Terms of Reference – Collections Proof of Concept Trial Transfer of Collections Work from PFW to Royal Mail in the Stoke Area

Branches will be aware that Section 5 of the Business Transformation, Recovery and Growth agreement (BRT&G) included commitments in relation to Section 5 – Establishing an Optimised Single Parcel Network for Larger Parcels.

Collections is an area with the potential to further test the “once over the ground” principle, as both PFW and RM cover the same geography and, in some cases, the same locations when collecting customer parcels. This Collections trial will further support the assessment of the potential for a Single Parcel Network.

RM have dedicated collection drivers often covering the same ground as PFW C&D drivers and, in the case of POL sites, visiting the same locations. The attached TOR for a trial in the Parcelforce Stoke Depot catchment area is being undertaken to test the ability of moving some PFW collections to RM collection drivers and to further test the principle of “once over the ground” in a collections scenario. The PFW-collected items will be returned to the RM Collection Hub, then get collected by PFW drivers in the area to deliver the traffic to Stoke LD, ensuring they enter the PFW outward network ready for dispatch.

The trial will test:

• Ability of RM Collection Drivers to cover PFW collections, including vehicle capacity, cubic volume / size of parcels;
• Test RM collection capacity, synergy and absorption potential;
• Productivity opportunity for PFW C&D drivers – creating delivery-only routes by removing collections and ‘must return’ time to meet posted network trailers;
• QofS / connectivity to get PFW-collected items into the PFW network via RM collection hubs to the LD – to consider all available options (e.g. via MCs, direct to PFW hub);
• RM Collections QofS;
• Parcel visibility i.e. PDA scan events;
• Customer feedback.

The trial will take place in Stoke LD and will include the surrounding RM Collection Hubs over a 3-week period from 29^th April 2024.

Both departments have been informed that wider comms were incorrectly issued in some areas not covered by the trial. For the avoidance of doubt, the agreed activity only applies to the Stoke area and all current collection arrangements in other areas are unaffected by the trial activity.

Additionally, in relation to Section 5 of the BRT&G Agreement, the departments advise we have agreed to ‘pause’ the ongoing trial outlined in the Joint Statement Between Royal Mail Group and the CWU Covering the Deployment of Parcelforce Rural Parcels Volumes into Royal Mail.

The Trial activity will be jointly reviewed before any further expansions are agreed.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: sbanbury@cwu.org quoting reference 054.13 or Mark Baulch, Assistant Secretary, email address: Pharacz@cwu.orgquoting reference 580. 

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson    

Assistant Secretary            

Mark Baulch

Assistant Secretary

LTB 147/24 – TOR PFW Collections Trial

Att: TOR PFW Collections Transfer – Proof of Concept Trial Stoke Area 26-04-2024

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Postal Conference – Motion 20

Branches will note that Motion 20 was carried at the Annual Conference. The motion called for any Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) or Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) issued as a result of a traffic violation to be brought to the attention of the Driver as soon as possible to allow for an appeal to be submitted. Anyone who breaches the conditions set by the relevant Council Traffic Rules, such as going against a ‘No Right Turn’ sign or driving in a bus lane, is liable to receive a PCN.

If payment is not made within 28 days, the Driver will then receive a Charge Certificate and have 14 days to pay the original fine plus a 50% additional fee. A court order is also likely to be issued, if the Charge Certificate is also not paid in time. Many Drivers who are issued a PCN often receive it past the 28-day deadline, losing the option of paying the original penalty charge without the extra 50% fee and are unable to challenge the PCN or even appeal the additional charge.

As clarified during the debate, the correct process to be followed and confirmed by Royal Mail, is that all PCNs are submitted to the Central Fleet address in Chesterfield, where they are processed by the Road Traffic Violations Team and then sent to the relevant offending office within 24 hours of receipt. The In-Life Team will also decide whether there are grounds to appeal the PCN centrally and if applicable will do so straight away and inform the relevant office. If the offence is identified by the In-Life Team as poor driver behaviour and requires immediate action or intervention from the office, a similar line of communication will also take place.

Once filtered, the PCNs are then forwarded on to the relevant office and the COM / appropriate manger must identify who was using that vehicle at the time of the breach and advise them to pay or appeal. If after their investigation the COM / appropriate manger and the Driver establish that there are no grounds for an appeal, the Driver will typically pay this penalty charge within the timeframe directly online and send the confirmation to the In-Life Team. Contained within this process is an option to complete a Payment Request Form whereby Drivers can have this penalty deducted from their salary, if they complete the attached form with their name and pay number. HR services will then deduct the payment from their pay.

If for any reason the office fails to inform the Driver of the PCN and the deadline has passed, the Driver can still pay the original amount and the local office will have to cover the increase, as noted in the Payment Request Form. The form will hold a PCN Reference and date of any discussion which was held between the COM and the Driver, if the discussion with the COM is delayed enough to miss the deadline.

Simply put, the PCN process at the office level is:

1. Identify the Driver;
2. Pass on the PCN to the Driver to pay the fine (taking note of the deadline date to ensure the fine does not escalate);
3. The Manager to challenge the PCN with issuing authority, where appropriate;
4. Email roadtrafficviolations@royalmail.com to confirm, if the Driver has paid the fine or the Manager has challenged it, including the PCN reference number.

Any enquiries to the content of this LTB should be directed to the Outdoor Department reference 300, email address: Pharacz@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch                                                                                       

CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 146/24 – Motion 20

Payment Request Form 2022

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EUREST (EX QUADRANT) PAY SETTLEMENT 2024 

The annual Pay Review Date for our Ex-Quadrant members in Eurest was 1^st April and the department has been in discussions with Compass Group on achieving a settlement for some months.

It was anticipated the discussions this year could prove extremely difficult, especially against the backdrop of another significant rise to the National Living Wage (NLW), which is relevant with regard to our National C Grade members.

Unlike in previous years, Compass Group were adamant they would not be in a position to agree a uniform percentage pay increase based on the 9.8% increase to the NLW. This is against a backdrop of an inflation rate, which at 4.5% was less than half that rate on 1^st April 2024 Pay Review date, based on the CWU’s preferred Retail Price Index (RPI) measure.

Compass Group proposed wide ranging pay simplification, including a reduction in the Geographic Pay Ranges (from three to two) and other measures, which were not acceptable to the CWU as presented. However, following extensive talks an agreement has now been reached on a pay settlement, which has been endorsed by the Postal Executive.

The agreed settlement retains the current Pay Ranges and provides a uniform pay increase of £1.03 per hour / £38.11 per week for all CWU grades (Pro-rata for Part Time). In percentage terms, this produces increases in basic pay significantly above inflation for all grades, which ranges between 6.3% and 9.8%. The settlement ensures our National C Grade members’ pay rates remain above the NLW. In addition, overtime rates for all grades will retain the £1 positive differential.

Given the timescales, we are unable to complete a ballot in time to affect any rises in April Salaries.   As such, for our National C Grade members their basic pay will be increased to meet the National Living Wage in April Salaries. Remaining increases for the National C Grade and all increases for all other Grades will be applied following the outcome of the ballot and backdated in full to 1^st April 2024.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: sbanbury@cwu.org quoting reference: 301.13.

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

LTB 142/24 Eurest Pay 2024 – 22.04.24

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Employment Tribunal Workshop

The purpose of this LTB is to advise branches that a new one-day workshop has been developed to assist Representatives and Officials who have responsibilities for Employment Tribunal applications and issues.

The workshops will take place between 10am-5pm at Summer Lane, Birmingham B19 3TH and will be delivered by Paul Kennedy, Midlands Divisional Representative.

The day is a mix of presentations with Q&A’s and will:

• Emphasise the importance of representative’s knowledge on the various individual procedures where members require representation.
• Provide practical advice on internal representation of cases
• Explain the legal time limits for submitting Employment Tribunal applications.

• Explain how Early Conciliation works.
• Explain the importance of detailing the members claim and issues when completing the Employment Tribunal application and providing guidance on this.
• Explain how to calculate compensation when completing the ET application.

Applications should be made via the Portal by the cut off dates shown below.DateWorkshopCut off30/05/2024Casework and Employment Tribunals14/05/20248/10/2024Casework and Employment Tribunals24/09/2024

Any enquiries on this LTB should be directed to cwueducation@gmail.com

Yours sincerely

Kate Hudson
Head of Equality, Education & Development

Employment Tribunal Workshop

Dave Joyce CWU National Health, Safety & Environment Officer – Final Farewell Speech to CWU Annual Conference

Following a number of enquiries and requests from Representatives and others to access a recording of the Dave Joyce farewell speech to CWU Conference 2024 and the great tribute response from CWU General Secretary Dave Ward, please see below the link to the Union Safety Website article by editor Chris Ingram and a video recording of both the speech plus a second video of the CWU General Secretary Dave Ward’s great response and tribute.

https://unionsafety.eu/docs/HSNewsItems%202024/April/StandingOvationAsCWUsRetiringNationalHSOfficerSaysFarewellToConferenceAndTheCWU.html

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

24LTB143 Dave Joyce CWU National Health, Safety & Environment Officer – Final Farewell Speech to CWU Annual Conference

HEAD OF LEGAL SERVICES: TONY RUPA

We wanted to take this opportunity to inform Branches that Tony Rupa, Head of Legal Services left employment with the Union on Friday the 19^th April 2024.

We will find the most suitable occasion to mark Tony’s long and loyal service to the members not only in his role of Head and Legal Services but in his numerous previous roles on the NEC, North West Regional Secretary and Office of the Greater Manchester Amalgamated Branch.

Branches will be aware that we have outlined the current position we face with Unionline and as we work through resolving these issues, Ray Ellis will temporarily take responsibility as we transition to a new approach on our Legal Services work.  With the creation of the Central Services Department and through the restructure of the Unionline issues we will put in place a new management structure to ensure the service we provide to members is maintained.

We will keep Branches up to date on these issues as they develop.  In the meantime, we are sure that Branches will want to join with us in thanking Tony for his service to our members, for his dedicated contribution to our union and in wishing him a happy and long retirement.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward                                                   

General Secretary   

Tony Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

LTB 141/24 – HEAD OF LEGAL SERVICES – TONY RUPA

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Telecoms & Financial Services Department and Union Restructure – Health & Safety

In relation to the overarching proposals relating to Health & Safety to be debated at Annual Conference 2024, it should be noted that the T&FS Executive have had full responsibility for Health and Safety within our sector for some time, and therefore it is currently integrated in our industrial structures.  

Currently TFS Assistant Secretaries with responsibility for companies other than BT already take on responsibility for health and safety in conjunction with reps within those companies. In BT we have a Health and Safety Coordinator in each region, who interface with both the employer and the CWU National Teams. They also have responsibility to coordinate with Branches and USRs within their region.

The TFS Department’s primary aim has always been to maintain and improve coordination between the TFS Executive and all structures of the CWU, to ensure excellent provision of health and safety representation for our members.  As part of the re-structuring of the Union, we are committed to improve on this and intend to review the current provision to ensure we are succeeding in our objective.  This will include how Health and Safety Representatives can be more involved in industrial matters as well as interfacing with CWU central services, with issues such as regulative and legislative changes. 

We recognise the expertise that our USRs have to offer and will therefore engage in a consultation exercise with our branch and regional safety representatives prior to any decision on future changes in the T&FS Department’s approach to Health and Safety. 

We are absolutely committed to working with Health and Safety Representatives to ensure they can fulfill their role in the most effective manner and in the interests of ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing our members.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Kerr

DGST&FS

LTB 137/24 – TFS Health and Safety

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CWU Solidarity with Gaza

Branches will be aware of the Hamas terror attack on October 7th and the subsequent war on Gaza, which has now killed over 33,000 people- most of them civilians.

The CWU released a statement in October 2023 but we have recently updated our statement, which you can read in full on our website. We reiterate our call for an immediate ceasefire and we condemn any incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia, including the Islamophobic rhetoric used by senior Tory politicians in recent weeks.

Trade unions and their members have a long history of standing side-by-side with oppressed people and of defending the right to protest against apartheid and genocide. Part of the CWU’s ethos recognises the fact that the political and the industrial are intertwined and that our solidarity should always reach beyond the workplace.

We therefore encourage all members to get involved in calling for a ceasefire, by attending the national demonstrations, by getting involved in local aid initiatives or donating to organisations like the PSC, Medical Aid for Palestinians or Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).

You can find out more information about the national demonstrations organised by the PSC here. We encourage members to join the ‘trade union bloc’ of the march, where many of our members have been marching in recent months.

Finally, we will be holding a Palestine Solidarity event at CWU Conference on Sunday the 21st of April, after Conference business has concluded.

Please circulate this information to members and if you have any further questions, please contact dward@cwu.org

Yours Sincerely,

Dave Ward

General Secretary

CWU Solidarity with Gaza

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Postal Department & Industrial Executive Restructure – Health & Safety

As part of the overarching proposals relating to Health & Safety to be debated at Annual Conference 2024, the Postal Executive (PE) fully accepts the need and requirement to integrate Health and Safety matters and all associated ‘mainstream activities into the Postal Constituency. The principle aim is to maintain and improve coordination between the Postal Executive and all structures of the CWU to ensure health and safety is given the profile and respect it deserves.

As such, subject to the decisions taken at Annual Conference, the PE have agreed that the policy for the integration of Health and Safety will fall to each of the Assistant Secretaries who will take the lead on each of the following areas:Outdoor Department·       Delivery 

·       Collections

·       CleanersIndoor Department·       Parcelforce 

·       Logistics

·       Distribution

·       Processing (PCL Hubs, Mail Centres, RDCs, WBCs, Air Hubs)

·       International

·       EurestC&CH Department·       POL 

·       Admin

·       LAs

·       MDEC & Customer Experience

·       HR

·       Finance, Stamps & CollectiblesPTCS Department·       Fleet & Engineering 

·       RMPFSLPFW·       Already x4 ASRs in place that cover RegionsPOL/Capita·       IR structures already in place that include Health &Safety

Each of the above Departments would seek to ensure that the relevant Area Safety Rep(s) are co-opted to work with each Assistant Secretary and take the lead on the areas within their responsibilities, as well as in discussions with the employer in relation to those functions and report back to the relevant Assistant Secretary. This role could, where appropriate, include integrated IR/Safety roles for some of the functions outlined.

In addition, it is the intention that the above ASRs will attend the Senior Field Officials’ Briefings as required by the Assistant Secretaries (1 in PFW would take the lead) and report on any related subject matters. Furthermore, activity will take place on reviewing the field structures to ensure Health and Safety is integrated into the mainstream Divisional, Parcels Regional Committee and Engineering and Fleet Territorial Meetings.

In outlining the above approach and policy we want to demonstrate to our Area Safety Representatives that the Postal Department has taken this matter seriously and that going forward we will seek to ensure that there is more involvement from Health and Safety Representatives on industrial matters.

Whilst the above principles have been agreed, this will continue to be work in progress and subject to review as to what needs to be factored in to future ways of working/ linked into any changes in Central Services, including the possible appointment of a Health & Safety expert whom the Assistant Secretary can liaise with to ensure we finalise the interfaces at stage 3 level of the SHE Dispute Resolution Process.

A meeting with all of the CWU Area Health & Safety Representatives at Postal Conference will be arranged to update colleagues on the content of this LTB and a small working group will be formed to work with PE members to produce a set of recommendations to finalise the above principles and ensure we have proper engagement with all Health and Safety Representatives on a quarterly basis.

In closing, on behalf of the Postal Executive we would like to thank Dave Joyce for the incredible service he has given to the Union and more importantly for ensuring that the Health, Safety and wellbeing of our members has been at the forefront throughout his distinguished career. I am sure conference will also pay tribute to Dave in due course.

Any enquiries to the content of this LTB should be addressed to the DGSP department via hford@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Walsh

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

Andy Furey

Assistant Secretary

Davie Robertson

Assistant Secretary

Mark Baulch

Assistant Secretary

Bobby Weatherall

A/Assistant Secretary

LTB_Postal Department Health & Safety Update                                        

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UPDATE ON IDS TAKEOVER BID

The news of a takeover bid for Royal Mail Group (IDS) by Daniel Kretinsky is another very significant moment.

It is now clear the bid, made by Kretinsky-owned EP Group, was put to the Royal Mail Board on 9th April and subsequently rejected on 11th April.

The Royal Mail Board have labelled the offer as ‘opportunistic’, while the bidders point to the lack of progress in several areas in the company and a willingness to engage with all stakeholders, including the CWU.

The truth is handing over the ownership of one of the UK’s most important institutions to a foreign equity investor cannot be right. The vulnerability of Royal Mail Group to this type of bid is a clear demonstration of how privatisation has failed. However, we must be equally clear that the direction of the current Royal Mail board remains unacceptable.

Royal Mail needs a new ownership and governance model that builds a postal service for the workers and customers- not one solely focused on shareholder payouts, driving down the service and the terms and conditions of postal workers.

The CWU will be campaigning publicly and politically to deliver this change of direction for Royal Mail. The Labour Party has already committed to a comprehensive regulatory review of the sector and to exploring new models of corporate governance for Royal Mail. We have subsequently engaged the Labour Party and will meet formally with them in the coming weeks to develop their position and seriously explore the alternatives to the current model. We will also remind Labour of their official Conference policy to renationalise Royal Mail.

In addition, we will be writing to the Government to express our concerns and seek assurances regarding any interventions they may make, given that scrutiny is clearly required for a takeover bid of this nature.

We have also made contact with Royal Mail at the most senior level.

We are seeking assurances from all concerned stakeholders in this process, regardless of the ownership of the company. Aside from the obvious assurance of the security of postal workers’ jobs, another reassurance we are seeking is that the pension surplus, related to the new pension system being introduced in June, will not be taken by the company or any stakeholder and instead, will be used to invest in the service and workforce. We will continue to meet with the company and relevant stakeholders to ensure any outcome provides the best possible future for postal workers.

By law, EP Group now has until the 15th of May to launch a formal offer or withdraw from the process. We will keep members updated with any developments related to this matter.

We recognise this is another challenging moment and one that follows on from a huge dispute with the employer and a continually difficult workplace environment. That being said, this must also be seen as an opportunity for the voice of postal workers to be heard. We now have the Ofcom report on the future of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) and the takeover bid raising awareness of the challenges facing the UK’s postal service and the workforce.

We can assure members that in an election year, we will maximise every opportunity possible to apply pressure to all political parties and the employer on the future of Royal Mail.

Finally, we will be holding a live session with CWU members on this matter in the next couple of weeks. We will confirm the date and time shortly.

If you have any further queries, please contact the General Secretary’s Office at jdunn@cwu.org

Dave Ward
General Secretary

Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

24LTB136 UPDATE ON IDS TAKEOVER BID

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