Workers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains. Karl Marx.
CWU Conference 2026 – Standing Orders Reports
Please find attached the following for the General and Postal Conferences:
Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to Angela Niven by emailing conferences@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely,
Dave Ward
General Secretary
Postal Conference 2026 Policy
Please find attached the Postal Executive’s policy for Motions submitted to Postal Conference 2026.
Any enquiries relating to the content of this LTB should be referred to the DGSP department hford@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)
LTB 136.26 Postal Conference 2026 Policy
PAY 2026
We have received several enquiries regarding when the 3% pay rise mentioned in the agreement will be paid.
The pay rise for all within Royal Mail Group, except new entrants, is not dependent on the ballot result, as our members voted yes to the pay rise formula in July 2025.
Royal Mail normally takes six to eight weeks to build the new pay codes into PSP and to calculate arrears following any pay deal. We have been told that the target date for the increase and arrears for weekly-paid employees is Friday, 5th June, and for monthly-paid employees, the end of June.
The 3% will flow through to all elements of pay such as London pay ranges, Scottish Distant Island, pensionable allowances, Scheduled Attendance and overtime rates.
All members will be aware that a review formula was in place if the average CPI for January, February and March 2026 was above 3%. However, this review was linked to the company’s financial and commercial position. We decided that it was unlikely at this point that Royal Mail would agree to anything above 3% due to the delay in the USO and the fact that the company, at best, will break even for the financial year.
The decision was therefore made not to delay the pay rise any further and to have the review following the USO deployment. The Bank of England confirmed on 22nd April that the CPI for March was 3.3%, bringing the average for January, February, and March 2026 to 3.1%. If we had activated the review, then the pay rise would have been delayed even further.
Finally, new entrants will have the chance to vote on their pay rise, which is 4.75% (an additional 1.75%). If new entrants vote yes, Royal Mail aims to pay the increase and the arrears to new entrants in their monthly pay at the end of June.
Any enquiries relating to the content of this LTB should be referred to the DGSP department hford@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)
ROYAL MAIL: SPEAK UP POLICY VS RAISING CONCERNS NATIONAL AGREEMENT
We are aware that some Branches have reported an issue regarding an apparent ability for people to instigate a Raising Concern complaint anonymously. Seemingly, there appears to be a misunderstanding and as such some confusion around this matter.
It could be that the Raising Concerns National Agreement and process is being confused with Royal Mail’s “Speak Up” (or in other words whistleblowing) Policy, which does allow for anonymous reports to be instigated if someone wishes. Below is an extract from the Speak Up Policy (attached), which Royal Mail says is designed to “…protect our people and our brand, build trust and confidence within our organisation but also with our customers and our regulators.”:
You can make reports anonymously if you wish, however, when using Speak Up, we encourage you to provide contact details to the external provider who will retain it confidentially if you wish, as otherwise it may be difficult to conduct an effective investigation.
For clarity purposes, if an employee wishes to action a Raising Concern, they either complete the form through the People App on Robin or contact their manager. When completing the form, they must provide their name at an early stage and if they don’t do so, they will be unable to progress to the next section and therefore will be unable to submit a Raising Concern. For the avoidance of doubt, we have received formal confirmation from Karen McKay, Head of HR Policy, that it is not possible under the Raising Concerns National Agreement for complaints to be lodged anonymously. The following is an extract from an email from Karen McKay:
Colleagues are not able to raise concerns anonymously under the Raising Concerns process. As you know they either contact their manager or complete the form through the People App on Robin. By completing the form they will provide their name
Hopefully this provides full clarity on this matter. In the event that Reps or Branches are faced with managers who say they are investigating or pursuing an anonymous Raising Concern via the Raising Concerns National Agreement, this needs to be immediately challenged as being outwith the National Agreement and reported to my Department without delay, in order that we can highlight any malpractices and abuses of the Agreement to senior management.
If you have any queries in relation to this LTB, please contact Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org or Heidi Maughan at hmaughan@cwu.org
Yours sincerely,
Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary
LTB133.26 -RM Speak Up Policy Vs Raising Concerns National Agreement
CWU LIVE SHOW FOR POSTAL MEMBERS ON WEDNESDAY 6TH MAY AT 5PM
The purpose of this LTB is to confirm that we will be holding an online live session to discuss and answer member questions on the CWU/RMG agreement.
This session will be held on Wednesday 6th of Mayat 5pm. The General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary will be explaining the detail of what is in the agreement and answering questions from reps and members.
You can view the session using the link below.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/live/hz4lVtr4G0U
Please ensure this is communicated to our members in the workplace. It will be an informative session and a key opportunity to explain important parts of this agreement. The session will also be available to view after the livestream has ended.
If you have any further questions, please contact the General Secretary’s Department at dlynch@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Walsh Dave Ward
Deputy General Secretary (Postal) General Secretary
26LTB131 CWU LIVE SHOW FOR POSTAL MEMBERS ON WEDNESDAY 6TH MAY AT 5PM
FURTHER UPDATE ON CONSULTATIVE BALLOT PROCESS FOR RESOLUTION OF THE TWO DRPS ON USO & EQUALISATION
Further to the LTB 124/26 this LTB provides additional information for Branches and members.
Ballot papers will be dispatched by 1st class post to all members’ home addresses who are eligible to vote from 11th May 2026.
Voting will be conducted via the online electronic voting system, and members will receive personalised correspondence enabling them to cast their vote.
The online voting process uses a secure voting site administered by Civica (independent scrutineers) specifically for this ballot. This voting process was used for last year’s Rebuilding Royal Mail Part 1 & 2 agreements. The process is based on a simple, easy-to-use format that other unions and the Labour Party routinely use.
In advance of the ballot we will share example ballot papers and instructions for Branches and members on how to complete their vote.
Information on the Additional Vote for New Entrants
We have received enquiries about the two votes and whether one depends on the other. The resolutions to the two DRPs were mutually dependent; hence, they are in one agreement, as we both agreed that we would not agree to one without the other party agreeing to the other.
However, we wanted to provide new entrants with a vote on the additional pay rise of 1.75% whilst also allowing all members to vote on endorsing the policy of equalisation within the main agreement.
Any enquiries relating to the content of this LTB should be referred to the DGSP department hford@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)
RM and CWU Joint Statement Covering Scanning Away from Location on Collection
Dear Colleagues,
Following trials in the Anglia division for enhanced PDA features using location information to prompt users to sense check the scan location when on collection, we have agreed a joint communication with Royal Mail covering this process, as the business seek to reduce scanning in the wrong location.
The enhanced feature issues a notification to the user when they attempt to scan a COLLOD or collection point barcode whilst the PDA location is away from the registered location by more than 100 meters. The notification says ‘You are scanning in the wrong location, do you want to proceed?’ giving the user an option to select ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
It is recognised that there might be differing reasons for the notification appearing, for example GPS issues or the collection point being recorded incorrectly in Route Manager, which should be corrected as this is highlighted. It is also recognised that this could occur as a result of staff knowingly scanning away from the location i.e. from a photo of the barcode on their mobile phone. CWU and the business are aware that this is not solely proportioned to OPG grade.
We trialled this update in Norwich DO and the Collections Hub at Norwich MC with an agreed amnesty on conduct. There were no issues during the trial from management or CWU representatives and any base data anomalies were corrected as a result of the trial.
The trial was then expanded to the wider Anglia division and due to increased visibility, we have received reports from management regarding staff scanning away from location, which could have resulted in conduct without the amnesty in place.
The joint aim is to see improved quality as a result of the new feature. Protection of a further National amnesty period for additional 3 months will be in place to reduce the potential for conduct cases going forward, with the focus being on coaching rather than conduct. This is captured in the joint statement and Royal Mail are now looking to deploy this upgrade nationally on Monday, 11th May.
In addition, the business has agreed that all required training and coaching will be given by Workplace Coaches to support OPGs as required, with all data on the deployment of Collection Proximity feature to be regularly shared with the National Collections JWG.
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 125/26 – JS Scanning Away from Location on Collection
ROYAL MAIL: EX “SAFENET” MEMBERS – CONFIRMATION OF PAY INCREASE FROM 1STAPRIL 2026
Branches may recall that we have a number of members (c.130) who were redeployed from Post Office “Safenet” duties back into the Royal Mail operation under MTSF in 2009.
Following our representations, Royal Mail management have now formally confirmed that these ex-Post Office members have either received or will shortly receive the Post Office pay increase of 3.24% as per year one of the two year pay agreement (for the comparable Post Office Crew grade) from 1st April 2026. Refer to LTB 094/26 dated 30th March for full details of the Post Office Pay Agreement.
I would be grateful if Branches could bring this positive development to the attention of our ex-Post Office members working in Royal Mail.
If you have any queries in relation to this LTB, please contact Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org or Heidi Maughan at hmaughan@cwu.org
Yours sincerely,
Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary
Attachment 1: LTB129.26 RM Ex “Safenet” Members – Confirmation of Pay Increase
ROYAL MAIL: RAISING CONCERNS NATIONAL AGREEMENT – KEY STATISTICS
Further to LTB 041/26 dated 10th February. Earlier this week, Bobby Weatherall and Alan Tate, PE members, met with Karen McKay, Head of HR Policy as part of the ongoing engagement and review of key statistics arising from the application of the Raising Concerns National Agreement.
The data shown on the attached slide deck is for a full year from April 2025 to April 2026. In this period, there were 4,721 Raising Concern cases, although this does not include cases at the Appeal stage. Since the Raising Concerns Agreement was launched, there have been 7,332 cases in total.
Key Statistics from the latest data (April to April)
If you have any queries in relation to this LTB, please contact Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org or Heidi Maughan at hmaughan@cwu.org
Yours sincerely,
Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary
Attachment 1: LTB128.26 RM – Raising Concerns National Agreement – Key Statistics
Attachment 2: Attachment to LTB128.26 – Slide Deck, Raising Concerns
ROYAL MAIL: CHANGE FOR GOOD PROGRAMME – CWU INVOLVEMENT
Further to LTB 207/24 dated 14th June 2024 which advised Branches of a Royal Mail Sexual Harassment Initiative which had been developed under a programme called Change for Good (CFG).
Recently we been in discussions with Royal Mail in regard to the current status of the CFG programme and specifically the Union’s involvement in this initiative. As a consequence of these discussions, we have received the attached correspondence from Dahlia Basrawi, HR Director, Performance & Capability, which confirms that Royal Mail is supportive of the Union engaging in various supporting activities, including the creation of a Shadow National Steering Committee for CFG. Specifically, the correspondence from Royal Mail notes that the surest way for CFG to succeed is through “our shared ambition to create safe, inclusive and welcoming workplaces throughout Royal Mail”.
The Postal Executive has been documented a couple of times this month on the CFG programme and has now established supporting policy regarding the CFG initiative, with the specific aim of ensuring that via engagement with Royal Mail, we have the opportunity to pursue our policies and strategy in regard to eradicating bullying & harassment in the workplace. Kate Hudson, Head of Equality, Education & Development, has been consulted over this matter, and is fully supportive of the approach we are taking and as such Kate will be heavily involved in the activities going forward.
Branches will be aware that the Union has proactively engaged in this type of programme in the past, such as the Dignity & Respect at Work (DRAW) project. Accordingly, the Postal Executive considers it important that the Union is fully involved and helps to influence and shape the ongoing initiatives surrounding CFG.
Royal Mail National Steering Committee and Joint Shadow National Steering Committee
Under the auspices of ongoing involvement, Royal Mail has invited the CWU to form a Shadow National Steering Committee that will meet every six weeks and just prior to the Royal Mail National Steering Committee meetings. The Postal Executive will engage in the construction of the SNSC with the involvement of myself, Kate Hudson, Bobby Weatherall and Katrina Quirke, PE members and Officer Substitutes, and Jamie McGovern, Health & Safety Policy Assistant.
Postal Executive Working Group
To support the activities of the SNSC, we will also instigate a Postal Executive Working Group consisting of everyone involved in the SNSC, along with Angela Whitter, Steve Halliwell and Darren Glebocki, PE Members. This will ensure that we regularly invest decent time to scrutinise and review the overall direction and thrust of CFG and what it means for our members whilst ensuring that all areas of the Postal Department are involved.
Lastly, arrangements are being made for Dahlia Basrawi and Lizz Lloyd, Group Health & Safety Director, to present the CFG programme and associated activities to the Postal Executive. Following this, we will also ensure that a similar event is held for our Senior Field Officials.
Further developments will be reported.
If you have any queries in relation to this LTB, please contact Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org or Heidi Maughan at hmaughan@cwu.org
Yours sincerely,
Andy Furey Kate Hudson
Assistant Secretary Head of Equality, Education & Development
Attachment 1: LTB 126.26 – Royal Mail Change for Good Programme – CWU Involvement
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 