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)

19LTB245 Postal Department Industrial Training

Attachment 1 – Training Attendees

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:

https://www.pensionsage.com/pa/Govt-cites-governance-as-driver-behind-Capita-administration-improvement.php

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

European Elections

Dear Colleagues,

Further to LTB 225/19, please find attached the latest communication from Royal Mail for the forthcoming arrangements for the delivery of European Election material which should be carried out in line with the relevant National agreement which is attached for your reference

Branches will realise of course that this information has been received late from the company as the political landscape is certainly changeable to say the least.

Any enquires should be directed to the Outdoor Department, reference 535.09, email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch              

CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 239.19 – European ElectionsEuropean Elections Statement 2019Delivery of Election Material National Agreement LTB 209.14

REDESIGN – NEW SUPPORT PACKAGE FOR CWU REPRESENTATIVES

Branches will be aware that one of the key objectives of Redesign, as agreed by General Conference, is to develop and introduce a new support package for all CWU representatives.

The purpose of this LTB is to explain more about why we think this initiative is important to our future, set out the scope of what it is we are looking to include in a new support package and highlight the process the NEC has agreed to help bring this policy to fruition.

Background

For many years the CWU has prided itself on being the strongest UK work based union, with a unique connection to members, underpinned by a culture of strong representation in the workplace.

However, what has become increasingly clear is that to maintain and enhance our model of trade unionism, we must respond to the growing pressures that representatives now face. We see this from the pace of change, the scale and complexity of today’s individual and collective representational issues and also the increasing levels of stress, wellbeing and mental health issues that are now prevalent throughout society.

It is against this background that we believe it’s important for our future that the union finds a way to offer improved and more consistent support to all existing and new representatives of the CWU. In effect, the concept of a new support package can best be summarised by saying that if you are or become a CWU representative, this is the level of support you will receive and this is what we expect in return, effectively creating a contract between the union, our Branches and all our representatives.

The package should be seen as a vehicle to raise both the standard of how our Branches consistently support their representatives and the overall standard of representation within the union. The thinking behind this initiative is very much connected to the 14 Measures of Success and should also be viewed as supporting CWU succession planning and as a pathway to building a greater and wider understanding on the values of our movement.

The Scope of the Package

The scope of the package we are looking at is really a combination of pulling together the best of our existing support mechanisms e.g. training, mentoring etc., alongside new initiatives like access to confidential and professional wellbeing services. In this regard, the package can be as broad and innovative as we want, within the parameters of an affordable investment. We will also look to tap into the expertise and ideas that exist in Branches and we want to place on record our thanks to Darren Glebocki and the Nottingham District Amal Branch, who we know have already undertaken some excellent work in developing this approach.

Whilst the detailed package will evolve through the Working Group that has been agreed by the NEC, the broad areas we are exploring are as follows:-

• Creating a one stop reference document for all Branches, outlining the level of support we will consistently provide to representatives and the values of CWU and the wider trade union movement.
• Providing a platform for Branches to jointly own the project and the package, enabling them to promote this locally to their representatives.
• Providing a level of access (if required) for all CWU representatives to confidential and professional wellbeing services.
• Looking at the potential for the union and its Branches to provide a consistent standard of equipment to our representatives.

National Joint Working Group

The NEC has agreed to set up a National Joint Working Group to develop this project and we are looking for 4 Branch Secretaries (2 Postal, 2 T&FS) to join this group. If your Branch is interested in becoming a member of this National Group, please write to the GS Office, (gsoffice@cwu.org) quoting the above LTB as a reference, by Monday 29^th April. We would also like you to submit a short note explaining your reasons for wanting to join the group.

The group will also scope the level of investment required to put in place this type of package and look at ways of working in partnership with Branches to contribute to this.  Furthermore, the group will establish pilot activity to enable the package to evolve in the light of working experience.

Summary

Developing and introducing a new support package for CWU representatives, particularly those on the frontline, is an ambitious project which needs to be seen in the wider context of the challenges our representatives face in today’s world of work and the overall objectives of Redesign. It really does go to the heart of the difficult choices we face on what our priorities should be in the future, including the tradeoffs in other parts of Redesign that will be required to ultimately make this type of investment affordable and worthwhile.

Any enquiries on the above LTB should be addressed to gsoffice@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward
General Secretary

19LTB238 – Redesign a new support package for CWU reps

CWU Conference 2019 – Special Rules Revision – Standing Order Reports

Please find attached the following:

• Special Rules Revision SOC Report Supplementary No.1

Branches are reminded that credentials and voting cards and any further Standing Orders Reports will be available to pick up from the registration desk in the Windsor Hall Foyer in the Bournemouth International Centre from 3.30 pm – 5.30 pm on Saturday 27^th April 2019.

Branches are also reminded that speakers cards need to be completed and returned prior to conference to enable the information to be input onto the system.

Any enquiries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed to Chris Tapper or sent to ctapper@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Tony Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

19LTB236.doc

Special Rules Revision Conference 2019 – SOR1

Royal Mail/CWU Terms of Reference – Industrial Engineer Observations Planning Values Maintenance Delivery Offices

Dear Colleagues,

Branches will be aware that the Outdoor Department has continued to hold talks with Royal Mail around Industrial Engineer activities and in particular around Annual Planning Values Maintenance within Delivery Offices.

The Department has, over the past number of years, agreed Terms of Reference documents covering particular or specific Industrial Engineer activity both in relation to the indoor and outdoor elements. Most notably they are the ‘Full Outdoor Route Production Study and Future Planning Value Maintenance’ (born out of the Royal Mail/CWU National Joint Statement regarding the ‘ACAS External Mediation Delivery to Neighbour Resolution (contained within LTB 143/17) and some previous annual validation exercises on indoor planning values which date back to 2014 and 2015.

However, to date we have not had in place a generic or complete TOR covering this particular and ongoing activity by the company whilst also detailing the CWU trained IE’s involvement.

As such, the attached TOR has been agreed to cover the general points concerning Industrial Engineer’s (IE’s) visits to Delivery Offices in line with the ongoing and annual Planning Values Maintenance exercises and studies which Royal Mail undertake.

The TOR also confirms that:

The purpose of these annual Planning Value Maintenance exercises and studies is to carry out checks on the national planning values which are used for product costing, pricing and efficiency purposes and used by Royal Mail in respect to its reports on costings/efficiency to Ofcom the regulator.

The general delivery maintenance activity will be undertaken on an annual basis, with a 12 month rolling programme of observations and study work which will be discussed and communicated on an ongoing basis with the CWU at national level at the regular (quarterly) meetings between the Royal Mail Industrial Engineering Department and the CWU Outdoor Department, including the CWU IE Trained Representatives. This is set out in the December 2018 ‘Terms of Reference between Royal Mail and the CWU for Joint Working in relation to Work Measurement and Planning Values Development within Deliveries’ (contained within LTB 041/19).

The Royal Mail Industrial Engineering management will advise the Outdoor Department on a monthly/ad-hoc basis of all such planned IE’s visits to Delivery Offices, noting that this may be subject to alteration.

Prior to the Industrial Engineers visiting a Delivery Office, the local DOM and CWU Representative will receive advance notice. Equally, all employees will be briefed to make them aware of the visit and the purpose and advised that they are not being monitored as individuals, as the observations and studies are focused on identifying what the workload is for different tasks/activities and keeping these up to date.

All activity observations will be made on compliant processes and, the Industrial Engineer(s) will be issued with a checklist of common non-compliances that might save time, which needs to be included in the time allowed to do the job to the required method and standards. Employees should follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Safe System of Work (SSOW) and that is what will be observed and accounted for.

The IE’s studies and observations are not about checking the performance of individuals against standards or assessing the performance of units against standards or other units. Their activity is about assessing how long each task takes, and identifying the specific data that is used within the values.

The local CWU Representatives will be invited to observe Industrial Engineer(s) carrying out their work and to also ask questions about the activity. Adequate and relevant release will be provided for this.

The CWU IE Trained Representative(s) will, whenever possible, also support and be included in such Delivery Office visits.

All information/data and possible impact on current planning values will be shared with the CWU at national level at the regular (quarterly) meetings between the Royal Mail Industrial Engineering Department and the CWU Outdoor Department, including the CWU IE Trained Representatives.

Additionally, separate national level discussions will be held in the case of revised or new values resulting from these annual Planning Value Maintenance exercises and studies in order to understand possible impact on current performance and on the use and application of these revised or new planning values. Equally, both parties will continue to undertake joint reviews of current values and how they are devised at the national level regular (quarterly) meetings between the Royal Mail Industrial Engineering Department, the CWU Outdoor Department and the CWU IE Trained Representatives, to confirm and further build confidence in planning values.

The Terms of Reference only cover the particular subject matter of annual Planning Values Maintenance exercises and studies for Delivery Offices and the delivery operation. Any further planning value activities or studies will need to be subject to further National discussions and where relevant a separate Joint National Terms of Reference.

Whilst this Terms of Reference (in the main) mirrors previously agreed TORs covering similar annual validation exercises, it is hoped that the establishment of a generic and agreed standard document and the approach outlined will offer ongoing clarification to Branches and Local Representatives around this activity.

Any queries to the content of the above please contact the Outdoor Department reference 230.03, email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch

LTB 232.19 – RM_CWU Terms of Reference – Industrial Engineering Observations Planning Values Maintenance Delivery OfficesTOR – Industrial Engineer Observations Planning Value Maintenance – Delivery Offices