-hand the running down of the USO. We also want any outcome to be based not on potential shareholder profit but on the protection of the service, jobs, and the future of the company.

In the coming days and weeks, we will be launching an extensive engagement programme on the future of the USO with our own members. This will include live sessions, podcasts, workplace activity and reps’ briefings. We will also be meeting with and briefing politicians at all levels.

This debate is too important to leave to Royal Mail and OFCOM.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward

Business Recovery, Transformation & Growth (BRT&G) Agreement – Paragraph 6.4 – Attendance Update

Further to LTB215/23, which published the Joint Statement on Attendance we can inform Branches, the first meeting of the Attendance Joint Working Group (JWG) will be held on Tuesday 5^th September.

As part of the joint statement, it was agreed we would renegotiate the Attendance Agreement to incorporate the recent changes.  The first meeting on this will be held on Wednesday 6^th September.

Royal Mail have told us they will not be sending out letters to members affected by the agreed change to the migration process, however, we have been informed the People Case Manager (PCM) system has been updated for those members affected by the agreed changes.

For clarity, the agreed migration arrangements are:

AR1s 

• For employees issued with an AR1 between 31 January 2023 and 30 April 2023, who haven’t had a period of sick absence prior to 1 August, they will be removed from the process. For those employees who have had one period of sick absence during this time, the review period will remain 6 months with the new standards (3 absences or 12 days) applying. This will be subject to a review of absences covered by the Equality Act.
• For employees issued with an AR1 from 1 May 2023 – this will remain in place with the new standards and extended timescales applying.

AR2s 

• For employees issued with an AR2 between 31 January 2023 and 30 April 2023, they will revert back to an AR1 from the date of the original issue with the new standards and extended timescales applying.
• For employees issued with an AR2 from 1 May 2023 – this will remain in place with the new standards and extended timescales applying.

Any enquiries should be sent to the PTCS Department via email to Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Carl Maden
Assistant Secretary     

Attachment1: 23LTB223 – Business Recovery, Transformation & Growth (BRT&G) Agreement – Paragraph 6.4 – Attendance Update

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Joint Communication Covering The National Rollout Of Seasonal Variation – 4^th September 2023: RMG/CWU Business Recovery, Transformation And Growth Agreement – Appendix 1

Branches, Representatives, and members will recall that a number of LTBs (Letter To Branches) have recently been issued in terms of moving forward the commitments contained in the Business Transformation, Recovery and Growth Agreement in relation to Appendix 1, Seasonal Variation, the most recent being LTB 213/23 issued on 21^st August.

However, you will also be aware that over the course of last week, there had been widespread speculation that the planned changes under Seasonal Variation as outlined in these LTBs would be delayed until October and limited to 9 weeks.

To be clear, this speculation was started by Royal Mail who did initiate an approach to the CWU on possible options to delay the development of Seasonal Variation due to some concerns in regard to forecasted traffic levels over the next few weeks. However, following further talks, Royal Mail has moved away from this consideration as it has now been highlighted that any changes in the commencement date of Seasonal Variation at such short notice will generate a number of systems issues that in turn could impact on the accuracy of employee’s basic pay.

However, during this period of discussions both parties have agreed to the attached Joint Communication which reaffirms a number of key aspects of Seasonal Variation.

Clearly, this period of ongoing conjecture has not been a helpful development nor has the delay in issuing this Joint Communication. However, it is now hoped that this further clarification will end any remaining confusion in this regard, alongside reaffirming the wider aims and aspects of Seasonal Variation.

Any issues arising from the local application of Seasonal Variation should be raised via the IR Framework and any questions on the interpretation or application of the arrangements should be fast-tracked to the relevant ROD/CWU Divisional Reps as necessary.

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 222.23 – RM CWU Joint Communication on the National Rollout of Seasonal Variation

RM CWU Joint Communication Covering Seasonal Variation National Rollout (Final 010923)

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