A message from DGSP Terry Pullinger urging members to use your vote
Royal Mail will this morning be asking members to hold onto their ballot paper for a few days until they receive more information from the company on pensions and other matters. This is a deliberate attempt to impact on our turnout.
We need to vote immediately. Let’s bring this home
Organ Donation Week 4-10 September – Thank You From NHSBT (NHS Blood and Transplant Service)
Organ Donation Week 4-10 September – Thank You From NHSBT (NHS Blood and Transplant Service)
To: All Branches
Dear Colleagues,
Further to LTBs 473/17 and 479/17, the attached message has been received from the NHSBT National Partnership Development Manager.
Yours sincerely
Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer
The CWU is proud to again be supporting Gas Safety Week this year, 2017
The CWU is proud to again be supporting Gas Safety Week this year, 2017
Gas Safety Week is an annual safety week to raise awareness of gas safety and the importance of taking care of your gas appliances. It is coordinated by Gas Safe Register, the official list of gas engineers who are legally allowed to work on gas.
The week aims to raise awareness amongst householders and landlords, about the importance of having their gas appliances serviced on an annual basis. 5000 organisation across the UK signed-up last year pledging to work together to raise awareness of the dangers of poorly maintained Gas Appliances. Unsafe gas appliances can put lives at risk from gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide (CO2) poisoning.
With 22 deaths and nearly 1,000 gas-related injuries in the last three years, it’s vital that people make sure their gas appliances are safety checked every year, by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Anyone working on gas appliances while not being Gas Safe registered is working illegally.
Check your gas safe appliances every year
Gas appliances should be safety checked once a year and serviced regularly by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
Check your engineer is Gas Safe registered
Agents, landlords and tenants can find and check an engineer at www.gassaferegister.co.uk or call 0800 408 5500
Check your engineer’s Gas Safe Register ID card
Make sure they are qualified for the work you need doing. You can find this information on the back of the card.
In supporting the 2017 Gas Safety Week, we are reminding Branches, Safety Reps and Members in a joint awareness campaign with RoSPA, HSE and the ‘Gas Safe Register’ to alert people of the importance of Gas Safety in the home. In the UK, 21 million households use gas for heating, hot water and cooking. There are approximately 7,500 unregistered gas fitters actively working in the UK today with 250,000 illegal gas jobs done every year by unregistered gas fitters.
Badly-fitted and poorly-serviced gas appliances can cause gas leaks, explosions, fires, and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Dangerous gas work can kill and 22 people have died and 1000 have been injured in the last three years through Carbon Monoxide poisoning and other incidents. Carbon Monoxide symptoms can be mistaken for flu, food poisoning, viral infections and tiredness. A carbon monoxide alarm costs around £15 to £20 – every home should have CO Alarms and Smoke Alarms – but they are not a substitute for regular servicing.
The ‘Gas Safe Register’ is the government approved registration scheme for gas engineers in the UK, Isle of Man, and Guernsey. There are more than 120,000 Gas Safe Registered engineers. There are more than 60,000 Gas Safe Registered businesses. All gas appliances need regular servicing and a gas safety check every year (or in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions). All landlords and housing associations are legally obliged to ensure that all gas appliances and related pipes and flues within their rental properties are checked every 12 months for safety. They must issue a copy of the certificate to the tenant within 28 days of the test and give a copy to any new tenants moving in.
Not all gas engineers can work on all gas appliances. Gas Safe Registered engineers carry an ID card that shows the type of gas work they are legally registered and qualified to do e.g. cooker, boilers, gas fires etc.
Dangerous DIY – One in three people would fit a gas appliance themselves to save money. This is extremely risky and dangerous.
Website: www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk/reportillegal
‘Gas Safe Register’ also offers technical support for registered gas engineers. Call the technical helpline on 0800 408 5577, or visit the ‘Gas Safe Register’ Website
at: www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk/engineers
‘Gas Safe Register’ replaced the ‘CORGI’ gas registration scheme as of April 9, 2009. Corgi ID cards are no longer valid. You can check card ID details instantly online. Only ‘Gas Safe Register’ registered engineers can work on gas and fit, fix and service boilers, gas fires and most types of gas cookers in your home – it’s the law. Keeping the public safe from dangerous gas work is ‘Gas Safe Register’s top priority. If someone other than a ‘Gas Safe Registered’ engineer carries out gas work in your home, you are risking the safety of both yourself and your family, other residents, visitors and your property.
Simple search and identity check
Finding a Gas Safe Registered engineer is easy. You can find an engineer in your area online at the ‘Gas Safe Register’ website: www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk – or by calling the free helpline: 0800 408 5500. Every engineer on the Gas Safe Register carries an ID card with their own unique licence number. The back of the ID card lists what gas appliances your engineer is qualified to work on. The message from Gas Safe Register is clear: Before you have any gas work done in your home, make sure you ask for the ID card and check the front and back.
Gas Safe Register’s top ten tips: GREAT ADVICE FOR GAS SAFETY WEEK 2017
If you suspect an illegal gas worker report it to Gas Safe Register:
Gas Safe Register PO BOX 6804 Basingstoke RG24 4NB
1 Have all your gas appliances, including boilers, gas cookers and gas fires, safety checked annually.
2 Always use a Gas Safe Registered engineer to fit, fix and check gas appliances in your home – it’s the law and will help keep you safe.
3 Always ask to see an engineer’s Gas Safe ID card and check the back of the card to ensure they are qualified to carry out the specific type of gas work you need.
4 To find a Gas Safe Registered engineer in your area, call the free helpline on 0800408 5500 or go to www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk.
5 Recognise the symptom so carbon monoxide poisoning-headaches, dizziness, nausea, breathlessness, collapse and loss of consciousness.
6 Check gasa ppliances for warning signs that they are not working properly e.g. lazy yellow flames instead of crisp blue ones, black marks or stains on or around the appliance and too much condensation in the room.
7 Buy an audible carbon monoxide alarm for your home and make sure it is located near to your gas appliances in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidance. Carbon monoxide can leak from appliances and kill.
8 Only use gas appliances for their intended purpose e.g. don’t use a gas oven to heat a room or use a gas barbeque inside the house.
9 Always ensure there is enough ventilation for your gas appliances to allow them to burn correctly and make sure you are not blocking any air vents that provide an air supply to the gas appliance.
10 Anybody working with gas has to be Gas Safe Registered by law. To report someone working without registration, call Gas Safe Register on the free phone number 0800 408 5500.
Did you know?
• Every year thousands of people across the UK are diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning. It is a highly poisonous gas. You can’t see it, taste it, or smell it, but it can kill quickly with no warning.
• Gas Safe Register found almost 5 million people across the UK are putting themselves at risk by employing illegal gas fitters who aren’t properly qualified. 65% of all gas jobs carried out by illegal fitters were unsafe, with 1 in 5 so dangerous they had to be disconnected immediately.
• 3 in 4 victims of illegal gas work hired the worker following a friend’s recommendation and 1 in 4 found them through an advert, wrongly assuming they were registered. In all cases the householder did not check the credentials of the worker before the work was carried out – you should always check the official Gas Safe Register.
• Although there is awareness that gas appliances need to be safety checked annually, 43% of Britons don’t do it, and 10% have gas appliances which have never been checked.
Further Information
Gas Safe Register 200 Cedarwood Chineham Park Crockford Lane Basingstoke Hampshire
RG24 8WD
Consumer enquiries
0800 408 5500 enquiries@gassaferegister.co.uk
Engineer enquiries: 0800 408 5577 register@gassaferegister.co.uk
Further Information:
Gas Safe Register 200 Cedarwood Chineham Park Crockford Lane Basingstoke Hampshire
RG24 8WD
Consumer enquiries
0800 408 5500 enquiries@gassaferegister.co.uk
Engineer enquiries:
0800 408 5577 register@gassaferegister.co.uk
Yours Sincerely,
Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer
BRANCH ELECTIONS 2018/2020
BRANCH ELECTIONS
2018/2020
Please find below the timetable for the upcoming Branch Elections for term of office 2018 to 2020.
Display timetable 06/09/17
Nominations open (Set 1&2) 13/09/17
Nominations close (Set 1) 04/10/17
Nominations close (Set 2) 08/11/17
Ballot start (Set 1) 18/10/17
Ballots close (Set 1) 01/11/17
Result declared (Set 1) 03/11/17
Ballot opens (Set 2) 22/11/17
Ballot closes (Set 2) 06/12/17
Results declared (Set 2) 08/12/17
Nomination forms are available via your local Rep,Or the Branch Office. Tel 01733 382512 you can download the form from the Branch website http://www.cwue5.org completed forms should be returned to Amanda Hill, Branch Secretary, PO Box 438, Peterborough, PE4 5PE.
It is the responsibility of the current workplace rep to ensure this notice is clearly displayed.
Term of Office will run from AGM 2018 to AGM 2020
Any enquiries to
Amanda Hill, Branch Secretary.
Eastern 5 Branch
SET ONE ELECTIONS
Nominations open 13/09/2017
Nominations close 09/10/2017 10 a.m.
Branch Chair Branch Secretary
Branch Treasurer Branch Equality Officer
Branch Political Officer Branch Deputy Secretary
Branch Editor Branch Returning Officer Branch Women’s Officer Branch BAME Officer
Branch Youth Officer Retired Members Chair
Retired Members Secretary
Assistant Secretary (Legal & Medical)
Area Processing Representative
Area Distribution Representative
Area Delivery Representative
Area Health & Safety Representative
Lead Union Learning Rep
Branch Equality Committee (6 members)
Branch Women’s Committee (6 members)
Term of office will run from AGM 2018 to AGM 2020
Eastern 5 Branch
SET TWO ELECTIONS
Nominations open 13/09/2017
Nominations close 08/11/2017 10 a.m.
Unit and Shift Representatives
Health and Safety Representatives
Sectional Secretary (Letters)
Sectional Chair (Letters)
Mail Centre Secretary (APC Committee), Mail Centre Chair (APC Committee)
Substitute Unit and Shift Representatives
Substitute Area Processing Representative
Substitute Area Distribution Representative
Substitute Area Delivery Representative
Substitute Area Health & Safety Representative
Union Learning Reps
Term of Office will run from AGM 2018 to AGM 2018
Amanda Hill, Branch Secretary.
Royal Mail Group – Road Safety Communication Campaign September 2017 – Driver Health Issues – Driver Fatigue/Driving Tired/Driving Drowsy – Stress – Eye Health/Eye Tests and Fitness to Drive: NEW DATE: Week Commencing Monday 18 September 2017
Royal Mail Group – Road Safety Communication Campaign September 2017 – Driver Health Issues – Driver Fatigue/Driving Tired/Driving Drowsy – Stress – Eye Health/Eye Tests and Fitness to Drive: NEW DATE: Week Commencing Monday 18 September 2017
To: All Royal Mail Branches
Dear Colleagues,
This is to update Branches and in particular ASRs and WSRs, further to LTB No. 488/2017 dated 7 September 2017.
LTB488/17 (copy attached for reference) reported to ASRs/WSRs and Branches that the Royal Mail Group – Road Safety Communication Campaign for September 2017, on the theme
of Driver Health Issues, including Driver fatigue/Driving Tired/Driving, Stress, Eye Health/Eye Tests would take place during the Week Commencing Monday 11 September 2017. Publicity on this important issue was given via that LTB and also on the CWU Website.
The Royal Mail Group Safety Health and Environment Driver and Road Safety Team had issued the two posters and Regional Messages in readiness for the campaign week.
At 09:30 on Monday morning 11 September, a communication was received from the Royal Mail Group Driver Capability and Behaviour Manager, informing CWU HQ Health, Safety & Environment Department that the Royal Mail Group Communications Team had decided at the eleventh hour to cancel and withdraw the National WTLL which in effect completely undermined the campaign and had the effect of cancelling out the Road Safety communications campaign week completely.
It’s fair to say that the RMG Safety Health and Environment Team were extremely disappointed and were as annoyed as the CWU/HQ Health, Safety and Environment Dept was at this totally irresponsible and unacceptable decision by RMG Communications.
A strong letter of complaint was immediately despatched to Shane O’Riordan RMG Director of
Strategy & Communications, copied to the Director SHE, RMG Chief Executive, RM Chief Operating Officer, RMG Director HR and other Directors.
A reply was received last night from the Director of Strategy & Communications, informing us that following discussions with the Director Safety, Health, Environment and Sustainabilty Shaun Davis, the Road Safety Communications Week will not now be completely cancelled and instead will go ahead next week – Week Commencing Monday 18 September 2017. See
attached correspondence for your information.
Would ASRs please note the after the September campaign, the next Road Safety Week in RMG will be the ‘Brake’ UK National Road Safety Week 20-26 November 2017, with the theme – “Speed Down Saves Lives”. Further information on that and associated communications and materials, LTBs etc will follow in due course and we will be seeking to ensure no repetition of what occurred with this month’s road safety campaign week, caused by RMG Comms.
A separate LTB and attachments, Posters, Leaflets, Fact Sheets will be issued by the Health, Safety & Environment Department on “Driver Fatigue and Road Accidents”, to support the Road Safety Campaign Week themes and help raise awareness amongst Driver Members of this crucially important issue.
Attachments:
• 17LTB488 Royal Mail Group – Road Safety Communication Campaign September 2017
• RS Campaign Sept 2017 – Driver Health – ASR activity plan Final
• WTLL – Driver Health FinalDriver Health
• Poster 1
• Poster 2
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 