GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ON ENDING BOGUS SELF-EMPLOYMENT 

Last week, at Labour Party Conference, the Government announced that it would take action to ban bogus self-employment. This is very good news for the CWU and a major step forward in a campaign our union has been fighting for years. Our motion to Labour Party Conference called for the abolition of bogus self-employment, underlining the importance of this issue to our union and our members.

Bogus self-employment has become a major problem across the parcel sector, allowing companies to cut labour costs, shift risks onto workers and undercut businesses that employ their staff directly.

This matters enormously for Royal Mail, who directly employ their staff, because it is forced to compete against parcel delivery companies that can cut costs by avoiding obligations such as employer National Insurance contributions, sick pay and holiday pay. To illustrate this, Royal Mail pays around £600m every year on employer National Insurance, while the majority of its competitors pay nothing.

This is where the pressure comes from to create a race to the bottom, and postal workers are being made to pay the price for a market where companies can gain a competitive advantage by avoiding their responsibilities as employers.

Tackling bogus self-employment will protect workers and help create a fairer parcels market, where companies compete on the quality of their service rather than by driving down employment standards.

The Government’s announcement is a significant step forward, but the detail of the legislation will be crucial. The CWU will continue to fight for robust rules that close loopholes, protect workers’ rights and create a level playing field across the sector, protecting our members’ jobs, pay and conditions.

We will be meeting with the Secretary of State in the near future to discuss the Government’s next steps. Further information will be provided in due course.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward

General Secretary

Martin Walsh

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

LTB 264/26 – GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ON ENDING BOGUS SELF-EMPLOYMENT

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Election of:

Parcelforce Worldwide Area Health & Safety Representative/Substitute Area Health & Safety Representative 2026 – Central Region

Further to LTB 233/26 dated 21^st August 2026 at the close of nominations the following have been received.

AREA HEALTH & SAFETY REPRESENTATIVES

Central RegionJaspreet SinghSouth Midlands Postal Branch*Elected

SUBSTITUTE AREA HEALTH & SAFETY REPRESENTATIVES 

Central Region Danny MaherSouth Midlands Postal Branch*Elected

Any enquiries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed to the Lisa Parrett on telephone number 0208 971 7222 or email address lparrett@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary (P)

LTB262/26 – Election of Parcelforce Worldwide Area Health & Safety Representative and Substitute Area Health & Safety Representative 2026 – Central Region

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Capita TVL Pay 2026 – Formal Trade Dispute – Ballot for Industrial Action

Further to LTB244/26 dated 11^thSeptember. Branches are advised that we are undertaking the Industrial Action ballot electronically, and we have managed to obtain the vast majority of members’ private email addresses to enable us to run the ballot via email.  For the very small number we don’t hold email addresses for, the ballot papers will be sent via post. This approach is similar to the recent Consultative Ballot that delivered a 97% Yes vote for rejecting the pay offer on a 69% turnout.  We are optimistic that a similar participation level will be reached for the Industrial Action ballot.

We have now agreed the following timetable with Civica, the Independent Scrutineer:

• Ballot papers issued – Tuesday 6^thOctober
• Ballot closes and results declared – Wednesday 21^st October

The Postal Executive has determined there will be two questions on the ballot paper for both Strike Action and Action Short of a Strike, and this is consistent with the last time we balloted our Capita TVL members in 2024, when excellent Yes votes were delivered.

Membership Engagement will feature prominently in the coming week, and members will be invited to online meetings with myself to discuss the dispute and our objectives, along with the rationale for the Industrial Action ballot.  Essentially, we want to give the TVL members the opportunity to have their questions answered.  We also met with our Senior TVL Representatives earlier today and everybody is fully supportive of our aim to secure an improvement in the offer from Capita via the pursuance of this trade dispute.  I can also confirm that the Union has responded positively to an invitation by Acas to enter into facilitated talks; however, it would appear Capita are reluctant to find a way forward via Acas and as such there are no talks planned at this stage.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey 

Assistant Secretary

LTB 260/26 – Capita TVL Pay 2026 – Formal Trade Dispute Ballot for Industrial Action

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AGENDA PAD – CWU YOUNG WORKERS CONFERENCE – 21st OCTOBER 2026

Branches would wish to know that the agenda for the CWU Young Workers Conference which is being held at the Mechanics Institute on Wednesday 21st October has now been published on the website and can be accessed by opening the attachment or pasting the link into your browser:

Click to access YOUNG-WORKERS-CONFERENCE-AGENDA-2026-Draft.pdf

Branch Secretaries are encouraged to print copies of the agenda and send them to the delegates attending from their branch prior to the conference. Hard copies of the agenda will be available on the day.

Branches are also reminded that Branch Secretaries should register delegates and observers to the conference completing the link below by no later than Friday 9^thOctober 2026. Confirmation of requests will be sent to branches within 72 hours. Should confirmation not be received within this time branches are asked to contact the SOC at conferences@cwu.org

DELEGATE REGISTRATION FORM – YOUNG WORKER CONFERENCE 2026 (21st October, Manchester) – Fill in form

Branches should also note that there will be a networking event for delegates and observers on the evening before the Conference. Taking place in the Mechanics Institute from 6.30pm which will include a quiz, food and music.  This is an important event for delegates who may be new to the union to meet other young worker representatives and the National Young Workers Committee, branches should encourage delegates to attend.

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to The SOC by email to conferences@cwu.org

Any general enquires regarding young workers should be addressed to the CWU Young Worker Co-Ordinator, Kerry Fleck at kfleck@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Mick Kavanagh

President           

Andy Mercer

Vice President          

Previous LTB with full conference details: LTB 215/26

LTB 259/26 – AGENDA PAD CWU YOUNG WORKERS CONFERENCE 21st OCTOBER 2026

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DM26 Deployment – Royal Mail Workplace Survey

Dear Colleagues,

The purpose of this LTB is to advise Branches that following representations and challenges through which CWU expressed to the business our view that the company has not been adequately engaging with and seeking the feedback from their employees on the deployment of DM26 and the associated issues in their respective offices, the business agreed to carry out the relevant Workplace Surveys.

As such, on Tuesday 29^th September, the business will be launching two Work Time Listening & Learning briefs, which will be communicated by managers and will outline how all employees can participate in their relevant workplace survey:

• WTLL 1: DM26 workplace surveys during deployment – for units progressing through the DM26 deployment planning or early post-deployment surveys;
• WTLL 2: DM26 post-deployment workplace survey – for units that have already deployed and are being invited to take part in the additional DM26 post-deployment survey.

The workplace survey will give every employee the opportunity to share how DM26 is working in their office, including what is going well, where challenges remain and what further support or action may be needed. Both positive feedback and constructive comments about ongoing issues are welcome and the survey will encourage everyone to give their open and honest opinion based on their experience.

Royal Mail will share all the responses with CWU Nationally as part of the wider national review of DM26 deployment and locally with each office via the COMs. CWU Reps should then review the feedback together through their WRMs and via the formal review of DM26 including:

• The main themes, including what is working well and any areas of concern;
• Appropriate local actions;
• Anything that requires further support or escalation;
• How the key themes and agreed actions will be communicated back to all colleagues.

As such, given the CWU has been critical of the business for their lack of activity in this area, we are encouraging all CWU members to participate in their Workplace Survey to ensure DM26 is deployed correctly and in line with the agreement.

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

Yours sincerely,

Tony Bouch

Assistant Secretary

LTB 258-26 – DM26 Deployment – RM Workplace Survey

Word att: Joint comms – Supporting the DM26 workplace survey approach

Word att: WTLL 1 DM26 workplace surveys during deployment

Word att: WTLL 2 DM26 post-deployment workplace survey

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COVID-19 Autumn Booster Vaccination Programme

Colleagues who are eligible for the Autumn COVID-19 vaccination can now book an appointment online or through the NHS App.

Appointments will begin from 1^st October 2026.

You can book your vaccination via:

• The NHS website COVID-19 vaccination appointment online – NHS
• The NHS App NHS App – NHS

From 1st October 2026, you may also be able to receive your vaccination at:

• A walk-in COVID-19 vaccination site
• A community pharmacy
• Your GP surgery
• Other local vaccination services

Vaccination continues to provide important protection against severe illness, hospitalisation and death caused by COVID-19. According to UKHSA dashboard data, there were approximately 16,000 COVID-19-related hospital admissionsbetween October 2025 and January 2026.

Further information: COVID-19 | UKHSA Data Dashboard  COVID-19 | UKHSA data dashboard

Eligibility For Autumn 2026, COVID-19 vaccination is offered to:

• Individuals aged 6 months and overwho are immunosuppressed.
• Adults aged 75 years and over
• Residents of care homes for older adults

Eligibility is the same across all four UK nations: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

The vaccine should be offered no sooner than six months after your last COVID-19 vaccine dose. If you are eligible, you can still benefit from an Autumn COVID-19 vaccination even if you have not accepted a COVID-19 vaccine previously.

Immunosuppression Eligibility

Determining eligibility based on immunosuppression can be more complex than the other criteria. Information available online can sometimes create confusion, as individuals may consider themselves, or be considered by others, to be immunosuppressed but may not meet the specific eligibility criteria for vaccination.

Full eligibility criteria are outlined in the COVID-19 Green Book Chapter 14a, published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). the COVID-19 Green Book 

This document is freely available to download; however, it contains approximately 34,500 words, spans fifty-three pages, and includes extensive tables, references, and appendices. As a result, it can be difficult for non-specialists to interpret.

To assist colleagues, some of the eligible groups are summarised below:

• Organ, bone marrow, or stem cell transplant recipients
• Individuals receiving systemic steroid treatment for longer than one month.
• People living with HIV.
• Individuals receiving immunosuppressive or immunomodulating biological therapy, including children due to start treatment.
• Individuals undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
• Those requiring long-term immunosuppressive treatment.
• Individuals with a history of haematological malignancies, including chronic leukaemia and lymphoma.
• Individuals with genetic disorders that affect the immune system.

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list and does not cover all eligible groups.

Vaccine Effectiveness

Evidence indicates that the Autumn 2025 COVID-19 vaccination programme provided its highest level of protection against hospitalisation between five and nine weeks after vaccination, with vaccine effectiveness estimated at 47.6% during this period. There is also evidence that protection persisted for more than 35 weeks following vaccination.

As specific infection and hospitalisation data for immunosuppressed individuals are not routinely available, it is recommended that anyone undertaking vulnerable person risk assessments should continue to be informed by overall COVID-19 trends and current public health guidance.

Please note: Eligibility for the Autumn COVID-19 vaccination programme is determined by NHS criteria and may be subject to change in line with updated guidance from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and the Department of Health and Social Care. Colleagues are encouraged to check the latest NHS guidance or speak to their healthcare professional if they are unsure about eligibility for themselves or family members.

This LTB is shared on behalf of CWU Central Services.

If you have any questions or need any further information, please contact-

Jamie McGovern FRSPH MIIAI 

CWU Health & Safety Policy Assistant at jmcgovern@cwu.org.

LTB 255 – 26 Covid 19 Autumn booster arrangements

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Show Racism the Red Card – Wear Red Day, Friday 16^th October 2026

CWU are teaming up with Show Racism the Red Card to help promote the brilliant ‘Wear Red Day initiative, which this year will be held on Friday 16^thOctober.

Show Racism the Red Card are a dedicated education-based anti-racism charity and the work they do with schools is incredibly valuable and underlines some of our values as a trade union. We have worked with them previously and are delighted to continue supporting this essential anti-racism work.

We are attaching a Wear Red Day flyer for your information.

We would encourage all our Branches to participate in this excellent cause, by checking the charity website for details, scanning the QR code and lastly ‘wear red’ on the day in your offices, sharing loads of photos online using the hashtag WRD26.

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

Yours sincerely
Kate Hudson
Head of Equality, Education & Development  

Att.

LTB -257 – Show Racism the Red Card – Wear Red Day, Friday 16th October 2026
LTB26-257 – SRtRC Flyer

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THE FUTURE OF ROYAL MAIL

In considering the major and wide-ranging challenges facing our members and the company, the CWU has placed a motion before the Labour Party Conference 2026 that calls on the Government to urgently intervene and set out a fundamentally different direction and vision for the future of Royal Mail.

The motion recognises that Royal Mail is a vital public service, rooted in every community across the UK, that today faces existential threats to its future including:

• The undercutting of postal workers’ jobs and the company through multinational competitors that utilise bogus self-employment.
• The devaluing of postal workers’ jobs. While postal workers recognise the need for change, the company’s failure to end two-tier terms and conditions is creating a recruitment and retention crisis leading to understaffing and unmanageable workloads.
• A failure of the previous and current leadership board of Royal Mail to address quality of service problems that are damaging the brand, letting down customers and demoralising postal workers.
• A regulator that is acting against the interests of the universal service and in favour of promoting unfair competition.
• The lack of vision from the leadership of the company to develop a new growth strategy that offers a future for Royal Mail and our members jobs in permanently changed world of communications.

The motion comes at a time where we have had some very positive discussions with the Government on the level playing field initiative that seeks to end gig economy practices that undermining the industry. However, we firmly believe that we must now build on these discussions and urge the government to take action to secure the future of Royal Mail, the services we provide to customers and our members’ jobs.

A full copy of the motion is attached and the key demands are as follows:

1. Fully implement the Select Committee’s report recommendations of the Business and Trade Select Committee’s May 2026 report.
2. Create a level playing field by introducing a single status of worker and sectoral collective bargaining, ending the race to the bottom based on bogus self-employment, insecure work and low pay.
3. Establish a new regulatory framework that puts universal service, investment, quality of service and sector-wide employment standards ahead of competition, and reviews downstream access arrangements.
4. Build on the Government’s golden share by developing a new ownership and governance model for Royal Mail, with democratic public control and oversight and worker and customer representation, supporting investment, diversification, growth and public value.
5. Bring Royal Mail and the Post Office back together, creating a stronger national network delivering postal, banking, government and community services.

In submitting this motion, we want to emphasise that this should not be seen as the union walking away from necessary change or the agreements we have reached on deploying DM26. These issues will be subject to separate communications where we will focus on straightforward messages that support our members through deployment and how we fix any problems that arise.

In the coming weeks, the union will be focusing on developing a major campaign to engage our members, representatives, the public and politicians to achieve the objectives of our motion with the Government setting out a new vision and direction for the company that will secure the future of Royal Mail and our members’ jobs. In the meantime, we are setting out immediate next steps as follows:

1. We will be holding a national briefing in the next few weeks to set out the approach we will be taking and the role we would like branches and members to play.
2. There will be a series of communications to fully explain to our members the seriousness of the challenges we are facing and the solutions we want to put in place.
3. Please ensure that the content of this LTB is circulated to all members in every workplace.

Further information will be sent out in due course.

Any enquiries on the above LTB should be addressed to the General Secretary’s office dlynch@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward

General Secretary                                         

Martin Walsh

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

---

Rebuilding Royal Mail for Workers and the Public

Conference notes that in September 2026 the Government stated concerns over Royal Mail’s quality of service, while Ofcom’s investigation into its 2025/26 delivery performance continues.

Conference notes the Business and Trade Select Committee’s May 2026 report, The regulation of postal services, which found that Royal Mail’s service is unacceptable, Ofcom is failing as postal regulator, and reform of the Universal Service Obligation is essential.

Conference believes Royal Mail is a vital public service facing existential challenges, requiring a new vision that secures its future in the interests of customers, communities and workers, while utilising its national infrastructure and trusted workforce to create social and economic value for the UK.

Conference calls on the Government to:

1. Fully implement the Select Committee’s report recommendations of the Business and Trade Select Committee’s May 2026 report.
2. Create a level playing field by introducing a single status of worker and sectoral collective bargaining, ending the race to the bottom based on bogus self-employment, insecure work and low pay.
3. Establish a new regulatory framework that puts universal service, investment, quality of service and sector-wide employment standards ahead of competition, and reviews downstream access arrangements.
4. Build on the Government’s golden share by developing a new ownership and governance model for Royal Mail, with democratic public control and oversight and worker and customer representation, supporting investment, diversification, growth and public value.
5. Bring Royal Mail and the Post Office back together, creating a stronger national network delivering postal, banking, government and community services. LTB 256/26 – THE FUTURE OF ROYAL MAIL

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ROYAL MAIL JOINS GOVERNMENTS FIRST CHANCE APPRENTICESHIP SCHEME 

The CWU has welcomed Royal Mail’s announcement today that it has become one of the major employers to sign up to the Governments new First Chance Apprenticeship scheme for young people. Our support is of course subject to a clearer understanding of the detail of the scheme and how it will be implemented within the company.

Given our ongoing discussions with the Government and Royal Mail over the level playing field initiative, the union had been pressing the company for some time to show their support for the key objectives of the Milburn Report.

We had previously sent an outline proposal to the company for the type of apprenticeship scheme we believe that Royal Mail should implement, including the need for guaranteed jobs, alongside decent pay, terms and conditions.

The union now looks forward to discussing the detail of such a scheme with the company in the coming weeks and reaching an agreed way forward.

In the meantime, we have attached further information about the Milburn Report and why we believe Royal Mail is suited to be a leading supporter of this Government initiative.

Along with the General Secretaries of other Labour affiliated Trade Unions, the CWU met with Alan Milburn last week where we collectively pressed him to ensure that Trade Unions are fully involved in the development of new apprenticeship schemes.  As such we are aware that the final recommendations from his report are likely to be published within the next couple of months.  Further information on the development of this initiative will be sent out in due course.

Any enquiries on the above LTB should be addressed to the General Secretary’s office dlynch@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward

General Secretary   

Martin Walsh

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

LTB 253/26 – ROYAL MAIL JOINS GOVERNMENTS FIRST CHANCE APPRENTICESHIP SCHEME

Att: Alan Milburn Interim Report and implications for apprenticeships in Royal Mail June 2026

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Updated Joint Statement – Licence Checks for Professional Drivers 2026 

Branches and Representatives will be aware in 2019 the department shared via LTB 192/19 a Joint Statement between Royal Mail and CWU On Safe Driver Checks’ Process for Logistics and Area Distribution Professional Drivers.

Recently the business has made contact seeking to update the policy for Professional Driver Grade licence checks proposing moving away from the Robin App and towards the Vision platform used for Professional Drivers within the business. These discussions have now concluded in a revised agreed policy which will apply to licence checks for Professional Drivers only.

The attached Joint Statement outlines the amended process and ensures that the drivers and the business remain fully compliant with legislation.

Licence checks for Professional Drivers will now entail the collection of declarations through Vision rather than the Robin App. Drivers will have the option either to sign up to the Vision Driver App or they can complete an electronic declaration within Vision with the support of their line manager. Professional Drivers with a licence issued by the DVA (Northern Ireland) or holding non-GB licences may complete the health declaration via the People App but will still complete paper-based license checks.

Under this revised process, going forward the frequency of licence checks will change from yearly to 3 yearly and the requirement for the driver to request a DVLA code prior to the licence check is no longer necessary. The business has also confirmed that the licence data will be stored securely on Vision and can only be accessed by the driver and authorised managers.

All Health and other work declarations will still need to be submitted in line with the business policy, and drivers will still need to make their manager aware of any changes to their licence provision and any new health conditions which may come up between licence checks. 

Impacted Drivers:

• All employees who fall into the Professional Driver classification (LGV & MGV) will be asked to complete a submission.
• Drivers with a licence issued by the DVA (Northern Ireland) or holding non-GB licences may complete the health declaration via the People App but will still complete paper-based licence checks – this is due to the DVA having a different licence checking process. Should electronic processes be made available, a further update in comms will be issued to support moving over to a digital process.
• Drivers who opt not to use the Vision Driver App will complete an electronic declaration with the support of their line manager.

Due to the change, it is noted the gap between the frequency of licence checks has increased, therefore, additional safeguards have been secured, to ensure the continued support of Advanced Driver Coaches (ADCs). The joint aim with these additional safeguards is to support the driver, aid in improving driving standards, and help to avoid or reduce endorsements.

Pilot activity will commence on Monday 28^thSeptember in the offices identified below:

• SEDC
• Gatwick

The Pilot offices will be monitored throughout the activity, however, as the change is only to the process rather than the requirement it is not envisaged there will be any significant issues.   Any issues/feedback from the drivers on the new process will be welcomed and reviewed.

Branches and representatives are requested to ensure that all impacted members are made aware of the contents of this LTB at the earliest opportunity.  

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: jrodrigues@cwu.org  or jmansell@cwu.org  quoting reference LTB 254/26.

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

LTB 254/26 – Updated Joint Statement – Licence Checks for Professional Drivers 2026

Att: Final Update to Professional Driver Licence Checks_Sept26

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