TUC BLACK WORKERS CONFERENCE VISITORS – 26^TH – 28^TH APRIL 2024

The TUC Black Workers Conference 2024 is being held from Friday 26^th – Sunday 28^th April 2024 at the TUC, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS.  The Conference sessions will be as follows:

Friday 26^th April                  14.15 – 17.30

Saturday 27^th April              09.30 – 17.30

Sunday 28^th April                 09.15 – 13.00

The CWU are allowed a limited number of visitors to attend the above Conference and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.  Due to the need for extra security at all TUC Conferences, names and addresses of those wanting visitor tickets must be supplied and tickets are not transferable.

Anyone interested in attending will need to contact their Branch initially for funding, to include a £15 visitor ticket fee. The easiest way to pay the £15 fee will be for us to transfer it directly from your Branch’s account through the rebate system, therefore please contact Angela Niven on conferences@cwu.org  with details of which Branch the individual belongs to on application.  Alternatively you can send a cheque (made payable to ‘CWU’) addressed to Angela Niven at CWU HQ with a covering letter.  Please note that places will not be reserved until the £15 fee is received.

Please let me know if you would like to attend the Conference as a visitor by no later than midday on Friday 22^nd December 2023.

Any further enquiries with regards this please contact conferences@cwu.org or Angela Niven on 020 8971 7256.

Dave Ward
General Secretary

23LTB301 – TUC Black Workers Conference Visitors – 26th – 28th April 2024

View Online

CWU Young Workers Conference – Wednesday 31^st January 2024

The CWU Young Workers Conference will be held on Wednesday 31^st January 2024 at the Mechanics Institute, 103 Princess Street, Manchester M1 6DD.

Each Regional Young Workers Sub Committee will be entitled to submit ONE motion to the Conference Agenda.

Each Branch will be entitled to submit ONE motion to the Conference Agenda.

The Young Workers Committee will be entitled to submit THREEmotions to the Conference Agenda.

Motions should be submitted electronically to conferences@cwu.org using the template attached.  Branches or Regions who do not have this facility may request paper motion forms by contacting Angela Niven on 020 8971 7256.

Motion forms must be returned by noon on Thursday 4^th January 2024.   Anything received after this date will not be accepted.   All sections of the form must be completed.

Branches, Regions and the Young Workers Committee are reminded that the Standing Orders Committee will not alter or amend any of the motions submitted therefore it is important that motion authors read the attached guidance notes carefully and motions are checked before they are submitted.

If motions are being sent electronically they will only be accepted if sent to the above email address.

As with previous Conferences, the agenda will be structured in such a way as to maximise debate and participation by delegates. There will be 2 sections to the agenda, one for motions which are eligible for consideration for submission to General Conference, and one for motions that in the view of the Standing Orders Committee are of an industrial nature which are eligible for submission to the Industrial Conferences.

Branches will be aware that the Young Workers Conference has the entitlement under the rules of the union to submit two motions to stand in the name of the conference to General Conference.   The Young Workers Conference may also submit one motion for either the Postal Industry or Telecoms Industry conference from Section 1.

The motions selected for General Conference must contain policy that lies within the responsibility of the NEC, likewise Industrial motions must be able to be carried out by the relevant Industry Executive (Motions for the Telecoms Conference must also refer to a specific business-see attached motion guide).

As with previous Conferences, the motions for submission to the General Conference agenda and the Industrial motions for the Industry Conferences will be decided from amongst those motions adopted at the Conference.  Ballot(s) to select the motions will be held at the Conference.

Delegates

Details for registering delegates and observers will be issued in a further LTB.  Any queries regarding the registration process should be directed to conferences@cwu.org

Regional Young Workers Sub Committee Secretaries shall attend Young Workers Annual Conference in an ex-officio capacity with the right to speak and move motions on behalf of their Regional Young Workers Sub Committee but not to vote.   Funding for Regional Young Workers Committee Secretaries to attend Young Workers Annual Conference shall be from the General Fund.

Branches, Regions and the Young Workers Committee are also reminded that only Branch delegates may move motions standing in the name of their Branch or Region. Members of the Young Workers Committee may only speak on behalf of the Young Workers Committee and not their Branch or Region.

Branch delegate entitlement to this Conference as agreed by the NEC is as follows:Number of Young MembersDelegate
entitlement1-2491250-4992500 and above3

Branches are  urged to make every effort  to  ensure that  their delegation  comprises members  who are either  30 and under  as  of  November or who are serving Branch Young Workers.  The expectation is that voting delegates aged over 30 will be present on an exceptional basis. 

In order that we can cater for any delegate with special needs such as seating, etc., it is important that you advise us in writing of the name of the delegate(s) and the particular requirement by return but no later than Thursday 4^th January 2024.

Election of Delegates to General Conference

As you will know, the Young Workers Conference will select two delegates to represent the Young Workers Members to attend General Conference 2024.

The Standing Orders for the Young Workers Conference will advise a ballot to select these two delegates and it will be conducted during Conference itself.  Nominees must be members of the Union and have the support of their branch and/or Regional Young Workers Sub Committee.

Additionally, individuals must be willing to accept nomination.

The exception to this are members of the Young Workers Committee themselves who may be proposed for these positions but need to have the nomination of the Young Workers Committee and/or any Regional Young Workers Sub Committee.

Branches and Regional Young Workers Committees should forward any nominees on the attached form for this ballot to conferences@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

A P Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

23LTB297 – CWU Young Workers Conference – Wednesday 31st January 2024

Young Workers Guidance 2024

Young Workers Motion Form

Nomination Form 2024

Copy of Under 30 Count 

View Online

New Pavement Parking Law Introduction December 2023 – Drivers to face £100 Fine For Contravention:

Introduction:

For the information of CWU drivers both on duty, driving fleet vehicles and whilst off duty driving their private vehicles, this LTB is to update members on the imminent introduction of new legislation in various parts of the UK banning parking on the pavement, to be enforced with a £100 penalty fine when the law goes live next month.

Scotland New Ban and Fines:

Drivers in some areas of Scotland will not be able to park their cars on the pavement from 11 December 2023. Those who do will be given either a Fixed Penalty Notice of £100 or their vehicle will be removed to a car pound incurring additional charges.

It’s important to note that from this date, all 32 councils in Scotland will be able to enforce the new parking rules. Each council has the authority to decide whether to enforce the new rules.

According to the Scottish Government’s legislation, if the driver pays the fine within 14 days – beginning with the date the notice was given – drivers will only need to pay £50. However, those who fail to pay before the issuing of the penalty notice could also face an increase in their penalty by as much as 50%.

There are three ‘key changes’ in relation to parking under the new rules – these include:

• A ban on pavement parking.
• A ban on double-parking (more than 50cm from the edge of a carriageway).
• A ban on parking at dropped kerbs installed for pedestrian or cycle usage.

Some Local Authorities will allow a .grace period. early in 2024 where warning notices will be issued for the action. Once the grace period has ended drivers will be given the penalty notice fines.

Scotland originally announced its intention to ban pavement parking and dropped kerbs in 2019, but this became delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The former Transport Secretary Michael Matheson, later announced the ban would not be enforced before this year.

The Scottish Government state that the ban sets out to tackle ‘‘inconsiderate and obstructive” parking and aims to make pavements and roads more accessible for everybody.

London Ban and Fines:

In the Capital City London, Pparking on pavements is already punishable if it causes an obstruction, and is included in the Highway Code. In particular, a parking ban is already in place across 32 London boroughs and the city under the Greater London (General Purposes) Act 1974. If a driver is caught parking on the pavement, they can be charged with “unnecessary obstruction of any part of the highway” with drivers receiving a £70 fine.

Northern Ireland Restrictions and Fines:

In Northern Ireland, where parking restrictions are marked on the road, for example yellow lines, those restrictions also apply to the pavement. Therefore, parking tickets (PCNs) can be issued to vehicles which are parked in contravention of the restrictions. Pavement parking is not permitted at any time along the length of urban clearways and parking tickets (PCNs) can be issued to vehicles parked in contravention. Apart from urban clearways, there is no general ban on pavement parking. Where there are no parking restrictions marked on the road, parking tickets (PCNs) cannot be issued to vehicles on the pavement. If, however, a problem of obstruction arises as a result of vehicles parked on a pavement, that situation is a matter for, and can be dealt with by, the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Wales:

The Welsh Government has proposed changes that will allow local authorities to enforce against pavement parking where it is causing an unnecessary obstruction to people on the pavement. This will allow local authorities to act without having to implement traffic regulation orders. Currently this power is held by the Police alone who don’t enforce against parking on the pavement. Guidelines will be issued to local authorities setting out exactly what this means. A ministerial spokesperson stated that “The Welsh Government is aware of the real blight for communities caused by pavement parking and is looking at ways to address this problem as part of our wider response to the climate emergency, the air quality crisis and the obesity epidemic”.

UK Considering National Ban and Fines:

The whole of the UK could soon follow London and Scotland in making parking on pavements illegal. The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced it’s considering bringing the rest of the country in line with the London rules – which could land drivers with a Fixed Penalty Notice fine. Parking on the pavement is not illegal in England, outside of London at present. Drivers can, however, still get a fine for doing so in some instances, which makes the law a grey area.

Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) – Local Authority Bylaw Powers: 

There are different rules for different parts of the country, and local authorities can restrict pavement parking on individual streets, or by area, by making a ‘Traffic Regulation Order’ (TRO). A Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) is an official order (bylaw) made by a local authority that details the nature and extent of traffic restrictions in a certain area. These restrictions can relate to parking, bus lanes, moving traffic and littering from vehicles. 

Highway Code Rules:

Since 1974, Highway Code rule 244 has stated that drivers “MUST NOT park partially or wholly on the pavement in London and should not do so elsewhere unless signs permit it. The Highway Code states drivers should not park on the pavement, meaning it is advisory and not, therefore, backed up by any legislation. Rule 242 however states that “You MUST NOT leave your vehicle or trailer in a dangerous position or where it causes any unnecessary obstruction of the road.” This is a must not, meaning if your vehicle is reported or seen by a Police Officer and judged to be either in a dangerous position or causing an unnecessary obstruction of the road, the driver can be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice.

The RAC Advise as follows:

Outside of London, the RAC advise drivers to use common sense when faced with no other option but to park on the pavement. If you are parking along a narrow road, where parking wholly on the road would stop other cars, and particularly emergency vehicles, from getting through, then it is a sensible option to park partially on a pavement, providing there are no parking restrictions and providing you are not blocking a wheelchair user or pram from using the pavement. If there are restrictions, or your parking would cause wheelchair users or people with prams to have to walk into the road, then you should find somewhere else to park. 

“Living Streets” Charity Campaign:

Living Streets is a UK wide charity formed in 1929 whose mission is to achieve a nation where walking is the natural choice for everyday local journeys. Their strategy is to achieve a better walking environment and inspire people to walk more. The early days of their campaigning led to the UK’s first zebra crossing and the introduction of speed limits. On their ‘Anti-Pavement Parking Campaign’ they state “We want a default pavement parking ban with an exception allowing pavement parking on specially designated streets. We need safe and accessible pavements to encourage people of all ages to walk more, and we are currently working with the Welsh Government to stop this dangerous practice.”

Further information here:- https://www.livingstreets.org.uk/get-involved/campaign-with-us/ban-pavement-parking-in-wales

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

23LTB304 New Pavement Parking Law Introduction December 2023 – Drivers to face £100 Fine For Contravention

View Online

Royal Mail Group – Updated Health and Safety Policy 2023:

For the information and reference of CWU Health and Safety Reps and Branches, please see attached copy of the revised Royal Mail Group Health and Safety Policy, sent to CWU/HQ today. This revised Policy was signed by the new Chief Executive Officer Martin Seidenberg this month. This Policy provides a brief outline (not detailed) statement of Royal Mail Group’s commitment to the management of Health and Safety in Royal Mail Group.

Amongst other commitments, the Policy states that Royal Mail Group wants to create a safe and healthy working environment for the workforce in Royal Mail Group Ltd, where everyone is free from injury, with good physical and mental health. The business is committed to removing or reducing the risk and likelihood of harm to employees and those affected by our activities and Royal Mail Group will operate in a safe and healthy manner, meet legal requirements and go above and beyond them where they can to create a strong health and safety culture, maintain and implement health and safety standards and arrangements, provide adequate resources, information, instruction, training, and communication to ensure our health and safety standards are well implemented and importantly will consult with employees and their (safety) representatives to promote and develop measures to ensure their health and safety at work.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

23LTB303 Royal Mail Group – Updated Health and Safety Policy 2023

Health and Safety Policy November 2023

Brake’ National Road Safety Week – ‘Let’s Talk About Speed’ Campaign 19-25 November 2023:

Introduction:
The ‘Brake’ National Road Safety Week campaign takes place this week 19-25 November and is again being supported by Royal Mail Group (RMG) and the CWU jointly. The RMG materials arrived only yesterday so our apologies for the late notice. However, the campaign messages are for the year not just the week.

Road Safety Week is the UK’s biggest annual road safety campaign event. Every year, thousands of companies, fleet operators, schools, organisations, trade unions and communities get involved to shout out for our right to make safe and healthy journeys on the UK’s roads every day. ‘BRAKE’ announced that the theme of Road Safety Week 2023 is ‘Let’s Talk About Speed’ – Five people die on UK roads every single day, so why do we still think it’s OK to speed? Please support and take part in Road Safety Week 2023 and join the national conversation.

‘Brake’ is a road safety charity working with communities and organisations across the UK to stop the tragedy of road deaths and injuries, make streets and communities safer for everyone, and support people bereaved and seriously injured on roads. ‘Brake’ has been working since 1995 to make a difference across the UK.

Royal Mail Group, the CWU and Unite/CMA will be supporting the 2023 ‘Brake’ road safety charity’s annual national road safety campaign again this year which takes place every November.  The idea is all about raising awareness of important road safety issues for all drivers in Royal Mail, Parcelforce, RMP&FS, RMSS, RM Fleet etc., and Post Office Ltd. Royal Mail operate one of the largest vehicle fleets in the UK and Europe with 49,000 vehicles currently and as such is a key player.

The 2023 campaign will concentrate on a number of key messages to drivers and managers to raise awareness of key areas of road safety, including safe vehicles and speeds, the recently updated (2022 and 2023) Highway Code and driving laws and the importance of inclusivity to keep us all safe on the roads, no matter who we are or how we travel, emphasising how important it is for drivers to ensure that they always drive safely, at a safe speed and make road journeys safe for everyone.

The theme, in keeping with the safe system approach to road safety, helps support UK Government objectives to invest in measures to enable people to make safe, healthy and sustainable journeys, including measures to encourage more people to move more often in active ways, such as walking and cycling.

The theme was set following discussions with representatives from community groups, the Police, Government, businesses, educators and other charities.

The emphasis is on employers and fleet operators working with drivers, their unions and others to help employees or members understand how to protect themselves and other road users through good policies, procedures, training and education.

The Road Safety Week campaign is supported by funding from the Department for Transport’s “Think! Campaign” and sponsors.

‘Brake’ the UK road safety charity is encouraging as many people as possible to get involved and support Road Safety Week and help create a national conversation about speed and challenge why so many people still consider it acceptable to break the speed limit.

Excessive and inappropriate speed continues to cause death and injury on our roads – locally as well as nationally – 5 die every day on UK roads.

Supporting Road Safety Week is an important way of raising the issue of speeding and highlighting the dangers involved. The majority of drivers and riders use the road responsibly, however there are many families that unfortunately know far too well the devastating consequences that speeding and collisions can lead to and many people are affected by a minority of people speeding on the roads and through communities. Speed limits are there for a reason; to protect all road users and it is the job of the Police to enforce them. In supporting the campaign, the Police stated “Apart from the obvious consequences if a driver is involved in a collision, if prosecuted for speeding, the minimum penalty is a £100 fine and three penalty points.”

In their launch statement ‘Brake’ stated: “We all use roads and deserve to feel safe when we move around, whether we walk, ride, drive or use public transport. Everyone’s safety on roads matters, whether we are young or old, wherever we live and whatever our ability. ‘Let’s Talk About Speed’ recognises that there are lots of different road users, from HGVs to vans and cars, to motorcyclists, horse riders, cyclists, and pedestrians. We are all just trying to get somewhere and none of us want to get hurt or hurt someone else – there is no ‘them and us’, we’re all in this together. We also all have the right to breathe clean air and be able to move around our communities and between places in ways that are safe and healthy for us and the planet. This is at the heart of the campaigning and ‘Brake’ would encourage everyone to take part by visiting the Road Safety website for more information at this link: Road Safety Week:- https://www.brake.org.uk/road-safety-week

The Statistics:

• 5 people die and 80 are seriously injured on UK roads every day.
• 1,700 fatalities occurred on UK roads last year.
• 30,000 were seriously injured on UK roads in 2022.
• 136,000 casualties occurred in road accidents in respect of casualties of all severities, minor and serious.
• 50% of the above were either motorcyclists, cyclists, or pedestrians.
• This year Brake are campaigning for ‘Safe Speeds’.

The Campaign Messages on Speeding, Distraction and Impairment
This  week Royal Mail, Parcelforce and all other parts of Royal Mail Group will be asking drivers to concentrate on and think carefully about ‘Speed’. Following the advice and rules will help to protect drivers, passengers, other road users and pedestrians against one of the main causes of road deaths.  This aims to keep drivers safe at work, and also help to keep drivers and their family and friends safe when away from work. You might never know it, but it may just save a life! – Thank you, and Safe Driving!

Speeding:
Excessive speed is a contributory factor in one-third of fatal collisions.

At lower speeds, drivers have better control over their vehicle, better observation, and more time to react if something happens. Being in a low speed collision means the forces are much lower. An average speed reduction of just 1mph, reduces collision frequency by 5% – drivers need to remember that when travelling at ‘just a few mph’ over the limit.

Remember, it’s a limit, not a target – drive to the conditions, reducing speed according to the weather and the road.

‘20 is plenty’ in many urban and residential areas, even if the limit is 30mph. Nobody is saying to drive everywhere at 20mph but use your judgement to consider when and where this is appropriate. A vehicle driven at 20mph could be stopped in time to avoid a child running out three car-lengths in front. The same vehicle driven at 30mph could not stop in time and would hit the child at 27mph. This is roughly the same impact as a child falling from the third floor of a building!

Hundreds of 20 MPH Speed Limit zones have progressively been introduced across the UK since 1990 in restricted areas and the Welsh Government recently changed the default speed limit from 30mph to 20mph across Wales, making it the first UK nation to introduce a default limit on speed.

Case Study:
Bradford Postman Chris Robbins was seriously injured when he was hit by a speeding car driver in 2008 and Chris told his story about the personal impact it had on him and his family, on RMTV during last year’s RSW campaign. Chris again calls for drivers to drive within the speed limit, to focus on the road, avoid distractions and never drive tired. If everybody was to do this all the time, then road casualties would decrease sharply.

RMG Campaign and Staff WTLL/Huddle:
See attached RMG Staff WTLL/SHE Huddle FY23 069 for National Road Safety Week. In RMG the campaign will be supported by plasma screen slide messages and TV screens will be used to promote ‘Brake National Road Safety Week.’ The attached Road Safety Week Huddle message will be delivered to promote the campaign and there will be a short video/film on RMTV and plasma TV screens and on social media.  There is a Road Safety Week Slide, copy attached and four ‘Brake’ Road Safety Week posters have been circulated and are attached for ASRs, WSRs and all Reps to utilize, download, print and display.

The WTLL/Huddle message:

We all drive too fast sometimes:

• “I didn’t notice I was going so fast!”
• “Everyone else is doing it so why can’t I?”
• “A few miles an hour won’t make much difference, will it?”

But every time we drive faster than the speed limit, or too fast for the road conditions, we increase the risk of a crash – and we increase the chance that someone we love will be killed or hurt on a road.  Whoever you are, however you travel, we need to talk about SPEED. Speed is the single biggest contributing factor in road traffic collisions in the UK and over the last two decades, exceeding the speed limit has been involved in over one-third of fatal collisions.

Think about the difference that speed makes if something unexpected happens:

• Reaction times – the faster you are going the more distance you cover before you even react.
• Stopping distances are increased so when you do react, you have less chance of stopping.
• Less control at speed means less opportunity to swerve to take avoiding action.
• Impact speed – residual speed has a direct effect on the level of damage or injury.

Reducing your speed is the single most effective change you can make to reduce your risk of collision. A reduction of just 1kph reduces the risk of fatality by 11%. It is imperative that you always drive at a ‘safe speed’.

Benefits of the Campaign:

• Improved compliance with RMG Policy and Road Traffic Law.
• Increase road and driver safety awareness amongst drivers and managers.
• Reduction in road traffic collisions, deaths and injuries.

CWU ASR Support and Participation:

• CWU/ASR, Sub/ASR and WSR full support and participation is much appreciated by Royal Mail, Parcelforce Worldwide, RMSS, RMP&FS, POL and CWU HQ.
• Engage front line managers and ask them if they’ve delivered the Road Safety Week message, WTLL/Huddle and displayed Posters.
• Ask managers – have they made all drivers aware of the campaign message?
• Check that drivers have received the Road Safety Week WTLL/Huddle briefing.
• Carry out safety inspections and increase Road Safety Week awareness.
• Remind drivers to carry out their ‘mandatory’ vehicle pre-use safety checks before they set out on their journeys and to stick to the speed limits.

Attachments:

• RMG SHE Huddle FY23 069 Road Safety Week
• Road Safety Week Slide
• ‘Brake’ Road Safety Week Posters

Further information on the ‘Brake’ Road Safety Week can be found on their website: https://www.brake.org.uk/road-safety-week

Thanks for your support and assistance.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

23LTB302 ‘Brake’ National Road Safety Week – ‘Let’s Talk About Speed’ Campaign 19-25 November 2023

SHE Huddle FY23 069 Brake Road Safety Let’s talk about speed

Let’s Talk About Speed

Every-1mph-increase_poster_RSW2023_FINAL

Everyone-else-poster_RSW2023_FINAL

Keep-to-schedules-poster_1_RSW2023_FINAL

Were-taking-part-poster_RSW2023_FINAL

View Online

TUC BLACK WORKERS CONFERENCE VISITORS – 26^TH – 28^TH APRIL 2024

The TUC Black Workers Conference 2024 is being held from Friday 26^th – Sunday 28^th April 2024 at the TUC, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS.  The Conference sessions will be as follows:

Friday 26^th April                  14.15 – 17.30

Saturday 27^th May              09.30 – 17.30

Sunday 28^th May                 09.15 – 13.00

The CWU are allowed a limited number of visitors to attend the above Conference and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.  Due to the need for extra security at all TUC Conferences, names and addresses of those wanting visitor tickets must be supplied and tickets are not transferable.

Anyone interested in attending will need to contact their Branch initially for funding, to include a £15 visitor ticket fee. The easiest way to pay the £15 fee will be for us to transfer it directly from your Branch’s account through the rebate system, therefore please contact Angela Niven on conferences@cwu.org  with details of which Branch the individual belongs to on application.  Alternatively you can send a cheque (made payable to ‘CWU’) addressed to Angela Niven at CWU HQ with a covering letter.  Please note that places will not be reserved until the £15 fee is received.

Please let me know if you would like to attend the Conference as a visitor by no later than midday on Friday 22^nd December 2023.

Any further enquiries with regards this please contact conferences@cwu.org or Angela Niven on 020 8971 7256.

Dave Ward
General Secretary

23LTB301 – TUC Black Workers Conference Visitors – 26th – 28th April 2024

View Online

TUC WOMENS CONFERENCE VISITORS – 6^TH– 8^TH MARCH 2024

The TUC Women’s Conference 2023 is being held from Wednesday 6^th – Friday 8^th March 2024 at the TUC, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS.  The Conference sessions will be as follows:

Wednesday 6^th March          14.15 – 17.30

Thursday 7^th March              09.30 – 17.30

Friday 8^th March                    09.15 – 14.00 with the possibility of finishing early

The CWU are allowed a limited number of visitors to attend the above Conference and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.  Due to the need for extra security at all TUC Conferences, names and addresses of those wanting visitor tickets must be supplied and tickets are not transferable.

Anyone interested in attending will need to contact their Branch initially for funding, to include a £15 visitor ticket fee. The easiest way to pay the £15 fee will be for us to transfer it directly from your Branch’s account through the rebate system, therefore please contact Angela Niven on conferences@cwu.org  with details of which Branch the individual belongs to on application.  Alternatively you can send a cheque (made payable to ‘CWU’) addressed to Angela Niven at CWU HQ with a covering letter.  Please note that places will not be reserved until the £15 fee is received.

Please let me know if you would like to attend the Conference as a visitor by no later than midday on Friday 8^th December 2023.

Any further enquiries with regards this please contact conferences@cwu.org or Angela Niven on 020 8971 7256.

Dave Ward
General Secretary

23LTB300 – TUC WOMENS CONFERENCE VISITORS – 6TH – 8TH MARCH 2024

View Online

Parcelforce Peak Incentive Scheme (Unagreed)

Further to LTBs 260 and 272/23 on the unagreed Royal Mail Peak Incentive Scheme, given that Parcelforce employees were excluded from that scheme, Senior Parcelforce management had informed the department they were seeking authority to launch a bespoke Parcelforce Peak Incentive Scheme. While we continue to have grave reservations around the concept and design of the Royal Mail Scheme, we had sought an update on progress of discussions on a bespoke arrangement for Parcelforce.

An update was provided on 14^th November where the business indicated they now have board clearance to proceed and presented a scheme design to the department. That design immediately raised serious concerns and the department wrote to Parcelforce to seek clarity on a range of issues and challenge design elements which appear to be both divisive and illogical. Further discussions took place on 15^th November 2023 following which the department informed Parcelforce we could not support a scheme which is even more so than in Royal Mail significantly flawed in design and concept, but also potentially detrimental to morale and performance.

The scheme design presented retains some of the problematic elements of the Royal Mail scheme, but unlike in Royal Mail, employees in the Hubs and Processing Centres are not considered to be in scope and are excluded from the scheme, even though upstream performance is key to quality.

In Depots, Parcelforce have today announced an additional peak incentive for non-driver roles. Indoor workers (Night sort and Backshift) and Admin Teams are offered a stretch bonus for performance against two targets over five weeks commencing 20^th November 2023 through till week commencing 18^th December 2023. The targets are:

• End to End (E2E) of Express 24 products of 97.00% (Reduced to 95.5% in cyber week);
• Local Depot Clearance of 98.5%.

The department believe that in both cases the targets are extremely challenging and it is unclear how success would be measured. However, in this case there is an overriding issue.

As in Royal Mail, achievement against both targets is wholly dependent on the successful delivery of parcels yet, unlike in Royal Mail, the workforce responsible for the delivery of items is not considered to be in scope.

In the view of the CWU, the Indoor and Admin employees considered to be included in the scheme cannot deliver the targets through their own performance and those who can are excluded from the scheme on the basis that we have agreed, as a key commitment of the BRT&G agreement, to expand the Alternative Reward Mechanism trial during peak. The extension of the Reward Mechanism trial was the logical development of the BRT&G commitment and was not agreed as a Peak Incentive measure.

The approach taken by the business has no logical basis and effectively makes the scheme design defective in the extreme.

On the level of reward, the headline is the ability to earn up to £500 through the scheme. However, that £500 includes the regular negotiated bonus payments that our indoor and admin members currently receive. Effectively, the headline £500 includes £80 (£16 per week) that our members would earn anyway. Notwithstanding the design issues, the scheme offers less reward to less people than the Royal Mail Incentive.

Of course the Union supports meaningful opportunities for our members to earn additional money and in Parcelforce we have for many years agreed Christmas arrangements that have provided that opportunity. However, while the decision to extend Peak incentive opportunities into Parcelforce may have been well intentioned, this scheme is clearly not fit for purpose and does not deliver uniform, achievable benefits for our members across the operational pipeline in Parcelforce.

Of equal concern is the fact that Parcelforce have informed the Union that it does not intend to conclude the traditional Christmas Arrangements agreement that has delivered additional earnings for our members and provided the business with assurance on weekend coverage over the Peak period for many years. Instead, they intend to offer local incentives on an “as required” basis. We believe this is an extremely short sighted approach, which has the potential to create resourcing issues and lead to a reliance on Agency resource.

In both cases we have attempted to persuade the business to change position and negotiate an alternative approach, which properly recognises and rewards performance at a key time for the business. Unfortunately, as Royal Mail did with their Peak Incentive scheme, Parcelforce have decided to deploy regardless.

As such, for the avoidance of doubt, the CWU has not agreed the content of the Parcelforce Peak Incentive Scheme or the approach to local incentives for Weekend Coverage.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: shayman@cwu.org quoting reference: 054.06.

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

LTB 299/23 – PFW Peak Incentive Scheme – 22.11.23

View Online

Royal Mail Fleet Maintenance – Territorial Reps Elections – ERRATA

Further to LTB 296/2023 dated 20^th November 2023, there was an error in the branches listed for Midlands & Anglia and North West, North Wales & Yorkshire.

Please note, South Yorkshire is included in Midlands and Anglia area and not North West, North Wales & Yorkshire area.

This has been corrected in the table below.

There are 5 Territorial Rep’s positions due to be filled covering workshops in the following areas:

• Midlands & Anglia
• London & South East
• North West, North Wales & Yorkshire
• Scotland, Northern Ireland & Tyneside
• South West & South Wales

For ease of reference we have listed below the workshops covered by each area along with the corresponding CWU branches. The election cycle is for two years. 

Area 

Branches

Midlands & Anglia

Coventry, Crick, North & East Mids, Peterborough, Boston, Cambridge, West Mids, Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Chesterfield, Lincoln, Grimsby

Midlands MT, South Central MT, South Yorkshire. 

London & South East

Chelmsford, Harlow, Chichester, Walton on Thames, Croydon, SW London, Gatwick, East Sussex, Gillingham, Dartford, Milton Keynes, Hemel, Luton, North London, Body Repair Shop, St Albans, Romford, East London, Thurrock, Uxbridge, Acton, Norwich & Suffolk

London RMT, Portsmouth Postal & District, South Central MT. 

North West, North Wales & Yorkshire

North West Hub, York, Yorkshire, Leeds, Harrogate, Manchester, Warrington, Chester, Wellington, North Wales, Hull, Scarborough, Skipton, Warrington Hub

Greater Manchester Amal, Merseyside & South West Lancs, Midlands MT, North West Central Amal, West Yorkshire, Warrington Mail Centre, Wigan. 

Scotland, North of England & Northern Ireland

Aberdeen, Ballymoney, Cambuslang, Carlisle, Cookstown, Craigavon, Darlington, Edinburgh, Elgin, Fraserburgh, Galashiels, Glasgow, Glenrothes, Inverclyde, Inverness, Kilmarnock, Lairg, Lerwick, Lochboisdale, Motherwell, Newtownabbey, Oban, Omagh, Perth, Portree, Preston, Stornoway, Stranraer, Tyneside, Wishaw,

Greater Manchester Amal, NI Telecoms, Scotland MT, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire. 

South West & South Wales

Barnstaple, Basingstoke, Bodmin, Bridgewater, Bristol, Cardiff, Carmarthen, Exeter, Gloucester, Newport (Gwent), Newport (IOW), Oxford, Plymouth, Poole, Redruth, Southampton, Swindon Trowbridge, Guildford, Llanelli

Bristol & District Amal, Bournemouth & Dorset, Cornwall Amal, Gloucestershire Amal, Plymouth & East Cornwall, Portsmouth & District, South Central MT, South East No5, South East Wales, SW No7, Wessex South Central, Western Counties, London RMT.

Nomination forms for all of these positions are attached to this LTB. All candidates must have the nomination of their own Branch and completed nomination forms must be signed by the Branch Secretary and Branch Chair (or accredited deputies) and the nominee.

The time table for the submission of nominations is as follows:

Nominations Open: Tuesday, 21^ST November 2023

Nominations Close: Monday, 4^th December 2023

 In the event that a ballot is required, a timetable will be notified in due course with all ballots being run in accordance with the CWU guidelines for Fleet Maintenance Territorial Representation which is attached for your information.

All enquiries regarding the content of this LTB should be addressed to the PTCS Department, quoting reference 220. Email address: khay@cwu.org or hmaughan@cwu.org

Carl Maden
Assistant Secretary23LTB298 – Royal Mail Fleet Maintenance – Territorial Reps Elections – ERRATA

View Online