• Royal Mail Divisional Representatives – 2024
• Royal Mail Divisional Representatives (Substitute) – 2024
• Royal Mail Divisional Chair – 2024

Election of:

• Royal Mail Divisional Representatives – 2024
• Royal Mail Divisional Representatives (Substitute) – 2024
• Royal Mail Divisional Chair – 2024 

Further to LTB 082/24 dated 27^th February 2024 at the close of nominations at 14:00 on 13^th March, the following were received:

ROYAL MAIL DIVISIONAL REPRESENTATIVES  

ANGLIAKevin MartinEssex Amal*ElectedAdam MitchellSuffolk Amal*Elected

LONDONStephen BeadleSouth East London Postal & Counters*ElectedMark DolanNorth/North West London*Elected

MIDLANDSimon EdmundsNottingham & District Amal*ElectedPaul KennedyBirmingham District Amal*Elected

NORTH EASTBrett GirouxNewcastle Amal*ElectedSteve WarrenSouth Yorks & District Amal*Elected

NORTH WALES/NORTH WESTLenny CrookNorth Lancs & Cumbria*ElectedPaul DugdaleNorth West Central Amal*Elected

 NORTHERN IRELANDGarry HannawayNorthern Ireland West(Ballot Required)Fra MartinNorthern Ireland Postal Amal

SCOTLANDTam DewarGlasgow District Amal*ElectedGeorge RossGrampian & Shetland Amal*Elected

SOUTH CENTRAL Dermot FullerSouth West No 7*ElectedPaul GarrawaySouth Central Postal*Elected

SOUTH EASTDavid BennettSouth East No 5*ElectedAlasdair MacLeodCroydon & Sutton Amal*Elected

SOUTH WEST/SOUTH WALES Ralph FerrettPlymouth & East Cornwall*ElectedAndy NashBristol & District Amal*Elected

ROYAL MAIL DIVISIONAL REPRESENTATIVES (SUBSTITUTES)

ANGLIA Trevor WilliamsonEastern No 3*Elected

LONDONJohn SimkinsLondon Phoenix*Elected

MIDLAND Steve Blower   Nottingham District Amal*Elected

NORTH EAST Steve SheldonSouth Yorkshire & District*Elected

NORTH WALES/NORTH WEST Wayne BowkerNorth West No 1(Ballot Required)Ian CorrinGreater Mersey Amal Peter KellyShropshire & Mid Wales 

NORTHERN IRELANDGary HannawayNorthern Ireland West(Ballot Required)Graham SpenceNorthern Ireland Postal 

SCOTLANDJohn KiddScotland No 2*Elected

SOUTH CENTRAL Darren ButcherSouth East No 5*Elected

SOUTH EAST Stephen WiselySouth & East Thames Amal*Elected

SOUTH WEST/SOUTH WALES Stephen CoombesWestern Counties*Elected

ROYAL MAIL DIVISIONAL CHAIR

ANGLIA Tom WalkerNorthern Home Counties Postal*Elected

LONDONJohn MensahNorth/North West London*Elected

MIDLANDLiam KavanaghSouth Midlands Postal*Elected

NORTH EASTGraham CloughSouth Yorkshire & District Amal*Elected

NORTH WALES/NORTH WESTPeter KellyShropshire & Mid Wales*Elected

NORTHERN IRELANDColm McAuleyNorthern Ireland Postal Amal*Elected

SCOTLANDJim McKechnieGlasgow & District Amal*Elected

SOUTH CENTRAL Stewart HardieWessex South Central*Elected

SOUTH EAST Angela WhitterCroydon & Sutton Amal*Elected

SOUTH WEST/SOUTH WALES Paul WottonWestern Counties*Elected

The timetable for the above elections are as follows:

Ballot Papers dispatched:                     21 March 2024

Ballot Close:                                         11 April 2024  (first post)

Any enquiries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed to the Senior Deputy General Secretary’s Department on telephone number 020 8971 7237, or email address sdgs@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

LTB 104/24

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Driver Fatigue and Road Accidents – RMG SHE Huddle FY24 012 – Drivers Briefing and Communications Campaign 

Introduction

This week the RMG SHE Team and RMG National Road Safety Managers are launching the latest Road Safety Huddle/Briefing and Communications Campaign, focusing on Driver Fatigue – Driving Tired, Drowsy, Stressed, Eye Health and Fitness to Drive.

The Royal Mail Group Safety Health & Environment Team and the RMG Road Safety Managers welcome CWU/HQ and CWU ASR/WSR support and assistance in cascading this campaign.

The attached SHE Huddle briefing information will all be communicated out across Royal Mail Group (RM, PFWW and RMSS etc.) this week 11 – 16 March 2024, supported by the RMG Plasma Screen message, and additionally supported by this CWU LTB and the attached ’Think’ downloadable poster, ‘THINK/RSSB’ 27 Page Guide booklet and ‘THINK’ quick reference ‘Fact Sheet’. The information should be widely circulated and displayed on safety notice boards. Further copies can be printed by branches and regions locally. There are also the two links to effective, hard hitting videos on the subject matter, to help get the messages across to the workforce and to support the initiative.

The SHE ‘Huddle’ Campaign objectives are

• To highlight these important road and driver health and safety issues and dangers of driving fatigued, tired, drowsy and stressed.
• To raise awareness and encourage, coach and support drivers to adopt safe driving habits.
• To discuss with drivers the risk of driving tired or stressed.
• Area Safety Reps to focus on the subject matter, carry out safety spot checks and ensure managers have delivered the Safety Huddle Briefing.

Driver Fatigue is a Serious Problem

Fatigue is a major contributory factor in crashes in the UK, with too little sleep radically affecting driver attention, awareness, reaction time and ability to control the vehicle.

Driver fatigue is a serious problem resulting in many thousands of road accidents each year. It is not possible to calculate the exact number of sleep related accidents but research shows that driver fatigue may be a contributory factor in up to 20% of road accidents, and up to one quarter of fatal and serious accidents.

These types of crashes are about 50% more likely to result in death or serious injury as they tend to be high speed impacts because a driver who has fallen asleep cannot brake or swerve to avoid or reduce the impact.

About 40% of sleep-related accidents involve commercial vehicles, drivers, often in the largest vehicles on our roads that can cause the most harm in a crash.

Sleepiness reduces reaction time (a critical element of safe driving). It also reduces vigilance, alertness and concentration so that the ability to perform attention-based activities (such as driving) is impaired. The speed at which information is processed is also reduced by sleepiness. The quality of decision-making may also be affected.

Experts tell us that it is clear that drivers are aware when they are feeling sleepy, and so make a conscious decision about whether to continue driving or to stop for a rest. It may be that those who persist in driving underestimate the risk of actually falling asleep while driving. Or it may be that some drivers choose to ignore the risks (in the way that drink drivers do). Studies have shown that drivers don’t fall asleep without warning. Drivers who fall asleep at the wheel have often tried to fight off drowsiness by opening a window, or by turning up the radio. This doesn’t work for long.

Signs of fatigue

Research shows normal sleep does not occur without warning, and most people recognise symptoms but underestimate the dangers of continuing to drive. Warning signs include:

• Increased difficulty concentrating;
• Yawning;
• Heavy eyelids;
• Eyes starting to ‘roll’;
• Neck muscles relaxing, making the head droop;
• ‘Microsleep’ occurs when someone nods off for a few seconds without realising or remembering it, known as head-nodding. This occurs when drivers are tired but trying to stay awake. A ‘THINK’ survey found one in three (31%) UK drivers surveyed admit having experienced a microsleep at the wheel. The driver may feel like they’ve just briefly nodded their head, but they have actually been asleep. In six seconds, a vehicle being driven at 70mph travels about 200 metres!

The key facts 

• Research suggests that almost 20%, 1 in 5 of crashes resulting in death on major roads are sleep or fatigue-related.
• Sleep-related accidents are more likely than others to result in a fatality or serious injury.
• Peak times for accidents are in the early hours between 2am and 6am and after lunch 2pm and 4pm.
• About 40% of sleep-related accidents involve commercial vehicles, drivers, often in the largest vehicles on our roads that can cause the most harm in a crash.
• Research has shown motorways and dual carriageways are the most common roads for sleep-related crashes, due to the monotonous road environment and lack of interruptions or driver stimulation.

Crashes caused by tired drivers are most likely to happen: 

• On long journeys on monotonous roads, such as motorways.
• After having less sleep than normal.
• After drinking alcohol – (remembering the morning after effect).
• If taking medicines that cause drowsiness.
• After long working hours or on journeys home after long shifts, especially night shifts.

‘THINK!’, ‘Brake’ and ‘RoSPA’ Advice:

• Plan your journey to include a 15-minute break every two hours.
• Don’t start a long trip if you’re already tired.
• Remember the risks if you have to get up unusually early to start a long drive.
• Try to avoid long trips between midnight and 6am when you’re likely to feel sleepy anyway.
• If you start to feel sleepy, find a safe place to stop – not the hard shoulder of a motorway. Drink two cups of coffee or a high-caffeine drink and have a rest or nap for 15 minutes to allow time for the caffeine to kick in.
• Remember, the only real cure for sleepiness is proper sleep. A caffeine drink or a nap is a short-term solution that will only allow you to keep driving for a short time.

Watch These Two Hard Hitting Driver Fatigue Accident Videos:

THINK! ‘Don’t drive tired videos are at these links:

• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MSZ_so_4c7U

and

• https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zVVvSaRSrZE

ASR Involvement, Activities and Inspections:

• ASRs to carry out the following activities during this Road Safety Huddle Communication Campaign in order to help to raise awareness and the profile of this important issue.
• ASRs to ensure they record Safety Inspections using the agreed reporting processes.

Remind Drivers that it’s vitally important that they should always:

• Try to ensure they are well rested and feeling fit and healthy before driving.
• Not take medication which advises against driving before starting long journeys.
• Make sure they take their rest breaks.
• Take extra care when driving at night, especially between 2am and 6am and when driving between 2pm and 4pm(especially after having eaten a significant meal).
• Avoid drinking any alcohol and remember the morning after effect.
• If feeling sleepy or drowsy during a journey, take a break, grab a coffee and if need be take a short nap.
• Have regular eye tests or arrange a test if they’ve noticed any problems with their eye sight, (do the self-test of reading a number plate from 20 metres).
• If they have stress issues, request a stress risk assessment and request ‘Feeling First Class’ support.
• Make sure they are aware of health conditions that may impair their driving and if unsure consult their GP.
• If they take any medication that may be affecting their ability to drive, speak to their GP.
• If they have a sleep disorder which may put them at higher risk, discuss it with their GP.

Ask Front Line Managers:

• Have they delivered the Huddle to all employees/drivers?
• Have staff seen the plasma screen message, poster, fact sheet?

Legislation on fatigue – Police investigations and penalties for killing someone due to fatigue-related driving

A tired driver who kills someone can be charged with death by dangerous driving (if the nature of their driving was perceived to be dangerous) or death by careless driving (a lesser charge for less dangerous driving). The maximum penalty for death by dangerous driving is 14 years imprisonment and the maximum penalty for death by careless driving is five years. The difference between ‘careless’ and ‘dangerous’ driving in the eyes of the law is slight and subjective: it’s the difference between someone’s driving falling below or well below what is expected of a careful and competent driver.

Commercial Vehicle Legislation

In the UK companies operating fleets of vehicles have a legal duty of care to ‘ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of all employees while at work’ and are responsible for what might happen if this is not done. This ‘applies to all on-the-road work activities as to all work activities’. Under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations (1999) employers must assess the risks involved in staff use of the road for work and put in place all reasonably practical measures to manage driver fatigue. Employers need to assess which drivers and journeys are at risk and set schedules that do not require drivers to exceed recommended working limits and driver hours laws.  Professional drivers of goods and passenger road vehicles must comply with the UK and EU Drivers Hours Rules or regulations which limit time at the wheel and specify that drivers must legally take breaks. Heavy commercial vehicles have a tachograph, which records how long they have been driving and breaks taken. This information, along with any available telematics information from event data recorders, can be studied by Police if the vehicle is involved in a crash. Light Commercial Van Drivers are covered by the GB Domestics Drivers Hours Rules and Limits. These rules restrict a driving day to ten hours with a 30-minute break after 5.5 hours’ driving, or 45 minutes taken at times within an 8.5 hour driving shift. If a driver works for longer than 8 hours and 30 minutes, they must take an extra break of at least 30 minutes, in addition to ​the 45 minutes. ​

Thank you for your support.

Attachments:

• RMG SHE Huddle FY24 012 Driver Fatigue Briefing.
• Campaign RMG Plasma Screen Slide.
• ‘THINK’ Tiredness Kills Poster.
• Driving for Work: Managing Fatigue Risks – A Guide for Road Vehicle Drivers and their Managers ‘THINK’ & ‘RSSB’.
• ‘THINK’ “Driving While Tired” Factsheet.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

[This LTB has been compiled in conjunction with ‘Think’, ‘Brake’, ‘RoSPA’ and the ‘DfT’ and is being issued in conjunction with the Joint Royal Mail Group/CWU Road Safety Huddle/Campaign Week, March 2024.]

24LTB102 Driver Fatigue and Road Accidents – RMG SHE Huddle FY24 012 – Drivers Briefing and Communications Campaign

SHE Huddle FY24 012 Driver Fatigue

Driver Fatigue Tiredness Kills

Tiredness Kills Poster (THINK)

Driving for Work Managing Fatigue Risks Guide (Think RSSB)

THINK! Advice – Driving When Tired – Factsheet

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CWU Annual Conference 2024 – Telecom and Financial Services Conference Agenda Pad

Branches would wish to know that the 2024 Telecom and Financial Services Agenda Pad has now been published on the website and can be accessed using the following link:

Click to access TFS-AGENDA-2024.pdf

A Pdf. copy has also been attached.    Hard copies of the agenda are in the process of being printed and will be distributed to branches when completed.

Any enquiries to this Letter to Branches should be addressed to conferences@cwu.org or call 020 8971 7256.

Yours sincerely

A P Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

24LTB101 – CWU Annual Conference 2024 – TFS Agenda Pad

TFS AGENDA 2024

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Equality, Education & Development Website Goes Live

The purpose of this LTB is to advise branches that the upgraded Equality, Education & Development website has now gone live.

This site integrates our Left Click e-learning platform with the old Education & Training website which has now been expanded to cover the merged remit of Equality, Education & Development, including the provision of a searchable electronic equality library as required by General Conference Motion 42/2022.

The site includes information and resources for members, reps and branches covering;

• All equality strands
• The CWU Reps training programme
• Lifelong Learning courses for members
• Development tools such as CWU Unlock & CWU Mentoring Scheme
• A news hub covering all aspects of the department

It can be accessed directly at: https://education.cwu.org or via the My CWU tab at www.cwu.org

By utilising the existing education website we have been able to expand our online presence while making a year on year saving. In addition all documents and resources being made available online reduce both printing costs and our environmental impact. We envisage that the range of content will continue to grow over the coming months.

The old Left Click site will close at the end of March and all user accounts will close also at this time.  

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

Yours sincerely,

Kate Hudson
Head of Equality, Education & Development

LTB 103/24 – Equality Education Development Website Goes Live

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Royal Mail & CWU Joint Communication Weekly Resourcing Meetings (WRMs) And Supporting New Starters in Deliveries

Branches and Representatives will recall LTB 017/24 (Letter To Branches) issued on 15^th January, concerning the Royal Mail/CWU Joint Communication Covering Section 2.5 Improving Quality of Service, Seasonal Variation and the Review of the 30-Minutes Flexibility Agreement.

In line with the commitments set out in ‘Section 2.5 – Working together to improve Quality of Service – Joint Statement’, regular Quality of Service review meetings have been held with Royal Mail involving Delivery units to work together to improve customer performance and USO Compliance. Consequently, two clear and consistent themes have come out of these initial meetings: the value of WRMs (Weekly Resourcing Meetings) and the need to provide support for new starters.

Given this and the simple fact that these are viewed as fundamental standards that should be in place, the Postal Executive has endorsed the attached Joint Communication, which is self-explanatory and seeks to draw out the following key areas for local Reps and COMs to cover in terms of WRMs and support for new starters from day one and beyond.

Weekly Resourcing Meetings

The foremost and most critical output from these joint meetings is the recognition of the importance of Weekly Resourcing Meetings. Effective resourcing meetings offer a multitude of benefits to all units, including: –

• Ensuring there is a clear resourcing plan in the office that has been jointly agreed, which all in the unit understand, and which has been communicated in good time.
• Maximising available resource each day, and across the week.
• Balancing resources against workload.
• Allowing increased flexibility during periods of lower traffic (also accounting for Seasonal Variation).
• Facilitating a fair distribution of overtime where it is justified by workload.
• Ensuring a fair and equal balance of workload.
• Ensuring strong customer performance.
• Manage lower periods of workload by accounting for employee needs and supporting annual leave allocation, including short term annual leave and other time off requests.
• As part of the Weekly Resource Meeting process, should the unit be at risk of any USO failure it is critical that a walk rotation plan is in place; Where a delivery route or part of a route is not covered on any given day it must be covered the next working day to ensure any delay in delivery is for the maximum of 1 day.
• To enact this process both parties need a plan as part of the weekly resourcing meeting to ensure walks never fail x 2 days in a row. Both parties should first ensure all resourcing options have been explored, including and not limited to possibly moving someone from one duty to another, using rest day cover, reserve and overtime coverage.

It is imperative that Weekly Resourcing Meetings are conducted regularly in all Delivery units (Where there is no CWU Unit Rep in place, the ADR will confirm with the OPL a nominated CWU Rep to attend the WRMs). The outputs of these meetings should be jointly shared and every person in every unit should have absolute clarity on the resourcing plan every week, and in good time.

New Starters and Induction Process

One of the most frequent reasons given when people do choose to leave the business, is that the role was not what they expected at the outset. With unit managers taking a more active role in the recruitment process this year, it is crucial that Royal Mail is transparent and upfront regarding working hour expectations, including afternoon and Sunday requirements. Alongside this, it is also necessary to ensure that new starters have the best possible experience when they begin their new role.

These are initial best practices that can be jointly enacted in order to provide a positive introduction to Royal Mail: 

• New starters should be supported in line with the relevant National Agreement covering the Workplace Coach Programme for Delivery & Collections.
• Ensuring the workplace coach is afforded sufficient release time via the weekly resourcing meeting to train the new entrant.
• Ensuring the workplace coach uses the new entrant guide to train the new starter (accessed via the Digital Academy), and that the new starter receives the virtual Welcome to Royal Mail session in their first week.
• New starters can be further supported by the Managers and Unit Rep (and Safety Rep), and should be introduced to the Local CWU Rep (and Safety Rep) on day one.
• We should look to keep our new joiners on the same duty for a minimum period of 6 weeks, and ideally for 12 weeks where possible as this is recognised as best practice.
• All employees are encouraged to work Sundays to support the growth of this important revenue stream and source of growth for Royal Mail that will protect jobs in the long term. Sundays should be resourced fairly across our Sunday working people.
• Where a Sunday attendance is required, the individual should still only be scheduled to attend no more than 5-days in that week (unless they have agreed to cover via overtime or the office uses a 6-day week duty pattern). Both the COM and Unit Rep should keep this under review at WRMs, also looking to adopt innovative duty arrangements to cover required Sunday attendances.
• The COM and CWU Rep should check in with new joiners regularly, and at least weekly, to ensure they are comfortable in the role and to answer any questions or queries they may have.

To further assist in terms of supporting new starters, also attached is LTB 496/19, which sets out the Royal Mail/CWU National Joint Statement – A Refocus on New Entrant Standards and the Role of the Delivery Workplace Coach (WPC).

We believe this is a positive move, one which we hope is broadly welcomed by Branches and Representatives and is equally acted upon and taken forward at local level. If despite the terms of this Joint Communication, there remain issues in this regard then these should in the first instance be raised via Area Delivery Reps at Divisional level.

Any queries to the content of the above please contact the Outdoor Department reference 230.03, email address: JRODRIGUES@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch                                                                                       

CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 100/24 – RM CWU Joint Communication WRMs and Supporting New Starters in Deliveries

Att: Royal Mail CWU Joint Communication WRM And Supporting New Starters in Deliveries

Att: LTB 496/19

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Special Conference “CWU Restructuring” – Sunday 21st April 2024

Attached with this Letter to Branches are motion forms for the Special Conference “CWU Restructuring”. Branches should note that the motion guide for submitting motions to the Special Conference “CWU Restructuring” is also attached and Branches and Regions are strongly advised to familiarise themselves with these prior to drafting and submitting motions.

Entitlements 

As the rulebook on entitlement to submit motions to a Special Conference is silent, the Standing Orders Committee has consulted the President for a decision. It was decided the entitlement should reflect the fact that the duration of this conference is one day.

Therefore, in relation to the Special Conference “CWU Restructuring”, all Branches are entitled to submit two motions.   Regional Committees are entitled to submit two motions to the Special Conference “CWU Restructuring”.

Branches and Regions will only be able to submit motions to change policy contained within the NEC CWU Restructuring papers published by the NEC.

Branches and Regions submitting motions to amend any part of the NEC report relating to issues governed under the Rules of the union are STRONGLY advised to submit corresponding rule proposals to the Rules Revision Conference in order to implement the change.

Branches and Regional Committees are also reminded that the closing date for the submission of motions to the Special Conference “CWU Restructuring” is Noon Wednesday 20th March 2024. Submission of motions can be by post or email but must arrive by Noon.

If sending Motions by post, Branches must ensure they use a signed for service which guarantees delivery by the closing date and time.

Branches, Regions and the NEC are reminded that the Standing Orders Committee will not alter or amend any of the motions submitted therefore it is important that motions are checked before they are submitted, and that they meet the terms detailed in the attached guidance notes.

Please note that all correspondence must be sent by email to conferences@cwu.org and no other personal email address.

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

Yours sincerely,

A P Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

LTB 098/24 – Special Conference CWU Restructuring – Sunday 21st April 2024

Att: Special Conference Motion Guide 2024

Att: CWU Restructuring Motion Form

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JOINT STATEMENT REGARDING DEPLOYMENT OF 2024 RESOURCE REALIGNMENT EFFICIENCY REVISONS IN MAIL CENTRES TO SUPPORT DEPLOYMENT OF NETWORK WINDOW CHANGES 

Dear Colleagues,

The Business Recovery, Transformation and Growth (BRT&G) Agreement committed us to working together to transform business operations, building on the mutual interest processes.

In 2018, the department negotiated a Joint Statement Regarding Resource Realignment, which defined agreed processes for revision and resourcing activity in Processing Units. This approach was re-affirmed in the 2021 Pathway to Change agreement, albeit with necessary amendments to deal with the implications of the Covid Pandemic. Section 2.5 of the BRT&G Agreement includes commitments that future revision activity will involve the restoration of joint working in all functions in line with national agreements and that revisions will be based on efficient, fair and achievable workload.

The primary aim of realignment revision activity in 2024 is the deployment of the extended Network Window change, where the reduction of flight sectors and the movement of this traffic to road services means delivering change across all functions to mitigate the onward impact of the flight removal across the pipeline. The activity also provides an opportunity to resolve the outstanding Supernumerary issues within the plants.

Discussions have now concluded with the attached agreed Joint Statement, which has been endorsed by the Postal Executive and which retains the principles and protections of the 2018 agreement, provides opportunity to remedy some of the outstanding elements of the 2022 revisions and updates the processes to ensure that they are fit for purpose.

The agreed document and its Annexes contains the updated elements of the 2018 agreement, including a revised process for jointly establishing the Model Week. It also includes updated guidelines for:

• Resource Realignment;
• Establishing Model Week;
• Quality Checklist;
• Resourcing Checklist;
• Weekly/Quarterly Resourcing Meetings.

With regard to providing the best opportunity to resolve the Supernumerary problem, the document reintroduces the ability to utilise inventive duty patterns, something which was removed by the business in 2022. In addition, we have retained the commitment to move work between shifts where this assists in reducing surpluses.

The one outstanding issue relates to productivity. Royal Mail have circulated aspirational productivity figures to Plant Managers, however Branches will be aware that the department has not agreed in past revision activity any specific WIPWH increases centrally and we have not done so on this occasion as well. While further discussions are continuing, in the view of the department the agreement is clear in that the process allows Representatives to agree the model week, the alignment of workload and the throughputs and it is clear that increased throughputs should be supported by agreed process changes, which have been tested. Representatives should approach discussions on that basis.

The clear priorities, in addition to deploying the Network Window changes, is the successful realignment of workload to resolve any displaced employees and the reduction and/or removal of agency resource.    Against that backdrop, the words in the agreed documentation should give Representatives the ability to achieve revision outcomes, which better match the aspirations of our members.

Joint launch activity took place for Plant Managers and Divisional/Area Representatives today online and a further session is being arranged for CWU Representatives.

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

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson

Assistant Secretary

LTB 099/24 – Processing Realignment Activity 11.03.24

Att: JS Deployment of 2024 Resource Realignment Efficiency Revisions 07.03.24

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ROYAL MAIL COLLECTIVE PENSION PLAN (RMCPP)

We wish to provide Branches and members with an update in respect of the Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan (RMCPP) also known as the Collective Defined Contribution or CDC scheme.

The news is relatively positive with good progress having been made in recent months to ensure the legal framework is in place to launch the scheme later this year.  This work has included engaging with the Pensions Minister at the DWP along with HMRC.  Regular meetings are also held with Royal Mail to ensure that everything possible is being undertaken to make the scheme a reality.  Following our most recent meeting we agreed with Royal Mail that an update should be provided on their internal pensions page and this is as follows:

Update on the Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan

It has been a while since we last updated you on the progress towards the Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan (the Collective Plan for short). Lots of work has been going on in the background and we have made good progress on the changes to legislation that we need to make the plan possible. 

We are aiming to launch this year. As we’ve always said, we and our unions believe this is the right pension scheme for our people and we are looking forward to it becoming a reality. 

If you want to find out more about the Collective Plan, please go to myroyalmail.com/collective-plan

Obviously, it has taken a long time to get to this stage; however, we are more optimistic than ever before that the scheme will come into being this year.  This can be seen from the above statement whereby Royal Mail is in the process of building up an administration team within the Pensions Service Centre to facilitate and support the introduction of the scheme.  Essentially, everything is being put in place to ensure the scheme can go live this year.  In respect of further developments, these will be reported as events occur.

Any enquiries regarding Pensions should be directed to Andy Furey Assistant Secretary by emailing snicholas@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Martin Walsh

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)                                                

Andy Furey

Assistant Secretary

LTB 097/24 – Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan (RMCPP)

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TO:  BRANCHES WITH MEMBERS EMPLOYED BY PARCELFORCE WORLDWIDE (INCLUDING RMSS)

Dear Colleague,

Election of:    Parcelforce Worldwide Area Health & Safety Representative/Substitute Area Health & Safety Representative – South East Region

Further to LTB 076/24 dated 20^th February 2024, please see below the result of the ballots which closed today.

AREA HEALTH & SAFETY REPRESENTIVESOUTH EAST REGIONHuw Glynne-Thomas109*ElectedMalcolm Woods69Spoilt Ballot Papers – No Vote5Spoilt Ballot Papers1Total Ballot Papers Received184Total Ballot Papers Dispatched1081

SUBSTITUTE AREA HEALTH & SAFETY REPRESENTATIVESOUTH EAST REGIONStephen Glennon99*ElectedAaron Green52Spoilt Ballot Papers – No Vote32Spoilt Ballot Papers1Total Ballot Papers Received184Total Ballot Papers Dispatched1081

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

24LTB096 – Election of Parcelforce Worldwide Area Health and Safety Representative and Substitute – South East Region

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Dangerous Dogs – Hazard Identification Survey Questionnaire For RM Delivery Workforce

Introduction And Background 

Following a discussion at the national joint RMG/CWU/Unite Dog Awareness Working Group, a hazard identification survey will take place through an on-line questionnaire which will initially be rolled out in twenty Delivery Offices with the aim of better understanding how known hazards are identified and the processes that employees follow.

The survey will be rolled out to a limited audience initially, so that feedback can be reviewed to ensure the questions set are right before rolling it out wider. 20 Delivery Office units have been selected to participate initially, of which 10 are ‘high impact units’ and 10 are ‘low impact units’ to begin with that should provide enough returns for the RM SHE Team to assess.

The survey is anonymous so that some clear and honest feedback from the front line members can be obtained and comments boxes have been added in, so that the workforce are not confined to the options provided.

Rather than doing this through a paper based survey, the questionnaire will be completed as an online Forms Survey and this should be easier for the user to complete and return so assisting with collating results.

The survey has been set up so that anyone can reply, it just needs the user to scan the QR code on their mobile phone and enter their answers. It is completely anonymous with no name required. The only identifier included is the unit name, so that it can be seen as to which Delivery Office units have/have not responded.

A poster to support the survey, which includes the QR code to scan is attached.

A communication will be sent to the PiCs/COMs and OPLs covering the below Delivery Office Units to make them aware of the survey and to request that they brief staff on the survey and promote it.

Participating Delivery Office Units

The following 10 units have reported 5 or more dog attacks over the last 12-month period and have a ‘high frequency rate’ of incidents. (Data taken at Period 10):Delivery OfficeDog Attacks over last 12 months to P10Farnborough DO5Hornchurch6Malvern DO7Gainsborough DO6Morecambe DO6Lisburn DO9Arbroath DO5Elgin DO6Chipping Norton DO5Hayling Island DO5

The following 10 units have a ‘low frequency rate’ of attacks, so would make a useful comparison.  (Data taken at Period 10):Delivery OfficeDog Attacks over last 12 months to P10Debden DO1Sutton Coldfield DO1Uxbridge DO1Craigavon DO1Bath DO1Walsall DO1Exeter DO1Enfield DO1Cambridge DO2Wolverhampton DO1

ASR/WSR Action

Would all ASRs and WSRs please promote the survey amongst members at the listed Units requesting their full support in completing the survey questionnaire.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

24LTB095 Dangerous Dogs – Hazard Identification Survey Questionnaire For RM Delivery Workforce

Identifying Hazards Poster

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