Royal Mail Group Holiday Pay 

Further to LTB 163/19, please find attached a revised and final holiday pay flow chart that must be followed from the beginning of April 2019 for members submitting grievances, ACAS conciliation forms and ET claim forms.

Please note that in paragraphs 7 and 11 it is the name of the relevant Legal & Medical Secretary or Branch Secretary that must now be used.Claims that have already been submitted will continue to be dealt with by David Wilshire, Postal Executive member at CWU HQ.

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)   

19LTB223. Royal Mail Group Holiday Pay

LTB 223.19 Attachment 1 – FINAL Holiday Pay Flow Chart   

ROYAL MAIL PROPERTY & FACILITIES SOLUTIONS LTD – PRODUCTIVITY HOURS

Dear Colleagues,

Background

Branches will be aware that an agreement was reached in 2014 that introduced a productivity scheme for our RMPFS (then known as Romec) cleaner members. The agreement also agreed new median rate cleaning standards across the RM estate and re-measuring took place at all Royal Mail buildings that our Cleaner Members worked at. This exercise threw up a list of hourage totals across the estate that new duties were to be built around. It also included a process of buy down and VR opportunities for our members in sites where there were surplus hours to requirements.

As the excess hours process was voluntary, and there were protections in place regarding unreasonable relocation distances, a large number of hours still remain in the system some five years on. This has resulted in RMPFS approaching the Outdoor Department with a view to revisiting that agreement and updating the processes within it.

Agreement

Please find attached the revised agreement and processes for attempting to deal with the circa 5000 surplus hours within the cleaning operation, following the exercise in 2014 and subsequent re-measurement of the estate in 2017, and also following agreement with the CWU on bringing the company back under the Royal Mail Group. Colleagues will also recall that the Productivity Bonus Scheme for Cleaners was also wound up in 2016, once again as a result of a pay agreement with the CWU.

The revised agreement ensures the following:

• A non-binding preference exercise will commence following ratification of this agreement and indication from our members that they require a quotation
• Any buy down of hours will be completely voluntary and subject to the terms of the MSF Agreement in RMPFS
• Any VR offers will once again be totally voluntary, no-one will be asked more than once
• Full CWU involvement through local and Area Postal Reps and Regional CWU RMPFS Reps
• A transparent detailed process is outlined in the appendices to this agreement
• A deployment programme
• Full visibility of hours for each site
• Both parties acknowledge that the deployment of this agreement may uncover issues not envisaged at present. Accordingly the agreement will be reviewed within 3 months of deployment or at the explicit request of the CWU Assistant Secretary – Outdoor or the appropriate National PFS Ltd Director

Branches are reminded that this is a totally voluntary exercise and no PFS Cleaner members should be put under any pressure whatsoever to accept the offer of buy down or VR, once they have declined. Any instances of this nature should be brought to the attention of the Outdoor Department or Mick Kavanagh, PE Member without delay.

Any queries to the content of the above, please contact the Outdoor Department, reference 120.12, email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch
CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 220.19 – RMPFSL – Productivity Hours

RMPFS_ CWU Cleaning Productivity Agreement 2014 (Reviewed 2019)

Appendix 1 Cost Efficiency Briefing Document V3

Appendix 2 Deployment Plan

Appendix 3 Cost Efficiency – Reductions

Appendix 4 2019 Employee Preference Form

QUADRANT PAY CLAIM 2019 – BALLOT RESULT

Dear Colleague

Reproduced below for the information of Branches is the result of the above ballot which has been received from Tony Kearns, Senior Deputy General Secretary:

Therefore the ballot has resulted in a return of 45.5% with approximately 95% voting in favour of the agreement.

Branches are requested to ensure that members are made aware of the result of this ballot.

The department has informed Quadrant of the result and have requested clarification on the timescales to apply the changes to pay rates including back pay.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org or shayman@cwu.orgquoting reference number: 301.08.

Yours sincerely

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

222-19 – Quadrant Ballot Result 2019 10.04.19

BT Consumer: New Ways of Working Pilot in FTTP

The CWU has been consulted about a pilot of a new way of working being conducted in the Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) sites in Dundee and Accrington.

The pilot will see Camp 3 Case Handlers joining Camp 2 teams with the aim of improving customer service and reducing the levels of referrals to different camps.  As part of the pilot the Case Handlers will:

• provide support to other team members, or take up calls/cases themselves if needed;
• continue to do their role as a Case Manager, but will also be scheduled to take inbound calls.

The detailed arrangements for the pilot are contained in the attached letter from BT. Also attached is a copy of the communications in Consumer Read.

Career Progression and Grading

 The CWU continues to press BT to develop a career path in Consumer. As part of this we want to ensure that the grading for these roles is correct and that members are being paid the appropriate rate.

At the moment Camp 2 and Camp 3 are graded at the same level and for that reason BT has declined to make cover payments. However, for three years the CWU has been pressing for Camp 3 as it exists at the moment to be graded, and this has finally commenced.

BT has agreed that if the pilot is a success the Case Handler roles would be reassessed again.

Bonus

BT has confirmed that is will discuss bonus options with all those Case Handlers in the pilot with a view to ensuring that no one is financially penalised by taking part.

Next Steps

BT will be consulting the CWU at local and national level throughout the pilot and further reports will be made in due course.

If Branches have any issues arising from this briefing please contact CWU HQ.

Yours sincerely,

Nigel Cotgrove 

Assistant Secretary

LTB 212.2019

LTB 212.2019 Attachment 1

LTB 212.2019 Attachment 2

URGENT CWU Exchange Mentoring – Activists Supporting Activists 2019 – Closing Date Extension

The deadline for applying to become a CWU Mentor has been extended until midday Friday 26th April 2019. Please consider putting yourself forward for this vitally important role! 

A key aspect of supporting our representative structure is the continuation, development and further roll out of the CWU Exchange Mentoring Scheme.

“CWU Exchange Mentoring” is the CWU mentoring scheme designed to develop new activists through utilising the skills and experience of our more experienced representatives.

The initial pilot scheme was targeted at relatively new Women, BAME and Youth activists who were active in their Branch, workplace or Region and most had been active for up to three years.

Widening the programme and selection of additional CWU Exchange Mentors

Potential new mentors from across the whole union are now invited to apply through a formal application process.

If any current representatives are interested, please complete the attached application form which will detail skills, experiences and understanding of mentoring.

A national Steering Group will shortlist the successful candidates and they will be invited to attend a two day training course. The following criteria will apply:

• At least 5 years’ experience within the CWU at a senior level at Branch, Regional, National, or IR level
• Excellent communications skills including public speaking
• A demonstrable commitment to developing new activists
• An understanding of the role of mentoring within a trade union
• Ability to commit specified time to the mentoring role
• It will be desirable but not essential to have experience of delivering training, workshops, briefings etc. to other representatives or in the wider labour movement.

Training

Building on the success of the Mentoring for BAME and Women courses delivered previously, we will provide a two day course with the following aims:

• To develop mentoring skills
• To understand the roles and responsibilities of CWU mentors
• To understand and apply mentoring skills in line with the requisite ethical standards
• To understand and apply the processes and policies of delivering mentoring according to the CWU Exchange Scheme

The training will be delivered by suitably qualified tutors on the following dates at the Elstead Hotel:

Course option 1: Commence 12:00 13th May 2019 – Finish 12:00 14th May 2019 

Course option 2: Commence 12:00 14th May 2019 – Finish 12:00 15th May 2019 

How to apply

Potential mentors will need to apply by completing the attached application form. Please give us as much information as possible and return your application by 17:00 on Friday 26th April 2019. 

We will ask potential mentees to apply via a similar application process in due course detailing their experience to date, any barriers that they are facing and letting us know what they are looking for in a mentor.

Selection and matching of Mentees and Mentors

The Steering group will then be responsible for short listing mentors and potential mentees and for matching them with one of our trained mentors. This will be based on geography, particular areas of interest, constituency, and what they are seeking from the mentoring process.

If you are interested please return your completed application form to:

Michelle Simpson, CWU, 150 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London SW19 1RX. Alternatively email your application to learn@cwu.org

Any queries relating to this LTB should be directed to Lee Wakeman (lwakeman@cwu.org) in the first instance.

Yours sincerely,

Trish Lavelle
Assistant Secretary

19LTB 218 -CWU Exchange Mentoring – Activists Supporting Activists 2019 – Closing Date Extension

Mentoring – Application Form

Royal Mail Uniform Stand (Annual Conference)

Dear Colleagues,

Further to previous LTBs issued by the Outdoor Department, Branches are advised that Royal Mail will again be having a Uniform Stand at this year’s CWU Annual Conference, from Sunday the 28th April to Thursday the 2nd May. 

As with previous years, the stand will include a good range of uniform garments and footwear and this year will also include uniform ranges covering Fleet, Parcelforce and Engineers.

Uniform Z-Cards will also be available from the stand in addition to footwear posters, questionnaires and other uniform related items.

The holding of this stand by Royal Mail has now become a regular event at Conference and offers Branches and delegates the opportunity to raise general and particular issues and questions around uniform matters directly with Royal Mail.

Any queries to the content of the above, please contact the Outdoor Department, reference 500, email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch

CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 216.19 – Royal Mail Uniform Stand (Annual Conference)

POST OFFICE: BEIS SELECT COMMITTEE INQUIRY – POST OFFICE NETWORK

I am pleased to advise Branches and our Post Office members that a BEIS Select Committee Inquiry is to be held regarding the Post Office Network as follows:

BEIS Select Committee Inquiry – “the franchising of Post Offices, the reduction of Government subsidies, and the long-term resilience of the service”.

An evidence hearing will be held on Tuesday 21st May at which the Union will be giving oral evidence and written submissions have been invited prior to the closure date of Monday 6th May. We will be drafting a written submission in conjunction with the GS Department with support from our Research Department.

This is very positive news and we expect the Post Office to be highly criticised by key stakeholders for their decision to privatise 74 Crown Offices to WH Smith, which has consistently been voted the worst retailer on the high street by Which magazine. Importantly, three key aspects of written evidence the inquiry will be examining are:

Crown Post Offices

• Do you have confidence that franchises can maintain and improve current service levels in the Crown Post Offices they take over? 
• What contingencies should the Government have in place in case franchises fail? 
• Should the Government seek to ensure that staff terms and conditions are preserved when a franchise takes over a Crown Post Office?

A parliamentary press release containing the full details of the scope of the inquiry is attached to this LTB for your information. The link to the BEIS announcement on the parliamentary website is as follows:

https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/business-energy-industrial-strategy/inquiries/parliament-2017/post-office-network-17-19/

Further developments will be reported.

If you have any questions in relation to this LTB, please contact Lea Sheridan – lsheridan@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey

Assistant Secretary

19LTB215 Post Office – BEIS Select Committee Inquiry – Post Office Network

Attachment 1 to LTB215-19 – Press Release