We talk through the progress made this week on the Attendance Procedure negotiations with Andy Furey and Carl Maden.
Please share the contents of this podcast with all members.
ORGANISING AND RECRUITMENT – BUILDING THE UNION
ORGANISING AND RECRUITMENT – BUILDING THE UNION
Attached to this LTB is a letter we would ask you to use to engage every new entrant. It is crucial that we ensure every new employee joins the CWU.
The letter should be handed to new entrants, but CWU representatives should also use the arguments within it to encourage employees to join the union face to face as well.
We fully understand the pressure local branches are under at this point in time, but we need this work to be a priority in order to maintain our traditional workplace strength.
Alongside the above activity, Branches will be provided with as much information as possible from the postal department to:
- Assist you in producing Branch plans to recruit new entrants.
- Provide recruitment materials and joining forms (if needed).
- Ensure that recruitment is an agenda item at every branch, regional and divisional meeting.
- Map all workplaces.
Nationally we will be supporting this with a full communications plan. We will also be developing messaging to target long term employees who are not at this juncture members of the CWU. We will also be working on materials for business units and grades across Royal Mail Group.
All this work is an immediate intervention aimed at recruiting new entrants and building membership density across Royal Mail Group.
Additionally, the NEC and our Industrial Executives are urgently reviewing our overall recruitment strategy considering the impact of the pandemic, GROW campaign and industry defining disputes. Branches will have the opportunity to input into this review.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Yours sincerely
Dave Ward Andy Furey
General Secretary A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)
BUSINESS RECOVERY, TRANSFORMATION & GROWTH AGREEMENT – SECTION 5 JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL GROUP AND THE CWU COVERING THE DEPLOYMENT OF PARCELFORCE RURAL PARCEL VOLUMES INTO ROYAL MAIL
BUSINESS RECOVERY, TRANSFORMATION & GROWTH AGREEMENT – SECTION 5
JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL GROUP AND THE CWU COVERING THE DEPLOYMENT OF PARCELFORCE RURAL PARCEL VOLUMES INTO ROYAL MAIL
Branches and representatives will be aware of the commitments contained in the Business Transformation, Recovery and Growth agreement: Section 5 – Establishing an Optimised Single Parcel Network for Larger Parcels and Section 1.6 of the Parcelforce Appendix 3, moving volume in geographical areas on to a single network (rural areas).
In this regard agreed trial activity has taken place involving the movement of rural parcel traffic from PFW Leeds LD to Skipton DO for delivery to support assessment for a potential future Optimised Single Parcel Network. Further to a successful outcome of the abovementioned trial, Royal Mail now wish to assess the potential for a further 41 Delivery Offices to deliver PFW items, with the aim to move these volumes before the 2023 peak period.
Discussions have therefore taken place with the business and a Joint Statement has been concluded and endorsed by the Postal Executive to enable the activity to take place, a copy of which is attached for your information.
To make deployment more manageable and to enable any operational or people issues to be addressed during the planning period, the activity is being planned in 5 Waves. The attached Joint Statement provides detail of the 41 RM Delivery Offices and related PFW local depots involved.
There will be a ‘means test’ performed at the Delivery Offices involved in the activity to ensure that they have the capability to undertake the PFW work to the required standards. Details of the elements covered are contained in the attached Joint Statement. Colleagues will note that it has been accepted that it is likely that the ‘means test’ will identify that not all of the 41 Delivery Offices will be suitable to perform the PFW work. Where this is the case then further National discussions will take place to review or agree alternative Delivery Offices within the catchment area.
CWU representatives will be fully involved in the activity with appropriate Union release time provided to ensure meaningful involvement. The activity will be further supported by the CWU Area Delivery Representative and Area H&S Representative and Parcelforce Regional Organiser.
Each Delivery Office and local Depot can be deployed independently. No deployment will commence earlier than w/c 4th September 2023 and all 5 waves will be targeted to be completed by the end of October 2023.
Any impact on PFW and RM employees will be kept to a minimum wherever possible and will be managed in line with National agreements. PFW Drivers displaced as a result of the transfer of work to Royal Mail will migrate to vacant alternative substantive C&D routes, or routes covered by Owner Drivers or external resource. All headcount reduction will be achieved in line with paragraph 3.1.9 of the Job Security section of the Business Recovery, Transformation and Growth Agreement. Full cognisance will be taken of current earning levels that the affected individuals have signed for, as part of recent Parcelforce revision activity. Best efforts will be made to match individuals against an alternative C&D duty of equivalent duty hours.
Adjustments will be made to affected Royal Mail Delivery duties to ensure that the PFW workload can be accommodated within current structures, while retaining manageable workload.
The RM Delivery Offices and PFW Local Depots will need to ensure that the solution developed is focussed on delivering QofS for PFW parcels. RM DO’s will receive the relevant WIPWH (Weighted Items Per Work Hour) workload values relating to delivery and collection of PFW volumes.
PFW Depot, Regional Distribution and Mail Centre will coordinate, support and distribute parcels to the Delivery Office efficiently including the handling, loading, unloading of Yorks and non-Yorkable items.
The usual provisions have been made in respect of H&S responsibilities.
A PIR will take place following the deployment of all 5 Waves. However, if any major issues are flagged up during or after the deployment, all parties are committed to resolving them in a timely manner, rather than waiting for the PIR to take any corrective action required.
The outputs and learning points from the PIR will inform National discussions on the next phase of deployments into another 54 Delivery Offices, which have been identified for the transfer of rural workload. Planning work will progress in parallel with the first phase of transfers so that agreed deployment can commence in January 2024 for completion by the end of March 2024. Joint activity will also review opportunities to migrate Royal Mail large parcel workload into Parcelforce, where this delivers economic and operational benefits.
Arrangements are currently being finalised for a virtual joint launch meeting to take place with the representatives at the sites involved in the activity and an invite to participate will be sent to those individuals in due course.
Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to:
PFW & MCs and Distribution: Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org quoting reference: 054.13.
Delivery Offices: Mark Baulch, Assistant Secretary, email: njones@cwu.org quoting reference: 580.
Yours sincerely,
Davie Robertson Mick Kavanagh
Assistant Secretary Acting Assistant Secretary
219-23 BRTG Section 5 – Deployment PFW Rural Parcel Volumes into RM 23.08.23
CWU REPS BRIEFING
CWU REPS BRIEFING
ISSUE 2: UPDATE ON TALKS WITH ROYAL MAIL GROUP
TO ALL CWU REPS
Following on from Issue 1 of the CWU Reps Briefing we are now able to give an update on discussions that have been taking place with the employer on a range of issues.
We ask that you share the information within this briefing with all members.
ATTENDANCE PROCEDURE
We are pleased to report that significant progress has been made that removes Royal Mail Group’s executive action and two joint statements have been issued. Full details were shared via LTBs 215 and 216 and the CWU has secured:
- An improved migration process from the old standards to the new – benefitting thousands of CWU members.
- A delay in the implementation of the statutory sick pay arrangements until October 1st (originally August 1st).
- The right to appeal and have CWU representative at those appeals for AR1 and AR2 warnings.
- Ongoing discussions and reviews of the policy through the national joint working groups.
- A commitment from Royal Mail to negotiate a new Collective Agreement by the end of September.
Briefings on the changes will now be prepared for all CWU representatives.
MAIL CENTRE SURPLUSES
The discussions on surpluses have been ongoing and are now at a crucial stage. We have made progress and further talks are scheduled this week. We fully recognise the urgency of the situation for the members involved and have made this clear to Royal Mail. We will report further developments as soon as we have them.
BUSINESS RECOVERY, TRANSFORMATION AND GROWTH AGREEMENT
Quality of Service across the UK is at its worst level ever. Nothing will change until Royal Mail stop attacking their best asset – the workers. You feel it in the offices every day, the media cover it constantly, customers cannot rely on Royal Mail anymore and mass reputational damage is being done to the company.
Long term staff are leaving, new entrants are walking straight out of the door and the industry is rife with agency staff. If Royal Mail are to survive then now must be the turning point. Please be assured that we continue to raise these issues at the highest level of the business.
The company have indicated to us that they would like to jointly engage the regulator to discuss USO compliance and initial discussions have taken place between us and Royal Mail Group. At this point there is nothing significant to report other than the CWU will ensure all members input into our strategy in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we would urge members to ignore any rumours on this subject. If there are any developments, we will report them to you straight away. Be assured though – we are not in the market for letting Royal Mail off the hook on quality and USO compliance. Any discussions on the future of the USO will be fully in line with the agreement i.e. what is the best way to secure its future, whilst also recognising the need to develop our joint project on expanding the role of postal workers.
NATIONAL BRIEFING
An online briefing was held on 21st August This briefing updated your Branches on the issues above as well as recruitment and the Lord Falconer Independent Review. We have asked Branches to update you locally.
YOUR ROLE AS CWU REPRESENTATIVES
As with issue 1 of the briefing we ask that you share this information with your members in person, via office WhatsApp groups and social media pages.
Representatives should also be prepared for your Branch to commence intensive recruitment activity in the coming weeks aimed at targeting new entrants to the business. We would encourage you to pick this up in the workplace with immediate effect so we can hit the ground running.
Resources and materials will be available to support this later in the week
RM Property & Facilities Solutions Limited (PFSL) & CWU Joint Statement On The Cleaners Incentive Scheme
RM Property & Facilities Solutions Limited (PFSL) & CWU Joint Statement On The Cleaners Incentive Scheme
Branches and members will recall that the Royal Mail Property & Facilities Solutions Limited (RMPFSL) & CWU National Joint Statement Covering Pay and Associated Issues – 2022/23 & 2023/24, as detailed in LTB 044/23 (Letter To Branches) included a joint commitment to develop a one-off incentive scheme for cleaners.
Whilst initial progress was made in terms of concluding the full and final details for the scheme following the memberships endorsement of the Pay and Associated Issues Agreement, this stalled recently as a result of secondary trigger points sought by RMPFSL to its profit targets. Subsequently, and to seek to move the matter forward, both parties agreed to independent arbitration facilitated by ACAS.
Following this arbitration, we are now able to confirm that a Joint Statement has been agreed on the full details of the Incentive Scheme and which have now been endorsed by the Postal Executive. These details of the scheme are set out in the attached Royal Mail Property & Facilities Solutions Limited (PFSL) & CWU Joint Statement on the Cleaners Incentive Scheme 2023/2024.
Whilst the scheme is self-explanatory, it is confirmed that these finalised aspects and aims of the bonus scheme remain as initially set out, which are: –
- The scheme will be worth up to 2% of base pay in total (pro-rata for part-time workers)
- The scheme is based on two possible 1% payments during the year period of 2023 to 2024 (planned payment dates of December 2023 and June 2024)
- That the scheme is based on achieving objectives linked to increasing waste recycling
However, during the ACAS process, both parties did agree to amend the target points and whilst the scheme is linked to RMPFSL’s ‘cleaning’ profit targets, which is the self-funded aspect, more importantly, both parties further agreed to amend the recycling trigger points based on two overall scenarios. This also includes bonus payments being generated in full or part and against lower overall recycling levels. This in summary moves the scheme away from being a ‘pass or fail’ process to one which offers more opportunities to generate bonus payments.
Alongside this Joint Statement and the ongoing monthly reviews which will take place to monitor the scheme’s progress, the CWU and RMPFSL have agreed to undertake further joint communications among members on the nature and recycling target mechanism for the incentive scheme.
The conclusion of this Joint Statement and the establishment of this incentive scheme for cleaners, is a further aspect of the Pay and Associated Issues Agreement and Branches, Representatives, and members will be kept informed of ongoing progress in terms of the bonus scheme.
Any queries to the content of the above please contact the Outdoor Department reference 120.12, email address: njones@cwu.org
Yours sincerely,
Mick Kavanagh
Acting CWU Assistant Secretary
LTB 218-23 – RMPFSL Joint Satement on the Cleaners Incentive Scheme
RMPFSL and CWU Joint Statement on the Cleaners Incentive Scheme 2023 2024
CWU Accounts 2022
CWU Accounts 2022
Please find attached the Financial Statement required by Section 32A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 as amended, for the period 1st January to 31st December 2022.
Please can you ensure that this information is brought to the attention of the members of your Branch.
Also attached are the details of the monies that make up Branch Funds and including Regions. The attached document lists each Branch with the brought forward balance from 2021 and the closing balance for 2022. This demonstrates the movement in each account for the financial year 2022.
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
Statement 32a 2022 Auditors Report
Royal Mail Group: BRT&G Agreement Section 6.4 – Sick Pay Arrangements
Royal Mail Group: BRT&G Agreement Section 6.4 – Sick Pay Arrangements
Branches will be aware that the BRT&G Agreement included from 1st August 2023 the equivalent of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for the second absence (2 days), third absence (4 days) and for the fourth and any subsequent absence (3 days).
Royal Mail have informed us, due to complexities surrounding the updating of the payroll system, they are unable to implement the sick pay arrangements in respect of deductions of pay until November 2023. As a consequence of this situation we have agreed to revise the arrangements as follows and this is confirmed in the attached Joint Statement.
Any loss of pay will now apply from 1stOctober rather than 1st August coupled with the associated approach:
- If a member has a second or subsequent absence from 1st Octoberand before the payroll system is updated, their pay will be retrospectively adjusted from January 2024 to reflect the new sick pay arrangements as follows:
- A maximum of £50 per week (£200 per month), pro-rata for part-timers will be stopped from pay from 1stJanuary 2024 for the second absence and any subsequent that occurs from 1st October until the new pay system is in place (expected to be November 2023).
- With a ceiling of £50 per week, for most members this will be spread over 3 to 4 weeks for the second absence.
A Joint Working Group (JWG) has been established and a crucial aspect of its remit is to monitor absence rates in line with our shared commitment to reduce the cost of absence. Due to Royal Mail’s delay in implementing the new sick pay arrangements, we have agreed the 6-month reference period for monitoring absence rates as per Paragraph 6.4.1, and in particular the target of 5.5%, will commence from 1st October 2023. This is in keeping with the revised sick pay arrangements also applying from 1stOctober rather than 1st August.
Any enquiries should be send to the PTCS Department via email to khay@cwu.org
Yours sincerely
Andy Furey Carl Maden
Acting Deputy General Secretary (Postal) Assistant Secretary
23LTB216 Business Recovery, Transformation and Growth Agreement – Section 6.4 sick pay arrangements
Royal Mail Group: BRT&G Agreement Section 6.4 – Joint Statement and the Right to Representation
Royal Mail Group: BRT&G Agreement Section 6.4 – Joint Statement and the Right to Representation
Branches are advised we have concluded negotiations in respect of the Migration arrangements from the former standards to the new standards as part of Section 6.4 of the BRT&G Agreement and these have been endorsed by the Postal Executive. We have also finalised the Terms of Reference to establish the Joint Working Group which provides for a structured approach with positive timeframes for engagement on a range of aspects associated with Section 6.4.
The attached Joint Statement details both the migration arrangements and introduces the right of appeal for both AR1s and AR2s. We elaborate upon these matters below.
Migration Arrangements to the New Standards
Attendance Review (AR)1
- Members who have had an AR1 issued between 31st January and 30thApril 2023 who have not had an absence will come off the procedure.
- Members who have had 1 absence will continue with the original 6-month review period although the new standards of 3 absences or 12 days (compared to 2 absences and 10 days) will apply. If the absence is covered by the Equality Act, this will be discounted and the member will come off the procedure.
- Members who have received an AR1 since 1st May 2023, will stay on the process and the new standards and extended timescales will apply.
Attendance Review (AR)2
- Members who have had an AR 2 issued between 31st January and 30thApril 2023, will revert back to an AR1, from the date of the original issue, with the new standards and extended timescales applying.
- Members who have received an AR2 since 1st May 2023, will stay on the process and the new standards and extended timescales will apply.
We have secured improved migration arrangements for members who have been issued with either an AR1 or an AR2 prior to 1st May. The rationale for this approach is down to the fact the BRT&G Agreement was published on 21st April and therefore our members wouldn’t have been aware of the new standards in regards to AR1s or AR2s issued prior to this date. Following this logic, from 1st May AR1s or AR2s issued would have happened against the backdrop of the new standards being communicated.
The benefit of the Migration arrangements for those members who fall into the 31stJanuary – 30th April timeframe is substantial in respect of numbers. Indeed, thousands of members who received letters to their home addresses will be positively impacted by the Migration arrangements.
The Right of Appeal and Union Representation for Members Receiving AR1s and AR2s
Branches and Representatives will be acutely aware Royal Mail published a revised Absence Policy which effectively removed the right of representation. This position was apparent from their wider communications, including training materials. We strongly objected to this development which amounted to Executive Action. The removal of the Union being able to support our members was obviously a blatant attempt to stop our influence in defending our members.
This fundamental issue has taken time to resolve, along with the various other aspects in Section 6.4. We are now able to report the following, which has been endorsed by the Postal Executive:
Formal Appeals Against the Issuing of AR1s and AR2s
There will now be formal appeals against the issuing of either an AR1 or an AR2. This approach will enable full Union representation whereby our members can, in a formal hearing, object to the issuing of the AR notifications. The attached Joint Statement makes it clear this is a “right” for the member and the grounds for appeal are as follows:
- An error has been made
- New information has come to light concerning an absence which ‘counted’
- An important factor leading to an absence that was not given due consideration
- Another point of mitigation
We are convinced the introduction of formal Appeals provides a much stronger platform for members and Reps to air their concerns and objections to the AR1s and AR2s. Indeed, the extension of the Welcome Back Meetings in the BRT&G Agreement in respect of counting absences, made the previously agreed arrangements whereby our Reps supported members prior to the issuing of the AR1s and AR2s exceptionally difficult to maintain. As a consequence, we have adopted a different approach and in doing so have delivered on the conference policy of securing appeals against the issuing of AR1s and AR2s.
Revising the Collective Agreement for Attendance
As a consequence of the above, it is recognised by both parties the Collective Agreement on Attendance has been fundamentally changed following the BRT&G Agreement and subsequent Joint Statements. We have therefore committed to negotiate a revised Attendance Agreement, hopefully by the end of September to reflect these changes.
Any enquiries should be send to the PTCS Department via email to khay@cwu.org
Yours sincerely
Andy Furey Carl Maden
A/Deputy General Assistant Secretary
Secretary (Postal)
23LTB215 Business Recovery Transformation and Growth Agreement – Section 6.4
21.08.23 Joint Statement – Section 6.4.2 Migration and Standards
CWU Retired Members Conference 2023 – Online Registration
CWU Retired Members Conference 2023 – Online Registration
Further to LTB 202/23 Branches would wish to know that the online registration is open to register their delegates and observers to the Retired Members Conference taking place at CWU Headquarters, 150 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London SW19 1RX on Thursday 26th October 2023.
The link to access the webpage is as follows or this can be copied into the search browser:
Registration for the conference will close on Friday 6th October 2023.
Branches only with Retired members sections are entitled to send delegates to this conference.
The entitlement for each Branch is attached for your information. Branches need to have a delegate at the conference to be able to move a motion.
Please note that once a delegate has been registered using the online registration an agenda, when prepared, will be sent via the branch office to the individual(s). The agenda will also be published on the website nearer the date.
Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to Angela Niven by email to conferences@cwu.org
Yours sincerely,
A P Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary
23LTB214 – CWU Retired Members Conference 2023 – Online Registration
RMG/CWU Business Recovery, Transformation And Growth Agreement – Appendix 1 – Seasonal Variation
RMG/CWU Business Recovery, Transformation And Growth Agreement – Appendix 1 – Seasonal Variation
Further to LTB 191/23 (Letter To Branches) issued on the 18th July, which advised Branches and Representatives in terms of moving forward the commitments contained in the Business Transformation, Recovery and Growth Agreement in relation to Appendix 1, Seasonal Variation, and the very challenging timelines linked to this aspect of the agreement.
For the ongoing information and attention of Branches, Representatives, and members alike, please find attached the following: –
Annex 1 – National Seasonal Variation FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) Document Version 2
This is an updated version of the FAQ document attached to LTB 191/23, which includes a number of new FAQs based on initial feedback with the new Questions & Answers listed from 41 onwards.
Annex 2 – National Seasonal Variation WTLL Briefing Go Live Update
This is a further WTLL briefing to be issued and which confirms the ‘high season’ (under Seasonal Variation) will start on Monday 4th Septemberand run until Sunday 17th December, returning to the normal attendance patterns on Monday 18th December 2023.
Again, and in setting out the above, it is clear that there remains a number of wider questions from members in terms of Seasonal Variation. Therefore, we believe that the attached FAQ will assist in answering any of these outstanding questions and further offer clarification on what Seasonal Variation is, and what it is not. It is also important to further remind ourselves that Seasonal Variation is far removed from Royal Mail’s Annualised Hours and Total Flexibility plans, which were a key aspect of the National dispute.
Any queries to the content of the above please contact the Outdoor Department reference 532, email address: njones@cwu.org
Yours sincerely,
Mick Kavanagh
Acting CWU Assistant Secretary
LTB 213/23 – Business Recovery Transformation And Growth Agreement Appendix 1 – Seasonal Variation
Annex 1 – National Seasonal Variation FAQ (Frequently Asked Question) Do…
Annex 2 – National Seasonal Variation WTLL Briefing Go Live Update
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 