Category: Uncategorized

POST OFFICE: BEIS SELECT COMMITTEE INQUIRY – POST OFFICE NETWORK

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


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CWU Annual Conference 2019 – Postal Agenda Pad

CWU Annual Conference 2019 – Postal Agenda Pad

Branches would wish to know that the 2019 Postal Agenda Pad has now been published on the website and can be accessed using the following link:

https://www.cwu.org/conference/annual-conference/

A Pdf. copy has also been attached.   Hard copies of the agenda are in the process of being printed and will be distributed to branches when completed.

Any enquiries to this Letter to Branches should be addressed to conferences@cwu.org or call 020 8971 7256.

Yours sincerely

 

A P Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

19LTB214 – CWU Annual Conference 2019 – Postal Agenda Pad

Postal Conference agenda pad 2019


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Birmingham Pride 2019 – Midlands Region Training

Birmingham Pride 2019 – Midlands Region Training

To coincide with Birmingham Pride 2019 the Midlands Region have decided to host an afternoon of training on Friday 24th May at Summer Lane, Birmingham for CWU representatives and members.

The sessions start at 13:30 and will raise awareness of LGBT+ inclusive policies and work-based practices, which will be a great way to celebrate the start of the Pride weekend. Then, on the 25th May on the Saturday morning, we hope to have a large CWU delegation joining with us to attend Birmingham Pride with the Comms Team and the new Pink Hopemobile.

The Midlands Region are opening the two days to other regions so that they can join with them to have a fantastic couple of days.

A list of hotels is set out below for those that wish to stay on the Friday or Saturday evening.

  • Holiday Inn Express, Snow Hill, Birmingham
  • Hampton by Hilton, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham
  • Premier Inn, Station Exchange, Birmingham
  • Premier Inn, Waterloo Street, Birmingham

Could all representatives who wish to attend the education event on Friday 24th May please email Kate Hudson at midlandregion@cwu.org with names of who will be attending.

Yours sincerely

 

Trish Lavelle

Assistant Secretary

19LTB213


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Royal Mail Fleet: Pay and Attendance

Royal Mail Fleet: Pay and Attendance

Further to LTB185/2019 sent out on 22nd March, further discussions have taken place with Royal Mail Fleet. 

It has been agreed: 

•That the 2% RM Group wide 1st April pay increase will be paid to Motor Transport Grades in Fleet. The increase will be paid backdated from 1st April, in June wages. 

•That the unagreed revision guidelines issued in a home mailing by Fleet are withdrawn. Agreed revision guidelines have been negotiated and will be briefed to CWU representatives next week.

•Local revision discussions will take place before the CWU ballot on the proposed agreement, fulfilling a promise given to members that people will vote in the fullest possible knowledge of the implications of changed attendance patterns in their workshop.

In light of the above, it is intended to start the ballot on the proposed Appendix A Agreement on Friday, 24th May with the announcement of the result on Tuesday 11th June. 

The attached letter has been sent to Motor Transport Graded Members in Fleet. A meeting of CWU Fleet Area and Cluster Representatives is taking place on Wednesday 10th April at CWQ Head Office. 

Yours sincerely

 

Ray Ellis

Assistant Secretary 

19LTB210

Fleet Mail Out.05.04.19


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ROYAL MAIL: POST OFFICE PAY INCREASE OF 2.5% FOR EX-POST OFFICE “SAFENET” MEMBERS WORKING IN ROYAL MAIL

ROYAL MAIL: POST OFFICE PAY INCREASE OF 2.5% FOR EX-POST OFFICE “SAFENET” MEMBERS WORKING IN ROYAL MAIL

Branches will recall (refer to LTB 704/18 which is attached for your information) 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, Mark Rush, Head of ER/IR, Operations has formally confirmed that these ex Post Office members will receive the Post Office pay increase of 2.5% for year two of the two year pay agreement (from 1st April 2019) rather than the 2% increase applicable to Royal Mail members under the Four Pillars Agreement. Refer to LTB 200/19 dated 29th March for full details of the Post Office pay agreement. This increase is on top of the 2.8% these members have already received for year one of the Post Office pay agreement (refer again to LTB 704/18). 

Royal Mail HR Services are currently processing the pay uplift so the plan is that weekly paid members will get the increase in next week’s wages (and the week’s back pay) and for monthly paid members the increase will be applied at end of April.

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

Yours sincerely

 

Andy Furey

Assistant Secretary

19LTB211 Royal Mail – Post Office Pay Increase of 2.5% for Ex-Post Office Safenet Members Working in Royal MailAttachment 1 to LTB211-19

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BT PERSONNEL – New Joiners

BT PERSONNEL – New Joiners 

Please find attached final documentation on the ‘New Joiners’ Procedure, Policy and Manager’s Guide. The new documentation is in response to Motions 38, 40, 41, and 42 carried at last year’s Conference.

Branches will note that the New Joiner process now applies for 12 months and not 2 years. There is also now consistency of length of warnings. In addition if someone has been employed by an Agency and have provided services to BT for 2 or more years immediately before being issued with a permanent contract, then this policy does not apply and existing policies will apply from their first day of employment.

The Union’s Personnel Team hope that this satisfies the above Motions. The test as ever is how the new process is applied.

Any enquiries from Branches regarding this LTB should be referred to my office in the first instance.

Yours sincerely

 

Dave Jukes
Assistant Secretary

LTB 209.2019 – BT Personnel – New Joiners
Attachment 1 – LTB 209.2019
Attachment 2 – LTB 209.2019
Attachment 3 – LTB 209.2019

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CWU Annual Conference 2019 – TFS Agenda Pad

CWU Annual Conference 2019 – TFS Agenda Pad

Branches would wish to know that the 2019 Telecom and Financial Services Agenda Pad has now been published on the website and can be accessed using the following link:

https://www.cwu.org/conference/annual-conference/

A Pdf. copy has also been attached. Hard copies of the agenda are in the process of being printed and will be distributed to branches when completed.

Any enquiries to this Letter to Branches should be addressed toconferences@cwu.org or call 020 8971 7256.

Yours sincerely

 

 

A P Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

19LTB208 – CWU Annual Conference 2019 – TFS Agenda Pad

06130_Telecoms Conference agenda pad 2019

View Online

 

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Mandatory OLS update of CWU Officers and Representative’s Details Required

Mandatory OLS update of CWU Officers and Representative’s Details Required

The CWU is required to hold accurate records of all CWU Officers and Representatives on our database.

Following local elections and the reporting of results at the Annual General Meeting the branch should have updated their membership database using OLS.

We are writing to advise branches they are required to input names of new branch officials into the OLS system and to keep their representative records updated at all times.

We attach the OLS User guide explaining the process to Branch Secretaries for amending branch officer and representatives details and should branches require any further assistance or guidance in the completion of this mandatory task then please contact Matt Edwards at medwards@cwu.org or 0208 971 7260.

If branches have any changes to be made to their official CWU listed branch office details including address, contact numbers and email addresses they should immediately send these to gsoffice@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

 

Tony Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

19LTB206 – CWU Membership System – Mandatory OLS Update of CWU Officers and Representatives Details Required

OLS3-Branch-Secretary-Users-Guide


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LONDON, EAST & SOUTH EAST TUC PENSIONERS MEETING HELD AT CONGRESS HOUSE IN LONDON ON THE 26TH OF MARCH 2019

LONDON, EAST & SOUTH EAST TUC PENSIONERS MEETING HELD AT CONGRESS HOUSE IN LONDON ON THE 26TH OF MARCH 2019

 

The theme of the meeting was how the exit from the EU affect the UKs older citizens? And what are the challenges we face?

 

There were due to be 4 guest speakers to the forum, only Chris Walsh of Age Platform Europe (UK Section) and Professor Anand Menon, Director, The UK in a Changing Europe attended.

 

Chris Walsh opened his contribution and cited many difficulties pensioners could be facing once we leave the EU on whatever kind of deal we face.

Equality has been a big leader in Europe relating to workers’ rights, but would they remain after Brexit?, it has to be remembered unless there is a General Election, the Tories will still be in government until 2022. Currently there are 1.6 million over 65’s in work, with the possibility of more being forced to work well beyond the current retirement age of 67, and 68 if you are born after April 1978.

 

Chris, also mentioned there could be lower food quality (chlorinated chickens, hormone fed beef, U.S. pharmaceutical testing over a one year period rather than the 3 adopted by the E.U. Under free market trading, environmental protection could be harmed. Healso stated that there could be travel problems travelling to Europe, citing the loss of the E111 health card, higher travel insurance, temporary travel visa’s and paying for temporary driving permits after Brexit.

 

Anand Melon who has appeared on many political shows, BBC’s Question Time and Newsnightconcentrated on the political implications that have taken place since the referendum vote. He explored many of the debates stating that a No Deal Brexitwould be bad, that the economic affects with a no deal would not have immediate affects, but would be more of a slow puncture before withdrawal effects will berealized.

 

On the political front, he believed that there is no feel for another referendum. A General Election would only be as a result of a no confidence vote in the government being carried. However, if Scottish Independence were to be raised once again there could be a possibility of Labour seats lost, therefore loss of a potential future Labour government.

 

 

 

 

 

Professor Anand continued to make the case for the difficulties Brexit have bought to the country in the way it has been handled by the government and the threats to such things as research where we are world leaders in some fields and would be lost after Brexit.

Austerity has been a major factor in the political arena since the Tory’s came to power, and without a deal, statements made by the Chancellor that austerity will be coming to an end were perhaps based on the potential contribution savings being made by exiting the E.U.

Other things mentioned were defence, and the possibility of an E.U. defence force should we leave, and perhaps leaving us with a weakened NATO should this be the case.

 

This is a potted report on the meeting, and at the time of writing, Brexit and its final implications are still full of ‘supposing’ and ‘what ifs’ as we are still some way off the final solution to Brexit.

 

 

Regards

 

 

 

Mick Goldsmith

Retired Members Secretary

 

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