2019 National Pay Agreement – National Living Wage Foundation Rate For Cleaners

We were contacted by RMPFSL National Management some weeks ago in relation to the company informing us that they were uplifting salaries from April 2022 for the monthly pay run to those cleaners who will be below the National minimum pay rate of (£ 9.50 per hour) as this is a basic legal requirement.

However, during discussions with PFSL we reminded them that in fact the National Pay Agreement struck between PFSL and ourselves in 2019 committed the company over a 3-year period to annual yearly pay increases and to also more importantly track the pay of our cleaners to that of the real Living Wage Foundation recommended levels. In addition, the National Agreement also contained a further commitment that at the end of the 3-year lifetime cycle of the pay deal, cleaners would receive the real Living Wage Foundation rate if the incremental increases had not matched this rate by April 2022.

As a consequence, we have been in discussions with RMPFSL, outside of the formal pay talks which have yet to commence for this year’s pay, in order to ensure that the commitment as outline above is implemented and have jointly constructed the joint National Joint Statement which has been endorsed by the Postal Executive and is attached.

As you will note the National Joint Statement covers a number of areas and in particular that the monthly salary run should uplift the pay of our cleaning members from April to those hourly pay rates as recommended by the real Living Wage Foundation. However, due to difficulties within the payroll system the RLWF rates will be introduced in May but backdated to April. What this means from April 2022, is as follows:

Living Wage Foundation Rates & implementation 

£9.90   (ph.) National – Static cleaner + 5.9%

£11.05 (ph.) London Weighting area   + 1.9% (outer London)

What are the Current Rates? 

£ 9.35   (ph.) National – Static cleaner

£ 10.20 (ph.) National – Mobile Cleaner

£ 1.49   (ph.) Outer London weighting

£ 2.47   (ph.) Inner London weighting

As you will note from the current figures as outlined above, there is currently a defined separate boundary and rate for inner and outer London Weighting pay, which is a defined radius historically established, and is similar to that which is applied to the uniform grades in Royal Mail. However, in establishing that pay is determined by the RLWF rate, it has now become a complex situation (as the RLWF do not differentiate between the inner and outer boundaries and have one rate for all of the areas covered by the London Borough Councils). This is slightly higher than the current outer London Rate, but lower than the current inner London rate. In addition to the individuals outlined above within London, there are also currently a number of mobile cleaners who receive an hourly rate above that of the RLWF rate set from April 2022.

In total from both of these groups this amounts to 93 Cleaners. As the implementation is outside of the formal pay talks and pay round and is a simple uplift which has arisen from the 2019 commitment, these 93 members will not receive the uplift in pay which the overwhelming majority of cleaners will do from the 1^st April, but will have their hourly rates protected.

In addition to the above, the joint Statement also ensures that;

• The RLWF rates will be introduced outside of the formal pay talks, which have yet to start and are without prejudice to the outcome of these national discussions.
• The complication in payroll means that this will be done in two stages but with backdating to April.
• The current practice of 24 months for new entrant’s static cleaners to achieve max pay is ceased and they will now receive max pay on entry.
• Annual Review of RLWF rates and these to be applied each April to pay rates as a minimum, outside and without prejudice to those formal annual pay talks.
• Commitment that this year’s pay discussions will commence in April.
• Commitment that the impact of the RLWF rates along with the individuals which are pay protected will be monitored and reviewed.

Although RMPFSL are a separate bargaining unit within the RMG, the discussions have been difficult with the company as they have had to reluctantly accept the commitment they signed up to jointly within the pay deal in 2019, resulting in having to increase pay outside of the formal pay talks. In addition, they have been slow to commence the formal talks as they are very likely to have been given a steer from the Royal Mail Group in advance of the overall pay talks.

Further, and from our perspective, when we signed up to the National Pay Agreement in 2019, we did not know what the full impact of inflation would be, along with the current cost of living rises which are currently soaring. We were also unaware of how the impact of the RLWF rates would affect rates within London and the complication that this would initially cause with the one boundary impact and set level.

We will table a number of other increased pay and associated benefits which will take into account the current cost of living crisis and impact on our members, which will also include the group outlined in protected pay, and this will be placed before the Postal Executive and communicated to Branches in due course.

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

LTB 137-22- RM Property Facilities Solutions Limited (PFSL) CWU Joint Statement (002)

PFSL CWU Pay Joint Statement – Final 22.03.22

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CWU Annual Conference 2022 – Postal Conference Agenda Pad

Branches would wish to know that the 2022 Postal Conference Agenda Pad has now been published on the website and can be accessed using the following link:

A Pdf. copy has also been attached.    Hard copies of the agenda are in the process of being printed and will be distributed to branches when completed.

Any enquiries to this Letter to Branches should be addressed to conferences@cwu.org or call 020 8971 7256.

Yours sincerely

A P Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

22LTB139 – Annual Conference 2022 – Postal Conference Agenda Pad

POSTAL AGENDA 2022.doc

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CAPITA TVL: COST OF LIVING CRISIS – IMPROVED PAY OFFER REJECTED

Further to LTB129/22 dated 21^stMarch.  I am now in a position to report the headlines of the revised pay offer made by Capita TVL which has been considered by the Postal Executive earlier today.  Due to the paucity of the offer, the Postal Executive unanimously supported the recommendation to reject.  The key headlines are:

• Members earning above the Real Living Wage
  • a 3% pay increase to cover the 3 month period from 1^st January to 31^st March 2022 (this is conditional on moving the pay review date to 1st April 2023).
  • a further 1% increase with effect from 1st April 2022 which would provide for a 4% pay increase for 12 months.*

*The previously rejected offer was a mere 1.5% from 1^st January (for 3 months) increasing to 3% from 1^st April (for 12 months).

• Real Living Wage –Capita Group’s policy is to apply the Living Wage Foundation’s recommendation, meaning members earning the RLW will receive an increase from 1^st April 2022 from £9.50 to £9.90 per hour. This equates to a 4.2% pay rise.

We have written to Paul Johnston, Managing Director, TVL, to advise him of the Postal Executive policy whilst urging him to improve the pay offer.  This is necessary as we are in the midst of a cost of living crisis, with RPI inflation having risen to 8.2% for February.  It follows the rejected pay offer equates to less than 50% of current inflation, which is obviously not good enough.  We have also written directly to our TVL members to advise them of the situation and this letter is attached for information.

Further developments will be reported.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary

22LTB136 Capita TVL – Cost of Living Crisis – Improved Pay Offer Rejected

Attachment 1 to 22LTB136

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Royal Mail Group – New Updated ‘Stay Calm’ On-Line Digital Replacement – On Site Response and Guidance Dealing With Suspect Packages/Parcels, Dangerous Goods/Spillages, Office Flooding, Fires, Asbestos, Gas Leaks, Serious Accidents etc:

Royal Mail Group New Updated On-Line Digital ‘Stay Calm’

An updated version has been launched and this is an on-line digital replacement to the old ‘Stay Calm’ manuals and ‘Be Aware’ booklets. The Stay Calm on-line guide has been refreshed to make it more user friendly.

‘Stay Calm’ is primarily focussed on operational site managers and PiCs (Persons in Charge), but contains advice that will be of use to all RMG employees, CWU Health and Safety Reps in particular and other CWU Reps.

‘Stay Calm’ guides managers and PiCs on how they should respond to an incident such as a serious suspect parcel, dangerous goods, or an office flooding.  ‘Stay Calm’ provides guidance on responding to a wide range of incidents, advice on how to manage an evacuation and actions that can be taken in order to be better prepared for such incidents.

New Managers Stay Calm Smartphone App

The updated on-line ‘Stay Calm’ has been communicated to every RMG manager’s work ‘smart phone’ as a tile App (application). An image of the Stay Calm tile App is attached for your information.

‘Stay Calm’ On-Line Website

The new on-line ‘Stay Calm’ guide Website; https://staycalm.online/ is publicly available and anyone can bookmark it to create the tile app (see attached) You can then move the tile to where you can find it easily on your phone and become familiar with the contents. Please note you will not be able to access the CPC or Business Response sections.

• The structure of the website has been refined to make it more user friendly – there are two ways to navigate – either by the menu options in the top bar or by scrolling down the page to find the relevant sections. Scrolling down works very well on a phone.
• There are three main sections: 
  • Immediate Response: providing guidance on how to manage an evacuation, organising roll calls, liaising with emergency services, comms etc.
  • Incident specific guidance for a wide range of incident types. Changes have been made to simplify the advice shown, but no changes to content except for Suspect/Dangerous Items – see below. 
    • If you use the menu option then all incidents are listed alphabetically. If you scroll down, you’ll see a ‘Common Incidents’ section before an alphabetical list. This is to allow you to find ‘Suspect/Dangerous Items’ quickly.  Roles & Resources provides advice on how you can prepare for an incident, access to a blank unit plan etc.

• Suspect/Dangerous Items: Due to the increasing quantities of dangerous goods which can cause physical reactions but are not ‘suspect’, it’s been necessary to bring both type of incidents together to provide a common risk assessment, then provide different solutions – suspect or dangerous or other. Once decided, the advice in each section has not changed.

‘Stay Calm’ Sections Cover The Following:

Immediate response to incidents

• How to manage an evacuation
• Key contacts
• What to do if YOU have been evacuated
• Why contacting CPC is so important

Common incidents

• Suspect/dangerous items
• Serious accident
• Severe weather

Incident specific guidance 

• Active shooter/terrorist
• Asbestos
• Bomb threats
• Building damage
• Coronavirus
• Explosions
• Flooding
• Fires
• Fuel/Adblue/chemical spills
• Gas leaks
• GDPR data breach
• Health alerts
• Hostage situations
• Major public incidents
• Power loss
• Serious accident
• Severe weather
• Suspect/dangerous items
• Roles & Resources
• Incident log

Role specific guidance

• Preparing for an incident
• Your site plans
• Parcelforce unit plan
• Royal Mail unit plan

Central Postal Control CPC

If in doubt at any stage, the Office Manager/PiC should always call Central Postal Control (CPC). Central Postal Control deals with issues on a regular basis and will be able to talk the manager/PiC through how to deal with any situation. Telephone: 0345 266 1060.

The purpose of CPC is to provide a leadership response to any actual or potential threats to Royal Mail Group operations. CPC is available 24/7, 365 days of the year and CPC prioritises the safety and security of the workforce and the connectivity of RMG customers’ products.

‘Stay Calm’ On-Line Website – https://staycalm.online/ 

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

22LTB135 RMG New Updated Stay Calm On-Line Digital Replacement – Suspect Packages Parcels Dangerous Goods

New Managers Stay Calm Smartphone App

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Correspondence With Simon Thompson CEO Royal Mail Group – Health, Safety and Wellbeing in Royal Mail Group Going Forward in 2022 and onwards – Post Pandemic:

For your information, see attached exchange of correspondence with the Royal Mail Group CEO Simon Thompson and the newly appointed Interim Global Safety Director Phillip Graham regarding Health and Safety in Royal Mail Group going forward in 2022 as the business and nation emerges from two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. The correspondence follows up discussions that have been taking place with RMG Directors at the weekly RMG/CWU National Joint Coronavirus Operations Group meetings and separate discussions with RMG Property and Facilities Solutions Directors Martin Gafsen and Stuart Davies.

We have re-emphasised strongly the points repeatedly made during the pandemic and that is that RMG must learn the lessons of the last 2 years of the pandemic and make some positive, permanent changes to the following:

Improve RMG Buildings Ventilation                              

Dealing with indoor air pollution, improving air quality and filtration, deal with airborne viruses, germs, dust and particles. Install CO2 Monitors to measure air quality.

Improve Cleaning Standards                                         

Providing a better, cleaner, healthier workplace environment as well as promoting a healthy workplace and culture.

Improved Workspace                                                     

Facilitate a safe workplace, well-maintained equipment, with no obstructions in floors and traffic routes, windows kept cleaned, the right number of toilets and washbasins cleaned and maintained, drinking water and having somewhere to rest and eat meals. A healthy working environment, clean workplace with a reasonable working temperature, suitable lighting and the right amount of workspace and seating.

Accommodation Replacements and Uplifts                   

Expediting over 239 Delivery Offices that have been identified as needing action by way of uplifts or replacement.

Mental Health, Stress and Anxiety                                

RMG need to pay attention to the growing mental health, work stress and anxiety problems that existed before the pandemic which have worsened during it. RMG need to take cognisance of the Government (Department for Work and Pensions) sponsored independent ‘Thriving at Work’ report, the independent review of mental health at work by Lord Dennis Stevenson and Paul Farmerwhich sets out what employers can do to better support all employees with mental health problems.

Reinstate Safety as No1                                                 

Because Safety isn’t Number 1 right now! The Royal Mail Group Safety Health and Environment (SHE) Team have been cut, cut and cut again since 2012. The 17 strong Integrated, Safety Audit has just been abolished. Cutting costs in this way leads to cutting corners and there’s too much corner cutting in RMG. Proactive management of safety and health in the workplace helps prevent accidents, injuries and ill-health but a well-resourced safety team is needed to achieve that goal by achieving compliance. Good health and safety risk control systems, standards, policies, plans and procedures alone are not worth the paper they are written on if they are ignored. RMG has a legal and moral obligation to comply with the law and keep the workforce safe. RMG need to improve workplace safety culture, boost morale and generate a better understanding of dealing with safety hazards and risks in order to fully implement a health and safety system that can keep the workforce safe and reduce accidents and ill health.

See attached: 

• Letter to the RMG Chief Executive Officer dated 9 March 2022.
• Reply on behalf of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer by the new Interim Global Safety Director dated 22 March with attachments on RMG First Class support, RMG Mental Health Support and RMG Health and Wellbeing Support.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

22LTB133 Correspondence With Simon Thompson CEO RMG – Health, Safety and Wellbeing in RMG in 2022 and onwards – Post Pandemic

Attachment 1

Attachment 2

First Class Support Services

Mental Health Support

Health Wellbeing

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Reinstatement of Doorstep Signature Capture on Signed-For Deliveries:

Throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, the joint priority of Royal Mail and the CWU has beento protect our members and customers.

In order to maintain a Covid secure workplace, one of the many Covid-19 controls introduced was to temporarily suspend the capture of signatures from customers on Personal Delivery Assistants (PDAs) from 14 March 2020 in order to maintain social distancing and reduce potential risk of transmission of the virus whilst using the Personal Delivery Assistants (PDAs) in close contact with customers.

The UK Government has, as you know, now removed all Covid restrictions in England, as has the Northern Ireland Government. The remaining Covid restrictions and rules are in the process of being removed by the devolved administrations of Scotland and Wales over the next two weeks as two years on, life is now increasingly returning to normal and normal services are being restored by all industries across the UK, including public transport which is now operating at virtually full capacity.

Against this backdrop, Royal Mail have informed the Union that customers, both major companies and the public are asking for signatures to be reinstated as they value (and pay for) the added proof of delivery assurance that Royal Mail’s secure delivery signature feature provides them with.

Royal Mail and Parcelforce are increasingly using ‘Capture Photo’ to confirm proof of delivery but it is likely that there will always be some items that require a signature to be recorded and captured.

Start Date:

Following discussions with Royal Mail who have consulted CWU/HQ on this issue, Royal Mail will re-instate signature capture as a Standard Operating Procedure from 4 April 2022.  There is no proposal from Parcelforce at this time to re-instate signature capture.

Initial and Refresher Training:

In order to ensure that in Offices where staff may need initial or refresher training, this should be provide as soon as possible with a view to full re-instatement of signed-for, signature capture deliveries being in place by 30 April 2022. This is in order to give workplace coaches time to check in with new starters and those that need a refresher.

WTLL Staff Briefing:

The WTLL Staff Briefing on ‘Re-instatement of Signature Capture’ for the delivery workforce has been finalised and is attached. This will be delivered by DOMs and WPCs. CWU Safety and IR Reps will be fully involved.

PPE

PPE will be provided to all delivery staff requesting it and this will include gloves, hand sanitiser and facemasks if required. The message to members is please do utilise and use the PPE items if you wish and maintain good hygiene standards. PPE use is recommended but not mandatory, in line with Government guidance.

Dog Awareness

Royal Mail and CWU agree that the safety of our delivery workforce is paramount, and dog awareness must be taken seriously. We have worked hand-in-hand with RMG over a number of years to minimise the risk to colleagues from dog attacks and to develop the right tools and procedures to keep our colleagues safe from harm by dangerous dogs. Royal Mail and the CWU are in full agreement that at this time of change and transition back to ‘business as usual’, capturing signatures once again, it is crucial that delivery and collections staff are reminded of the correct procedures around dog awareness. More than 80% of dog attacks take place on the doorstep and garden path. Many households previously without dogs have acquired a pet during lockdown and it is estimated that the UK now has 17 million pet owning homes, with the majority of them being dog owners. While members are collecting signatures at the door they are at a higher risk of a dog attack. Members should therefore be vigilant at all times and be alert to a possible increase in the number of dogs they encounter on their rounds when delivering parcels or signed for items to addresses with a dog. The WTLL Briefing will make reference to dog awareness and the risks that will be present. Additionally, a second WTLL Briefing on dog awareness will be delivered concentrating on the ‘AVOID’ acronym message;

The AVOID message, outlined below, is crucial at this time. ‘AVOID and Stay Safe’

• Avoid: interacting with any dogs. More than 80% of dog attacks happen at a customer’s door or in their garden so take no risks and never put your fingers through a letterbox. Never accept a dog owner’s assurances – always ask owners to restrain their dogs – put them in a secure place and step away.
• Value yourself: It could happen to you – don’t think it can’t!
• Observe: Check your Walk Log and mark your frame with yellow dots.
• Inform: Report all new dogs to your manager. Report all incidents involving dogs no matter how minor – all dog attacks must be reported to the manager, Police, Royal Mail Security Helpdesk and the Royal Mail USO share-point.
• Defend: Use your delivery equipment (pouch or trolley) to form a barrier and defend yourself if necessary.

Managers and Workplace Coaches have been requested to ensure that staff are briefed on the importance of using ‘AVOID’ and being dog aware.

Risk of Confrontation

The risk of confrontation is to be briefed to staff and is included in the second WTLL Briefing along with dogs. The agreed position is that if delivery staff at any time feel threatened or find themselves in conflict with a customer then they should remove themselves from the threat and leave the item if necessary and leave the premises.  It is important that, if at any stage a frontline employee feels threatened or in danger, they should walk away from the doorstep (leaving the item if unable to take the item back) and inform the Security Helpdesk, their manager and the police (if required). 

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

A revised and updated ‘Standard Operating Procedure’ (SOP) has been drawn up and is attached. This will be briefed to staff and be part of the training.

Attached please find copies of:

• WTLL Staff Briefing ‘Re-instatement of Signature Capture’ for the delivery workforce via DOMs and WPCs.
• WTLL Staff Briefing on Dog Awareness and Risk of Customer Confrontation as Signature Capture is re-instated and Capture Photo on Delivery is embedded as a delivery feature.
• Standard Operating Procedure covering; Delivering Barcoded Items, Inflight Requests, Delivering To Customers and Signature Capture, Age and ID Verification, Capture Photo, Delivery To Neighbour, Not Delivered, Local Collect – Special Delivery, International, RM ‘Signed For’, RM Tracked Items and Barcoded Parcels, Issue Preventing Signing For the Item(s) of Mail and PDA Contingency.
• Three examples of RM plasma screen shots which will appear on screens during April.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

Mark Baulch
Assistant Secretary

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary                                           

22LTB134 Reinstatement of Doorstep Signature Capture on Signed-For Deliveries

Re-instate Signature Capture Brief V1.2 21032022

Dog Awareness Brief ZW V1

SOP D22.2 Deliver Barcoded Items (1)

Signature Capture TV Screen1

Signature Capture TV Screen2

Signature Capture TV Screen3

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Coronavirus Update – Planned Easing of Covid-19 Restrictions in Scotland:

Further to earlier LTBs, this is a summary update following last week’s announcement by the Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and a subsequent communication to all managers in Scotland by Royal Mail Group on Friday evening 18 March.

The Covid-19 restrictions in Scotland including ‘mandatory face masks/coverings had been set to be scrapped today, Monday 21 March.

The Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced on Tuesday that the requirement to wear masks in certain indoor settings and public transport will be extended for another two weeks to 4 April to help get over an ‘infection spike more quickly.’

From last Friday, and in line with other UK nations, all remaining Covid-related travel restrictions and remaining domestic legal measures were lifted and replaced with appropriate guidance which includes requirements on businesses, service providers and places of worship to retain customer contact details.

The face masks/covering rule will be reviewed again in two weeks – before Easter recess – with the expectation that this regulation will be removed and converted to guidance in early April.

As for testing, for the next month until Easter, there will be no change to official advice. That is, if you don’t have symptoms, you should continue for now to use a lateral flow test twice weekly, daily for seven days if you are a close contact of a positive case, and before visiting someone who is vulnerable.

If you have symptoms, you should continue to get a PCR test, either at a testing site or by post. However, from 18 April the Scottish government will no longer advise people without symptoms to test twice weekly.

Physical test sites will begin to close in Scotland at the end of April – although mobile testing units and lab capacity will be retained for longer term testing purposes.

Royal Mail Group have informed CWU/HQ that with no material changes to Covid-19 restrictions arrangements in Scotland from Monday 21 March a communication has been shared via the RMG North SHE Advisors through the RMG North SHE Business Partner which in summary states:

• The requirement to wear a face mask/covering in Royal Mail Group indoor settings in Scotland will remain mandatory for the time being.
• PCR tests remain available for those with symptoms.
• LFD tests are available for those without symptoms who have been a close contact with a positive case and before visiting a vulnerable person.
• People who test positive are still required to self-isolate. Further guidance is here: https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/

Further updates will be circulated in due course.

Any management enquiries should be directed to Dan Clarke Royal Mail Group National Health & Wellbeing Manager.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

22LTB131 Coronavirus Update – Planned Easing of Covid-19 Restrictions in Scotland

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NEW DEAL FOR WORKER RALLY – SATURDAY 18^TH JUNE 2022 – PRIORITY ENGAGEMENT FOR ALL BRANCHES

Further to LTB 123/22, the TUC has now confirmed that the New Deal for Workers Rally will be held on Saturday 18^th June in London. It is important that all branches save this date and begin mobilisation plans.

This is a key event for the whole of the trade union movement, and we will be working with other unions and community organisations on a tour of the UK, in advance of the national rally, to promote the campaign and to plan for a mass turnout in London.

With almost three months until the rally, it is vital that branches begin preparations to deliver the biggest possible turnout on the day. We encourage all branches to book coaches in advance and where financially possible, consider releasing as many of our local reps as possible to attend, as well as mobilising as many members, family and friends to join us.

In the coming weeks and months, the union will also be building up our engagement directly with our branches, reps and members on the overall objectives of the campaign and how we will collectively move this forward.

Further information will follow in due course.

Any enquiries on the above should be addressed to the General Secretary at jdunn@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward
General Secretary 

22LTB130 NEW DEAL FOR WORKER RALLY SATURDAY 18TH JUNE 2022 PRIORITY ENGAGEMENT FOR ALL BRANCHES

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CAPITA TVL: PAY 1^STJANUARY 2022 – REVISED OFFER

Further to LTB120/22 dated 15th March.

Branches are advised that following further representations via correspondence we have now received a revised and improved pay offer from Capita.  The new offer has been shared with our senior Reps on the TVL contract for feedback.

As previously indicated, a further report will be provided to the Postal Executive in order to determine next steps.  This will happen on Wednesday.  Thereafter further communications will be undertaken directly with our Capita members.  Effectively we plan to provide details in respect of the revised offer along with the Postal Executive policy once our deliberations are complete.

Further developments will be reported.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary

22LTB129 Capita TVL Pay – 1st January 2022 – Revised Offer

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