TUC – Women Safety Reps Free Online Courses (July 2024): ‘An Introduction to the Role of Union Health and Safety Rep:’

The TUC have announced new, free to attend, online courses for women union members in July 2024.

The ‘free’ on-line, half-day, tutorial courses, entitled ‘An introduction to the role of union health and safety rep’ are aimed at encouraging women members to consider the role and becoming a Safety Rep and for those who are new Safety Reps.

Interested CWU Members are invited to register to attend.

This is a free, online introductory course, designed to introduce women members to the role, what it involves, and aims to make those attending have a better understanding of what a safety rep does, and why it’s such a vital role.

The course has been designed for women trade union members who have considered or have newly taken on the role of a Health and Safety Rep, and want to find out and know more about what the role involves and see if they wish to proceed to the full Health and Safety Reps’ staged training programme.

There will be an opportunity to discuss the different health and safety issues in the workplace. The course will consider how the safety rep role is approached and will cover the rights safety reps have in law, the concerns and questions women reps have about becoming a health and safety rep and detail the kinds of issues and campaigns that safety reps work on, and action they can take.

PLEASE NOTE: This is for women union members only because the TUC has identified that women members are under-represented in the role of health and safety reps.

This is an introductory ‘taster’ course which is not designed for experienced, established health and safety reps and this training will not qualify members as a safety rep. This new, free, online introductory course is primarily for any woman who might be considering becoming a trade union health and safety representative or are very new to the role and who are motivated by the prospect of keeping themselves and union member colleagues safe, by helping prevent workplace illness and injury.

There are two Courses:

TUC tutor Jennifer Forbes will run the classes. There are two dates to choose from:

Tuesday 16th July, 14:00 – 17:00:https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEpdeupqjgjGNWRixi7VhxAZRpCMXjy5aBq#/registration

 Thursday 18th July, 10:00 – 13:00: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMlcuGhpzwjGtfYlgqrThFw4Ue7JMZskPE2#/registration

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

24LTB215 TUC – Women Safety Reps Free Online Courses July 2024

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Tomorrow 29/6/24 at 2pm we will be live with a general election special.

Dave Ward will be joined by Mick Lynch of the RMT and Jo Grady of the UCU.

We realise the vast majority of our members will be at work but this was the only time we could get the whole panel together and the whole session will be available on catch up.

Here’s the direct link to watch the show https://www.youtube.com/live/piX1tPBa1QA?si=m0YEj_POX0HkIQvr

Please share the link.

Your Voice in the Workplace – June 2024

Please find attached the June Workplace Bulletin.

We will be sending you out a limited print run (approx. 10 per cent of branch membership) of this Edition, which should reach you by the end of this week for distribution to your reps to take into workplaces.

You also have the link to print immediate copies and/or to print off more copies.

It is crucial that branches are distributing the monthly bulletin in every workplace. The purpose is to ensure members are receiving written content from the union directly into their workplaces, so your role in that process is integral.

Thank you for your support and please contact us with your feedback on the Bulletin.

Click to access 08121-your-voice-BTG-06-v5-AR-2up-1-1.pdf

Yours sincerely,

Karen Rose
Deputy General Secretary (T&FS) 

Chris Webb
Head of Communications

24LTB213 Your Voice in the Workplace June 2024

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Royal Mail/CWU Joint Statement Network Window – Post Implementation Review (PIR) 

Branches, Representatives and CWU members will recall that there have been numerous updates in relation to developments linked to Network Window and the ongoing talks between both parties to mitigate the overall impact and ensure that we have an agreed Post Implementation Review (PIR) in place.

Over the last few weeks those discussions have continued with the business and have also widened the talks to ensure the overall impact of Network Window in Scotland was further supported via an enhanced PIR process.

We have finally concluded two Joint Statements regarding a National PIR and also an Enhanced PIR for Scotland which we believe will enable the CWU to ensure our Divisional and Area Reps have the necessary structures in place to fully review the Network Window changes.

Branches and CWU Representatives will see that the two Joint Statements mirror the overall approach of continuing with the National JWG, Regional Steering Board (RSB) JWG and the Local Mail Centre Catchment Group (LMCCG) JWG.  All of the JWGs will review the key metrics outlined within the Joint Statement on a weekly basis and across each day of the operation to ensure we can seek to mitigate areas which we believe the business has been over cautious.

In relation to the National PIR, we have agreed the process will take place across two phases with Phase 1 being after the 12 deployment and it being clear that changes to the structures and design can be made where all parties are in agreement.  The second Phase of the PIR will take place after the Peak period but will ensure that both parties have considered the additional peak requirements as part of the overall review and not that Peak is used as a vehicle to stop further mitigations of design being made.

In relation to the Enhanced Scotland PIR, this will be a reduced period and run for 6 weeks commencing from Monday 17^th June through to Monday 29^th July.  Again, being clear that changes to the structures and design can be made where all parties are in agreement.  Additionally, we have agreed that a joint summary will be presented by LMCCGs and RSB nominated members to the national group at 3-week and 6-week checkpoints of the PIR to support this process.

Branches, Representatives and CWU members will be aware and fully understand that Network Window was the biggest overall change and impact within the BRG&T Agreement.  Which when we consider the starting point during the dispute that the business wanted up to 3 hours change and a move to 9am-5pm and then the words contained within Appendix 2 of the agreement, the fact we have ensured over 1,000 offices have seen their overall impact on start and finish times being less than 60 minutes is a considerable achievement by the CWU.

We continue to believe however that further mitigation across all functions can be achieved, the two Joint Statements agreed with the business on the PIR process and the CWU across all levels has the ability to ensure that comes to fruition.

Any enquiries to the above LTB and/or the attached Joint Statements should be addressed to the appropriate postal department.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

Mark Baulch
Assistant Secretary

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

LTB 214-24 – Royal Mail-CWU Joint Statement Network Window – Post Implementation Review (PIR)

Attachment 1 – Joint Statement Network Window National PIR process 17th June Final

Attachment 2 – Enhanced Post Implementation Review for Network Window Scotland 17th June Final

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Seasonal Variation: Confirmation Of Summer Low Period 2024 & The Recording of Annual Leave in PSP (RMG/CWU Business Recovery, Transformation and Growth Agreement – Appendix 1)

Branches, Representatives and members will recall LTB 165/24 (Letter To Branches) issued on 21^stMay, which included a Joint Communication that advised of two further agreed changes to the application of Seasonal Variation for this year’s Summer Low Season, which is designed to better support the introduction of Network Window.

The first adjustment means that the Summer Low Season for 2024 will be advanced by a week to start on Monday 17^th June and end on Sunday 1^st September (11-week period).

The second adjustment to better support the introduction of Network Window means that Full Time employees will start 9 minutes later and finish 15 minutes earlier and Part Time employees will start 5 minutes earlier and finish 15 minutes earlier to ensure they align with the Full Timers.

Alongside this, Branches will recall LTB 017/24 issued on 15^th January and its linked Joint Communication, which confirmed the principle that in line with the BRT&G (Business Recovery, Transformation & Growth) Agreement, annual leave booked and taken from the 2024/25 annual leave year (commencing April 2024) would be ‘seasonalised’. This means that the number of hours an individual is deducted for a day’s annual leave will vary, if taken during a period of Seasonal Variation (i.e. a reduced level of leave will be deducted in the Low Season, but a higher daily deduction of hours in the High Season).

As a result of these and other changes to the original Seasonal Variation dates, this has meant that there are a number of weeks in which the Human Resources PSP system (which records individual’s annual leave) is now not aligned with the new Seasonal Variation periods. This will impact on the following weeks:PeriodNumber of WeeksStart weekEnd WeekDescription1327/05/2416/06/24PSP will deduct less time per day’s leave than it should (24 mins Full Time; 10 mins Part Time per day)2102/09/2408/09/24As above31009/09/2417/11/24PSP will deduct more time per day’s leave than it should (24 mins Full Time; 10 mins Part Time per day)

As before, when there was an imbalance in booked and taken annual leave during the introduction of Seasonal Variation last year to that recorded in the PSP system (as communicated in LTB 017/24), Royal Mail HR Services will run an exercise retrospectively to ensure the correct annual leave deductions are recorded for all individuals who take leave during the affected weeks. This will work in two ways:

• In abovementioned Periods 1 & 2, for those employees who took annual leave, work schedules will be centrally adjusted to ensure the correct amount of leave is being deducted in PSP during leave taken in those weeks where there is mis-alignment;
• In Period 3, HR Services will adjust the leave balances for employees who took leave in these weeks retrospectively, which is planned for mid-January 2025. This adjustment will show as a distinct entry against the employees’ leave quota in PSP.

To confirm, local managers do not need to take any action in PSP, as the above outlined exercise will retrospectively ensure the correct annual leave deductions. As a result of this, no one will lose any leave balance and individuals will be able to book annual leave as normal.

Attached to this LTB, is a Royal Mail WTLL briefing which they have advised will be issued the week commencing 17^th June to confirm the above arrangements and that: ‘no one will lose any leave balance, and employees will be able to book annual leave as normal. Any errors in terms of the realignment of employees’ hours will be corrected.’

Where there are local level issues or questions in terms of the application of the above, these should be raised as a matter of priority by the relevant local CWU Reps and COMs to ADR/OPL level for resolution. Any errors in terms of the realignment of employees’ hours will be corrected and Royal Mail commits to do so in line with the above plan.

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

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch
Assistant Secretary

LTB 212-24 – Seasonal Variation Summer Low Period 2024

RM WTLL SEASONAL VARIATION 170624 BRIEFING

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TERMS OF REFERENCE BETWEEN PARCELFORCE WORLDWIDE AND THE COMMUNICATION WORKERS UNION TO PROVE THE CONCEPT OF DELIVERY ONLY ROUTES IN PARCELFORCE DEPOTS

Branches will recall the Business Recovery, Transformation, and Growth (BRT&G) agreement contained commitments to joint activity to restore quality and performance in Parcelforce.

Since the advent of Project Apollo, PFW Drivers in the main perform combined Delivery & Collection routes. This approach has served the business and our members well, against the current backdrop of extremely challenging market conditions and the significant rise in collection requirements, in the period since this model was adopted. The BRT&G predicted potential benefits in assessing the viability of introducing, where appropriate, Delivery Only Routes. In the view of the CWU, this initiative also has the benefit in combating the business narrative that Owner Drivers are more efficient, when in many cases ODs do not perform the same level of collection activity.

In this regard, the current model by default has an impact on Stops Per Route (SPR) and cost per item, on C&D routes, which declines in the afternoon when Drivers break off from deliveries to perform collections. Given this, following discussions utilising the National Working Group (NWG), we have agreed a Proof of Concept (POC) Trial to run Delivery Only Routes from 6 depots.

Routes identified within the 6 depots will range from 7.6 hours in duty length to a maximum of 11 hours, taking into consideration current attendance times and earnings packages when designing the alternative structure, while also ensuring, in heavily dense delivery areas, vehicle capacity availability before finalising on individual route design.

The 6 sites included are listed below:

• Newport
• Newcastle
• Cambridge
• London South West
• London South East
• Deeside

Branches will also note that in addition to assessing the operational and efficiency benefits in separating the Delivery and Collection operations where practical to do so, the POC trial is also going to review whether the revised model provides opportunities to shape the redesign of the BRT&G alternative Reward Scheme, which is currently paused other than in two locations, prior to its anticipated full relaunch in the Autumn.

The perceived benefits and enablers to the success of this POC activity are:

• Optimising under the roof time and enabling earlier departure on route;
• Stop Cost improvement;
• Decreasing lost time on the road;
• Improved customer ETAs;
• Improved collection quality through dedicated collection / bulk route.

The National Joint Working Group will monitor and guide activity:

• Set the direction for the POC activity and provide performance indicators, which can be reviewed by the JWG.
• Evaluate learning opportunities arising from the POC trial.
• Establish the benefits from the introduction of the POC trial in terms of reduced UTR and increased SPR along with driver feedback.
• Both Parties agree that the involvement of our respective Industrial Engineers will be key to understanding the concept and progressing the activity. Therefore, all information gathered will be shared to ensure there is a common understanding on the data to be reviewed.
• Review progress against the agreed timelines set by the Resourcing JWG and support the achievement of the plan.
• To identify any issues requiring advice, communication or formal consultation and refer these to the respective headquarters for consideration and action. Ideally to propose and recommend a solution which meets customer, business and employee needs. 

The POC trial is expected to run for 3 months at the 6 identified depots. Allowing for start-up and review of the POC activity with available resources, consideration of adding 2 further depots per region after 6 weeks will be given, should the agreed performance metrics demonstrate the benefits of doing so.

At the conclusion of the POC trial, the JWG will produce a report with recommendations for the signatories of this Terms of Reference.

The department would request that Branches bring the contents of this LTB to the attention of our members in the Trial sites and across the wider Parcelforce membership.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: sbanbury@cwu.org quoting reference: 054.13.

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

LTB 211-24 – CWU PFW TOR Delivery Only Routes 17.06.24

TOR Delivery Only POC

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As you will be aware, the General Election is taking place on Thursday the 4th of July 2024. In the coming days, we will be sending out more information about what is on offer at this election.

Registering to vote

If you want to vote in this election, you must ensure you are registered to vote. You will be able to register to vote if you’re a British, Irish or European Union citizen, or a Commonwealth citizen who has leave to enter or remain in the UK, or who does not require such leave.

You can register to vote online here. You can also register via post by filling out a form and returning it to your local Electoral Registration Office. Alternatively, you can contact your local Electoral Registration Office and ask them to post a form to you. You will then need to return the completed form to your local Electoral Registration Office.

The deadline for registering to vote is 11:59pm on Tuesday the 18th of June 2024.

New Voter ID laws

We want to inform branches and members that this is the first General Election held after the introduction of new voter identification laws. As part of the changes introduced by the Elections Act 2022, all voters must bring a valid form of ID with them in order to vote in person on polling day. A valid form of ID includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• Passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country (including an Irish Passport Card)
• Driving licence issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or an EEA state (this includes a provisional driving licence)
• A Blue Badge
• Older Person’s Bus Pass funded by the UK Government
• Disabled Person’s Bus Pass funded by the UK Government
• Scottish National Entitlement Card issued for the purpose of concessionary travel (including a 60+, disabled or under 22s bus pass)
• 60 and Over Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
• Disabled Person’s Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
• Senior SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• 60+ London Oyster Photocard funded by Transport for London
• Freedom Pass
• Biometric immigration document
• National identity card issued by an EEA state
• Voter Authority Certificate
• Anonymous Elector’s Document

You can find the full list of accepted ID documents here. You will only need to show one form of photo ID. It needs to be the original version and not a photocopy. You can use an out of date form of photo ID, as long as it still looks like you and the name is the same name you use to register to vote.

You do not need voter ID to vote by post.

What to do if you do not have a valid form of ID

If you do not have a valid form of ID, you can apply for a free voter ID document, known as a Voter Authority Certificate.

You can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate online here, or you can apply by post by downloading the form here. You can also contact your local council in order to obtain a form.

The deadline for applying for a Voter Authority Certificate is 5pm on Wednesday the 26th of June. 

Registering for a postal vote

A postal vote is an easy way to use your vote and ensure you do not have to queue up on polling day. To get a postal vote, you must apply and you must be registered to vote.

There are two main ways to apply for voting in England, Scotland and Wales. You can apply online here or you can apply by post, by completing a form and returning it to your local Electoral Registration Office.

For voting in Northern Ireland, there are more restrictions on applying for postal votes but you can apply for a temporary postal vote if you will not be able to vote in-person on polling day. You can find out more information here.

The deadline for registering for a postal vote in England, Scotland and Wales is 5pm on Wednesday the 19th of June. 

The deadline for registering for a postal vote in Northern Ireland is 5pm on Friday the 14th of June.

As always, we encourage all members to get out and use their vote. You can find out where your nearest polling station is at https://wheredoivote.co.uk/.

If you have any questions, please address them to the General Secretary’s Department at jdunn@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward
General Secretary

LTB 209-24 – Registering to Vote – General Election 2024

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Royal Mail Sexual Harassment Initiative 

The purpose of this LTB is to update Branches on the above initiative. We are aware that Royal Mail has recently launched its sexual harassment awareness training for All business grades, via an initiative called Change for good.  The CWU welcome this initiative and advocate members participation.  

Sexual discrimination, including sexual harassment is a widespread problem. High profile claims of sexual harassment reported in the media, together with movements such as #Metoo and emerging research, demonstrate how widespread and frequent sexual assault and harassment is, especially in the workplace.

According to the TUC 1 in every 2 women have experienced some form of sexual harassment at work and more than 70,000 (4%) men are sexually abused or assaulted each year.

The CWU is committed to promoting equality in all areas of life and recognise that sexual harassment in the workplace is illegal. As a union, we aim to actively prevent and tackle sexual harassment by creating working environments that support and empower members to report incidences of unwanted sexual behaviour.

The CWU have developed Sexual Harassment toolkits as part of the CWU’s wider strategy on preventing and addressing sexual harassment in our workplaces, in our movement and in wider society. The CWU’s ‘Speak Up, Speak Out: Break the Silence’ Toolkits have been created to help members and branches identify what sexual harassment is, its impacts and effects and what legal protections are in place to protect workers against workplace sexual harassment so that members can make informed choices about recording and reporting incidences of sexual harassment and understand what support is available.

Toolkits can be found attached or by clicking on the following link: https://education.cwu.org/equality/sexual-harassment-toolkits/

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be directed to equality&education@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,                                                      

Kate Hudson
Head of Equality, Education & Development             

Bobby Weatherall
Acting Assistant Secretary

24LTB 207 – Royal Mail Sexual Harassment Initiative (002)

Att 1- 07048-CWU-Sexual-Harassment-Toolkit-for-members-A5-v1-002

Att 2 – 07049-CWU-Sexual-Harassment-Toolkit-for-reps-and-branches-A5-v2

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OPENREACH LTD – Fibre Network Delivery ‘My Potential’

Openreach Fibre Network Delivery (FND) have made a concerning decision to press ahead with the rollout of an unagreed mutation of ‘My Potential’.  It is being vigorously challenged by the CWU Openreach National Team who have strong reservations that management’s unilateral addition of four new metrics risks turning it into a punitive performance management tool.

Your CWU Openreach National Team agreed previously to a small-scale trial of ‘My Potential’, the details can be seen within LTB No. 254/2023.  This included twelve patches, within the cabler and jointer community – six were team-based and six were individual.  The rationale was to foster a supportive culture guided by a single ‘Daily Customer Connections’ metric, similar to what was agreed within Service Delivery – Customer Delivery Rate.  This metric aimed to help identify coaching needs and any other assistance required to support individuals in the best way possible.

However, the unagreed version of ‘My Potential’ that is being rolled out by FND is now significantly altered and is unrecognisable.  With management’s inclusion of four additional metrics, it has morphed into a potentially exploitative tool.  These metrics may be weaponised against the very people they were meant to empower.  These changes include:

• ‘On The Tools Time’ – the percentage of the total time booked by an engineer that is deemed to be productive
• ‘Time to Complete’ – measuring the “number of productive hours booked by the engineer per completion” in a given time period
• ‘Customer Conversion Percentage’ – namely the ‘percentage of tasks allocated to an engineer to have been completed’ and… 
• ‘Time Booking’ – measuring “the percentage of full match time in total time booked by the engineer.” 

Despite management’s current insistence that team members have “nothing to worry about” there is a fundamental problem with these additional metrics.  They are largely subjective and therefore in danger of becoming punitive.

Without safeguards being negotiated, there is a real danger that management will exploit these metrics to reintroduce the oppressive performance management practices that you and members fought tirelessly to eliminate from Openreach.

It is crucial that we oppose metrics that could lead to a regressive style of management.   These additional metrics, could be perceived as performance management.

Campaign and Tasks for Branches

As discussed at the recent Openreach Briefing Committee, a campaign will be launched.  This campaign can only be won by our members and Branches and it is vital they are the force behind achieving this.  Once the members comms has been sent, we will send them to Branches and Regional Co-ordinators.  In the comms, we are asking members to:

‘Start discussing this issue with your colleagues – especially those who are not currently members of the CWU and encourage them to join.  Your voice and involvement are essential.  Stay informed, keep an eye on emails and speak to your local union reps about how you can participate.’ 

Regional Co-ordinators (RCs) and Branches should attend the engineer briefings, which are currently taking place and happening over the coming weeks.  I have attached the Patch Manager/Patch Lead briefings and also the Engineer briefing packs.  If SEAMs have not already reached out with dates and times, the Regional Co-ordinators have agreed to approach the SEAMs to ensure CWU presence.  Branches should inform RCs when they are attending and how the briefing was received.  Gathering as much feedback on this issue is crucial.

Branches should continually engage with members and non-members to educate them on how this can be turned into a punitive performance management tool.  Education and information are key at this stage in a campaign. This is an excellent opportunity to speak to non-members, to get them to understand why it is so important to be part of the CWU.  The more of them who make a stand the stronger this campaign will become.

Additionally, any feedback coming from members, whether that is a phone call, email or a conversation face-to-face needs to be documented and sent to your RC.  Your RC will be in touch on how best to keep them informed.

As the campaign progresses, we will keep you informed on the next steps.  The next steps will be dependent on the strength of feeling/reaction from our members and the reaction of Openreach.  If members or Branches have ideas that will help our campaign can this be fed through to your Regional Co-ordinator.

Any enquires regarding this LTB should be sent directly to me in the first instance.

Yours sincerely,

Fiona Curtis
Acting Assistant Secretary

13.06.24 – LTB 206 – OPENREACH LTD – Fibre Network Delivery ‘My Potential’

MyPotential Engineer Workshop Deck – Attachment 1

MyPotential PM-PL Workshop Deck – Attachment 2

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