RMPFS IR Framework Agreement – Ballot Result

Further to LTB 365/21 dated 3rd September 2021 at the close of the ballot on 21st September the following result was declared:

95 Ballot papers issued
42 ballot papers returned

Total possible votes 1413

Total Votes in favour of the agreement    685

Total votes against the agreement 0

Thank you to all Branches that took part in the ballot.

Next Steps
A timetable will be set in due course for the nomination process for individuals to fill the roles and any consequential elections which need to take place to enable the implementation of the new RMPFS I.R. Framework.

Any enquiries regarding the content of this LTB should be addressed to the PTCS/Outdoor Departments, quoting reference number 301/120.12, email: khay@cwu.org or outdoorsecretary@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely                                               
Carl Maden                                                    
Assistant Secretary              

Yours sincerely
Mark Baulch
Assistant Secretary

LTB 403/21

View Online

Election of National Representative Positions – 2021

• CWU Retired Members Committee – Vacancies

Further to LTB 358/21 dated 26^thAugust 2021, please find below the result of the ballot which closed today.

2 Retired members living in EnglandRodney DowningSouth East No 538,347 John FarnanEastern No 652,966*ElectedDamian IbisonSouth West Middlesex Amal22,863John KavanaghSouth Midlands Postal27,154 Sean (John) RyanEast London Postal41,816*ElectedColin WinsbyGreat Western31,961 

Please find attached a copy of the branch breakdown for this ballot.

Any enquiries regarding this Letter to Branches 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,

Tony Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

LTB 404/21

Ballot Returns

View Online

DEMONSTRATION TORY PARTY CONFERENCE | UNITE AGAINST THE TORIES – SUNDAY 3^RD OCTOBER 2021

PROTEST AGAINST | CORRUPTION | CRONYISM | FIRE & REHIRE | PRIVATISATION OF THE NHS | LOW PAY PROTEST FOR | NEW DEAL FOR WORKERS | SAFER WORKPLACES | RIGHT TO FOOD | BETTER PUBLIC SERVICES

This year the Tory Party will be holding their annual conference in Manchester on 3 October – 6 October and the People’s Assembly, supported by Trade Unions, including the CWU, are holding a major national demonstration on Sunday 3rd October.  Details of the demonstration are set out below.

National Demonstration | Sunday 3^rd October 2021

Assemble: 12 noon, Oxford Rd, near Whitworth Park, Manchester, M14 4PW

(Just look out for the large CWU balloons)

All Branches are urged to do all they can to attend this event and to encourage and assist as many of our members as possible to attend on the day.  

The Union will be providing merchandise and flags for the event and Branches are also encouraged to bring their banners to create a show of strength from the CWU.  

The CWU delegation will be led by the North West Region and for any further enquiries on the above, please contact Carl Webb North West Regional Secretary at northwestregion@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward

General Secretary

LTB 402/21 – Demonstration Tory Party Conference

View Online

Postal Apprentices – CWU Membership/Recruitment (Subscription Rates)

Colleagues will be aware that the initial tranche of Postal Apprentices have commenced employment and are now able to join/be recruited to the CWU.  A number of enquires have been received in the DGS(P) Department relating to the subscription rates that will be applied to both adult and potential members aged 16/17.

It is confirmed that the usual rates applicable to adult recruits 18 years of age and above will apply to Postal Apprentices.

I can also report that after consultation with the SDGS Department the following subscription rates will apply to potential members aged 16/17.

•  all 16 year olds who Opt IN to the Levy Plan 6 pay £1.57 per week (Those who Opt OUT of the Levy will pay £1.37 per week).
• all 17 year olds who Opt IN to the Levy Plan 5 pay £1.93 per week (Those who Opt OUT of the Levy will pay £1.73 per week).

In respect of the rates for the 16/17-year-old age group, the Union are currently working with Royal Mail to update the PSP System to accommodate the new subscription rates for our younger colleagues and we expect the uplift to be completed over the next few weeks.  We are also in dialogue with the business about a possible interim solution to collect these subscription rates from pay however as an alternative option in the short-term the attached form may be used as a direct debit from the members’ bank account.

Branches and Representatives will be advised of further developments once they occur.  Any enquiries in relation to the content of this LTB should be addressed to the DGS(P) Department.

Yours sincerely,

Terry Pullinger

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

LTB 401/21 – Postal Apprentices – CWU Membership, Recruitment (Subscription Rates)

Attachment to LTB 401/21 – New Entrant Training Pack DD Form

View Online

The Launch of CWU App – Download Now

We are pleased to announce that the CWU App is available to be downloaded on Apple and Android devices. You can download it directly via the links below or by searching for ‘Affiliate the CWU App’ in either the App Store or Google Play Store. 

App Store for Apple devices

Google Play Store for Android devices
 

To access a download guide and further information on your system requirements for download, please visit: www.cwu.org/affiliate

The App offers us a unique opportunity to have the best of our online communication tools all in one place. We have the ability to showcase articles, videos, podcasts, events, polls and send push notifications to all members.

Branches will note that the App has two feeds – the Affiliate news feed and My CWU. The Affiliate news feed will host wider trade union movement content and give us the opportunity to share news of workers in dispute, wins in other unions and debate how we grow our movement.

The My CWU feed will focus directly on our members in the workplace. Members will be able to choose the information they want to see based on the constituency and region they work in. We are working directly with our Regional Secretaries to encourage as much regional content as possible to flow onto the App.

This is phase one of the App launch and phase two will include members being able to update their own address and wider membership details. Phase two will also identify how we can utilise the App for increasing membership of the union.

The launch of Affiliate is a major develop for not only our union but the wider trade union movement. Once the App has been in circulation for a few weeks we will be calling a national briefing to go through the project in greater detail. In the meantime, we ask every CWU branch to put in place plans to ask as many of their members as possible to download the App immediately. It is only by having thousands of our members engaged with the App that we can match and exceed the financial muscle of the equivalent forms of communication from employers.

We are confident that this is another strong tool and one which will further enhance the experience for CWU members. Our thanks go to our Communications Department and in particular, Deputy Head of Communications, Amie Retallick who has led this long-term project.

Any questions on this LTB should be directed to the Communications Department: mmurray@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Dave Ward Chris Webb
General Secretary Head of Communications Engagagement & Media

Dr Shaun Davis Royal Mail Group Global Director Compliance & Sustainability – Resignation:

This is to inform all CWU Health and Safety Representatives in Royal Mail Group that Shaun Davis Royal Mail Group Director of Compliance & Sustainability who has Group wide responsibility for Safety, Health, Wellbeing, Environment and Security has notified us of his resignation from the business as of last week and he is currently working his contractual notice period with a departure date in February 2022.

Shaun asked me to thank all the CWU local and Area Health and Safety Representatives for their important contribution to the health and safety of the workforce in Royal Mail Group, as part of the safety community along with the RMG SHE team during his ten years with Royal Mail Group.

In a personal message to the Union Mr Davis said his decision was not quick or easy and he is proud of the great work he has done with his team, the CWU and the Union’s ASRs and WSRs, through the strong and professional working relationship that had been established. He wished everyone a happy, healthy and safe future.

On behalf of the Union I thanked him for his service and wished him well in the furtherance of his career elsewhere.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

LTB 397/21 – Dr Shaun Davis Royal Mail Group Global Director Compliance & Sustainability – Resignation

View Online

Universal Access to Occupational Health – Free On-Line Summit Event – Tuesday 21 September 2021, 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM

TUC HQ have informed the Health, Safety & Environment Department of a ‘free to attend’ half day online Summit, 2pm – 5pm on Tuesday 21st September 2021, organised by the Society of Occupational Medicine (SOM). SOM is the professional organisation for individuals with an interest in health and work. SOM acts as a national and international voice for occupational health, engaging with employers and government across the UK and globally to increase awareness of the role of occupational health and exploring how to achieve universal access in occupational health, and the benefits this would produce.

AGENDA & TIMETABLE – ‘Universal Access to Occupational Health, Online Summit, 21st September 2021 afternoon’

2pm Welcome Dame Carol Black, SOM Patron

2.05pm Introductory overview – Professor Ewan Macdonald OBE, University of Glasgow – Why is this important? E.g. Long COVID

2.15pm Examples of Universal Access

–  Finland – Owe Österbacka, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH)

–  WHO perspective – Dr Ivan Ivanov Team Leader of the WHO Global Occupational Health Programme

– EU perspective – Ioannis Anyfantis, EU-OSHA – The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work

3.00pm Trade Union perspective – Owen Tudor ITUC

3.15pm Council for Work and Health perspective – Dr Steve Boorman (Former Royal Mail Group Head of Occupational Health)

3.30pm Royal College of GPs – speaker tbc

3.45pm Rt. Hon Theresa Villiers MP and discussion

4.30pm Public Health perspectives – Professor Maggie Rae, Faculty of Public Health (FPH) President

4.45pm Panel discussion with speakers and President of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine, Dr Steve Nimmo, and Dr Jayne Moore, President of the SOM

5pm Close

Register on Eventbrite at this link:- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/universal-access-to-occupational-health-free-summit-tickets-161815062207

Further information:

SOM
2 St Andrews Place,
London, NW1 4LB
Tel: 0203 910 4531
Email: admin@som.org.uk 

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

LTB 398/21 – Universal Access to Occupational Health – Free On-Line Summit Event – Tuesday 21 September 2021, 2 PM to 5 PM

View Online

Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan – Members’ Consultation

Branches will be aware that the Pension Schemes Act 2021 received Royal Assent in February this year and this provided the primary legislative framework for Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) pension schemes in the UK.  Royal Mail Group (RMG) and CWU had previously committed to implementing a CDC scheme and since Royal Assent, we have been working with RMG on plans to introduce a new collective pension scheme for the benefit of our members.

Consultation on the new Royal Mail “Collective Plan”

I am pleased to advise you we have now reached the stage whereby RMG will be launching a consultation with CWU for a new Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan (to be known as the “Collective Plan” for short).  This is a legal requirement for a change in pension plan and as part of this process, they will write to our members with information about the proposed change and give them an opportunity to provide feedback and ask questions.

The formal consultation launches on Tuesday 21^stSeptember and closes on Sunday 21^st November.  Consultation packs will soon start to land on our members’ doormats.

The following Tripartite Statement has been agreed between CWU, Unite and RMG:

‘Together, we have worked hard over the last few years to design an exciting new pension plan for our people and, with consultation underway, we are pleased to see the Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan take a step closer to launch. We all believe that you will be best served by this Plan which would provide a lump sum and a wage in retirement in a way that is sustainable and affordable for the business and members.’

 Mick Jeavons                          Terry Pullinger      Gary Sassoon-Hales

RMG Chief Financial Officer    CWU DGS (P)      Unite CMA National Representative

Members can access information in regard to the consultation via the following RMG link:

http://www.myroyalmail.com/collective-plan

The RMG website provides answers to important questions our members may have and also explains what happens next.  In addition, there is the ability to ask specific questions directly via the website.  For further assistance, a FAQ comparison table has been produced which outlines how the benefits in the Collective Plan compare to those in the RMPP and RMDCP.  The table is attached to this LTB for your information.

Following the consultation, assuming a positive response, if all goes smoothly, the Collective Plan will be launched in 2022.  Members who have been with RMG for more than one year would stop building up benefits in the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP) and the Royal Mail Defined Contribution Plan (RMDCP) and start building them up in the Collective Plan instead.  Benefits they have already built up in RMPP or RMDCP would be there for them when they retire.

In closing, the main purpose of this LTB is to signal the launch of the consultation arrangements, which is a legal process.  We would anticipate further information being provided next week.

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

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey

Acting Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

LTB 396/21 – Royal Mail Collective Pension Plan – Members’ Consultation

Attachment to LTB 396/21

View Online