Royal Mail: PFSL – National Minimum Wage Uplift for Cleaners 

Branches are advised that PFSL management have confirmed that the hourly pay rate for our Cleaning members will rise in line with the National Minimum Wage legislation from April. This means our cleaning members who were on £12.60 per hour as agreed in the last pay negotiation will receive an increase to £12.71 per hour.

Pay Negotiations for the 2026 Pay Review 

Branches are also advised that yesterday, Postal Executive members, Bobby Weatherall,  Alan Tate and myself met PFSL management to commence pay negotiations for all of our members in PFSL in line with LTB 067/26 dated 5^th March.

This initial meeting afforded us with the opportunity to elaborate on our formal claim which includes the objective of securing the Real Living Wage hourly rate for our cleaning members. It should therefore be noted that the increase referred above is outside of the pay negotiations as it is occurring due to the legislation surrounding the National Minimum Wage.

Further pay negotiations have been scheduled in the coming weeks and further developments will be reported as appropriate.

Any queries in relation to this LTB should be directed to Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey 

Assistant Secretary 

LTB 089/26 – Royal Mail PFSL – National Minimum Wage for Cleaners

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EUREST (EX QUADRANT) PAY SETTLEMENT 2026

The annual Pay Review Date for our Ex-Quadrant members in Eurest was 1^st April and the department has been in discussions with Compass Group/ Eurest on achieving a settlement for the April 1^st Pay date.

It was anticipated the discussions this year could prove extremely difficult, especially against the backdrop of another significant rise to the National Living Wage (NLW), which is relevant with regard to our National C Grade members. The rise in the NLW this year (4.1%) far outstripped all inflation measures and again, made reaching a uniform agreement for all grades extremely challenging.

A negotiators agreement has now been reached with the employer on pay for all CWU grades in Compass Group/Eurest, which has been endorsed by the Postal Executive.

1. 50p minimum increase to each hourly rate of pay thus maintaining the 9p differential to NLW for the National C grades (lowest paid grade), a priority issue for the department, where the 50p uplift would fall below 3% the business have confirmed all employees will receive a minimum of 3% increase.
2. The retention of the £1 premium (O/T) rate for all grades as per current arrangements for hours worked over and above 37.5. I.E. Overtime is paid at £1 per hour more than the standard hourly rate.
3. No change to Night duty allowance rates or rules.

On basic pay the above process is in line with 2025’s pay agreement and does apply a uniform monetary pay uplift for all Grades across the three Pay Ranges. It also ensures that the previous commitment to maintain the Premium overtime hourly rate at £1 above basic pay rate.

As with the 2026 deal the uniform uplift in pay rates results in varying percentage pay rises depending on the starting point. Rises range between 4.1% for National C Grade employees to 3% for Inner London A Grade employees. In the case of the National C Grade although the full 4.1% increase would not have been required to honour the NLW, we have been successful in ensuring that the full uplift was achieved to ensure that we maintain the buffer between C Grade pay and the NLW. C Grade employees are by far the majority grade within the Eurest structure.

Following discussions with the employer, arrangements are being made to ensure that the pay uplifts will be included in April salaries, should the deal be endorsed. If that is not possible then as a minimum, pay for the National C Grade will be uplifted to the new National Minimum Wage from April 1^st with remaining rises applied subsequently and backdated to the pay review date.

The ballot timetable will be:

Papers Despatched: Wednesday 25^thMarch 2026

Closing Date and result: Tuesday 14^thApril 2026

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 085/26.

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson

Assistant Secretary

LTB 085/26 – EUREST (EX QUADRANT) PAY SETTLEMENT 2026

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APPOINTMENT OF DAVE WARD TO FAIR WORK AGENCY ADVISORY BOARD

The purpose of this LTB is to let branches know that I have been appointed as a trade union representative member of the Fair Work Agency Advisory Board.

The Fair Work Agency (FWA), launching in April 2026, is the government’s new employment rights enforcement agency. The FWA brings together existing labour enforcement agencies and new enforcement powers to ensure employers are compliant with employment law and that the newly introduced Employment Rights Act is complied with. It will have the power to investigate and take action against businesses who do not comply with the law, providing more security for workers across the country. The creation of the Fair Work Agency was a key pillar of the New Deal for Workers and will provide another method of enforcing workers rights, without always relying on the tribunal system. You can find out more about the Fair Work Agency here.

The Advisory Board of the FWA will shape the strategy of the agency and focus the management of its resources in a complex and quickly-evolving world of work. The Board is comprised of employer representatives, independent representatives and trade union representatives. I will be joined by Diana Holland, formerly of Unite and Mike Clancy, General Secretary of Prospect. This role does not distract from my responsibilities as General Secretary in any way.

This is a significant opportunity for trade unions to develop a truly effective strategy for the FWA, for both the present and the future, and ensure the vital policies contained within the Employment Rights Act are enforced properly and are not avoided by employers. Formal trade union representation in our key labour enforcement body is another step towards rectifying the imbalance in the world of work and bringing power back into workplaces across the country.

Please contact the General Secretary’s Department for more information or any questions at dlynch@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,                                   

Dave Ward                                                   

General Secretary    

LTB 088/26 – APPOINTMENT OF DAVE WARD TO FAIR WORK AGENCY ADVISORY BOARD       

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Branches and Representatives are advised that our members who are in the Royal Mail Defined Contribution Plan – RMDCP – are due to imminently receive an important communication from the Trustee (Appendix A) advising that the scheme is winding up with all savings/assets invested moving to the Legal & General Mastertrust from July 2026.

Background

For clarity purposes eligibility to be a member of the RMDCP scheme members would have to have been employed by Royal Mail between 1st April 2008 and 6th October 2024.

The RMDCP scheme has been administered from its inception by Scottish Widows and essentially operates on the basis that each individual has a pension pot which sits within an overall investment plan (either the Default Lifecycle option or one of their choice), with the aim of growing the pot over time through the investment returns.  The assumption that Scottish Widows adopts in terms of investments is that members will take their pension pot at age 65 (although it can be taken from age 55).

As a consequence of the introduction of the new Collective Plan, the RMDCP was closed to new entrants on 7th October 2024 and subsequently completely closed to new payments on 6th October 2025, which rendered it a “legacy scheme”.  This position led to the Trustee of the RMDCP, along with Royal Mail, to make a decision to move all monies held in the RMDCP to a Master Trust.  An extensive selection process was undertaken to identify a suitable destination for members’ pots and Legal & General was chosen from the shortlist.

From July 2026, the L&G Mastertrust will receive retirement savings/assets from the RMDCP which will be placed into a default fund called “The Lifetime Advantage Fund”.  The L&G Mastertrust is one of the largest in the UK and became the first insurance-based master trust to reach £30bn in assets.  The RMDCP Trustee states “This scale, alongside the member experience offering and investment choices impressed the Trustees and made it the clear choice for member pots”.  

L&G is a major UK financial services company that runs pensions and investments for millions of people, and a master trust is a type of pension scheme used by many employers.  Because a master trust looks after a very large number of members:

• it can offer lower charges
• better online services
• and more support as members approach retirement.

As a consequence of the RMDCP Trustee decision, I have been in further dialogue with the Scheme Executive regarding the transfer of member assets to the Legal and General Mastertrust to clarify a number of points, particularly around scheme membership numbers, death in service, Ill health Retirement etc.  I have received helpful responses (in blue) to my questions, which are reproduced in the attached Appendix B.

The Postal Executive has recently received a presentation from the RMDCP Executive along with a Legal & General expert and is satisfied that these changes are positive overall and to the benefit of our members currently in the RMDCP.

It should be noted that more information can be obtained from the dedicated microsite that L&G have set up. The link is as follows and is live now:

www.legalandgeneral.com/rmdcp

Furthermore, two Webinars have been arranged as follows:

Tuesday 14^th April 10.30 to 11.30

Thursday 23^rd April 14.00 to 15.00

RMDCP members will be encouraged to join the webinar and pose questions. Registration for the Webinars can be made via the microsite. The RMDCP Executive is also planning wider communications to engage with scheme members.

In conclusion, the Postal Executive has carefully considered this matter and is of the opinion that the move away from Scottish Widows to the L&G Mastertrust is a positive development.

Any queries in relation to this LTB should be directed to Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary

Attachment 1: 26LTB087 -Royal Mail – Winding up the RMDCP Scheme – L&G Mastertrust

Attachment 2: Appendix A

Attachment 3: Appendix B

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ROYAL MAIL: WINDING UP THE RMDCP SCHEME – TRANSFER OF MEMBER ASSETS TO LEGAL AND GENERAL MASTERTRUST IN JULY 2026

Branches and Representatives are advised that our members who are in the Royal Mail Defined Contribution Plan – RMDCP – are due to imminently receive an important communication from the Trustee (Appendix A) advising that the scheme is winding up with all savings/assets invested moving to the Legal & General Mastertrust from July 2026.

Background

For clarity purposes eligibility to be a member of the RMDCP scheme members would have to have been employed by Royal Mail between 1st April 2008 and 6th October 2024.

The RMDCP scheme has been administered from its inception by Scottish Widows and essentially operates on the basis that each individual has a pension pot which sits within an overall investment plan (either the Default Lifecycle option or one of their choice), with the aim of growing the pot over time through the investment returns.  The assumption that Scottish Widows adopts in terms of investments is that members will take their pension pot at age 65 (although it can be taken from age 55).

As a consequence of the introduction of the new Collective Plan, the RMDCP was closed to new entrants on 7th October 2024 and subsequently completely closed to new payments on 6th October 2025, which rendered it a “legacy scheme”.  This position led to the Trustee of the RMDCP, along with Royal Mail, to make a decision to move all monies held in the RMDCP to a Master Trust.  An extensive selection process was undertaken to identify a suitable destination for members’ pots and Legal & General was chosen from the shortlist.

From July 2026, the L&G Mastertrust will receive retirement savings/assets from the RMDCP which will be placed into a default fund called “The Lifetime Advantage Fund”.  The L&G Mastertrust is one of the largest in the UK and became the first insurance-based master trust to reach £30bn in assets.  The RMDCP Trustee states “This scale, alongside the member experience offering and investment choices impressed the Trustees and made it the clear choice for member pots”.  

L&G is a major UK financial services company that runs pensions and investments for millions of people, and a master trust is a type of pension scheme used by many employers.  Because a master trust looks after a very large number of members:

• it can offer lower charges
• better online services
• and more support as members approach retirement.

As a consequence of the RMDCP Trustee decision, I have been in further dialogue with the Scheme Executive regarding the transfer of member assets to the Legal and General Mastertrust to clarify a number of points, particularly around scheme membership numbers, death in service, Ill health Retirement etc.  I have received helpful responses (in blue) to my questions, which are reproduced in the attached Appendix B.

The Postal Executive has recently received a presentation from the RMDCP Executive along with a Legal & General expert and is satisfied that these changes are positive overall and to the benefit of our members currently in the RMDCP.

It should be noted that more information can be obtained from the dedicated microsite that L&G have set up. The link is as follows and is live now:

www.legalandgeneral.com/rmdcp

Furthermore, two Webinars have been arranged as follows:

Tuesday 14^th April 10.30 to 11.30

Thursday 23^rd April 14.00 to 15.00

RMDCP members will be encouraged to join the webinar and pose questions. Registration for the Webinars can be made via the microsite. The RMDCP Executive is also planning wider communications to engage with scheme members.

In conclusion, the Postal Executive has carefully considered this matter and is of the opinion that the move away from Scottish Widows to the L&G Mastertrust is a positive development.

Any queries in relation to this LTB should be directed to Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary

Attachment 1: 26LTB087 -Royal Mail – Winding up the RMDCP Scheme – L&G Mastertrust

Attachment 2: Appendix A

Attachment 3: Appendix B

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Royal Mail: Sports and Social Clubs – RM Decision to Stop Subscriptions from Payroll – DRP Registered

Further to LTB 074/26 dated 6^th March 2026, Branches are advised that management have refused to accept that the Point of Principle in respect of this issue is appropriate to a DRP. They argue that “it is not a negotiable matter” and that they are simply adhering to their own policy, that allows them to cease the subscriptions from payroll.

We naturally disagree with the position outlined above, as the unilateral decision by Royal Mail impacts detrimentally on the Sports & Social Clubs, as well as thousands of our members right across the entire company.

Consequently, due to the unacceptable obstacles put in the way of our DRP, we have escalated the Point of Principle disagreement to Kieran Judd, Chief People Officer, with the aim of entering meaningful negotiations. At the time of writing this LTB, we are awaiting a reply.

We continue to receive distressing emails from Club Secretaries/Committees, all of whom are extremely worried about these unwelcome developments. In fact, without exception, they all report that the ill-conceived actions of Royal Mail will seriously jeopardise the future wellbeing, and potentially the existence of the clubs.   Additionally, concerns have been received from Branches about the future status of subscriptions from payroll to both Credit Unions & Gyms.

As a reminder the justification from Royal Mail is “simplification” of the payroll systems; however, the current arrangements have been in place for tens of years and there is absolutely no reason why Royal Mail cannot do the right thing by continuing with the arrangements that everyone is happy with.

Essentially, Royal Mail has managed to create upset amongst both club members and the volunteers who run these clubs for the benefit of our members. It can only be hoped that common sense will prevail and that Royal Mail makes a revised decision that supports the Sports & Social Clubs.

In the meantime, Branches are encouraged to proactively engage with the local clubs and to advise them we are doing everything possible to reverse this decision. The clubs are also urged to write to payroll objecting to the changes planned.

Further developments will be reported.

Any queries in relation to this LTB should be directed to Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey 

Assistant Secretary 

LTB 086/26 – RM Sports and Social Clubs – Decision to Stop Subs from Payroll

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Royal Mail: Business Standards 2026 – Revised Version

Branches are advised that Royal Mail is today publishing its revised Business Standards for 2026 which are attached.

Clearly, the Business Standards and especially the use of them for Conduct purposes by Royal Mail have been controversial. Indeed, our Branches & Representatives will be fully aware that during the 2022 dispute, the Royal Mail Business Standards were weaponised against our members and reps. This position culminated in the Lord Falconer Review, which exposed the actions of Royal Mail and its use of the Business Standards as a catch-all for charges of gross misconduct.

In the last year, we have been engaging with Royal Mail with the aim of ensuring the Business Standards are less focused on Conduct measures and considerably less threat-centred. To this end, we have been successful in convincing Royal Mail to remove numerous references to “Conduct” from the Business Standards, which we believed were unnecessary.

It should be noted that the Royal Mail Business Standards are not agreed by the union. That said, there has been genuine consultation with us, and we have had the opportunity to make suggestions to improve it and therefore influence the final version. Hence, there is considerably less reliance on the word “conduct”. However, this doesn’t mean it has been removed in its entirety; it is just back to the normal levels seen in earlier versions.

It follows that the company’s Business Standards have been improved and are therefore now more acceptable to us in comparison to the previous version. However, they still remain Royal Mail’s Business Standards and are not agreed with the union.

One particularly positive aspect of the new Business Standards appears on Page 8 under the sub-heading “Trade union activities and industrial action”. The wording overleaf is far superior to the language in the previous version:

“We support your right to join one of our recognised trade unions, the CWU and Unite/CMA, with whom we have worked for over a century”

The Postal Executive, when considering these developments, felt that it was important that our Branches & Representatives were fully aware that the union has been engaging with management on these critical aspects of the new Business Standards, as no doubt local managers will at times reference them. It is therefore important that our activists are knowledgeable about these matters and can reference the document when needed.

Any queries in relation to this LTB should be directed to Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey 

Assistant Secretary 

LTB 084/26 – Royal Mail Business Standards 2026 – Revised Version

Attachment to LTB 084/26

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EUREST (EX QUADRANT) PAY SETTLEMENT 2026

The annual Pay Review Date for our Ex-Quadrant members in Eurest was 1^st April and the department has been in discussions with Compass Group/ Eurest on achieving a settlement for the April 1^st Pay date.

It was anticipated the discussions this year could prove extremely difficult, especially against the backdrop of another significant rise to the National Living Wage (NLW), which is relevant with regard to our National C Grade members. The rise in the NLW this year (4.1%) far outstripped all inflation measures and again, made reaching a uniform agreement for all grades extremely challenging.

A negotiators agreement has now been reached with the employer on pay for all CWU grades in Compass Group/Eurest, which has been endorsed by the Postal Executive.

1. 50p minimum increase to each hourly rate of pay thus maintaining the 9p differential to NLW for the National C grades (lowest paid grade), a priority issue for the department, where the 50p uplift would fall below 3% the business have confirmed all employees will receive a minimum of 3% increase.
2. The retention of the £1 premium (O/T) rate for all grades as per current arrangements for hours worked over and above 37.5. I.E. Overtime is paid at £1 per hour more than the standard hourly rate.
3. No change to Night duty allowance rates or rules.

On basic pay the above process is in line with 2025’s pay agreement and does apply a uniform monetary pay uplift for all Grades across the three Pay Ranges. It also ensures that the previous commitment to maintain the Premium overtime hourly rate at £1 above basic pay rate.

As with the 2026 deal the uniform uplift in pay rates results in varying percentage pay rises depending on the starting point. Rises range between 4.1% for National C Grade employees to 3% for Inner London A Grade employees. In the case of the National C Grade although the full 4.1% increase would not have been required to honour the NLW, we have been successful in ensuring that the full uplift was achieved to ensure that we maintain the buffer between C Grade pay and the NLW. C Grade employees are by far the majority grade within the Eurest structure.

Following discussions with the employer, arrangements are being made to ensure that the pay uplifts will be included in April salaries, should the deal be endorsed. If that is not possible then as a minimum, pay for the National C Grade will be uplifted to the new National Minimum Wage from April 1^st with remaining rises applied subsequently and backdated to the pay review date.

The ballot timetable will be:

Papers Despatched: Wednesday 25^th March 2026

Closing Date and result: Tuesday 14^th April 2026

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 085/26.

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson

Assistant Secretary

LTB 085/26 – EUREST (EX QUADRANT) PAY SETTLEMENT 2026

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BUSINESS AND TRADE SELECT COMMITTEE 24TH OF MARCH 2026

Further to LTB 073/26, branches will be aware that the Business and Trade Select Committee has called Royal Mail, the CWU and Ofcom to an evidence session the 24th of March. Branches are advised they can view the session, which is set to begin at approximately 2:30pm, through this link here.

The CWU will be giving key evidence regarding the service crisis in Royal Mail and the experiences of frontline postal workers to show what has really been happening at Royal Mail over the last few years. This is an important moment for the union and a crucial step in getting politicians and the public to understand some of the wider challenges that our members are facing and our concern over the future direction of the company.

Ahead of this session, we are asking reps and members to write to the Business and Trade Select Committee before the 24th, with their experiences of being a frontline postal worker, particularly in regards to the management of the workplace and the negative impact of the two-tier workforce.

If they have not already done so, reps and members can write directly to the Chair of the Business and Trade Select Committee, Liam Byrne MP, at commonsbtc@parliament.uk.

We have heard from members who have asked about privacy concerns and possible repercussions from the employer. We also know from past experiences that Royal Mail have created a climate of fear over the workforce speaking out. We therefore recommend that any communications to the Committee include a clear request to keep any evidence presented in Parliament free of any identifying information. 

Branches will be aware that we have also asked members and reps to write to their own MPs with a factsheet with key information and asks. We have had thousands of letters sent and an influx of attention on the issue in Parliament as a result. We know this is having a major impact and we are asking reps and branches to ensure that there is as much engagement with this as possible. Members can write to their MP easily via this link.Please encourage all members to take two minutes to email their MP.

We can also advise branches and reps that we will provide an update on the talks with the company and yesterday’s meeting with the Secretary of State early next week.

If you have any further questions, please contact the General Secretary’s Department at dlynch@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward

General Secretary

Martin Walsh

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)      

LTB 083/26 – BUSINESS AND TRADE SELECT COMMITTEE 24TH OF MARCH 2026

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• Ballot result Royal Mail Processing Engineering Territorial Representative – Northern

Further to LTB 066/26 dated 5^thMarch 2026, please see below the ballot results for the above position:-Andrew Cutten40Stephen Haggerty83*ElectedMark Hobin80*ElectedIan McMullon57*Elected

Any enquiries regarding this letter to Branches should be addressed by email to lparrett@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Walsh

Deputy General Secretary (P)

LTB 082/26

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Together Alliance March – Saturday 28^thMarch 2026, Central London

Further to LTB 028/26 we would like to update branches on the Together Alliance March taking place on Saturday 28^th Marchin Central London.

Location and Start time:  The March will commence from Park Lane. Please check this link for exact details on how to get to the starting point. There is also a much shorter walk from Trafalgar Square to Whitehall, designed to be inclusive for those with mobility issues. Assembly will be from 12 noon with the aim to commence the March from 1pm.

Union Bloc:  There will be a large trade union bloc with a number of trade unions represented. The CWU will be in between the RMT and BMA. CWU flags will be visible which will indicate our position in the bloc. We would encourage those Branches who are attending to bring their banners.

Celebrating Unity: The Together Alliance group have been with working with Glastonbury organisers to bring a celebration of unity, with famous singers, spoken word artists and Choirs.  

There will be performance stages in both Trafalgar Square and Whitehall. To give you a flavour of some of the artists, bands and singers click here.

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

Yours sincerely,                                   

Dave Ward
General Secretary

Kate Hudson
Head of Equality, Education & Development

081 26LTB – Together Alliance March – Saturday 28th March 2026, Central London

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