STATE PENSION – TRIPLE LOCK – LETTER TO MP’s

As you will be aware it is the policy of the CWU, developed through the Retired Members Committee the Retired Members Conference and CWU General Conference to support and campaign for the retention of what is called the Triple Lock on the state pension.

The Triple Lock is the mechanism that guarantees the state pension will not lose its value in real terms, and that it would increase at least in line with inflation.  In order to make this guarantee secure, it includes three separate measures of inflation and this is where the term “triple lock” comes from.  The way it operates in practice is that each year the state pension would increase by the greatest of the following three measures:

• Average earnings
• Prices, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
• 2.5 per cent

This is extremely important for pensioners, as it guarantees that the state pension increases over time thus preserving its value in real terms against price increases.  As we know retirement can be a period of 25 years or even more, and over such a length of time prices can increase dramatically.  For example, 25 years ago a litre of petrol cost only around 50 pence.  Having this guarantee then is extremely important and especially so when you consider the low size of the UK state pension (only £9,110.40 a year in 2020/21).

There has been an increasing amount of speculation recently on the future of the triple lock.  This has arisen, seemingly, over a debate around how “the country” as it’s being termed, is going to pay for the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.  Various reports in the media have clearly suggested that the Government would or is considering ending the use of the triple lock mechanism.

It has been widely reported in the press and media that despite the Conservative Manifesto pledging its continuation and also recent pronouncements by the Prime Minster to the same the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak is now actively considering removing the triple lock protection.

Cleary this is a move we would oppose and we will be raising this with the Labour Party as part of our political campaigning work.

However, the pensioner vote in UK elections is a sizeable constituency and we would like as many of our members, retired or otherwise to write to their MP asking them to defend the triple lock.

Attached to this LTB is a template letter that we would ask Branches to circulate as widely as possible to all members asking them to send to their MP, whatever political party they belong to, to seek their support to defending the triple lock.

We cannot allow the government to begin to make vulnerable sections of our society pay what would be a heavy price as they look to address failings in the economy.

Any enquiries regarding this LTB 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,

Dave Ward – General Secretary

Tony Kearns – Senior Deputy General Secretary

20LTB328

Suggested Draft Letter Template

ROYAL MAIL: FINANCE SERVICES & HR SERVICES – ANNUAL BONUS SCHEMES 2019/20 – PAYMENT IN JUNE SALARIES

I am now able to report that for our members in both Finance Services and HR Services Royal Mail has made the decision to pay 50% of the maximum 2019/20 bonus potentially available. For CWU members in Finance Services this amounts to £500 and for members in HR Services £375. These payments, which are pro-rata for part-timers, will be made with June salaries (a month earlier than last year).

These bonus payments are being announced in advance of Royal Mail’s publication of their financial accounts which is planned for Thursday 25th June. Accordingly, I am pleased that Royal Mail has recognised the hard work and commitment demonstrated by our members both during 2019/20 and over the exceptionally challenging last three months.

Obviously, it is only natural for members to want a better bonus. However, in the prevailing circumstances, and in particular the Covid-19 pandemic and the inevitable impact on finances, this is a reasonable outcome. Crucially it is also an improvement on last year’s payment which was only a discretionary 30% of bonus potential due to the EBITDAS targets not being met.

If you have any questions in relation to this LTB, please contact Lea Sheridan – lsheridan@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey 

Assistant Secretary

20LTB327 Royal Mail – Finance Services & HR Services – Annual Bonus Schemes 2019-20 – Payment in June Salaries

Royal Mail Customer Service Points (CSPs)/Callers Offices and Reception Areas – Coronavirus Covid-19 Health and Safety‎/Social Distancing Standards:

This LTB is specifically in relation to Royal Mail Customer Service Points (CSPs)/Callers Offices and Reception Areas – Coronavirus Covid-19 Health and Safety‎/Social Distancing Standards.

The issue of CSP opening hours is being dealt with and pursued by the CWU Outdoor Department who will issue separate reports as appropriate.

The Health, Safety and Environment Department has been pursuing safety, security and social distancing improvements with Royal Mail.

The PHE (Public Health England) Coronavirus/Covid-19 preventative guidelines have been raised with Royal Mail who have accepted that risk control measures must be implemented in CSPs and Receptions. The issues raised include:

• Wall signage
• Floor signage
• Posters
• Contactless payment facilities where possible
• PPE
• Hand sanitiser
• Cleaning arrangements
• Screens for all open plan offices

127 Offices have been identified by Royal Mail where screens are required to improve safety, infection control and reduce risks. These include 91 CSPs and 36 Reception areas.

Installation dates for the screens are awaited for which the work has been commissioned and an update is awaited from Royal Mail. This will be communicated in due course.  There is no doubt that this action should have been taken sooner and we are not entirely happy with the way in which this aspect has been handled to date along with an arbitrary communication issued today without consultation as well as being short on involvement, information and detail. As a result, we have made strong representations to that effect and will continue to press for an early resolution of our concerns.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

LTB 324/20 – Royal Mail Customer Service Points (CSPs) Callers Offices and Reception Areas

Celebrating Windrush Day – Competition

LTB 261/20 outlined the CWU’s plans to celebrate the Windrush generation on Windrush Day and beyond.

This is open to all members and their families. Windrush means so much to many of our members and this is an opportunity to share something very close to you so it can be commemorated in CWU history.

Windrush Competition

This exciting initiative is open to CWU members and their families.  When we talk about Windrush to many people this will mean many things – from the invaluable contributions to the health & transport sectors to the various regiments that assisted the British army in both world wars and the unacceptable aspects of today’s hostile environment created by the Tory government.

The competition will be a chance for the CWU to create an historic resource that will reflect all those sentimental and special memories associated with Windrush.  We are inviting you, as part of the competition to submit entries around the following:

1. Poetry
2. Short Windrush Stories, linked to Windrush experiences
3. Family Photographs
4. Paintings/Artwork
5. Recipes
6. Decorated cakes
7. Letters (this option is open to children up to the age of 12) – Write a letter to the British Prime Minster expressing your thoughts around Windrush and what the Government should be doing to acknowledge this very important chapter in British History.

The competition opened on Monday 1^st June and closes on 1^st September 2020 at which point the best entries will be judged (by the CWU Windrush Working Party) and a prize will be given to the best entry in each category.

Finally just a reminder:

Windrush Webinar

As you will be aware, we are holding a webinar next Monday, 22nd June at 6pm, with a range of guest speakers.  We expect this to be an excellent event and would ask Branches to encourage members to participate in this event via the CWU’s Facebook Page. See attached flyer.

Any queries on this LTB should be directed to Equality&Education@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Kate Hudson

Head of Equality, Education & Development

LTB 325/20 – CWU Windrush Day – Competition

Poster Attached

Joint Statement Between Parcelforce Worldwide And The Communication Workers Union On The Review Of Depot Customer Service Resource Alignment Against Declining Call Volumes

Branches and representatives will be aware that in line with the commitments contained in the Parcelforce Annex of the Four Pillars agreement, review activity has been taking place under the Terms of Reference between Parcelforce Worldwide and the CWU for Customer Service Activity Across All Teams 2018/19 (LTB’s 345/18 & 361/19 refer).

In addition to the above due to a decline in call volumes, analysis has also been taking place via the established Table of Success Customer Service Joint Working Group (CSJWG) in relation to the level of telephony required in PFW Depots.

Call volumes in Parcelforce have continued to decline year on year with current volumes running at 28% down on average against the direct comparison for the same period last year. This decline in telephone contact is partially due to the successful implementation of other mediums for customer enquiries

Analysis has identified that in 10 PFW Depots less than 20 calls are answered per day. These sites were also all identifiable as having ‘hybrid’ roles, where the Customer Service Advisor is also expected to cover a multitude of Admin (non-telephony) tasks.

Through further investigation into these sites the SJWG have been able to ascertain that providing availability to achieve an ever-declining number of calls was not only increasing the pressure placed on these smaller depots, but detracted valuable time away from ensuring that all admin tasks were completed to the high standards expected. The 10 Depots identified are:

1. Inverness 
2. Aberdeen
3. Perth
4. Carlisle
5. Deeside
6. Portadown 
7. Poole
8. Shrewsbury 
9. York
10. Ipswich

The recommendations from the CSJWG and SJWG was that in the above mentioned sites, there should be a cessation in the provision of Customer Service telephony during weekdays Monday to Friday where the calls can be rerouted to other depots. This change will enable the ten depots to focus on other elements associated with Customer Service provision, redelivery conformance, and allow employees within the sites to remain focused on the other tasks within their administrative roles.

Discussions have therefore been taking place with the business in relation to a Joint Statement to facilitate the change, which has now been concluded and endorsed by the Postal Executive and a copy is attached for your information

Branches and representatives will note that recognition is included in relation to the importance of continued training and support for individuals at the affected sites.

It is also confirmed that at the 10 affected sites a telephony service will continue to operate at the weekend, which provides the opportunity to prevent any loss of earnings for employees and enables the continuation of high levels of quality to be delivered to customers.

Call volumes will continue to be monitored on a regular basis to identify and understand any and all future impacts, whether increase or decrease, to ensure that high quality customer service continues to be delivered to meet customer demand.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org or shayman@cwu.org quoting reference number: 134.02

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

LTB 322/20

Parcel Automation – Next Phase of Deployment Activity

Royal Mail has informed the union of the next phase of Phase in the ongoing deployment of Parcel Automation within the Mail Centre Estate. Branches will be aware that 20 Parcel Sortation Machines (PSM) have already been deployed across 16 Mail Centre sites.

The next phase will involve the deployment of a revised specification PSM to four additional sites:

Medway Mail Centre
Nottingham Mail Centre
Southampton Mail Centre
Tyneside Mail Centre

The exact timing and order of deployment has yet to be finalised however the plan is that the first PSM will be ready for operational use by March 2021.

The deployment will continue to be supported by the National Parcel Automation Joint Working Group and representatives at the four sites are requested to engage with management on the detail for their site including interim arrangements during the installation and operational and training requirements.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org quoting reference 732.01

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

LTB 321/20

Re: Coronavirus COVID-19: Supporting Members Returning to Work

Further to LTB 298/20 published on Friday 12th June, the department have been made aware of managers in some areas attempting to ignore the 4 step process which was detailed in the LTB.

The purpose of this LTB is to reinforce the messages and instructions contained within Friday’s LTB. The Union’s priority throughout this pandemic is to ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of our members and their families is at the very forefront of any policies.

With this in mind, we approached and spent a long time engaging with Royal Mail to reach the process outlined in the LTB last Friday. Our objective is to make sure our members are not pressurised into coming back to work if it is not safe to do so and ensure they have any concerns addressed.

The measured and stepped approach is designed to give members the confidence to return to work safely with the full involvement of the local Branch to help and support them.

We went into detail of each step and produced the conversation documents in the previous LTB is to ensure members will know what kind of conversation they can expect and ensure any concerns will be taken into account.

Reports have been received about threats of stoppage of pay and pressure to return to work immediately, outside of the 4 step process. We have spoken with Royal Mail and have been informed guidance has been sent to HR Business Partners and HR Directors to ensure the supportive approach agreed is followed.

If members encounter any problems, CWU representatives should engage with the appropriate HR Business Partner or HR Director and attempt to resolve the issues. If no resolution can be found, Branches should make members aware of this LTB and advise them of their right to make use of the grievance procedure should they feel they are being pressurised or bullied by local Managers into returning to work or Managers are putting budgetary targets before their duty of care to their Employees.

All enquiries regarding the content of this LTB should be addressed to the PTCS Department, quoting reference 420. Email address: khay@cwu.org

Yours Sincerely,

Carl Maden
Assistant Secretary (Acting)

LTB 318/20

Rivus Fleet Solutions – Selection Criteria for Redundancies

Further to LTB 312 on the redundancies in Rivus Fleet Solutions, you will find attached the selection criteria that will be used for TICs and Technicians.

This is the criteria that will decide who is and is not made redundant, so will be important in the redundancy consultation meetings.

A further LTB or email will follow at some point today with the Selection Criteria that Rivus will use for apprentices.

Yours sincerely,

Allan Eldred

Assistant Secretary

LTB 320/2020

Redundancy Selection Matrix TIC and Technicians (002)