ULR and Union Reps Survey 2024

Are you supporting learning at work? Have you helped workplace apprentices? Has your learning centre provided training? If the answer is yes to any of these then take the 2024 Rep survey and tell us what you are up to.

Unionlearn is currently undertaking a short online survey of union learning reps (ULRs) and other union reps supporting learning and training in order to get an up-to-date picture of their activities. We are also interested in finding out your experiences during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

You are invited to respond to the survey if you are currently an active rep or if you have previously been a ULR or a union rep involved in supporting learning and skills in the past.

Unionlearn will be disseminating the findings of the survey on its website in the near future. 

To complete the survey please go to: https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90673786/Union-Learning-Reps-Survey-2024

The deadline for completing this survey is Friday 26th April 2024 and all information will be treated confidentially. 

Unionlearn’s revised ULR Handbook now available

Supporting Learners in the Workplace – A guide for Union Learning is now available. Unionlearn have comprehensively revised and updated the ULR handbook published in 2020, which was entitled Promoting Union Learning.

A handbook for union learning reps (ULRs) and reps involved in learning and skills, this guide is designed to be a helpful resource whether you’re a recently elected or appointed rep, or have longer experience in your role.

The guide is made up of eight sections. Reps can dip in to the guide as a handy reference point, and it comes full of tips and examples of union projects with links to further resources, research and information throughout. 

This new and exciting resource can be downloaded from the unionlearn website.

Royal Mail Group (Royal Mail, Parcelforce, RMSS etc.) – Yard Safety Rules and Risk Controls – Reminder

The Health, Safety and Environment Department has recently received a number of complaints regarding yard safety rules concerns at a number of major Royal Mail sites. In one case a very serious accident occurred where an employee fell from height, sustaining a severe leg injury, namely a deep laceration to his calf, which exposed the bone and there was significant blood loss from the injury which covered the vehicle tail-lift.

Therefore, this LTB is being issued as a reminder regarding the importance of maintaining and monitoring yard safety.

In RMG, a ‘mandatory’ annual review risk assessment is carried out of all yards in order to take a careful look at what the risks are and what could harm people. The risk assessment is carried out firstly as a legal requirement and secondly to help management decide whether the employer has taken enough precautions in dealing with hazards or should they do more to prevent harm to anyone working in the yard. A hazard means anything that can cause harm to the workforce or visitors. A risk is the chance that somebody will be harmed by the hazard (high or low) and how seriously they might be harmed (seriously or not).  High risks are those where someone is very likely to be harmed or where the harm is likely to be serious (or both).

Yard hazards can include:

• Being struck by a vehicle;
• Injuries when loads are moved by hand;
• Falls from vehicles; and
• Risk from using powered or manual plant and equipment.

PiCs (Persons in Control) and the site management team needs to promptly take responsibility and put any hazardous situation right with remedial action in relation to legal compliance and compliance with Royal Mail’s own ‘Mandatory’ SHE Instructions and Standards.

The Royal Mail SHE Team and the CWU take yard safety very seriously indeed bearing in mind the hazardous nature of yards and the number of serious accidents, incidents and injuries that occur in yards.

As such, Yard Risk Assessments are in place and are regularly, periodically reviewed annually in April by the PiC in consultation with the CWU ASR and supported by the RMG SHE Safety Advisor as necessary. A staff WTLL is refreshed and managers must deliver this annually. The yard safety rules are to be communicated by the PiC/site management to employees. Visitors, contractors and all employees must be shown the RMG ‘Yard Safety Awareness Training’ film/video.

In 2023 the programme issued through the SHE Calendar on yard safety was as follows and these tasks would have been required by all operational sites. The same or very similar task list will also be set for 2024.

• April 2023 – All site PiCs/Management to have completed and submitted a Yard Risk Assessment (v3.3).
• April 2023 – All employees on site to have watched the ‘Yard Safety Awareness Training’ film/video available on RMG Content on Demand.
• 1 October – 31 October 2023 – Review the site Yard Risk Assessment.
• October 2023 into November 2023 – Deliver the Yard Safety WTLL to all employees. Following completion of the Yard Risk Assessment, communicate the site Yard Safety Rules to all employees, visitors and contractors.

Why is yard safety so important?

Due to the mixture of vehicles and pedestrians, significant injuries can occur in the yard

if yard rules are not adhered to. Serious injuries have occurred in the past so it’s important people don’t become complacent when working in and around vehicles. Some examples of Royal Mail’s past poor yard safety record which led to HSE/LA health and safety prosecutions and convictions are:

• Royal Mail was fined £200,000 plus £3,500 costs after a blind pensioner, was run over and killed by a reversing 7.5 tonne lorry in the Bridgend Delivery Office yard.
• Royal Mail was fined £1.6 million plus £22,000 costs for health and safety offences, after an employee was struck and seriously injured by 7.5 tonne vehicle in Jubilee Mail Centre yard.
• Royal Mail was fined £132,000 including costs after an employee was crushed to death by a HGV in the Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre yard.
• Royal Mail was fined £50,000 plus £10,000 costs after an employee had his foot run over and crushed by an FLT at the Rochester Distribution Centre.

ASR Action

Would all ASRs concentrate attention on the above, ensuring Units/Sites have fully complied with the RMG SHE calendar list of requirements and that yard safety is monitored and checked by managers plus safety conversations take place. In summary the requirements are:

• Yard Risk Assessment (v3.3) completed.
• Yard Risk Assessment (v3.3) review completed.
• All site workforce employees have watched the ‘Yard Safety Awareness Training’ film/video.
• Yard Safety WTLL has been delivered to all the site workforce employees.
• Yard Risk Assessment and Yard Safety Rules have ben communicated to all site workforce employees, visitors and contractors.

Attachment

• SHE WTLL FY23 007

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

24LTB078 Royal Mail Group (Royal Mail, Parcelforce, RMSS etc.) – Yard Safety Rules and Risk Controls – Reminder

SHE WTLL FY23 007 – Yard Safety

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CWU LIVE – THE UNION OUTSIDE OF WORK – TONIGHT AT 7PM 22/2/24

The priority of the union will rightly always be representing our members and improving terms and conditions.

Alongside this the CWU does some outstanding work in the community. Tonight, we want to showcase some of the additional benefits of your membership and the brilliant charity work that is being undertaken.

We have three brilliant organisations on the show tonight.

1^st Class Credit Union – a long term friend of the CWU who have assisted thousands of our members with loans and other services. We as a union always avoid promoting financial products, but we are proud to hear from an organisation built by the workers. 

Fans Supporting Foodbanks – Via football, FSF have done an incredible job of feeding hundreds of thousands of families in Cities across the UK. Tune in to hear their story and find out how you can get involved.

CWU Humanitarian Aid – our unions own humanitarian aid charity. Whether at home or abroad, CWU HA has changed the lives of so many people. They are an institution in our union, and we are very proud of the work they do. We know you’ll love hearing from them, and we hope it will inspire many of you to volunteer. 

Join us via this link at 7pm tonight and don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel whilst you are there.

See you later!

Dave Ward

General Secretary

POST OFFICE: PAY AGREEMENT 2024/25 

Branches and our Post Office members are advised that the Postal Executive has endorsed a Pay Agreement for 2024/25. This Agreement is for a one-year duration and applies to all of our members employed by Post Office from 1st April 2024. The Pay Agreement is relatively straightforward and is unconditional. A Joint Statement detailing the key aspects is attached, but in summary:

• 3.75% consolidated pay increase from 1stApril 2024 flowing through to all Allowances, Overtime, Scheduled Attendance rates and London Weighting.
• Annual leave Improvements as follows:

Current Entitlements 

New Entitlements from 1stApril 2024

25 days on entry

25 days on entry

28 days after 5 years

28 days after 3 years

30 days after 7 years

30 days after 5 years

• Annualised Holiday Pay for all Overtime performed by all employees. This benefit has existed for many years for part-timers in Crown Offices via the Crown Office Staffing Agreement (COSA).
• Saturday Overtime rate increased from single rate to 1.3x.
• Bereavement Leave for the loss of an immediate family member increased from 1 week to 4 weeks’ special paid leave.
• Substitution rates will increase in line with this and all future Pay Agreements.
• Pensions – A commitment to have negotiations surrounding employer contributions into the DC (Scottish Widows) Pension Scheme.
• Entry Rate for Crown Office CSC’s removed – members currently on this rate will move to the max from 1st April 2024. The salary will rise to £27,432.65 inclusive of the 3.75% pay rise vs the current £22,976.11. There will now be one pay rate for CSC’s.
• The next pay review date is 1st April 2025.

Crown Office Staffing Agreement (COSA) & Crown Career Path – Joint Review 

We have also agreed to jointly review COSA which is now 15 years old and much of the language needs refreshing as well as references to time expired agreements such as the Sales Incentive Scheme. Additionally, a Joint Review will take place to examine the Single Manager cover for Crowns & also the Crown Career Path Agreement.

Rapid Deployment Team (RDT) – Supply Chain 

There will also be a Joint Review of the use of the RDT arrangements within Supply Chain with an aim of reducing third party support by providing a robust and consistent way of managing the requirement for adhoc cover within CVIT.

Next Steps 

Arrangements are now being put in place to undertake an individual members’ consultative ballot on the 2024/25 Pay Agreement. The Postal Executive is recommending that our members endorse the Agreement. Further developments in this regard will be reported.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey 

Assistant Secretary

077-24-Post Office – Pay Agreement 2024-25

Joint Statement – Post Office and CWU Pay Final

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Ballot for  Parcelforce Worldwide Area Health & Safety Representative/Substitute Area Health & Safety Representative – South East Region

It has been brought to our attention that there was an error within the data file used for the ballot for the above positions.

In discussion with the National Officer Davie Robertson and the Independent Scrutineer it has been agreed to extend the closing date for the ballot to Friday 8^th March 2024.

This is to enable those members who did not receive ballot papers adequate time to vote and return them to the independent scrutineer accordingly.

Branches should note that the closing date for this ballot is now First Post Friday 8^th March 2024.

Would branches ensure that this information is shared with your members.

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

24LTB076 Ballot for Parcelforce Worldwide Area Health Safety Representative Substitute Area Health & Safety Representative – South East Region

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Royal Mail Group New Starter Driver Training – Interim Safety Standards Variation Rules Non-Compliance – RMG SHE Huddle FY24 009

This LTB is being issued further to LTB 288/23 dated 10 November 2023 and my letter to all ASRs dated 21 October 2023.

Introduction:

SHE Huddle FY24 009 is intended to remind managers of their requirements when it comes to training new entrants following a relaxation of driving requirements.

Background – New Starter Driver Training

As detailed in LTB 288/23, Royal Mail initiated a huge ‘crash’ recruitment programme with circa 10,000 new employees being engaged in a short space of time.

One of the ‘knock-on’ effects of this exceptional current large scale staff recruitment programme condensed into such a short period of time was that it presented a ‘driver training’ predicament, that being the impossibility of getting all the newly recruited drivers through the Royal Mail ‘standard new driver training programme’ without an ‘interim variation’ to the process as ‘Pertemps’, Royal Mail’s accredited driver training provider were not able to train this large number of new recruits within the in-take time frame, in line with Royal Mail Group’s current policy as the number exceeds the maximum capacity of Pertemps’ driving instructors.

Therefore, a relaxation or variation in the RMG new starter driver training requirements had to be put in place, in order to maintain Royal Mail operations whilst at the same time taking steps to mitigate any safety impact of the change.

In short this means that where training lead-times exceed 2 weeks, new starters will be permitted to drive ‘Small Vans Only’ (e.g. up to Peugeot Expert size), pending training being delivered and for a period of up to a maximum of 6 months.

The ‘interim driver safety variation’ Royal Mail Group therefore made last November is a temporary change to the current driver training standards for new starters enabling them to drive in advance of taking their Royal Mail/Pertemps driver training course.

Two higher risk groups where the RMG Driver Training Standards requirements will not be relaxed by Royal Mail for driver training are in respect of new entrants that:

• Have held a drivers licence for only 12 months or less
• Are under the age of 25

For those allowed to drive under the new ‘interim driver safety variation’ arrangements, the following must apply:  

• They will only be allowed to drive small vans prior to being trained – for 6 months only – by which time they must go through the ‘New Starter Training’.
• They must be booked on a Pertemps new starter driver training course.
• They must have completed the driver e-learning and been briefed on the driving SSOW.
• They must be comfortable to drive under the new arrangements.
• The Unit Manager/PiC must complete the ‘Permit to Drive’ checklist (copy attached) which details each element of the alternative arrangements, including that a Pertemps course has been booked for a future date and file this in the employee’s personal file.
• Electric Vehicle (EV) Training and Post Collision/RTC Training remain unchanged.

Non-Compliance

A significant non-compliance problem has been discovered across the country with only 59% of the new starters having been trained or booked for training and many of the new recruits have now exceeded the maximum six months service without driver training dispensation. Further to this, the situation worsens as many of these new recruits have not even had the driver training booked, let alone attended the training. This non-compliant practice increases the risk of road traffic collisions and increases the risk of prosecution. The Royal Mail SHE Team are endeavouring to take action to improve the situation and have requested CWU support through ASRs and WSRs.

Road Traffic Accident Statistics

Royal Mail, Parcelforce, RMSS etc., vehicles were involved in over 8,500 collisions last year and the trend indicates that that the number of RTCs this year will top 9,000. As the business changes with more parcel duties, larger vans and increasingly electric vehicles, the risk to drivers increases and driver training is more important than ever.

ASR Action – Message From the Royal Mail Group National Road Safety Manager Mark Bromhall

The Royal Mail Group National Road Safety Manager Mark Bromhall has requested the assistance of all CWU Area Safety Reps and Workplace Safety Reps to check compliance with the new starters ‘Driver Training Variation Standard’ in the Units within their postcode constituency, reporting any non-compliance to the Unit PiC OPL and SHE Team Safety Advisors without delay.

RMG SHE Instruction 8.2 – Drivers Minimum Standards

An additional point to be checked by ASRs/WSRs in respect of new starter drivers is the requirements as set out in RMG SHE Instruction 8.2 ‘Drivers’ Minimum Standards’. This states that;

• New drivers must have no more than 6 points on their drivers licence.
• New drivers must not have a TS99 (totting up) endorsement on their driver’s license.

Two drivers in one area were found to have licenses breaching these requirements – so please check them out.

See attached copies of:

• SHE Huddle FY24 009 – Driver Training
• Royal Mail –  Guidance for Using New Starter Training File
• Driver Training Relaxation – Permit to Drive Checklist
• Regional New Starter Training Completed and Training Booked Stats

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

24LTB075 Royal Mail Group New Starter Driver Training – Interim Safety Standards Variation Rules Non-Compliance – RMG SHE Huddle FY24 009

SHE Huddle FY24 009 Driver Training

New Starter Instructions

Driver Training Relaxation Permit v1.0 (1)

Regional New Starter Training Completed and Training Booked Stats

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UN Anti-Racism Day – Stop The Hate Demonstrations

Branches should note that the next UN Anti-Racism Day rallies organised by the TUC and Stand Up To Racism are taking place on Saturday 16^th March 2024 in London and Glasgow, with the Cardiff rally the following day. These rallies will make an important statement that trade unions and other organisations are opposed to racist and xenophobic rhetoric directed towards marginalised groups. With a General Election just around the corner, the Tory Government will be ramping up their attacks on migrant and minority communities so it is more important than ever that we stand united and say no to hate.

The meeting points for the rallies are in the process of being confirmed and we will communicate all of these as soon as we have them. For now, please put this important date in your diaries and make sure you make your plans to support the UN Anti-Racism Day.

The CWU are committed to combating racism and fascism and our union has had fantastic support at past events. We hope we can again demonstrate our solidarity as part of a global day of anti-racist protest. 

Branches and members in Wales and Scotland are encouraged to support their regional event and we will circulate flyers for these soon. You can find out more information about the demonstrations here.

Any queries relating to this LTB should be directed to equality&education@cwu.org         

Yours sincerely,

Dave Ward
General Secretary         

Kate Hudson
Head of Equality, Education & Development

24LTB 074 – UN Anti-Racism Day -Stop The Hate Demonstrations

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BBC PANORAMA – ROYAL MAIL: WHERE’S MY POST – MONDAY 26^TH    FEBRUARY 8PM

BBC Panorama will be broadcasting a special episode on Royal Mail on Monday 26^th February at 8pm on BBC One. The show will highlight the current state of play with regards to Royal Mail and the future of the postal service.

A wide range of customers, managers and politicians have been interviewed. The union has also been engaged in the programme but as always with these productions, editing will cut contributions down significantly.

What we know is the programme will spark a major debate on Royal Mail in the coming days and weeks and we will maximise our voice in that.

Branches should bring the planned programme to the attention of our members.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward
General Secretary                                           

Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

24LTB073 BBC PANORAMA ROYAL MAIL WHERES MY POST MONDAY 26TH FEBRUARY 8PM 

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BBC Panorama – Royal Mail: Where’s My Post – Monday 26th February 8pm

Dear Colleagues,

BBC Panorama will be broadcasting a special episode on Royal Mail on Monday 26th February at 8pm on BBC One. The show will highlight the current state of play with regards to Royal Mail and the future of the postal service.

A wide range of customers, managers and politicians have been interviewed. The union has also been engaged in the programme but as always with these productions, editing will cut contributions down significantly.

What we know is the programme will spark a major debate on Royal Mail in the coming days and weeks and we will maximise our voice in that.

Branches should bring the planned programme to the attention of our members.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Ward
General Secretary

Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

Women’s Networking Event Registration – Reminder

Further to LTB 023/24 this is a reminder that Branches will need to register their representatives attending the Women’s Networking Event.

The event is taking place at CWU Headquarters on Tuesday 5^thMarch 2024, between 10:30am and 4pm and will be held in Conference Rooms 2&3, located on the 4^th floor.

It is important that attendees register so that preparations can be made for HQ visitor passes to be prepared in advance of the day.

Any enquiries relating to this LTB, or to register for this event should be directed to equality&education@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Kate Hudson
Head of Equality, Education & Development

LTB 072/24 – CWU Women’s Networking Event Registration – Reminder

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