UK Chief Medical Officers’ Announcement on the Self-Isolation Period Change From 14 Days to 10 Days From Today Monday 14 December 2020:

Last Friday a change to the self-isolation period from 14 to 10 days was announced by the UK’s 4 Chief Medical Officers.

This change will apply in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland from today, Monday 14 December. It already applies in Wales.

Self-isolation is essential for reducing the spread of COVID-19 as it breaks the chains of transmission. After reviewing the evidence, the Chief Medical Officers are now confident that the UK can reduce the number of days that contacts self-isolate for from 14 days to 10 days.

People who return from countries which are not on the travel corridor list should also self-isolate for 10 days instead of 14 days. The passenger locator form for UK arrivals will be updated from today.

People who test positive should continue to self-isolate for 10 days from onset of symptoms or 10 days from point of taking a positive test if they were asymptomatic. This will also apply to contacts and to all those who are currently self-isolating including those who commenced self-isolation before Monday. Self-isolation periods will begin on the day after exposure, a test or the start of symptoms.

The NHS Test and Trace service will tell people to self-isolate for 10 days instead of 14 days from today.

Due to the time taken to make and test technical IT changes and release updates through the App Store, the NHS COVID-19 App will tell close contacts to isolate for 10 days instead of 14 days from Thursday 17 December.

In England, people receiving a notification from the NHS COVID-19 App before 17 December to isolate because they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive:

• Must follow isolation guidance provided by contact tracers if contacted by NHS Test and Trace.
• Can leave isolation when the isolation countdown timer says 3 days, if they were advised to isolate by the App (and not by NHS Test and Trace).

The Chief Medical Officers, UK Governments and Department of Health and Social Care are urging everyone to self-isolate when appropriate as it will save lives.

The Announcement was made jointly by:

Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty

Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland, Dr. Michael McBride

Chief Medical Officer for Scotland, Dr. Gregor Smith

Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr. Frank Atherton

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

20LTB593 UK Chief Medical Officers’ Announcement on the Self-Isolation Period Change From 14 Days to 10 Days From Today Monday 14 December 2020

Update from Martin Walsh from CWU PEC

“It would not be right for me to reveal the details of the talks as they are at a crucial stage.

However I can say that the talks are about agreeing guiding principles some of which will need further detail and agreement.

This potential covers a magnitude of issues ranging from: pay, shorter working week, job security, MTSF, parcel growth now in the future including 24/7 operation, The New Parcel Hubs, legal guarantees, 4 pillars, productivity and efficiency, revisions/ frequency, scan in scan out and what it can and can’t be used for, new trial process, Dispute resolution process, culture, resource scheduler and USO debate.

So you can see it covers a range of Issues and out of each of those principles there a myriad of sub sections for example delivery revisions, you have the model week, The new FMO process, new revision process .

I won’t go into further detail until of any of the above but negotiations are not only about agreeing issues but also agreeing a form of words which both sides are happy with.

1. Any pay deal has to be put to the membership it is within the CWU Rule Book. That has to be an individual member ballot ie postal ballot.
2. Pay cannot be separated from the overall agreement as clearly Royal Mail want certain issues to resolved so they can be confident in funding a pay agreement.
3. Anyone who has been in high level talks know that it is one thing agreeing issues, it is another getting a form of words which both parties are happy with. Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. Remember each issue is important.
4. On pay some have said they want more on the overtime rate, all I would say is that if there are 200 or 250 million on the table for the pay agreement, there is only so many ways you can cut it . If you want it backdated than clearly the percentage weekly increase would be lower if you did not back date it. If you only wanted it on base pay not overtime etc than it would be higher.

However you want an higher over time rate that clearly you would be moving some away from base pay. Only 20% of members work regular overtime that is worth considering .

If part timers work extra hours up to 38 hours they receive the hourly rate plus each hours share of the delivery supplement so they won’t benefit from increasing overtime. So it is always a judgement on pay.

The union policy is to get the base pensionable rate as high as possible and recognise that this should be backdated.”

POST OFFICE: PAY NEGOTIATIONS – JOINT STATEMENT

Further to LTB 576/20 dated 30th November, the following Joint Statement regarding Post Office pay negotiations has been published:

JOINT STATEMENT POST OFFICE AND CWU
Pay Negotiations

We are pleased to be able to advise you that a constructive meeting was held between the two negotiating teams earlier today.

We are conscious that everyone has been very patient and we are obviously in extraordinary times which has hindered progress. As a consequence, we have now agreed it makes sense to extend the negotiating process to include pay for 2021/22.

Our new focus means we will be seeking to conclude a two year agreement up to 31st March 2022. We hope you will acknowledge this new emphasis is designed to provide certainty for 2021/22 pay.

Neither party is underestimating the scale and complexity of the task we have set ourselves. To facilitate these negotiations, both parties have agreed to the principle of an intensive timetable of talks and we have also agreed a cut-off date of the end of February 2021 to conclude an agreement, although we would prefer to finalise this earlier if possible.

We remain hopeful we can jointly deliver a good solution and would wish to thank everyone for their efforts during these unprecedented times. Once again your patience is appreciated.

Lee Kelly                                                                                  Andy Furey
Employee Relations and Policy Director                         Assistant Secretary, CWU

It should be noted that the principle of seeking to conclude a two year agreement was instigated by the Union given that we would normally lodge our pay claim in February each year prior to the 1st April pay date. As the next pay review date is only a few months away, it made sense to incorporate next year’s pay into these negotiations, giving our members a degree of certainty and stability in terms of their pay, terms and conditions.

Earlier today a meeting was held with our Post Office Representatives and following an extremely positive conversation, all of them confirmed they are fully supportive of seeking a two year pay agreement.

Clearly the outcome of yesterday’s meeting was positive. Both parties will now be making pay a priority and a series of meetings will be scheduled over the course of the next few weeks.

Branches and Representatives are urged to bring this LTB and associated Joint Statement to the attention of our Post Office members.

Further developments will be reported.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary

LTB 592/20 -Post Office – Pay Negotiations – Joint Statement

JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN PARCELFORCE WORLDWIDE AND THE CWU ON THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE COVID TEST CONTRACT AWARD

Branches and representatives are advised that Parcelforce has secured a 1 year sole carrier contract with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to supply and distribute Covid-19 testing kits as part of the UK Government’s “Moonshot” project, as well as vital PPE.

Discussions have therefore taken place with the business to conclude a Joint Statement in relation to the activity. A copy of the Joint Statement which has been endorsed by the Postal Executive is attached for information.

In summary the Joint Statement confirms that the test kit contract is to handle outbound “15 minute” test kits which are destroyed by the recipient after use. Therefore used test kits will not be handled within the PFW network.

All traffic will be Business to Business with deliveries to universities, schools, supermarkets and care homes with an average consignment size of 2.5 parcels.

The business is currently working to integrate their systems with Wincanton, who the kits will be collected from. It is currently anticipated that the earliest commencement of collections from Wincanton will be Monday 14th December. 

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org quoting reference: 014.14.

Yours sincerely

Davie Robertson

Assistant Secretary

LTB 591/20

Attachment 1 – PFW DHSC Contract Outbound CV19 Test Kits 10.12.20

LTB 590/20 – Royal Mail Materials Handling & Containerisation & Trailer Load Plans – Supplementary Update – Christmas Arrangements 2020 – Health & Safety Aspects

No. 590/2020

10 December 2020

Our Ref:  E1/20

To:  All Branches

Dear Colleagues,

Royal Mail Materials Handling & Containerisation & Trailer Load Plans – Supplementary Update – Christmas Arrangements 2020 – Health & Safety Aspects:

(Due to the unprecedented volume of traffic resulting in the shortage of Yorks – alternative containers and methods of moving mail, including loose loading are now being used).  

This is a supplementary update to be read in conjunction with LTB No. 557/2020 issued on 19 November 2020 entitled ‘Royal Mail Materials Handling & Containerisation Update – Christmas Arrangements 2020 – Health & Safety Aspects’ which was a summary update on Materials Handling Containerisation arrangements for the 2020 Christmas period.

Branches and Reps are also advised to read this in conjunction with LTB No. 577/2020 issued on 1 December 2020 entitled ‘Royal Mail Group (SHE) Safety Flash – Poor Standard of Pallets and Euro Pallet Boxes (EPBs) Loading and Presentation’ and LTB No. 360/2020 issued on 7 July 2020 entitled ‘Royal Mail, Safety, Health and Environment (SHE) Safety Flash – Moving Blocks of 5 Nested York Roll Containers in Breach of the SSoW – Member Injured’.

The contents of this LTB have been discussed and agreed with Royal Mail HQ, Central Containers Team, Safety, Health & Environment Team, Royal Mail Fleet Engineers, Royal Mail Head of Ergonomics and Royal Mail Head of Assets following the work of a RMG/CWU Joint Working Party.

As previously reported, prior to the Christmas peak period, Royal Mail purchased an additional 70,000 MK3 York Containers, increasing its originally planned purchase of 34,000 Yorks from manufacturer K.Hartwall. The additions, added to the existing 552,000 (MK1, MK2 and MK3) Yorks and resulted in a total fleet of 622,000 Yorks available for operations. Under normal circumstances this would have been more than sufficient for the Christmas pressure peak period operation, even with an increase in traffic over and above previous years. However, we are not in normal times.

The impact of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 Pandemic, with two national lockdowns and many regional restrictions impacting on retail outlets with non-essential shop closures and reduced public mobility, resulted in the UK public turning to the on-line, internet market place. This in turn brought with it a massive increase in e-commerce, and a rapidly accelerated increase in on-line shopping parcels into the RM network. By the end of 2020 estimates predict that Royal Mail will have carried over 300 million more parcels than last year. This is obviously very good news for the business, but with it has come many challenges during the current ongoing pandemic.

Despite Royal Mail’s large, increased order of York Containers, traffic levels have still resulted in over a 30% shortfall of York Containers for the 2020 Christmas peak period.

Alternative Containers from other manufacturers were investigated but nothing of a suitable, safe, fit for purpose, compatible design for the Royal Mail network operation was available. Therefore, alternative arrangements for some customers as well as contingencies within the network were required to maintain the service.

20,000 Magnum (Heavy Duty Plastic RSC type) Containers were secured on hire and the only remaining option was to use standard logistics industry pallets and various palletised cardboard containers with loose loading as a last resort in RM.

The other challenge was to ensure that sufficient capacity was available on the Royal Mail Group Fleet, capable to move these re-configured loads. This has meant that a huge amount of work needed to be undertaken to re-risk assess trailers that are designed for roll containers, in order that they could be utilised to transport the various temporary pallets and static non-wheeled containers. This involved considerations of MHE, loading/unloading methods, load plans, trailer deck weight checks, stability assessments, load plans, load securing and strapping arrangements.

This huge amount of work has been undertaken in the shortest amount of time with Royal Mail and the CWU Health, Safety & Environment Department, supported by the CWU Network/Logistics team of ASRs working closely, jointly with the Royal Mail SHE, Fleet and subject matter experts team, completing this work, centering on the 95 York, Dual-Use, Double Deck Trailer. I would like to thank my Network/Logistics ASR Safety Team, in particular Karl Maginn D/ASR(WA) NW Central Amal and Paul Arandall ASR(LS) Leeds No1 Amal.

The following updated list of the key current documents which have been developed are attached:

1. Coronavirus Temporary SWI: Loading & Unloading Loose Loaded Trailers (RM)
2. Using a Manual/Hand Pallet Truck (MPT/HPT) SSoW
3. Pallets SSoW (Pallets and Cardboard RSCs)
4. Double-Deck Trailers Operation SSoW (Inc. Lifting Roof DDTs)
5. Shrink-Wrapping Pallets SWI
6. Non-Wheeled Containers SSoW (RSCs / BGC)
7. Stackable Containers (Cardboard RSC (CRSC), Plastic Folding Stackable Container (PFSC Magnum), Euro Pallet Box (EPB) – SSOW
8. Temporary (Xmas Peak) Use Stackable Containers – One Page Quick Reference Sheet With Uses Summery & Tech Details
9. Operating Methods For Transport of Loaded & Empty RSC/York Containers In Royal Mail Vehicles & Trailers (Loading & Strapping Mandatory Instructions)
10. RM Loose Load Parcels – Load Plan For Single Deck Trailer
11. RM Load Plan Single-Deck Trailer
12. RM Load Plan for 75-York Double Deck Trailer
13. RM Load Plan for 92-York Double Deck Trailer
14. RM Load Plan for 95-York Double Deck Trailer (Inc. Non-Wheeled Containers & Pallets plus understanding/competency questions)
15. RM Load Plan for 98-York Double Deck Trailer
16. RM Load Plan for 110-York Double Deck Trailer
17. Additional Strapping for 95 York DD Trailers.

There are, of course, other documents and risk assessments but this list is the most specific and relevant.

Important – Please note: These Risk Assessments and Safe Systems of Work will be kept under review and closely monitored with all feedback welcomed. Following the peak period a full joint review will take place. The documents will therefore potentially change based on feedback. Operational managers will always have the latest version and updates will be issued following any significant changes.

The Double-Deck Trailer Loading Plan was subject to close testing and weight checks at the RM NW Hub jointly by Royal Mail and the CWU. Additional straps have been procured in order to achieve full utilisation of the DDTs for the various container loads.

Key points:

• Temporary changes have been risk assessed with input from fleet engineers/subject matter experts, operational managers and CWU.
• The safety documents (SSoWs/SWIs/Guides etc.,) will be closely monitored and reviewed with changes made if required.
• SSOWs, guidance and training MUST be adhered to without exception.
• The 95 York Double Deck Trailer is the only Double Deck that can carry non-wheeled containers. All others are for Yorks only.  The Load Plan for the 95 York Double Deck Trailer must be understood in order to understand the variables of container type in order to ensure that the vehicle is not overloaded.
• The mail types, weight limits and fill must be adhered to for containers – the container matrix is a simple guide to support managers and the workforce with this.
• Damaged equipment and pallets must be taken out of service.
• As with all other work activity, tasks and use of equipment must be completed in a ‘COVID-Secure’ way.

Safety Instructions Must Be Followed At All Times

The purpose of these safe working instructions (SWI) is to highlight safe work practices to minimise exposure to hazards and prevent harm to people. These safety instructions must be followed at all times.

SMATs & Joint Safety Inspections

It’s been agreed that Managers (in conjunction with Area and Workplace Safety Representatives) will regularly review the implementation of the safety instructions to ensure

they remain effective in all work areas. If any Rep or member has any queries, – raise it immediately with line management. Compliance to SWIs and Coronavirus controls

will be monitored as part of regular managerial SMAT activity and joint Unit Workplace Health and Safety Inspections with the CWU Safety Rep.

Some Important Mandatory Safety Actions

• Face masks are mandatory and must be worn at all times indoors.
• Wash hands/use sanitiser before, during and after completing the task.
• Adhere to manual handling principles at all times.
• Maintain social distancing standards at all times, in all places.
• Avoid face to face contact.
• Follow safe loading/unloading work methods without deviation.
• Move one York at a time.
• Use MHE carefully as instructed and as per training.
• Where containers are fed in and out of the vehicle ensure social distancing standards, for example by using a single ‘chain’ and don’t encroach into another employee’s space.
• Ensure compliance to the relevant vehicle/trailer loading plan.
• Adopt the job rotations and work activity controls ensuring there are no additional ergonomic risks.

All enquiries should be directed to the CWU/HQ Health, Safety & Environment Department.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

LTB 590/20 – Materials Handling & Containerisation & Trailer Load Plans – Supplementary Update – Christmas Arrangements 2020

Additional Straps-95 York Double-Deck Trailer-Positioning Guide v1.0

Coronavirus Temporary SWI_Loading & Unloading_Loose Load v1.1

Manual Pallet Truck (MPT) SSoW_v1.2

Pallets SSOW v1.2

RMG Operating Double Deck Trailers (DDT) SSoW_v1.2

Shrink-Wrapping Pallets_v1.0

SL_Non_Wheeled_Containers_General_SSoW (1)

Stackable Containers (Cardboard RSC; Euro Pallet Box; Magnum) SSOW v1.3

Temporary Usage Stackable Containers Matrix v1.1

Transport of Yorks and RSCs SSOW v.1.3

Vehicle Load Plan-Loose Loads-v1.0

Vehicle Load Plan-Single-Lower Deck Trailers v1.4

Vehicle_Load_Plan-75_York_Double_Deck_Trailer_v1.0

Vehicle_Load_Plan-92_York_Double_Deck_Trailer_v1.0

Vehicle_Load_Plan-95_York_Double_Deck_Trailer_v1.5

Vehicle_Load_Plan-98_York_Double_Deck_Trailer_v1.0

Vehicle_Load_Plan-110_York_Double_Deck_Trailer_v1.0

View Online

Royal Mail Group – Latest Updated Coronavirus/Covid-19 – Frequently Asked Questions and Answers Guidance Document (Version 71):

I attach for your information Version 71 of the Royal Mail Group, Managers’ Coronavirus/Covid-19 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers Guidance document, issued by the business on 3 December 2020.

At the commencement of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 outbreak, Royal Mail Group established a ‘Business Pandemic Team’ which includes all national heads of department and this team meets regularly to review the situation across Royal Mail Group and to issue update Questions and Answers information communications to all managers, which is cascaded throughout the business.

The Coronavirus Guidance, Version 71 Q&A document has been shared with the Union’s Health, Safety & Environment Department and is hereby circulated for information and reference purposes for CWU Health and Safety Reps and Branch IR Reps.

The Q&A documents are circulated to all RMG managers and are also available to access through a link on the Royal Mail Group ‘Intranet’, in the ‘Managers Update Messages’ section.

Please note that changes and additions from the previous version are highlighted in ‘Yellow’.

NOTE: Please also note that these Q & A documents are ‘Royal Mail Group’ advice documents and all the contents are not agreed with the CWU.

Contents List:

1. HEALTH

1. Prevention
2. Self-isolation, testing and reporting
3. Cleaning and consumables
4. Travel
5. Support and advice
6. POLICY 

1. General guidance
2. Travel/and annual holiday
3. Caring for dependants
4. Sick pay
5. Attendance process
6. Vulnerable employees
7. POST & PARCELS 

1. General Ops advice
2. NHS testing kits
3. Operational processes and reporting changes
4. Delivering and collecting from customers
5. Fleet and vehicles
6. ADVICE FOR CUSTOMERS 

Any enquiries to this LTB or feedback on the RMG Q&A document should be directed to Dave Joyce CWU National Health, Safety & Environment Officer.

Attachment:

• Coronavirus Guidance Questions and Answers V71

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

LTB 588/20 – RMG – Updated Coronavirus Covid-19 – FAQs and Answers Guidance Document (Version 71)

Coronavirus Guidance Questions and Answers v71

JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN PARCELFORCE WORLDWIDE AND THE CWU ON THE

IMPACT OF BREXIT ON PARCELFORCE INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL OPERATIONS

Branches and representatives will be aware that planning activity relating to the upcoming end of the

agreed Brexit transition period, which will finish at midnight on 31st December 2020, has commenced

across RMG.

As with the rest of the business, the end of the transition period will entail operational changes to be

made to Parcelforce processes to address the revised Brexit customs arrangements. The planning

for this has however been somewhat hampered due to the ongoing EU negotiation process which

has yet to be concluded.

However, given the impending changes it was believed that it would be timely to provide an update

to employees/members on the current situation. Discussions have therefore taken place with the

business to conclude a Joint Statement that has now been endorsed by the Postal Executive, a copy

of which is attached for information.

In summary the attached outlines that PFW’s planning has focused on the upcoming changes that

they are currently aware of and limiting the impact on customers from a service and cost perspective

as far as possible.

During November PFW also introduced their own Central Customs Bureau team based at the

International Hub, taking over responsibility for high value clearances from UPS. This has resulted

in the permanent transfer of some experienced customs agents from UPS into the PFW Coventry

team. This will be invaluable in helping the PFW International operation cope with the new demands

of the customs changes coming up in 2021, as well as creating the prospect of a significant number

of new job opportunities in the New Year.

Outside of the International Hub, there will also be a number of key changes required to operational

processes within the Coventry National Hub and PFW Depots, particularly in the way that customers

will have to prepare and present their parcels and paperwork to the business. Internally these new

requirements will mean that checks at Driver level, Depot level and in the International Hub will have

to be carried out to ensure that export parcels travel through the system smoothly.

Both parties have committed to working together in relation to the upcoming Brexit changes and a

series of joint communications at functional and local level will be issued during the remaining weeks

of December to provide more detail of any changes.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary,

email: dwyatt@cwu.org quoting reference: 121.17

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson

Assistant Secretary

LTB 587/20

LTB 587/20 – Attachment – Joint Statement between Parcelforce Worldwide and the CWU on the Impact of Brexit on Parcelforce International and National Operations

Membership Subscription – Retired & Retired Associate Members – from 1st January 2021

You will be aware that the CWU Rule book, at rule 11.5.2 contains the following instruction:

“The rate for retired and retired associate members shall increase on 1 January each year by the same percentage increase as the known CPI at the time.” 

This means that we have to notify this increase in advance for pension deduction purposes and write to 4,962 direct debit payers.  In order to do this, we traditionally take the decision to apply this increase in October using the current CPI rate at that time.  The current CPI rate at that time i.e.1^stOctober 2020 was announced on the 16^thSeptember 2020 and stood at 0.2%.

Currently we have 13,479 retired members.  The retired members subscription rate is £5.32 (non-political levy).  This means as follows:

Monthly income 13,479 x £5.32 = £71,708.28p

Yearly income £71,708.28p x 12 = £860,499.36p

Yearly income multiplied by 0.2% = £860,499.36/100 = £8,604.99p x 0.2 = £1,720.99p (additional annual income)

If we wrote to all direct debit payers to notify them of such an increase, as we would be required to do under the banking direct debit mandate, it would cost 4,962 x £0.80p (approx. letter and 2^nd class postage cost) = £3,969.60p.  It would cost us more to notify DD payers of the 0.2% increase than we would get in total from applying the increase.  Indeed, it would be approximately 2.3 years from the date the increase was applied before we recovered that expenditure.

In addition, whilst the monthly rate is £5.32 we have a large number of weekly paying retired members.  They pay £1.23 per week (rounded), 0.2% of £1.23p is £0.002p, in other words a fraction that cannot be added to a weekly paying subscription rate because it is below 1p.  For weekly paying retired members there is no other way of collecting the additional £0.12768p that a yearly increase would bring.  Monthly payers would be fine; they would pay the extra 1p per month.

Following discussion with the NEC and the CWU Trustees we believe these are valid reasons not to increase retired members subscriptions on 1^st January 2021 as per rule 11.5.2.  It is neither practical nor cost effective to implement this change at this time.  Therefore, from 1^st January 2021 the membership subscription rates for Retired and Retired Associate Members remains unchanged, as follows:CWU Contribution ratesWeekly ContributionsMonthly Contributions– from 1 January 2021“I” Rate £“O” Rate £“I” Rate £“O” Rate £Retired Members1.431.236.195.32Retired Associate Membersn/an/a4.813.94

The CWU NEC reserves the position to add on the 0.2% increase to any future increases that the NEC agrees.

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 586/20

Re: Extension to the current Terms of Reference between Royal Mail and The CWU on Deployment of an Electric Taxi Van from London Electric Vehicle Company

Branches will recall LTB 351/20 advising the trial of an Electric Vehicle Taxi-van from the London Electric Vehicle Company based in the Midlands. This vehicle is additional to the current number of Electric Vehicle trials initiated across a number of Delivery Offices in the UK. The growing concern around vehicle emissions, pollution and the impact on health, the environment and global warming have been increasingly evident and additional focus has recently been highlighted internationally. There are circa 290 electric vehicles in the fleet that are currently testing their capabilities, which will demonstrate the impact this will have on the grid to sustain available power.

In July of this year the department agreed to further test a vehicle that is based on the London Taxi, which has world-wide recognition for durability in urban areas and replicates the stop-start collection and delivery of the current light commercial vehicle, or LCV panel vans. The London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) offered Royal Mail a vehicle ‘free of charge’ to test, which has a range extender (36 litre petrol tank) and is therefore suitable for longer routes & duties, giving a total range of 340 miles and a pure EV range of 50-70 miles. This vehicle was tested in seven sites across the UK for durability and received an overall welcome by the participants in those units with constructive comments on how best to improve the vehicle.
During the trial there were no reported incidents of breakdowns and there were no issues raised with the charging process. Drivers found the unique turning circle extremely useful as well as robust and the overall driving experience proved to be very positive. The only concerns raised by drivers during the trial was toward the limited load space and a non-adjustable seat. On those comments the LEVC have returned with an updated model with added safety related measures which include:

➢ Load space increased to 5.5m cubic capacity
➢ Adjustable seat position
➢ Automatic electronic parking break
➢ Front and rear parking sensors
➢ Autonomous Emergency Braking System for pedestrians & cyclists
➢ Forward collision warning
➢ Rear and side loading doors
➢ Flat loading floor and bulkhead
➢ Up to 830kg gross payload
➢ LED cargo light

The attached visuals provide confirmation of the vehicle to be deployed in RM livery and branded with the cruciform, as well as a reference to electric branding has now been signed off, including the safety documentation. The vehicle has also been checked for suitability of collection and delivery and will be deployed in the following sites as from Monday 7th December:

Whitechapel
Bristol
Cardiff
Edinburgh
Harehills
Hockley

All selected sites are already EV Offices with trained EV Drivers that also have charging posts installed. The deployment will again be for a limited period of 6 months in total and the department has worked closely with the National Health, Safety and Environment Officer who has confirmed the SAC1 Risk Assessments, SSoW and SWIs have been subject to consultation via the Health and Safety Department.

For any queries to the content of the above please contact the Outdoor Department reference 300, email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,
Mark Baulch
CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 585/20 – Deployment of an Electric Taxi Van from London Electric Vehicle Company

Electric Taxi Van VN5 – 02.12.20

Coronavirus/Covid-19 Vaccine Update:

This is a brief update, further to LTB 558/20.

The Government announced yesterday that the UK has become the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech Coronavirus vaccine. This now paves the way for mass vaccinations in the UK which is good news.

Britain’s medicines regulator, the MHRA, say the Covid-19 jab, which offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 illness, is safe to be rolled out and the first doses are on their way to the UK from Belgium, with 800,000 due in the coming days. The UK has already ordered 40 million doses of the jab – enough to vaccinate 20 million people.

However, the Government has warned the public not to get “carried away with over optimism or falling into the naive belief that our struggle is over”. Whilst the nation now has a working vaccine, significant logistical challenges remain. The bulk of the rollout across the UK will be next year 2021.

The free vaccine will not be compulsory and there will be three ways of vaccinating people across the UK:

• Hospitals
• Vaccination centres
• GPs and pharmacists

Around 50 hospitals are on stand-by and vaccination centres (in venues such as conference centres or sports stadiums) are being set up now. It is thought the vaccination network could start delivering more than one million doses a week once enough doses are available.

However, the Government’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty, along with other medical and scientific experts, has warned that people still need to remain vigilant and follow rules to stop the virus spreading – including hand washing, good hygiene, 2M social distancing, face masks and self-isolation. “We can’t lower our guard yet,” he concluded. The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Dr David Nabarro said the Pfizer vaccine would not replace the other measures for a number of months, even a year, so it’s important to keep doing physical distancing, mask wearing, hygiene/cleanliness and isolating ourselves when we’re sick.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

LTB 584/20 – Coronavirus Covid-19 Vaccine Update