ROYAL MAIL GROUP: BUSINESS RECOVERY, TRANSFORMATION & GROWTH AGREEMENT – REVISED BALLOT TIMETABLE

The Postal Executive met yesterday and received a report from the Officers in regard to recent talks with RMG management.  As a consequence, a revised ballot timetable has been agreed.  Primarily this decision was made due to the requirement to create the right environment for the ballot to be conducted.  In essence, we have seen no material change in attitude from management since the Agreement was endorsed by the Postal Executive and rather than working with the Union, there is not enough evidence of them moving away from the “it’s our business to run” mantra.  Crucial to this is the need for the company to restore the IR Framework on the ground.

Specifically, Paragraph 2.5 of the BRT&G Agreement contains the commitment to agree measures required to put revisions right.  Q of S and USO failings continue to be issues of concern.  In this regard we met with Grant McPherson, COO last week and we have agreed to urgently hold a Joint forum of RODs / GMs and Div Reps.  This forum is fundamental to impress upon senior operational managers the imperative of restoring the IR Framework Agreement and addressing the legitimate concerns we have in regard to the Operation and in particular, failed revisions. 

The Postal Executive has therefore agreed the revised ballot timetable below to ensure the commitments to work together in the Agreement are in place prior to the ballot commencing.

Ballot papers despatched:                                   Thursday 25th May

Ballot closes and result declared:                      Wednesday 14th June

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward
General Secretary

Andy Furey
A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

LTB 114/23 – ROYAL MAIL GROUP BUSINESS RECOVERY, TRANSFORMATION & GROWTH AGREEMENT – REVISED BALLOT TIMETABLE

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Royal Mail Group (SHE) Safety Flash FY23 010 – Yard Safety – Failure to Keep To Pedestrian Walkway Route – Taking Shortcuts and Walking In Front of HGVs:

Introduction, Background and Description: 

Royal Mail Group’s Safety Team have issued RMG SHE Safety Flash FY23 010 following an incident in which a HGV driver failed to keep to the marked and recognised pedestrian safe walkway route, designed to keep pedestrians away from vehicles and instead he took a shortcut, walking in front of a 7.5T HGV which moved forward from a loading dock, knocking him down, following which he was taken to hospital.

The injured driver walked in front of a 7.5T vehicle whilst taking a short-cut, direct route to his allocated vehicle, he walked in front of a 7.5T HGV parked on a loading dock. He presumed it was stationary, but it moved forwards as it was manoeuvring to get aligned with the loading bay. The driver concerned was knocked down and injured. He was wearing correct hi-viz PPE but he was not seen by the driver of the HGV which collided with him. It was found that the cross-over mirrors, installed in front of the cab windscreen of the truck were incorrectly adjusted. These mirrors are fitted as a simple way of eliminating a truck driver’s front ‘blind spot’ allowing the driver to see any person at least three feet tall and passing one foot in front of the vehicle.

The Health and Safety Executive report that every year, there are over 5000 accidents involving transport in the workplace/yards. About 50 of these result in people being killed. The two main causes of injury are people falling off vehicles, or being struck or crushed by moving vehicles.

Separate pedestrian walkway routes or pavements for pedestrians are provided to keep pedestrians away from vehicles.

Impact/Injuries: 

The pedestrian driver was knocked down and taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Key Messages, Learning Points and Pedestrians, Drivers and PiC/Managers Actions: 

Pedestrians: 

1. A vehicle with its engine running can move at any time.
2. You are at serious risk when not in the direct vision of the driver, so be aware of vehicle blind spots and stay out of them.
3. Follow the yard rules, keep to pedestrian walkways and do not take short cuts.
4. Where you must cross a stationary truck, remember if you can’t see the driver, they can’t see you.
5. Maintain a good distance from the vehicle and make eye contact with the driver so you know you have been seen. Do not walk behind or near any vehicle when it is moving.

Drivers:

1. Ensure your mirrors are correctly set – speak to your Advanced Driver Coach if you are unsure.
2. Move in your seat to maximise direct visibility and check all mirrors before manoeuvring. Get Out And Look (GOAL) if you are unsure of a hazard nearby.
3. Always manoeuvre slowly and within the yard speed limit.

Managers/PiCs:

1. When performing First Class Safety Conversations in yards, observe employees walking safely around HGVs. Have conversations regarding good and bad practice.
2. Make sure employees are annually briefed on the yard rules and the yard safety awareness video.

CWU ASR/WSR Action:

• WSRs/ASRs please ensure that this Safety Flash is communicated and brought to the attention of all appropriate members and that the actions above are deployed by PiCs/Managers.
• ASRs to concentrate attention to this matter during Workplace Safety Inspections and where necessary ensure a review of Yard Risk Assessments and safety inspections are undertaken, removing hazards.

Attachments: 

• Royal Mail Group (SHE) Safety Flash FY23 010 – Yard Safety – Failure to Keep To Pedestrian Walkway Route – Taking Shortcuts and Walking In Front of HGVs.
• HSE Workplace Transport Brief Guide (INDG199)

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

23LTB113 Royal Mail Group (SHE) Safety Flash FY23 010 – Yard Safety – Walking In Front of HGVs

SHE Flash FY23 010 – Walking in front of HGV

HSE-Workplace-Transport-Safety-Brief-Guide-INDG199

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Royal Mail Group (SHE) Safety Flash FY23 009 – Vehicle Wash Bay Fires:

Introduction, Background and Description: 

Royal Mail Group’s Safety Team have issued RMG SHE Safety Flash FY23 009 following a recent spate of three fires in jet wash bays.  On investigation a number of potential root causes have been identified associated with poor housekeeping and incorrect storage of items in these wash bay areas.

Impact/Injuries: 

The Fire and Rescue Service were required to attend to extinguish the fires and make safe the area. Although there were no injuries the photos in the attached SHE Flash demonstrate the extensive damage caused by the most recent fire and potential for serious injury and death.

Key Messages, Learning Points and PiC/Managers Actions: 

• PiCs should brief all staff on the content of the attached SHE Safety Flash FY23 009.
• PiCs should ensure that good housekeeping standards are maintained in wash bay areas and that they are regularly inspected and kept clean. Poor housekeeping was identified as one of the main root causes of the fires, e.g. wash bay areas were incorrectly used to store items, incorrect storage of cleaning chemicals, combustible materials and waste stored near sources of ignition, retractable electricity supply leads left connected with the power source on, overfilled bunded containers, items stored incorrectly which covered ventilation or blocked fire exits.

CWU ASR/WSR Action:

• WSRs/ASRs please ensure that this Safety Flash is communicated and brought to the attention of all appropriate members and that actions above are deployed by PiCs/Managers.
• ASRs to concentrate attention to this matter during Workplace Safety Inspections and where necessary ensure a review of Yard Risk Assessments and inspection of wash bays are undertaken, removing hazards.

Attachments: 

• Royal Mail Group (SHE) Safety Flash FY23 009 – Vehicle Wash Bay Fires.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

23LTB112 Royal Mail Group (SHE) Safety Flash FY23 009 – Vehicle Wash Bay Fires

SHE Flash FY23 009 – Vehicle Wash Fire

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RMG/CWU BUSINESS RECOVERY, TRANSFORMATION AND GROWTH AGREEMENT – LORD FALCONER REVIEW OF CONDUCT CASES (APPENDIX 7)

Following the national briefing in Bristol on 21^st April 2023, enquiries have been received from Branches concerning the process for registering conduct cases in the Independent Review.

The General Secretary, A/DGS(P) and Binder Bansel our legal advisor, met with Lord Falconer and his team, Acas and Royal Mail Group at the Chambers of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher on Friday 28^th April 2023.    

At the meeting, discussions were held to establish a comprehensive process to be adopted to submit cases into the review.  Individual members or representatives who wish to have their case included in the review will need to provide their consent as follows:-

Consent Form 

In conjunction with our legal advisors, a consent form has been drafted for this purpose and is attached at Appendix A.  The member or representative will need to consent to their case being included by signing the form together with further details.  The signing of this form will give authorisation for Royal Mail Group to provide all documentation and any other information relating to their case to the CWU, Acas and Lord Falconer and his team.  This process is important and necessary due to potential implications of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation.

Branches who have members and representatives who wish their conduct cases to be put forward to the Lord Falconer Independent Review, should ensure that consent is given as a matter of urgency and the completed form returned to the dedicated CWU e-mail address independent-review@cwu.org;

This e-mail address is being monitored and a check will be made as to whether the forms have been completed correctly and an acknowledgment email will be sent back to the Branch confirming receipt of the consent form.  Following this, the consent form will be forwarded to RMG. This will then signal that RMG need to release the appropriate paperwork. The Union will create an individual sub-file under this e-mail address for each member or representative who returns the signed consent form.

Once the paperwork has been received, a further assessment will be made on each case. Divisional representatives Paul Kennedy and Ian Taylor will be performing this work and following this, cases will be forwarded to Lord Falconer in a priority order.

Due to the numbers involved, we expect the Lord Falconer Independent Review to be a massive undertaking and Branches are thanked in advance for ensuring that cases are registered as swiftly as possible in the first instance, in order to allow these to then be forwarded to Lord Falconer and his team in a structured manner.

Four Postal Executive members will act as contact points for Parcelforce and the following Divisions and the Branches therein:

• Katrina Quirke will act as the liaison for all PFW cases;
• Tony Bouch – Midlands, South Wales/South West, South Central;
• Luke Elgar – Anglia, London, South East;
• Rob Wotherspoon – North East, North Wales/North West, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.

A further meeting will be held with Lord Falconer, RMG and Acas later this month.  Branches are thanked in advance for submitting the relevant paperwork to the dedicated e-mail address independent-review@cwu.org; as a matter of urgency.   

Further updates will be provided in due course.

Yours sincerely                            

Dave Ward                                            

General Secretary                 

Andy Furey

A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

LTB 111/23 – BUSINESS RECOVERY TRANSFORMATION AND GROWTH AGREEMENT Lord Falconer Review

LTB 111/23 – Appendix A

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Election of Royal Mail Divisional Representatives – North East & South West / South Wales Divisions – 2023

No.  110/23

3^nd May 2023

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE DIVISIONAL REPRESENTATIVE ELECTIONS 2023

Dear Colleague,

ELECTION OF:  

• ROYAL MAIL DIVISIONAL REPRESENTATIVES 2023 – NORTH EAST & SOUTH WEST / SOUTH WALES DIVISIONS

Branches will be aware that LTB 094/23 dated 13^th April 2023 contained the nomination arrangements and timetable for the above elections and accordingly please find below the list of nominations received at the close of the nomination period.

RM Divisional Representatives Ballot – Revised Timetable

Due to the need to prioritise the balloting arrangements for the forthcoming National Consultative Ballot, it has been necessary to revise the previously published timetable for the ballots for the Royal Mail Divisional Representative positions.

Branches should therefore note that the revised timetable for the Royal Mail Divisional Representative elections will now be as follows:

Ballot Papers Despatched:          24 May 2023

Ballots Close:                                    14 June 2023 (first post)

RM Divisional Representatives Ballot – Nominations Received

At the close of nominations at 14.00 on 2^nd May 2023, the following were received: 

NORTH EAST (2 Positions) Brett GirouxNewcastle Amal(Ballot Required)Bernie McBrideDoncaster & District AmalSteve SheldonSouth Yorks & District Amal Steve WarrenSouth Yorks & District Amal 

 SOUTH WEST/SOUTH WALES  (1 Position) Neil ArcherSouth East Wales Amal(Ballot Required)Ralph FerrettPlymouth & East Cornwall Amal Ian TrehearneGloucestershire Amal 

The successful candidates will take up office at the conclusion of the election period and the term of office for these positions will be until 28 February 2024.

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 110/23 – Election of Royal Mail Divisional Representatives – North East & South West / South Wales Divisions – 2023

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CWU NATIONAL DELEGATIONS – 2023

• TUC CONGRESS: 10^th – 13^thSeptember, Liverpool
• LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE (including Labour Party Women’s Conference): 7^th – 11^th October, Liverpool

The NEC has agreed the 2023 election arrangements for the National delegations listed above. Accordingly please find attached the Election Regulations, Nomination Forms and Candidates Consent and Biographical Detail Form for these elections.

Labour Party Conference – 2023

Please note that for the 2023 Conference the Labour Party have advised that to be eligible to be a delegate at this particular conference, nominees/applicants will need to have 6 months’ continuous membership as at 23^rd June 2023.

Accordingly, all nominees who joined the Labour Party after 23^rd December 2022 will not be eligible to be a delegate at the 2023 conference.

Additionally would branches please note that all nominees/candidates for the Labour Party delegation must complete sections B, C, D, E, F and H of the attached Labour Party Annual Conference Delegate Application Form, and this must be attached to the candidate consent form which must be returned to CWU HQ by the closing date for CWU nominations.  

The timetable for the elections is:

Nominations open:                       3 May 2023

Nominations close:                       17 May 2023 (14:00)

Despatch ballot papers:               24 May 2023

Ballot closes:                                  7 June 2023 (14:00)

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

23LTB109

Election Regulations TUC & Labour Party Congress 2023

TUC Nomination Forms 2023

TUC Candidate Biographical Detail & Consent Form

Labour Party Affiliate Delegate Application Form

LP Nomination Forms 2023

LP Candidates Biographical Detail and Consent Form

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Windrush – 75^th Anniversary Event – How the Windrush Generation Influenced British Music Saturday 17^th June 2023 – CWU Birmingham & District Amal Branch, 2-8pm

The CWU Equality, Education & Development Department are proud to announce a special celebration to acknowledge the 75^th anniversary of Windrush. The event, will bring together prominent artists, guest speakers and MPs from the world of West Indian culture. We will also be joined by Dave Ward CWU General Secretary as a guest speaker.

Entertainers include RUSH Productions who are currently touring the UK, JAMMA Steel Pan, Casey Bailey and much more.

In addition to the above we are really pleased to involve Professor Black in this event who is a world leader in designing and producing carnival costumes and some of his work will be on display on the day.

All the information you need is on the attached flyer.

We are expecting strong interest for this event, so please book by emailing equality&education@cwu.org to reserve your space. Attendance will be secured on a first come, first served basis.

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

Yours sincerely,

Kate Hudson
Head of Equality, Education & Development

23LTB – Windrush 75th Anniversary Event – 02.05.23

6949 – windrush 75 yrs event flyer v4

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Joint Statement Between The CWU and Royal Mail Group: Update On Systemisation & Backpay of Average Pay On Annual Leave (Holiday Pay) For Royal Mail Property & Facilities Solutions Limited (RMPFSL) Employees.

Branches, Representatives and members will recall LTB 079/23 (Letter to Branches) issued on the 24^th March which set out the National Agreement Between the CWU and Royal Mail Property & Facilities Solutions Limited (RMPFSL) On Regular Holiday Pay.

In line with the National Agreement, we have now agreed the following Joint Statement which provides an update on the inclusion of CWU represented grades within RMPFSL on the overtime holiday pay system-calculated payroll programme as of April 2023 and an update on backpay arrangements.

The terms of the Joint Statement are self-explanatory and reflect the same Holiday Pay payroll arrangements for members in RMPFSL with the rest of Royal Mail Group, and the initial target backpay dates. It is necessary however to draw Branches and member’s attention to the following paragraph: ‘In the event of any conflicting priorities facing payroll, further discussions between RMPFSL and CWU will be held, with further communications issued. For holiday taken April 2023 onwards, the system solution approach will apply.’ In short, this means the outlined dates for backpay may be subject to a slight delay in the event of any wider payroll priorities which may occur during the month of May.

Equally, from this point on, where individuals meet the Holiday Pay eligibility criteria around regularity of overtime, overtime Holiday Pay (including Holiday Pay for part time members which meet the criteria with respect to hours worked up to full time) will be paid in the month the holiday falls.

Any queries to the content of the above please contact the Outdoor Department reference 120.12, email address: njones@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch
CWU Assistant Secretary

Carl Maden
CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 106/23 – Joint Statement Between The CWU and RM Group Update On Systemisation and Backpay of Holiday Pay For RMPFSL Employees

Att: 200423 RMPFSL Holiday pay update Final

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JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN THE CWU AND ROYAL MAIL GROUP

UPDATE ON SYSTEMISATION & BACKPAY OF AVERAGE PAY ON ANNUAL LEAVE (HOLIDAY PAY) FOR LGV DRIVERS

Branches and Representatives will be aware that payment of average pay on annual leave for LGV Drivers had been complicated due to how ad-hoc overtime had been recorded and whether the 2014 or 2021 holiday agreement was being applied to payments. To resolve this issue, a Joint Statement was endorsed and communicated in July 2022 (LTB 319/22 refers).

The Joint Statement endorsed in July 2022 included Changes to Overtime Inputting for LGV Drivers from 26^thSeptember 2022, which provided an interim manual solution for calculations. However, issues remained with the ability to input LGV pre-scheduled overtime into the RM PSP system on an automated basis, as was being done in other functions.

The business recently informed the department that the PSP data issues had now been addressed, which means that they are now able to include LGV drivers within the PSP overtime holiday pay system solution from April 2023 onwards. From this point, where individuals meet the national agreement’s eligibility criteria around regularity of overtime, Ad-Hoc overtime holiday payments will be paid in the month the holiday falls. This will replace the manual 6-monthly assessments applied to date.

This will now mirror the existing process for Prescheduled Overtime for LGV Drivers paid in line with the 2014 Improved Scheduled Attendance Holiday Pay agreement.

Employees will be able to view the assessment data in the Holiday pay tile of the Employee App, and raise any queries via the App.A Joint Statement has been concluded and endorsed by the Postal Executive, a copy of which is attached for information.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org quoting reference: 202.09.

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson

Assistant Secretary

LTB 107/23 – LGV Holiday Pay – 28.04.23

Att: 107/23 – Attachment 

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