New Posting Peg Trial (Revised Version) Within Royal Mail

Dear Colleagues,

Branches and members may recall LTB 005/25, issued on 15^thJanuary, which reported on a new prototype Posting Peg that had been developed and was being trialled at the Derby, Swindon, Chippenham, Dore and Rye Delivery units.

Whilst taking longer than planned, the trial has now concluded. Although there was some positive response to the new design of the Posting Peg, the overall feedback from this trial was clear that it could be further improved, particularly, by making it smaller and slimmer.

Accordingly, a revised design has now been developed to reflect this feedback and a diagram of this new Posting Peg, compared to the former prototype, is attached.

The trial will commence w/c 1^st September and is planned to run for approximately four weeks. Each participating unit will be issued 20 of the newly designed Posting Pegs to be tested in the live operational environment. These units are:

• Ary (KA);
• Ashford (TN);
• Boole & Seaforth (L);
• Bury (BL);
• Plymouth (PL).

As a means of further information on this new trial, please find attached a SHE Huddle briefing due to be issued at each of the trial sites.

In advance of this activity being launched in each unit, a remote meeting call has been held to outline the details and aims of the trial, which has involved the relevant unit COMs, SHE advisors, and CWU ASRs.

On completion of the trial, feedback will be sought directly from those involved via a QR code, with the feedback then being reviewed by the RM / CWU National Joint Dog Awareness Working Group in terms of the next steps.

From the CWU perspective, this new trial of a revised version of the Posting Peg is welcomed, as based on the latest figures shared by Royal Mail, circa 403 dog bite incidents through the letterbox were reported last year, which is an increase on the year before. Accordingly, I have no hesitation in encouraging our Safety and IR Reps, alongside members in the listed units, to fully support and engage in the trial and equally provide feedback.

Finally, in setting out the above, it is relevant to remind Branches that letterbox bites are reportable as an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act (Section 3), which followed the Court of Appeal decision in 2022 whereby postal workers do have applied access rights at letterboxes and as such, are protected by the Act. Sadly, there remains some confusion in this regard and over trespassing laws, with even some Police Officers offering wrong advice on this issue, if hands / fingers accidentally enter the letterbox aperture. The full details of the Court of Appeal ruling were set out in LTB 220/22.

Further updates in terms of this trial output will be issued in due course. In the meantime, any enquiries to the content of this LTB should be directed to the Outdoor Department, email address: Pharacz@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Bouch
Assistant Secretary

LTB 184-25 – New Posting Peg Trial – Revised Version

Diagram New Posting Peg Trial – Revised Version

SHE Huddle – Posting Peg Revised Version Aug25

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• Royal Mail Divisional Representative (Substitute) – Midland 

Further to LTB 160/25 dated 1^st August 2025 in regard to the above vacancy

At the close of nominations on 22 August 2025 (14.00), the following nominations have been received.*Ballot RequiredJason CornwallNorth Staffordshire PostalDarren JonesLeicestershireStuart McLeanNottingham & District AmalSajid ShaikhBirmingham & District AmalJason SteathamWolverhampton & District Amal

The timetable for the above ballot will be advised to branches in due course.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to the Senior Deputy General Secretary’s Department on telephone number 0208 971 7237 or email address sdgs@cwu.org .

Yours sincerely,

Tony Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

25LTB183 – Election of RM Divisional Representative Substitute – Midland

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Update on USO Negotiations 

The purpose of this communication is to give Branches, representatives, and members a full update on the ongoing negotiations with Royal Mail on the future of the USO and a detailed breakdown of the status of each pilot office so we are as open and transparent as possible.

The CWU remain fully committed to agreeing USO reform. Our position is one that has been consistent throughout the negotiations – any agreement must restore confidence in the workplace, quality of service and deliver the platform to rebuild Royal Mail.

In December 2024, Royal Mail and the CWU agreed to deploy 37 pilot sites using Royal Mail’s preferred USO option – the Optimised Delivery Model (ODM). The design of the Optimised Delivery Model was based on removing one person from every four duties which were in scope.

35 pilots were deployed commencing from February 2025, with the last pilot going live in early June. We are currently in August, traditionally the lightest traffic period of the year, and the majority of pilot units are not clearing or working successfully with ODM.

We have seen significant numbers of duties and hours being reinstated for some pilots and units. For example, Stockton on Tees DO have had over 50 duties reinstated but the office is still not clearing daily. Far too often it has taken too long to implement fixes, and the vast majority of PIRs are still ongoing.

Attached to this LTB is a report from the reps on the ground for each pilot site. Apart from some small units that are working better, far too many are failing during the lightest period of the year. This is despite the unit having surplus staff and staff from neighbouring units being used.

We understand that it has been a challenging time and would like to thank all our members and representatives at the pilot sites for their hard work thus far. Please be assured that resolving and fixing the pilots remains our top priority.

The evidence from the pilots is crystal clear – the CWU does not believe that the Optimised Delivery Model and its design of four into three duties is an acceptable or realistic proposal, and we have no confidence that it could be deployed successfully in the remaining 1,250 Delivery Units.

We have therefore been engaging with Royal Mail over an alternative model, that is based on a heavy and light option which we expect the pilot units to introduce when we reach an agreement.

The CWU option enables individuals to stay on their duty, helps to resolve non-driver issues, and mitigates fatigue issues associated with the Optimised Delivery Model.

Within the negotiations, we have also been discussing the possibility of a shorter Saturday attendance option of 5 hours and 45 minutes, as well as an alternative option for every other Saturday off with slightly longer attendance.

Additionally, we are in discussions about how the CWU model can assist in moving start and finish times earlier, as 50% of the manual prep workload is in the unit before wave one arrives.

The principle of the heavy and light model is that 50% of your duty each day has all the mail, and 50% is just first class and parcels. This rotates daily, Monday through to Friday. You would also take part of a further duty set at heavy as part of your daily workload Monday to Friday.

We have been discussing an 8 into 7 model for town duties with the seventh duty being reviewed against strict criteria linked to achieving quality and having fair and manageable workload. The impasse on this issue is the CWU want the seventh duty to be designed an actual duty within the 8 walks, whereas Royal Mail want it to be more ad hoc.

The CWU cannot reach an agreement which has the potential to worsen the quality of service under a new USO model.  We do not believe that the £300 million saving was ever realistic, especially given the state some units have been in since Royal Mail decided to impose revisions in 2022 and 2023.

Our members across Royal Mail have seen unprecedented growth in tracked products alongside unusually high levels of letters so far this year and which has continued through the normal lighter summer period.

We realise many units are seeing frame changes and colour coding and may believe this is the start of the units being deployed. It is not.

Whilst this activity maybe unsettling for some members we want to be absolutely clear – there will be no introduction or deployment of any changes to the USO in your units until there is a full national agreement in place and subsequently your local rep and office have signed off and voted on how this will impact your office. Given the sheer scale of this change and the political sensitivities around the USO, Royal Mail cannot implement this without agreement. We need you to take confidence from that.

Ahead of any agreement being reached, the agreed reset of and employee and industrial relations will be crucial to ensuring that it creates a platform for genuine engagement and respect in the workplace. We will also require the commitments within the EP / CWU agreement to be agreed and honoured within the timescales set out.

We will keep Divisions and Branches updated on negotiations over the coming days. The role of our Divisions and Branches now is to cascade this information into every office in the UK and we ask that meetings commence with immediate effect to build support for the unions position which we have outlined in this communication.

Finally, we will be issuing further communications early next week following the members ballot result on areas we believe Royal Mail are acting outside of the spirit and intention of the EP Group / CWU agreement and how we plan to handle this.

Any enquiries in relation to the content of this LTB should be addressed to the DGS(P) Department.

Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary Postal

Dave Ward
General Secretary

25LTB182 Update on USO Negotiations 

Pilot unit update

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The Equality Act 2010 and Casework Workshop

The purpose of this LTB is to advise branches that a one-day workshop will take place on the 22nd October 2025 between 10:00 – 16:00 at Summer Lane, Birmingham, B19 3TH.

The workshop is designed to assist Representatives and Officials who have day-to-day dealings with disability related casework and is a mix of presentations with Q&A’s and will include:

• What do we mean by a reasonable adjustment
• Applying the Equality Act effectively in a case
• Equality Act 2010 – Various case studies

Applications should be made via the membership Portal by the cut-off dates shown below.DateWorkshopCut off22/10/2025The Equality Act 2010 and Casework Workshop 25/09/2025

Any enquiries on this LTB should be directed to courseadmin@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Kate Hudson
Head of Equality, Education & Development

LTB 181/25 – The Equality Act 2010 and Casework Workshop

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60^th Anniversary Race Relations Act – Series of Bitesize Sessions

The purpose of this LTB is to advise branches that the Equality, Education & Development Department are piloting a new opportunity to engage in some lite-learning with a series of bitesize education sessions dedicated to the 60^th anniversary of the Race Relations Act.

The sessions will run for 30 minutes and will include an opportunity for questions and discussion at the end of each one.

Please note the conclusion of the bitesize series is an ‘in-person session’ that is scheduled to take place during Day 2 of our National Equality Event (see LTB 175/25). The guest speaker will be Amarjite Singh, TUC Wales.

The first three sessions will all start at 6pm.

• Session 1, Thursday 25^th September
• Session 2, Thursday 2^nd October
• Session 3, Thursday 9^th October
• Final session in-person, Bournemouth

For further information and to register your interest please see the attached flyer and QR code. Alternatively, email us at equality&education@cwu.org and we will send you the link on the day of each session.

Yours sincerely, 

Kate Hudson
Head of Equality, Education & Development

LTB 180/25 – 60th Anniversary Race Relations Act Series of Bitesize Sessions

PDF Attachment: 08398 – 60th Anniversary of the Race Relations Act – sessions

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CWU RULE BOOK 2025

Please find attached a copy of the revised CWU Rule Book 2025 which incorporates the necessary changes required as a result of the rule amendments at the Special Rules Revision Conference held in Blackpool on 29^th June 2025.

The new Rule Book is on the website and you can find by using the following link:

Click to access Rule-Book-2025-Updated-August-2025-Final-Version.pdf

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to Angela Niven on telephone number 020 8971 7237, or email address sdgs@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Ward

General Secretary

LTB 179/25 – CWU Rule Book 2025

Rule-Book-2025-Updated-August 2025 Final Version

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Post Office: Franchising Programme

Further to LTBs 105/25, 107/25, 147/25, 155/25 and 171/25.  This morning, Post Office announced that the franchise partner for Inverness Crown Office will be Co-op.  An online meeting with the Inverness members took place with management this morning, and Richard Titterington, Territorial Rep (covering for Carole Bowmaker), was involved to provide support.  This means that Post Office has now made announcements regarding all 108 Crowns and has advised our members of the franchise partners, the details of which are attached.

Unwelcome Potential for Double TUPE – Eight Crowns

As reported in LTB171/25, members in eight Crowns are facing the possibility of a double TUPE, which we have strongly objected to.  Dave Ward, General Secretary, and I have had positive discussions today with the Post Office Chairman, CEO and Chief People Officer and a proposal has been put to us that would avoid the double TUPE position.  We believe there is merit in the Post Office proposal; however, the detail will need to be finalised before we are in a position to communicate more fully on this matter with the impacted members.  The affected Crowns, which are not due to be franchised until the 2^nd week of November are as follows:CoshamPortsmouthKirkwallPrestwichMerthyr TydfilStornowayPort TalbotYate Sodbury

Further developments regarding this matter will be reported to our Territorial Reps and directly to the members.

Legal Advice from Unionline for Members’ Settlement Agreements

Members are reminded that if they decline to TUPE and opt to take an enhanced severance package, the union is happy to recommend the services of Unionline, who have extensive experience in assisting with Settlement Agreements.

At our request, Post Office has facilitated three online sessions this with Unionline to assist members in accessing these services.  At the time of writing, two of these sessions have taken place and there is a degree of interest from members in accessing support from Unionline.  The contact email address is postoffice@unionline.co.uk or if members would prefer to call Unionline – the number is 0300 333 0303 (option 2) – please ask to be directed to Diarmuid Deeney, Solicitor.

If members have any questions regarding either the terms of the financial settlement, TUPE or bumping, they should contact their Territorial Rep in the first instance.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey 

Assistant Secretary

LTB 178/25 – Post Office – Franchising Programme

Attachment 2: Attachment to 25LTB178

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CWU REGIONAL STRUCTURE – ELECTION OF THE 5 REGIONAL OFFICIALS

Branches will be aware that, as a result of the decisions taken at both the Special Restructuring Conference 2025 and the Special Rules Revision Conference 2025, there is now a requirement to elect the 5 Regional Officials.

The purpose of this LTB is to publish to branches the election arrangements that have been agreed by the NEC for these elections and to seek nominations for these positions from branches within each of the respective areas.

The timetable for the elections will be as follows:

Election Timetable 

Nominations open:                                    19 August 2025

Nominations close:                                    4 September 2025 (14.00)

Branch Ballot papers dispatched:          10 September 2025

Ballot closes:                                               24 September 2025 (14.00)

Election Arrangements

The elections will be conducted in accordance with the new CWU rule 7 which was agreed at the Special Rules Revision Conference held on the 29^th June 2025 in Blackpool.

Please find attached to this LTB the election guidelines and the candidate guidelines to be used for these elections. Also attached are the relevant nomination forms. 

Only members of branches located within the respective paired former CWU regions (as at June 2025) will be entitled to stand for the Regional Official positions in that area. The area’s are as follows;

CWU Regional Areas:

• Eastern & Midlands
• London & South-East
• North East & North West
• Northern Ireland & Scotland
• South West & Wales and the Marches

All candidates will require the nomination of their own branch which has been agreed at a branch meeting.

Following the closing of nominations, if elections are required then the ballot will be conducted on a Branch Ballot basis of all branches within the respective new area. 

As detailed in the new Regional Structure (Rule 7) – all CWU members in the Regional Area, who are employed in CWU recognised companies, will be eligible to stand for election and hold the Regional Official position.

The successful candidate shall be the individual who receives the highest number of votes cast.

The period of office for the Regional Official will be 18 months from September 2025 and the successful candidate will be engaged by the CWU on a secondment basis for their period of office subject to the qualifying terms set out in CWU rule 7 (as agreed at the Special Rules Revision Conference 2025).

Role of Regional Official Position  

The role of the Regional Official is as follows:  

• The Regional Official will work under the direction of the General Secretary and the NEC and their responsibilities will include:

• Develop and implementation of the new National Networks and support national non-industrial strategies of the union

• Implement CWU strategies that further grows the CWU’s influence across the wider trade union movement

• Involvement in all Regional Sub Committees within their Regional area

• Implementing the CWU Political strategy

• Solidifying the CWU links to our external political networks, including the Regional Labour Parties and Regional TUC

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be made to Dave Wilshire, Senior Policy Advisor – email dwilshire@cwu.org

Dave Ward                                       

General Secretary                          

ERRATA LTB 172 – CWU Regional Structure – Election of the 5 Regional Officials

Att: Regional Area Form Download

Att: Guidelines for Regional Official 2025 PDF

Att: Candidate-Biographical-Detail-Consent-Form Download

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CWU Young Workers Conference – Wednesday 5^thNovember 2025

The CWU Young Workers Conference will be held on Wednesday 5^th November 2025 at the Mechanics Institute, 103 Princess Street, Manchester M1 6DD.

Each Regional Young Workers Sub Committee will be entitled to submit ONE motion to the Conference Agenda.

Each Branch will be entitled to submit ONE motion to the Conference Agenda.

The National Young Workers Committee will be entitled to submit THREE motions to the Conference Agenda.

Motions should be submitted electronically to conferences@cwu.org using the template attached.  Branches or Regions who do not have this facility may request paper motion forms by contacting Angela Niven on 020 8971 7256.

Motion forms must be returned by noon on Monday 6^thOctober 2025.   Anything received after this date will not be accepted.   All sections of the form must be completed.

Branches, Regional Young Workers Sub Committee and the National Young Workers Committee are reminded that the Standing Orders Committee will not alter or amend any of the motions submitted therefore it is important that motion authors read the attached guidance notes carefully and motions are checked before they are submitted.

If motions are being sent electronically they will only be accepted if sent to the above email address.

As with previous Conferences, the agenda will be structured in such a way as to maximise debate and participation by delegates. There will be 2 sections to the agenda, one for motions

which are eligible for consideration for submission to General Conference, and one for motions that in the view of the Standing Orders Committee are of an industrial nature which are eligible for submission to the Industrial Conferences.

Branches will be aware that the Young Workers Conference has the entitlement under the rules of the union to submit two motions to stand in the name of the conference to General Conference.   The Young Workers Conference may also submit one motion to both the Postal Industry and Telecoms & Financial Services conferences from Section 1.

The motions selected for General Conference must contain policy that lies within the responsibility of the NEC, likewise Industrial motions must be able to be carried out by the relevant Industrial Executive (Motions for the Telecoms Conference must also refer to a specific business-see attached motion guide).

As with previous Conferences, the motions for submission to the General Conference agenda and the Industrial motions for the Industry Conferences will be decided from amongst those motions adopted at the Conference. Ballot(s) to select the motions will be held at the Conference.

Delegates

Details for registering delegates and observers will be issued in a further LTB.  Any queries regarding the registration process should be directed to conferences@cwu.org

Regional Young Workers Sub committee Leads shall attend Young Workers Annual Conference in an ex-officio capacity with the right to speak and move motions on behalf of their Regional Young Workers Sub Committee but not to vote.   Funding for Regional Young Workers Sub Committee Leads to attend Young Workers Conference shall be from the General Fund.

Branches, Regional Young Workers Sub Committees and the National Young Workers Committee are also reminded that only Branch delegates may move motions standing in the name of their Branch or Regional Sub Committee. Members of the National Young Workers Committee may only speak on behalf of the National Young Workers Committee and not their Branch or Regional Young Workers Sub Committee.

Branch delegate entitlement to this Conference as agreed by the NEC is as follows:Number of Young MembersDelegate Entitlement1-2491250-4992500 and above3

Branches are  urged to make every effort  to  ensure that  their delegation  comprises members  who are either  30 and under  as  of  November or who are serving Branch Young Workers.  The expectation is that voting delegates aged over 30 will be present on an exceptional basis. 

In order that we can cater for any delegate with special needs such as seating, etc., it is important that you advise us in writing of the name of the delegate(s) and the particular requirement by return but no later than 13^THOctober 2025.

Election of Delegates to General Conference

As you will know, the Young Workers Conference will select two delegates to represent the Young Workers Members to attend General Conference 2026.

The Standing Orders for the Young Workers Conference will advise a ballot to select these two delegates and it will be conducted during Conference itself.  Nominees must be members of the Union and have the support of their branch and/or Regional Young Workers Sub Committee.

Additionally, individuals must be willing to accept the nomination.

The exception to this are members of the National Young Workers Committee themselves who may be proposed for these positions but need to have the nomination of the National Young Workers Committee and/or any Regional Young Workers Sub Committee.

Branches and Regional Young Workers Sub Committees should forward any nominees on the attached form for this ballot to conferences@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Dave Ward

General Secretary

LTB177 – CWU Young Workers Conference – Wednesday 5th November 2025

Young Workers Guidance 2025

Young Workers Motion Form 25

Nomination Form 2026

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CWU Retired Members Conference – Wednesday 15^thOctober 2025

The CWU Retired Members Conference will be held on Wednesday 15^th October 2025 at the offices of CWU Birmingham District Amal Branch, 47 Summer Lane, Hockley, Birmingham B19 3TH.

a) Delegates 

Only Branches with Retired members Sections are entitled to send Delegates.

Branch delegate entitlement to this Conference as agreed by the NEC is as follows:Number of Retired  Members

Delegate Entitlement1-2491250-4992500 and above3

Branch Secretaries should register delegates and observers by emailing conferences@cwu.org

by Monday 6^th October 2025. Confirmation of request will be sent to branches within 72 hours. Should confirmation not be received within this time branches are asked to contact Angela Niven on 020 8971 7237   Branches who do not have this facility may request paper motion forms by contacting the Angela Niven on 020 8971 7237.

Retired Members Regional Sub Committee Leads shall attend the Retired Members conference with the right to speak and move motions on behalf of their Retired Members Regional Sub Committee but not to vote. Funding for Retired Members Regional Sub Committee Leads to attend Retired Members Conference shall be from the General Fund.

In order that we can cater for any delegate with special needs such as seating, dietary requirements etc., it is important that you advise us in writing of the name of the delegate(s) and the particular requirement by return but no later than Monday 22^nd September 2025.

b) Motions

Each Branch is entitled to submit one motion for consideration to be included on the agenda of the Conference. Motions should be submitted electronically to conferences@cwu.org using the attached template. Confirmation of receipt of motion will be sent to branches within 72 hours. Should confirmation not be received within this time branches are asked to contact Angela Niven on 020 8971 7237   Branches who do not have this facility may request paper motion forms by contacting the Angela Niven on 020 8971 7237.

Each Retired Members Regional Sub Committee is entitled to submit one Motion to the Retired Members Conference.

The National Retired Members Committee are entitled to submit up to three motions to the Conference, standing in their name.

Branches, Regional Sub Committees and the National Retired Members Committee are reminded that the Standing Orders Committee will not alter or amend any of the motions submitted therefore it is important that motions are checked before they are submitted.

Motion forms must be returned by NOON Monday 15^thSeptember 2025.   Anything received after this date will not be accepted.   All sections of the form must be completed.

If Motions are being sent electronically, they will only be accepted to the above email address.

As with previous Conferences, the agenda will be structured in such a way as to maximise debate and participation by delegates. There will be 2 sections to the agenda, one for motions which are eligible for consideration for submission to General Conference, and one for motions that in the view of the Standing Orders Committee would not be admissible to the General Conference agenda.

Branches will be aware that the Retired Members’ Conference has the entitlement under the rules of the union to submit 2 motions to stand in the name of the conference to General Conference. It is therefore important that if branches wish their motions to be in this category, they must contain policy that is capable of being discharged by the NEC, as opposed to either of the Industrial Executives.

The 2 motions for submission to the General Conference agenda will be decided from amongst those motions adopted at the Conference. A ballot to select the 2 motions will be held at the Conference.

c) Election of Delegates to General Conference

As you will know, the Retired Members’ Conference will select two delegates to represent the Retired Members to attend General Conference 2026.

The Standing Orders for the Retired Members’ Conference will advise a ballot to select these two delegates will be conducted during Conference itself.

Additionally, individuals must be willing to accept nomination, and must have the nomination of their own branch and/or the National Retired Members’ Committee, to be eligible.

The exception to this are members of the Retired Members’ Committee themselves who may be proposed for these positions but need to have the nomination of the National Retired Members’ Committee and/or any Regional Sub Committee.

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to Angela Niven either by post to head office or by email to conferences@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

D Ward

General Secretary

25LTB176 – CWU Retired Members Conference – Wednesday 15th October 2025

RM Guidance 25

RM Motion 25

RM Nomination Form 25

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