Workers of the world unite; you have nothing to lose but your chains. Karl Marx.
CWU Consolidated Accounts 2018
Further to LTB 226/19 dated 11th April 2019 which invited questions to the 2018 CWU Accounts, at the closing time of 12:00 hours on Thursday 25th April 2019 no questions had been submitted.
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
End Period Poverty – CWU Conference
In line with the CWU’s End Period Poverty campaign, the National Young Workers Committee have decided to support this work by calling for all delegates to Annual Conference to bring sanitary products to the Young Workers Stall at the BIC.
These products will then be donated to local food banks and campaign groups in the Dorset area.
The CWU campaign to End Period Poverty has received huge levels of support from the Labour front bench and it is vital we continue our work in this area. Please do all you can to support this initiative by our National Young Workers Committee.
Any enquiries on the above LTB should be addressed to gsoffice@cwu.org
Yours sincerely
Dave Ward
General Secretary
Equality, Training & Development Department at Annual Conference 2019
The newly merged Equality, Training & Development Dept. will be in attendance in the exhibitor’s area during Annual Conference 2019 (stand “F17-F18”).
Please come and raise any and all issues you may have about equality matters and education, training and development opportunities for your Branch Representatives and members.
You will be able to discuss the various CWU Lifelong Learning projects around the country, speak to us about our online training platform “Left-click” and / or book yourself onto a course. We will also have a comprehensive range of Equality material and the usual great giveaways!
Equality, Training & Development Fringe Event Sun 28th April 2019 – 1pm Tregonwell Hall, BIC
We are pleased to be hosting a fringe event again this year entitled: “Proportionality!”
Speakers:
A buffet lunch will be provided so, come along, listen to the speakers and join in the debate!
Competition – Our traditional “caption competition” will be at the stall with an “iPad” as a prize!
Meet the Head of Equality, Training & Development – Additionally, if you wish to make an appointment to meet with Trish Lavelle (Head of Equality, Training & Development), please can you contact Michelle Simpson on 020 8971 7340 or e-mail Michelle at msimpson@cwu.org and she will ensure your appointment is diarised.
Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to: Lee Wakeman (lwakeman@cwu.org) or Fevzi Hussein (fhussein@cwu.org).
Yours sincerely,
Trish Lavelle
Head of Equality, Training & Development
19LTB 250 – Equality & Training Department at Annual Conference 2019
On behalf of CWU Eastern N05 and their Retired Members, I attended the above meeting.
The Chairman ( Colin Canham ) opened the meeting and welcomed everyone, he also pointed out there were two reports being given at today’s meeting:
• Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on the 18th April 2018.
• Minutes of the Quarterly Meeting held on the 16th January 2019.
The Secretary ( Tony Garner ) gave a report on the AGM with no matters arising. Jan Shortt-NPC General Secretary attended as a special guest. Jan spoke about the recent events happening at NPC headquarters and various statements from politicians, and the move to a new Head Office due to the HS2 etc.
The Secretary then proceeded with the report of the previous quarterly meeting held on the 16th January 2019 with no matters arising.
At todays meeting the Secretary & Chairman submitted a copy of the NPC- Eastern Region Constitution with proposed revisions which were agreed, and that all members would receive a revised copy.
Jim Webb ( CWU S.E. Anglia ) was elected as an additional Vice Chairman.
There were two motions submitted & moved by the Chairman, which were both carried.
• Motion 1 Bi-annual Conference
That this Eastern Region Pensioners branch agrees to pay future delegates the extra nights accommodation before conference day enabling them to mix with other delegates for social discourse and allowing them to be in a relaxed state of mind for main conference day, also to be able to claim the standard discounted rail fare.
• Motion 2 Travel expenses claim for Quarterly meetings.
That this Eastern Region Pensioners branch agree to pay travel expenses to the committee members for quarterly meetings, i/e Secretary, Chair, Auditors etc, with a clause this will only be nesessary if delegates cannot get funding from their own branch.
Susan Boyd a delegate for Women Against State Pension Inequality ( WASPI ) spoke about their campaign. A report on ( WASPI ) is attached along with an update on over 75’s TV Licence.
Regards.
Dick Hewlett. ( CWU-NPC Delegate )
Women Against State Pension Inequality.
Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) is a voluntary UK-based organisation founded in 2015 that campaigns against the way in which the state pension age for men and women was equalised. They call for the millions of women affected by the change to receive compensation.
The 1995 Pensions Act increased the state pension age for women from 60 to 65 in order to equalise the age with men, with the change to be phased in over ten years from 2010 for women born between 1950 and 1955. This transition was later sped up by the 2011 Pensions Act. These changes came as a shock to many women who hadn’t been aware of them. Some women discovered they would have to wait up to six years longer for their state pension which often affected their retirement plans. In 2015, WASPI was formed by five women to argue for the government to provide transitional payments to women born in the 1950s receiving their pension after the age of 60. They also call for compensation to women who now receive a state pension but had to wait longer. Three of the original founders stepped down as leaders after a split in August 2016. A further three directors resigned in February 2018 following an emergency board meeting held the previous month where irreconcilable differences led to the resignations.
Actions.
WASPI’s online petition to parliament received over 100,000 signatures resulting in a parliamentary debate on the issue of the changes to the state pension age.
WASPI crowd funded £100,000 to pay for legal action in order to challenge these changes. The money was used to take legal advice and on 8 March 2017, the group wrote to the Department for Work and Pensions threatening legal action if the government did not help lessen the impact on the affected women. This move coincided with International Women’s Day and a march in London that many WASPI members attended.
The organisation also has a number of groups across the country who campaign locally, including by asking their constituency MPs to sign the WASPI pledge.
Response.
Since the launch of WASPI, the issue of the state pension age has become more prominent leading to its discussion in a number of parliamentary debates. The issue played an important part in the 2017 general election with Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn raising it in a session of Prime Minister’s Questions and the SNP pledging to support the women. However, the Conservative government rejected the calls of the WASPI, arguing that they had to make the state pension more affordable for taxpayers. Furthermore, the WASPI campaign has been criticised by some commentators.
Over 75’s TV Licence.
The BBC are consulting on the future of the free TV Licence for over 75’s and now want to meet the NPC.
Hundreds of NPC members gathered in Westminster at the beginning of March to oppose the BBC’s plans to cut the TV licence for the over 75’s, and to demand that the government take back responsibility for funding the concession. The protest took place as the BBC considers the results of its recent consultation on the future of the concessionary scheme. Sources suggest that the broadcaster is unlikely to make any formal announcement before the summer, although two options appear to be gathering support: raising the age of eligibility to 80 and reducing the value of the concession. Campaigners say there are 1.6 million over-75s with a disability, many of whom have serious mobility issues and could lose their TV licence if the rules are changed. In the meantime, pressure is mounting to stop any cut, with the NPC’s campaign receiving support from MPs, trade unions and the Mirror newspaper. A petition with Age UK which aims to safeguard the concession, currently has over 80,000 signatories and you can add your support via: http:// ageuk.org.uk/TV petition.
ROYAL MAIL: PENSIONS SERVICE CENTRE – TRANSFER OF WORK TO CAPITA – UPDATE
In October 2017 the Cabinet Office announced it had awarded the contract for the administration of the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS) to Capita. Royal Mail Representatives have recently been provided with an update on this matter at the Unit Reps briefings which took place in March and earlier this week in London.
Overview
On 30th September 2018, the following work transferred to Capita:
• The calculation and payment of all pension benefits for those ex-employees and their dependants whose total pension benefits were in the Royal Pension Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS), the government backed pension scheme established on 1st April 2012.
The affected population comprised of the following:
• Those who had left Royal Mail, Post Office Limited and associated employers (e.g. Quadrant, RoMEC) on or before 31st March 2012.
Those employees who are still employed by Royal Mail, Post Office and associated employers or who left on or after 1st April 2012 have benefits in both the RMSPS and the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP).
The administration of the RMSPS benefits for these ‘dual members’ has been retained by the Royal Mail Pensions Service Centre as a temporary expedient, due to Capita’s state of readiness in September 2018. In practice this means Royal Mail’s Pensions Service Centre has continued to calculate the benefits and has passed the necessary information to Capita to make payment of the RMSPS element.
Complaints from Retired Members of the RMSPS
We have received a number of complaints from our retired members who have had significant problems with Capita’s administration of the RMSPS. Complaints have also been received by Royal Mail, a number of MPs, Capita, and the Pensions Ombudsman. As a consequence, we have recently held a number of meetings as we are pursuing
the ongoing issues with both Royal Mail and Capita. It is fair to say that Royal Mail is also concerned about the level of service being provided by Capita and as such has made representations to the Cabinet Office.
On 15th April, a written response was received from the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office to a question submitted by John Spellar, Labour MP for Warley as follows:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of Capita’s performance in administering the Royal Mail Pension Scheme.
Answered by: Oliver Dowden
Following the transition of services from Royal Mail Group to Capita in October 2017, Capita’s performance fell short of expected levels. However, due to the close monitoring that has been in place through the governance arrangements, Capita’s performance has improved and is now operating closer to the contracted levels.
There is a robust governance framework in place that provides Cabinet Office with the relevant oversight to manage the contract. This framework enables Cabinet Office to monitor performance and continuous improvement but also provides an escalation route for any issues that may be encountered throughout the term of the contract.
The Governance model includes an advisory board, called the Royal Mail Pension Scheme Governance Group, which is made up of representatives from stakeholders of the scheme including Union (on behalf of members), employer and Pensioner representatives.
In addition to the above, an article appeared in Pensions Age, a leading pensions magazine which referred to the question above. The article can be accessed by using the following link:
Transfer of Additional Work to Capita
The plan was for the RMSPS element to transition in full to Capita on 29th March 2019, leading to Capita taking on responsibility for the calculation of RMSPS benefits, as well as payment. However, the Cabinet Office took the decision to delay this transition for a month – until the end of April. Capita management assured us at a meeting held in the Sheffield Service Centre on 28th March that the number of outstanding cases had reduced significantly and that Capita was now ready to take on this work. The latest position as determined by the Cabinet Office is that Capita needs more time to address the remaining readiness criteria and risks currently being flagged up. Consequently timelines for any future transition are still work in progress.
CWU and Unite have agreed to continue to put pressure on the Cabinet Office regarding the ill-conceived decision to award the Royal Mail Pensions Admin contract to Capita as their quality of service is quite clearly not up standard and potentially our
members will suffer as a result.
We will continue to carefully monitor the situation and we are hoping the government will listen to all concerns as we believe there is a strong case for halting the transition of more work to Capita.
If Branches are aware of any issues our members are experiencing with Capita, please contact lsheridan@cwu.org
Further developments will be reported.
Yours sincerely
Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary
19LTB247 Royal Mail – Pensions Service Centre – Transfer of Work to Capita – Update
Communications at Conference
As usual at Conference we will be looking to spread the work of the union as far and wide as possible. We will have a mixture of visual and written updates as well as a special daily Conference Podcast with news and views from across the union.
The hashtag for use on social media will be #CWU19 – delegates should use this on all platforms so we can pick up and share highlights across the week.
We are also streaming the Conference sessions on Sunday and Monday via the link below. It will go live once Conference starts on Sunday morning.
As always, if you have any questions about the work of the department or would like us to assist your Branch with developing your local communications strategy please see me or one of the team at Conference and we will be able to set something up.
Kind regards
Chris Webb
Head of Communications, Engagement and Media
Royal Mail/Dimensions Uniform ‘Roadshow’ Workplace Visits – May to November 2019
Dear Colleagues,
Further to LTB 012/19, dated the 10th of January, Branches are advised of the next planned Uniform Roadshow events due to be held by Royal Mail and their uniform supplier Dimensions.
From May to November the following workplace locations will be visited (noting that this may be subject to some short notice alterations):
Coventry South DO – 14th May (07:00am-10:00am)
Gatwick Mail Centre – 21st May (19:00pm-23:00pm)
Peterborough Mail Centre – 30th May (19:00pm-23:00pm)
King’s Lynn DO – 11th June (07:00am-10:00am)
Burnley DO – 18th June (07:00am-10:00am)
Warrington Mail Centre – 18th June (19:00pm-23:00pm)
Colchester DO – 9th July (07:00am-10:00am)
Southend MPU/DO – 10th July (07:00am-10:00am)
Dundee East DO – 13th August (07:00am-10:00am)
Perth Distribution Centre – 13th August (11:00am-02:00pm)
Perth DO – 14th August (07:00am-10:00am)
Glasgow Mail Centre – 15th October (19:00pm-23:00pm)
Scottish Distribution Centre – 16th October (19:00pm-23:00pm)
Edinburgh Mail Centre – 12th November (19:00pm-23:00pm)
Edinburgh Airport – 13th November (19:00-23:00pm)
These Roadshow events have proven to be very successful and largely welcomed by members since they started last year and in addition to offering details on the current uniform range and addressing particular individual questions and enquires, they also aim to give members more information such issues as ‘how to self-order uniform’, ‘how to return unwanted items’ and the ‘process to follow for orders which are over the individuals members uniform allocation’.
In setting out this further list of workplace visits, it can be confirmed that a number of the above listed Offices have been nominated by CWU Branches and Royal Mail have confirmed that further consideration will be given to any additional visit request made up to November. Therefore, if Branches wish to request a Uniform Roadshow visit for a particular workplace, they are invited to do so by writing into the Outdoor Department.
Whilst the details of this LTB are self-explanatory, any enquires or requests for
Uniform Roadshow visits to a workplace, should be directed to the Outdoor Department, reference 500, email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Baulch
CWU Assistant Secretary
LTB 246.19 – Royal Mail Dimensions Uniform ‘Roadshow’ Workplace Visits – May to November 2019
Postal Department Industrial Training
Branches will be aware that since the formation of the Postal Department’s Education and Training Sub-Group in 2015, we have been working to develop tailored Industrial Training. A key part of the strategy has been to compose industrial courses that can be delivered on demand and at pace by activists that have a working knowledge of the subject matter that is being taught.
Following the carriage of Composite Motion 9 at the Postal Conference last year, we circulated LTB 344/18 to request from Branches the names of potential tutors who met the criteria above and were keen to use their experience to provide industrial training in the field.
Three cycles of Train the Trainer events have been held so far with the first series commencing in October 2018 and the most recent taking place last week. During these events, Representatives have been trained to deliver Industrial Relations, Conduct Code, Attendance Procedure and Delivery Resourcing training. I am now pleased to announce that a total of 88 Representatives have been trained on one or more of these four Industrial Training programmes and will now be able to deliver this tuition as requested.
Attached to this LTB is a list of those that have received training in the aforementioned industrial courses, along with the Branch they are from. This list is based on the information received from the Education and Training Department and has been supplemented by the names of those who attended the most recent events. These Representatives are now ready to deliver the courses they are listed under and should be contacted by Branches within their locality that require such training.
The trainers must then contact Hayley Nutley in the DGS(P) Department at CWU Headquarters to register the course and ask for the relevant training materials to be sent to the appropriate location. Please give at least two weeks’ notice ahead of the tuition being held.
The trainers will be able to download the tutor’s resources from Left Click or by contacting Simon Massen at smassen@cwu.org.
This approach will enable Branches and Divisions to liaise and ensure that Industrial Training is prioritised in each area according to demand and using trainers from a close geographical radius.
In relation to Processing and Logistics, initial training was held but is currently being reviewed departmentally due to the feedback that was received.
The development and review of these Industrial Relations training courses has been a significant piece of work but will prove to be an important part of our overall strategy to guarantee that local Representatives have the tools to ensure we continue to remain a strong industrial based Union.
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)
ROYAL MAIL: PENSIONS SERVICE CENTRE – TRANSFER OF WORK TO CAPITA – UPDATE
In October 2017 the Cabinet Office announced it had awarded the contract for the administration of the Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS) to Capita. Royal Mail Representatives have recently been provided with an update on this matter at the Unit Reps briefings which took place in March and earlier this week in London.
Overview
On 30th September 2018, the following work transferred to Capita:
• The calculation and payment of all pension benefits for those ex-employees and their dependants whose total pension benefits were in the Royal Pension Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS), the government backed pension scheme established on 1st April 2012.
The affected population comprised of the following:
• Those who had left Royal Mail, Post Office Limited and associated employers (e.g. Quadrant, RoMEC) on or before 31st March 2012.
Those employees who are still employed by Royal Mail, Post Office and associated employers or who left on or after 1st April 2012 have benefits in both the RMSPS and the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP).
The administration of the RMSPS benefits for these ‘dual members’ has been retained by the Royal Mail Pensions Service Centre as a temporary expedient, due to Capita’s state of readiness in September 2018. In practice this means Royal Mail’s Pensions Service Centre has continued to calculate the benefits and has passed the necessary information to Capita to make payment of the RMSPS element.
Complaints from Retired Members of the RMSPS
We have received a number of complaints from our retired members who have had significant problems with Capita’s administration of the RMSPS. Complaints have also been received by Royal Mail, a number of MPs, Capita, and the Pensions Ombudsman. As a consequence, we have recently held a number of meetings as we are pursuing
the ongoing issues with both Royal Mail and Capita. It is fair to say that Royal Mail is also concerned about the level of service being provided by Capita and as such has made representations to the Cabinet Office.
On 15th April, a written response was received from the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office to a question submitted by John Spellar, Labour MP for Warley as follows:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of Capita’s performance in administering the Royal Mail Pension Scheme.
Answered by: Oliver Dowden
Following the transition of services from Royal Mail Group to Capita in October 2017, Capita’s performance fell short of expected levels. However, due to the close monitoring that has been in place through the governance arrangements, Capita’s performance has improved and is now operating closer to the contracted levels.
There is a robust governance framework in place that provides Cabinet Office with the relevant oversight to manage the contract. This framework enables Cabinet Office to monitor performance and continuous improvement but also provides an escalation route for any issues that may be encountered throughout the term of the contract.
The Governance model includes an advisory board, called the Royal Mail Pension Scheme Governance Group, which is made up of representatives from stakeholders of the scheme including Union (on behalf of members), employer and Pensioner representatives.
In addition to the above, an article appeared in Pensions Age, a leading pensions magazine which referred to the question above. The article can be accessed by using the following link:
Transfer of Additional Work to Capita
The plan was for the RMSPS element to transition in full to Capita on 29th March 2019, leading to Capita taking on responsibility for the calculation of RMSPS benefits, as well as payment. However, the Cabinet Office took the decision to delay this transition for a month – until the end of April. Capita management assured us at a meeting held in the Sheffield Service Centre on 28th March that the number of outstanding cases had reduced significantly and that Capita was now ready to take on this work. The latest position as determined by the Cabinet Office is that Capita needs more time to address the remaining readiness criteria and risks currently being flagged up. Consequently timelines for any future transition are still work in progress.
CWU and Unite have agreed to continue to put pressure on the Cabinet Office regarding the ill-conceived decision to award the Royal Mail Pensions Admin contract to Capita as their quality of service is quite clearly not up standard and potentially our
members will suffer as a result.
We will continue to carefully monitor the situation and we are hoping the government will listen to all concerns as we believe there is a strong case for halting the transition of more work to Capita.
If Branches are aware of any issues our members are experiencing with Capita, please contact lsheridan@cwu.org
Further developments will be reported.
Yours sincerely
Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary
19LTB247 Royal Mail – Pensions Service Centre – Transfer of Work to Capita – Update
A couple of good comms here to be shared with the members:
1. A detailed video update from DGSP Terry Pullinger
Our latest podcast with former national officer Bob Gibson.
Here you go mate https://soundcloud.com/the-cwu/the-u-word-special-how-to-be-a-cwu-rep-with-bob-gibson
Please share both as widely as possible
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 