Post Office: Future of the Crown Office Network – Franchising Update

Post Office: Future of the Crown Office Network – Franchising Update

Further to LTB 105/25 dated 27^th May.  As Branches are aware, on 8^th April Post Office announced the franchising of the remaining 108 Crown Offices, meaning the loss of over 1,000 jobs.

Post Office confirmed franchise partners for 56 Crowns on 27^th May, and earlier this week confirmed a further 19 Crowns for franchising to three partners – First Class Retail, RF Retail and South Coast Retail (list attached).  We continue to expect further announcements in terms of franchise partners for the remaining 33 Crowns in the coming weeks and our Territorial Reps will be advised of the details at the earliest opportunity.

In accordance with the Joint Statement contained within LTB 105, we are expecting to enter into a series of serious negotiating meetings imminently with the aim from our perspective of agreeing:

• The “measures” associated with potential TUPE
• An improved compensation package via a Settlement Agreement
• Genuine opportunities for redeployment via bumping for members wishing to retain PO employment.

As we prepare for these talks, PO management yesterday agreed to pause 121 consultation meetings, and they have accepted there is no need at this stage to return preference forms.  The communication from PO published this morning contains the following paragraph:

“While we are in TUPE consultation meetings with both CWU & Unite, we have made the decision to hold off with starting consultation meetings, until we have further TUPE discussions and information, that we can share with DMB colleagues.”

As per the above, we encourage all members to hold fire on returning preference forms until further notice to allow the negotiations to take place.

Regular meetings are taking place with our Territorial Reps who have been instructed to liaise with Regional Secretaries, Branch Secretaries and Political Officers to keep them fully updated on any developments on Crowns in their areas.

Further developments will be reported as negotiations progress.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary

LTB107-25 – PO – Future of the Crown Office Network Franchising Update

List of Crowns Franchising Announcement 3rd June

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