Prostate Cancer Awareness Month – Health & Wellbeing communication

Dear Colleagues,

March is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, a crucial period dedicated to raising awareness about prostate cancer, the most common cancer among men in the UK. The CWU recognises the importance of encouraging men to get tested for prostate cancer, as many diagnoses occur by chance. Lives can be saved through education, early detection, and support. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer affecting men in the UK, with over 52,000 men diagnosed each year; equivalent to one new diagnosis every 15 minutes with over 12,000 deaths annually, meaning one man dies from prostate cancer every 45 minutes.

Men over 50 should consider talking to their GP about a PSA blood test, which can help detect prostate cancer early, even before symptoms appear. As explained on the prostate cancer UK website, if you are a man over 50, there is currently a one-in-eight chance that you could develop this condition – and if you are a black man over 50, sadly, the danger doubles.

Prostate Cancer UK | Prostate Cancer UK

Bowel or Bladder disability and The RADAR Key Scheme

For those living with prostate cancer, treatment side effects can sometimes include urinary incontinence and other mobility-related issues. The RADAR Key Schemeprovides access to over 10,000 locked disabled toilets across the UK, ensuring that individuals who require quick and reliable access to facilities are not restricted.

The CWU encourages members who may benefit from this scheme to apply for a RADAR key through their local authority or Prostate Cancer UK.

We would also like to remind branches of the ‘Just Can’t Wait’ card scheme. Which has been used successfully in recent years by many outdoor colleagues and CWU members with prostate issues or any type of bowel or bladder disability.

The card is promoted on the prostate cancer research website below:

Managing Urinary Incontinence – Prostate Cancer Research

This card can also be used for conditions such as Crohn’s disease, Colitis, Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, Menopause and other conditions that require urgent toilet access needs.

The ‘Just Can’t Wait’ card can be downloaded digitally also on Apple and Android phones and is now widely accepted at many cafés, shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and other businesses. 170,000 people carry the ‘Just Can’t Wait’ card across the country. There are over 14 million people in the UK living with a bladder condition and 6.4 million with a bowel condition.

Finally, there is a simple and quick ‘risk checker’ option on the Prostate Cancer UK website, this online checker asks some simple questions about age, ethnicity and family history. It also offers helpful information and next steps advice if you might be at risk:

Check your risk in 30 seconds | Prostate Cancer UK

If you have any questions or need any further information, please contact jMcGovern@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward
General Secretary  

25LTB052 – PROSTATE CANCER AWARENESS MONTH – HEALTH WELLBEING COMMUNICATION

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ELECTION OF:  

•  CWU GENERAL SECRETARY
•  CWU ASSISTANT SECRETARY POSTAL 

 Further to LTB 021/25 re the Nominations for the above positions which closed at 14:00 on 5^th March 2025,

please find below the lists of accepted nominations and respective nominating branches.CWU GENERAL SECRETARY    Dave Ward, CWU Officers Branch*Elected

Nominating Branches: Algus NationalEastern No.4Birmingham and District AmalEastern No.5Bootle Financial ServicesEastern No.6Bournemouth and Dorset AmalEdinburgh, Dundee and bordersBristol and District AmalEssex AmalCapitalGlasgow and District AmalCheshire No.1 AmalGlasgow and MotherwellClyde Valley AmalGrampian and Shetland AmalColchester and District AmalGreat WesternCornwall AmalGreater Manchester AmalCroydon and Sutton AmalGwent AmalCWU OfficersHarrow and District AmalDarwen CapitaHighland AmalEast London PostalIsle of Man TelecomsEastern No.3JerseyKingston AreaPortsmouth, West Sussex and IOWLancs and CumbriaPreston, Brook and BuryLeeds No.1 AmalRomford AmalLincolnshire and South YorksScotland No.1London Parcels and Stations AmalScotland No.2London PhoenixScotland No.5London Postal EngineeringSomerset, Devon and CornwallLondon Regional MTSouth and East Thames AmalLondon South West PostalSouth East London Postal and CountersManchester CombinedSouth East No.5MeridianSouth Midlands PostalMerseySouth WalesMid Wales, the Marches and North StaffsSouth West MiddlesexMidland CountiesSouth West No.7Midland No.1South West Wales AmalMount Pleasant InternationalSouth YorkshireNewcastle AmalSouth Yorkshire and DistrictNorth AngliaSouthdowns, Weald and RotherNorth EastSuffolk AmalNorth Lancs and CumbriaTyne and Wear ClericalNorth Wales and Chester CombinedUTAWNorth West Central AmalWarrington Mail CentreNorth West No.1Wessex South CentralNorth/North West LondonWest London PostalNorthern Home Counties PostalWest YorkshireNorthern Ireland Postal AmalWestern CountiesNorthern Ireland TelecomsWolverhampton and District AmalNottingham and District AmalWorcester and Hereford AmalPlymouth and East Cornwall AmalYork and District AmalCWU ASSISTANT SECRETARY POSTAL    Davie Robertson, CWU Officers Branch*ElectedBirmingham and District AmalHarrow and District AmalBournemouth and Dorset AmalHighland AmalBristol and District AmalKent InvictaClyde Valley AmalLeeds No.1 AmalColchester and District AmalLondon Postal EngineeringCWU OfficersLondon Regional MTEastern No.3MeridianEastern No.5Newcastle AmalEastern No.6North Lancs and CumbriaEssex AmalNorth West Central AmalGlasgow and District AmalNorth West No.1Grampian and Shetland AmalNorthern Home Counties PostalGreater Mersey AmalNottingham and District AmalPlymouth and East Cornwall AmalSouth YorkshireRomford AmalSouth Yorkshire and District AmalScotland No.2Suffolk AmalScotland No.5Warrington Mail CentreSouth East No.5Wessex South CentralSouth East Wales AmalWestern CountiesSouth Midlands PostalWest London PostalSouth West MiddlesexWolverhampton and District AmalSouth West No.7Worcester and Hereford AmalSouth West Wales AmalYork and District Amal

Any enquiries regarding this Letter to Branches should be directed to Senior Deputy General Secretary for the attention of Dave Wilshire on 0208 971 7368, or dwilshire@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Tony Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

LTB 051/25 – Election of CWU General Secretary and Assistant Secretary Postal

Delivery Survey 2025

Dear Colleagues,

Branches will be aware that as part of the union’s Reconnect strategy, and within the context of a period of unprecedented change in our sector, we have significantly increased our regular engagement with members. With the takeover of Royal Mail Group becoming more likely, trials of potential USO reform under way, and national negotiations with the business on pay and many other associated issues on the agenda, it is vital that we step this up further.

Branches will have seen these subjects highlighted in much of the union’s recent output – on our regular weekly broadcasts and on our social media platforms as well as our more formal communications to you – and Delivery Survey 2025 is intended as an important addition to this. The survey aims to gather in as much feedback from delivery members on these key subjects as possible and also to spark debate and initiate discussion among members in workplaces across the UK.

Delivery Survey 2025 opens today and closes in two weeks’ time on Monday 18^th March. 

It is being sent out by email to those delivery members for whom we have email addresses, while those whose email addresses we don’t have are able to access and complete the survey via the CWU website here. The website version includes a ‘required’ field asking for the member’s name and email address, which is necessary to try to ensure that people outside of the CWU and outside of Royal Mail do not participate.  No names will be published, or given to anybody outside the union and this is purely a measure intended to help ensure the credibility and security of the survey.

We would greatly appreciate your help and support in seeking to ensure the widest possible engagement with this survey. Please promote and circulate this communication to your area delivery reps, ask them to promote and circulate to their delivery unit reps and to encourage as many delivery members as possible to take part.

Any enquiries to the content of this LTB should be directed to the Outdoor Department Pharacz@cwu.org and/or to the Communications Department MMurray@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Tony Bouch
Assistant Secretary Postal Outdoor

Chris Webb
Head of Communications

LTB 050/25 – Delivery Survey 2025

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Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan – Member Nominated Director (MND) Election

Further to LTB004/25 and LTB007/25, Branches will be aware that in January, it was announced that nominations were being sought for the Member Nominated Director (MND) vacancies on the Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan (the ‘Collective Plan’) Trustee Board (‘RMCPP Trustees Ltd’).  We were pleased to learn there was a positive level of interest in filling the three CWU MND vacancies and that there are nine candidates in total.

The ballot to elect the three CWU MNDs will now take place and closes on 24^thMarch 2025 using Civica Election Services on behalf of RMCPP Trustees Ltd.  CWU members of the Collective Plan will receive a ballot paper allowing them to vote for up to three candidatesfrom the CWU-represented grade candidates.

Ballot papers, which will include a personal statement from each candidate, will be posted to active members of the Collective Plan from 3^rdMarch 2025. The three successful candidates will be determined by a simple majority (i.e., the candidates with the highest number of votes will be appointed as MNDs).

Branches are urged to encourage members to vote in this important election. Scheme members can vote online or by post (a pre-paid envelope will be provided), with instructions on how to do so included in the ballot paper. If members have any questions about the voting process, they are advised to contact Civica on 0208 889 9203 or by email at takepart@cesvotes.com.

Scheme Members will be notified of the ballot outcome at the end of March 2025 via the Collective Plan website http://www.rmcollectiveplan.com.  We will also issue an LTB with the result. Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to afurey@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey 

Assistant Secretary

Attachment LTB 049/25 – RM Collective Pension Plan – Member Nominated Director (MND) Election

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Update on the USO Pilots

All Branches will be aware that the CWU published two agreed-upon statements on the USO pilots before Christmas.  We have now agreed on a further addendum which will apply to all 37 USO pilot sites.

The addendum and flowchart provide the parameters which all pilot sites should adopt to ensure they achieve the overarching objectives, which are:

• Pilot sites must achieve Ofcom’s quality of service target.
• On deployment, the workload must be fair, manageable and achievable, and solutions must address fatigue.
• There must be an opportunity to improve attendance patterns, including fewer Saturdays.
• There must be an improvement in confidence, trust and morale.

To ensure the above happens within each of the pilots, the union has agreed to the following:

1. Agreed an addendum to the original Terms of Reference.
2. A flowchart for resourcing the pilot unit before deployment.
3. The option of seven attendance patterns.

The addendum covers the following:

1. Mail Centres must ensure work compliance, including product segregation.
2. It is expected that there will be minimal impact on Mail Centres or Distribution. Any change required will be dealt with through normal weekly resourcing meetings.
3. The USO pilots must cover all daily duties, including having the appropriate reserve levels, with full-time reserves covering full time duties, and they must achieve Ofcom’s regulatory targets.
4. A total data verification process within the unit to ensure duties are achievable.
5. The opportunity to rotate from combined and all mail deliveries (core) can be introduced to reduce fatigue.
6. All employees will be encouraged to drive, but non-drivers will still have a full role. Non-drivers will still work on Saturdays against the scheduled workload within any of the listed attendance menu options.
7. There should be one overall office attendance as the USO pilots will be introduced based on a method change approach rather than a structural revision.

The method change principles are:

• Rurals will retain one-to-one deliveries Monday through Friday, with only Saturday’s schedule changing based on 1^st class, parcels and tracked items.
• Firm deliveries will retain one-over-one Monday through Friday, with only Saturday’s schedule changing based on 1^st class, parcels and tracked items.
• On all mail days (core), town and city routes will have two over-one deliveries Monday through Friday.
• Town and city will have two over 1^stclass routes (combined Monday to Saturday).

8. We also agreed that each pilot site could select from seven different attendance patterns. The Optimised Delivery Model reduces the number of people working on a Saturday. Any duty pattern with just one day off per week must change to one of the attendance patterns below.

The duty patterns available to select are:

• Two Saturdays off in any six weeks (in addition to a regular rest day during the week). Extra 8 Saturdays off per year.
• Two Saturdays off in any five weeks (in addition to a regular rest day during the week). Extra 10 Saturdays off per week.
• 9-day fortnight.
• 4-day week option.
• Wallington, plus an extra Saturday off.
• 13 working days out of 18 (Monday to Saturday) with 1 Saturday off every 3 weeks (only available to drivers).
• 17 working days every 24 (Monday to Saturday) with 2 Saturdays off every 4 weeks.

Each pilot site will understand the start and finish times before their vote, this means that individuals will be working their contracted hours over fewer days, so the days they work will be slightly longer depending on which options they select.

9. The agreed Terms of Reference ensure that no individual will be asked to move units during the pilot. Currently, there will be a surplus in 22 of the 37 sites.

The sites in which there will not be a surplus will need to ensure any vacancies are filled before the pilot goes live. This will allow part-timers to increase their contracted hours, including up to full-time on their existing terms and conditions. This will be done based on seniority, but it will also recognise that a non-driver cannot increase their contracted hours on a duty they cannot perform, such as a driving duty.

10. A temporary resign will be available before the pilot goes live, and a full resign will be available when Ofcom makes its formal decision.
11. Once the pilot has been deployed there will be an ongoing review to ensure that each pilot achieves the four overarching principles.
12. It also lists the interfaces that will be fully involved within the pilot units.

It is important to remember that the CWU has not agreed to full USO reform. If we eventually decide this is the best option, there will be a national agreement covering this. Despite speculation, the only pilot site deployed is Newton Mearns DO in Scotland. Cumbernauld DO will go live on March 17^th.

The other pilot sites will be phased in from late March until the middle of May. The sites are being phased in because the flowchart attached to this LTB requires an 8-week process starting with data verification and concluding with the actual deployment.

Newton Mearns went live this week. The unit’s members chose to opt for two Saturdays off in five. They also introduced a further duty into the unit.

Whilst it is early days, the initial observation is that all the core mail walks have cleared with indoor support and very high call rates.  This higher call rate, some above 90%, is down to the sequencing machine releasing work which should have been held upstream in the Mail Centre. Further work is being carried out in Glasgow Mail Centre to remedy this.

The combined 1^st class/parcel routes on Monday and Tuesday completed the planned delivery spans early.

Cumbernauld is scheduled to go live on March 17^th. They have also selected two Saturdays off every five weeks. Two duties have been put back into the unit, the indoor layout changes have been fully deployed and local parties are working together to continue to review the operation ahead of the go live date.

We intend to provide regular updates on the pilots moving forward, including members’ feedback from the pilots.

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

Yours sincerely,                                    

Martin Walsh                                                        

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)    

Davie Robertson     

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)                

Tony Bouch

Assistant Secretary           

LTB 48/25 – Update on the USO Pilots

LTB 48/25 Attachment 1 USO pilot addendum

LTB 48/25 Attachment 2 – Flowchart

LTB 48/25 Attachment 3 – USO Agreed Duty Options (1of2)

LTB 48/25 Attachment 4 – USO Agreed Duty Options (2of2) 

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RMPFS Engineering and Admin Grades – CWU Officials Elections 

Further to LTB 028/24 dated 11th February 2025 regarding the nominations for the RMPFS Engineering Field Officials, at the close of nominations on the 26th February 2025 the following were received: –NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES NORTH REGIONBrian SouthernGreater Manchester*ELECTED SOUTH REGION Chris CoatesGreat Western Branch*ELECTED  REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES  NORTH (2 Positions) Chris EnglishGreater Mersey Amal*ELECTEDThomas ToddGlasgow & Motherwell*ELECTED NORTH WEST/CENTRAL (3 Positions)Lee HaydenGreater Manchester*ELECTEDStephen MurphyNorthern Ireland Telecom*ELECTEDAdam ParkinSouth Yorkshire*ELECTED  

SOUTH EAST/SOUTH WEST (3 Positions)No Nominations Received

Please bring this LTB to the attention of our representatives and members. Any queries should be forwarded to the PTCS Department, email address khay@cwu.org or hmaughan@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Bobby Weatherall

Acting Assistant Secretary

LTB 047/25

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My Experience Survey

Branches will recall that the CWU were jointly involved in the Pathway to Change Big Trust Survey in 2022, and the work that took place to try to ensure that RMG was a better place to work. However, we had no involvement in The Big Trust Survey in 2023 and participation from our members was at an all-time low. No employee survey took place in 2024.

We put to Royal Mail that the previous survey and the Big Trust branding had been completely discredited by its links to former CEO Simon Thompson and his broken promises around managerial bonuses.

Royal Mail has now taken on a new survey partner called Peakon and will be launching a survey of all employees from 3^rd March – 23^rd March 2025.

This survey can be completed through the People App. The small number of employees (circa 3000) who do not have access to the People App will be written to by Royal Mail and supplied with a unique URL that will allow them to complete the survey.

Royal Mail have confirmed that like previous surveys, comments and responses will be presented to Royal Mail anonymously and are not linked to individuals. In addition, no comments will be visible to any managers other than those in agreed ‘test’ areas which are Commercial, Central Functions and the Anglia Region and Parcelforce Worldwide.

As in the years prior to the national dispute, Royal Mail have genuinely engaged with the CWU on issues such as the questions, access to the survey and how the survey will work.

This year questions on workload, fairness, mental health and the relationship between CWU Reps and Managers will feature.

Royal Mail have confirmed that following the survey the relevant results will be shared at each level, i.e. local unit with Local Reps, OPL level with Area Reps, divisional with Divisional Reps and the national data nationally. Members will be able to view their own office Dash Board on the People App if they wish to.

Of course, the key issue is not just what the results of the survey are but what work can take place jointly to improve employees’ experience in the workplace. Further discussions are scheduled with the business regarding joint working on local action plans and how the information gathered can be used to form part of the IR/ER reset as part of the Rebuilding Royal Mail agreement. Updates will be reported to Branches.

The CWU believe that the information that is gathered from My Experience will be very helpful to us when we commence the IR and ER Reset in the workplace.

The survey is entirely voluntary and employees will be given time within the working day to complete it. We would encourage members to take part in the survey to give a true reflection of the reality of working life at the frontline of Royal Mail.

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

Yours sincerely,

Martin Walsh

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

LTB 46/25 – My Experience Survey

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IDS TAKEOVER – CWU/EP GROUP AGREEMENT 

The purpose of this LTB is to provide Branches and Representatives with a comprehensive update on EP Group’s bid to takeover IDS and the approach CWU is taking on the implementation of our recent agreement.

Progress on the Transaction 

The union is aware the only outstanding regulatory hurdle for EP Group to overcome is clearance from the Romanian Government.  This is because GLS (the European parcel company owned by IDS) is currently seen by the Romanian Government as a critical part of their country’s infrastructure.  We understand this has caused some delay to the process, although it is not seen as a barrier to the transaction being completed and this is expected to be resolved soon.

Once the above matter is resolved, the process to conclude the shareholder vote (currently suspended) will recommence for a statutory period of 28 days.   From all the information we are aware of and what we have observed with market activity, when the vote is concluded we believe EP Group will meet the threshold required to complete the transaction.  It is expected that providing all the issues set out above are resolved, the transaction is likely to be concluded around the end of March 2025.

Members Individual Shares/Voting Rights

An important issue to highlight is that we have been made aware that a very significant number of CWU members/Royal Mail employees have not yet cast their vote.  Once the 28-day period is triggered and the closing date for the shareholder vote is known, the union will be sending out further communication to ensure our members know the closing date and what their entitlements are in casting their vote.  However, we are not in a position the give members financial advice on these issues.  We also understand that Royal Mail will be sending out further communication to ensure our members are fully aware of the full implications as individual shareholders in this process.

Implementation of the EP Agreement 

Notwithstanding the fact that the CWU/EP Agreement is conditional on the transaction being successfully concluded, we held further positive talks with EP Group recently on the most effective way to meet the timescales set out in the agreement and implement its spirit and content in full.

As a result, we can advise branches that advanced planning has commenced on how we will take forward all the crucial negotiations on Section 5 (resolution to outstanding issues)

Therefore, the negotiations on Section 5 will commence fully in March and will cover the following:

• Pay
• Equalising new entrants’ pay, terms and conditions over an agreed period within a career path.
• A new resourcing model which addresses quality of service, retention levels and morale.
• Improved sick pay arrangements.
• Review of Scheduled attendance and overtime rates.
• Review of voluntary redundancy payments.
• Reduction in agency costs.
• A performance incentive scheme.
• Pilots on new ways of working.

These negotiations will be led by the DGS(P) and the National Officers.

It is important that branches are reminded that the EP Group agreement also commits Royal Mail to any final agreement on the USO being conditional on progress and implementation within agreed timelines of the issues set out in Section 5 and listed above.

We also had positive talks recently on the implementation of the new governance structures and how the advisory committee will interact with both the IDS and RMG Board’s, including the changes that will need to be made in the company’s articles of association. Additionally, we will be finalising the new mission statement over the next few weeks to ensure this is ready for publication at the point of the transaction being concluded.  A key part of our discussion was the need for EP Group to demonstrate to our members their commitment for a fresh start in every office and new way of the business being run at all levels is real.  We are confident that EP Group understand that the current management culture must change and that our members will expect a significant communication directly from the new owners to demonstrate their commitment to a complete reset in employee and industrial relations.

Further information on these important issues will be sent out in due course.

Communications with Members 

We can confirm that in the near future we will be writing to members home addresses explaining in more detail all aspects of the CWU/EP Agreement and setting out our vision for the future of Royal Mail.  We are conscious that given our initial communications on the agreement took place in December, there is a need for all Branches and Representatives to refresh our understanding of the agreement and what needs to be done to fully implement its spirit and content.

Therefore, we will also be holding briefings, at the appropriate time, including separate communications for our representatives on how to address our members on all of these issues.  The communication to members home addresses will also set out our views on the future of the USO and explain our next steps.

Relationships with the existing RMG Board and Managers  

Finally, we continue to recognise that our members are not seeing a real change in the attitude of management at all levels.  The truth is this is not going to happen whilst the current RMG Board and certain senior managers remain in place.

We know that factions within the current board and some senior managers are opposed to the content of the EP Group agreement.  This is because it gives the union and our members a greater say over the future direction of the company and reverses the policies management pursued during and after the dispute, when attacking our members and representatives.  As we approach the point where our agreement with the EP Group will be launched, we will be providing branches with further important information on what happened during and since the dispute, including the Lord Falconer review and agreement.

Yours Sincerely,

Dave Ward
General Secretary

Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)  

044LTB25 IDS TAKEOVER CWU EP GROUP AGREEMENT

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For the Immediate Attention of All:

Postal Branches
Parcelforce Regional Organisers
Parcelforce Representatives

Dear Colleagues

Parcelforce – Building the Future Transformation

Branches and representatives may be aware that briefings have commenced in Parcelforce on the Building the Future, Transformation programme.

The department has been in discussions with Royal Mail and Parcelforce for some weeks over this initiative, previously known as Project Daisy, which represents the first major investment in the Parcelforce business in many years and is intended to secure the future of the business for the next 20 years.

While much of the detail will have to be worked through, in the view of the department this commitment from Royal Mail Group to start investing in the Parcelforce infrastructure is welcomed and represents a major change in approach from the position taken by the RMG board at the commencement of the BRT&G discussions where the focus was on determining if Parcelforce had a future.

Instead, the current discussions have been around future proofing, the Parcelforce Network and updating business systems to allow the easier movement of workload between the Parcelforce and Royal Mail Networks, in line with the commitments in Section 5 and Appendix 3 of the BRT&G in relation to the creation of a single large parcel network and to utilising any synergies between the respective networks. The aim is to develop Parcelforce’s strengths whilst modernising the network to be able to win significant new volume and potentially double the size of the business over the next decade.

The initial phase of activity which will commence in June 2025 with major investment in upgrading Parcelforce’s IT systems and aligning capabilities with Royal Mail on a single IT Platform and shipping solution which will allow customers to seamlessly access Parcelforce and Royal Mail products and services. This will also harmonise operating procedures and equipment in both businesses. These changes will facilitate:

• A simplified product range avoiding internal competition between Royal Mail and Parcelforce.
• Enhanced Delivery features and the introduction of in-flight delivery options in Parcelforce.
• Adoption of enhanced barcoding and the introduction of Royal Mail PDA’s
• Cessation of a number of end-of-life Parcelforce systems and replacing them with updated Royal Mail systems. In particular the much-maligned Rex Route Planner will be removed from service and replaced with the Loqus Route Planner supported by TomTom mapping capabilities and the Royal Mail Postcode database.

The change will also require changes to operational processes and ways of working to align with the new technology and maximise the commercial benefits and growth opportunities that they facilitate. Detailed discussions on these aspects are underway and the department will provide detailed updates as talks progress.

There is no doubt this is a major change which will affect the way our Parcelforce members interact with technology and perform their roles. Parcelforce have committed to providing comprehensive training packages which will be rolled out to ensure that our members are supported through this period.

For the avoidance of doubt this investment does not signal the full reinterrogation of Parcelforce back into Royal Mail. The Parcelforce Network will remain and expand maximising the advantages the Parcelforce model brings to the carriage and delivery of premium and large parcels and aligns traffic to the appropriate network based on the optimum delivery model for the product size and specification supporting the future growth of Parcelforce within the Royal Mail Group.

Along with the commitments secured in the Framework agreement with EP Group – Rebuilding Royal Mail, which restores the agreed resourcing mix in Parcelforce this welcome investment in Parcelforce provides the best platform in many years to grow the business and provide enhanced job security for our Parcelforce members.

Further update will be provided in due course as detailed talks on the changes required to deliver the commitments progress and we would ask that the contents of this LTB are brought to the attention of our Parcelforce members. Arrangements are being made for an online update for members on Thursday 27^th February and a Parcelforce Representatives briefing will be held covering this issue, details of which will follow shortly.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to:  Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: jrodrigues@cwu.org quoting reference: LTB 040/25.

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

LTB 040/25 – Parcelforce – Building the Future Transformation

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OFCOM CONSULTATION ON USO REFORM

All branches will be aware that on the 30^th January, the CWU responded to Ofcom’s announcement that they were opening a public consultation on specific reforms to the Universal Service Obligation. The consultation will close on the 10th of April and Ofcom have stated they intend to publish a final decision on reforms in Summer 2025.

The purpose of this LTB is to focus on the background to Ofcom’s consultation and the proposed reforms they will be consulting on. In addition, we will be outlining how the CWU will be responding to the consultation in a wider context, in addition to the USO pilots, our ongoing discussions with RMG, and how we utilise the overall USO commitments secured in our agreement with EP Group.

Ofcom announcement in context

It is important that we continue to recognise that Ofcom’s announcement on the 30^th January comes on the back of their previous consultation on the future of the universal postal service in early 2024.

This included multiple options for USO reform, including introducing a three or four day USO across all classes of mail. At that point, the CWU submitted a robust response, alongside many other stakeholders and challenged Ofcom’s initial assessment of postal users’ needs and their financial modelling, as well as proposing some regulatory reforms. Subsequently, in September 2024, Ofcom announced that they accepted the need for USO reform but had noted that the consultation respondents had stressed the importance of maintaining some form of six-day service.

Their most recent consultation confirms their plan to seriously consider the ‘Optimized Delivery Model’ as the means of USO reform and they will now seek views on whether this specific proposal will achieve the desired outcome for customers and other stakeholders.

We have been in discussions with Ofcom throughout this period and have engaged them on the serious need for holistic wider reform to regulation, as part of any final decision to change the USO.

In responding to the Ofcom consultation, CWU will focus on the following:

The need for reform of Ofcom to ensure a level playing field with Royal Mail’s competitors. In our view, this means Ofcom being held to account by the Government on the need to protect the long term future of the USO, rather than promoting artificial competition which has inflated the cost of ‘last-mile’ delivery.

The need for Ofcom to allow Royal Mail greater scope in introducing tailored services for the likes of the NHS and other major customers, such as the greeting card industry.

We will call and campaign for the Labour Government to be the ultimate decision-makers on any reform to the USO. This is in contrast to Ofcom’s current position, where they state that the reforms they are consulting on do not require Parliamentary approval under the Postal Services Act and therefore, fall solely under their jurisdiction.

We will call for any final proposals from Ofcom, which they state will be made in the Summer of 2025, to take full account of the outcome of the USO pilots and the views of our members. 

We will make clear that we will not support any predetermined target level of savings from implementing these reforms, whether they are from Royal Mail or Ofcom. We will be clear that Royal Mail has a track record of making assumptions on workload that never materialise in practice. These assumptions will be fully tested in the pilots, particularly given the background of Royal Mail’s ongoing quality of service and resourcing failures, arising directly from the company’s imposed revisions during the last dispute.

The key points in Ofcom’s Consultation

Ofcom’s reform proposals are listed below as published in their consultation document:

Remove the requirement that second class letters be delivered over six days and allow it to deliver such letters on alternate weekdays, Monday through Friday. 

Maintain the requirements for delivery of first-class letters, which will continue to be delivered the next day, six days a week.

Maintain the current parcels Universal Service specification.

Branches will be aware that these changes align with the Optimised Delivery Model – which is now subject to the Pilot that has been agreed with Royal Mail.

Ofcom has also proposed changes to the current quality of service targets listed below.

• First class targets will be reduced from 93% to 90%.
• Second class targets will be reduced from 98.5% to 95%.

In addition to the above, Ofcom has proposed introducing a new quality target called the “tail of mail target”. This target aims to ensure that Royal Mail delivers 99.5% of first-class items within three days of posting and second-class items within five days of posting. The CWU will be emphasising to Ofcom that these service quality targets can only be achieved if Royal Mail starts taking the issues in the workplace, workload problems and the recruitment crisis seriously.

We thought it was important to bring to the attention of branches our approach to this consultation and further information on this will be sent out in due course.

Please direct any inquiries to dlynch@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

DAVE WARD              

GENERAL SECRETARY                                                                 

MARTIN WALSH                   

DEPUTY GENERAL SECRETARY (POSTAL)

LTB 042/25 – OFCOM CONSULTATION ON USO REFORM

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