Royal Mail Pension Consultation
Further to LTBs 390/2016 and 479/2016, I write to inform Branches that I believe the long anticipated Royal Mail consultation on their proposed closure of the RMPP DB scheme is imminent.
Colleagues will recall that the business wrote to all RMPP scheme members in June 2016 confirming their belief that the scheme cannot remain open to future accrual beyond March 2018. In order that the Company meets its responsibilities and obligations under the current regulatory and pension rules the decision on closure has to be made by March 2017.
To ensure the Company meets its obligations under pension rules, Royal Mail are required to undertake a 60 day consultation on their proposal to close the scheme. The Company therefore has no choice but to commence the consultation process so that a final decision can be in place by this year’s March deadline. 
Royal Mail are also duty bound to ensure that the consultation is carried out in good faith, taking all responses into account and that the language of the consultation will not make employees feel that the proposals are fait accompli regardless of their views.
CWU Position
Branches will be aware that news of the pending consultation and the potential closure of the scheme were leaked to the press way before the Company wrote to the scheme’s members in June 2016. This act formed part of the much wider held suspicion that Royal Mail are moving away from the mutual interest commitments enshrined in our current National Agreements in favour of short term profits and shareholder appeasement.
As a consequence of these suspicions and the widely held view of activists that the Company were changing direction and moving away from the spirit of our agreements, a CWU Policy Forum was convened in March 2016 where Branches and the union’s Senior Field Officials set out the key objectives required to restore confidence that management are still committed to the spirit and intent of our Agreements.

There is no doubt that Branches and Representatives of all positions and the wider membership, are fully aware that our industry has never been under so much pressure with issues such as competition, regulation and new technology all intensifying at pace. The move on pensions, the desire to trial and use new technology which will impact on jobs and duty design and the incessant efficiency drive, dictates that the time is now right for us to negotiate a new Agreement with Royal Mail.
The key ‘Pillars of Security’ we need in order to restore our confidence in cooperation going forward are;
 An agreed solution to the pension situation which ensures that the pension promise and the principle of a ‘wage and dignity in retirement’ is in place for all our members in both the DB and DC schemes.
 An agreed commitment to and a timescale for a reduction in the current full-time 39hr week to 35hr gross.
 That the commitments and legally binding provisions of our current Agreements are reaffirmed and extended.
 That a new Pipeline/Workplan is agreed in line with our policies which reverses the trend for later and later delivery start times and enables Royal Mail to maximise the potential of our core USO delivery, offering to deliver new growth opportunities right across the day from 7am onwards.
Against that backdrop it needs to be understood that whilst pursuing our policies to secure and reach Agreement is our priority, the Postal Executive will not hesitate to enact our policy to ballot for industrial action if Royal Mail fail to reach Agreement with us or announce Executive Action on the closure of the DB pension scheme, the introduction of new technology or cost cutting efficiency initiatives that undermine both our current National Agreements and/or the terms and conditions of any CWU Grades within Royal Mail Group.
Clearly it is essential that Branches commence briefing their members on the content of this LTB with immediate effect. Equally, the Postal Department will, in conjunction with the CWU’s Communications Department, commence designing and developing communication strategies to ensure that our members fully understand both the policies and the direction we are taking in their interests.
Yours sincerely

Terry Pullinger

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)  
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LTB 001/17 Royal Mail Pension Consultation

Health, Safety & Environment Department LTB’s Digest for 2016:
As in previous years the Health, Safety & Environment Dept are circulating, for the particular attention of Safety Representatives, a digest list of LTB’s issued by the Health, Safety & Environment Department for 2016. 
I attach for your information a digest list of LTB’s issued by the Health, Safety & Environment Department during 2016 which the department issues annually as a reference document. 
Copies of all back-number LTBs are available for downloading via the CWU Website or on request directly from the Health, Safety & Environment Department. 
Copies of minutes of the NEC HS&E Committee are also available on request. 
Yours sincerely

 
Dave Joyce

National Health, Safety & Environment Officer
 
 
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LTB 002/17 Health, Safety & Environment Department LTB’s Digest for 2016

LTB Digest 2016

AIR NETWORK REVIEW – PHASE 5 PROPOSAL REMOVAL OF SKYNET 14 (NEWCASTLE EMA – NEWCASTLE), SKYNET 6 (NEWCASTLE – STANSTED) AND SKYNET 7 (STANSTED – NEWCASTLE) 
 
Dear Colleagues
Branches and representatives will be aware that LTB 767/14, Joint Statement on Revision of Air Network Services, communicated the details of the process that would be adopted in relation to review activity.
The business presented their initial proposals in relation to the Phase 5 activity in Summer of 2016. These proposals highlighted a number of concerns for the CWU and for the first time indicated that Delivery Arrival times would be impacted, which was out with the Joint Statement agreed in 2014.
Extensive cross departmental discussions have therefore been taking place with the business in order to address the areas of concern. Those discussions have culminated in the attached Joint Statement being agreed and endorsed by the Postal Executive, which now enables the Phase 5 review activity to commence.
Branches will note that the attached Joint Statement confirms the necessary safeguards and agreed actions to mitigate the impact on the Delivery Function and formalises the commencement of the formal Air Network process agreed in 2014, a copy of which is also attached for your ease of reference.
Branches will also note that the attached joint statement establishes that in effect the formal Air Network Review process commences from this point and discussions will be progressed in line with the established Working Group approach, including the full involvement of representatives from the affected sites.
Following discussions, in line with the agreed Air Network Review process the Air Network Working Group will be required to agree a formal recommendation to the NLSG on deployment and until that point the company will not serve notice on existing arrangements with the Air Service supplier.
In commencing the process both departments recognise that significant challenges remain in relation to the proposal. However, we believe that we are now in a position where the discussions can commence in line with the terms of the Air Network Review and the attached Joint Statement.
Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to:
Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, quoting reference: 211.08.
Email Address: shayman@cwu.org
or
Bob Gibson’s Office, quoting reference: 535. 
Email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org
 
Yours sincerely  
 
 
Davie Robertson Mark Baulch  
CWU Assistant Secretary CWU Assistant Secretary – Outdoor  
 
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 756/16 – AIR NETWORK REVIEW

Attachment 1 – Joint Statement – Newcastle Air Review

ACCRINGTON DELIVERY OFFICE – DISPUTE
Dear Colleagues,
Further to LTB 740/16 I am pleased to report that following discussions between Royal Mail and CWU head office yesterday, members at Accrington Delivery Office voted to attend work at a gate meeting called by the East Lancs Amal Branch this morning.
Royal Mail have in effect confirmed that the remaining issue from the Flashpoint Report of 24th August concerning the management of the office will be resolved in the New Year.
The Accrington members have received tremendous support from Branches all around the country and there is no doubt that the solidarity shown has helped to bring the dispute to a successful resolution. The key factor was of course the unity, determination and discipline of the Accrington members.
All enquiries regarding the content of this LTB should be addressed to the PTCS Department, quoting reference 412.
Email address: djeffery@cwu.org
Yours Sincerely,
 
 
RAY ELLIS
ASSISTANT SECRETARY
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· LTB 753/16 – ACCRINGTON DELIVERY OFFICE – DISPUTE

MANAGERS’ UPDATE: RECOGNISING GOOD ATTENDANCE
Dear Colleagues,
I attach a document issued by Royal Mail to its managers entitled “Recognising good attendance” dated 16th December, received at head office from representatives in the field on 19th December.
Contrary to the claim in the document the CWU was not briefed on the scheme nor was the union consulted on the attached document. The union was informed that Royal Mail intended to run an incentive scheme in the form of a prize draw. Last Friday, clearly after the attached brief had been drawn up and after copies of the December edition of The Courier which contains details of the scheme had gone to print, we were advised that the business intended to brief employees this week – no details of the scheme were shared.
The union is opposed to any scheme which encourages members to attend work when they are not well enough to do so, or penalises people for being ill. We believe the scheme is an ill thought out, knee jerk return to the policies of a decade ago. It is extremely disappointing that the business has reverted to an unimaginative and self-defeating approach to the management of attendance which seeks to bypass the union.
According to “The Courier” the intention is to “reinforce the message that our people have a vital part to play every day in delivering a great service to our customers”. Our members don’t need patronising messages of this kind, particularly at this time of year. Whatever the intention of the scheme, in reality, it will act as a further signal to managers that they must “get tough” on sickness absence.
Over the last 18 months the union has received an increasing number of reports from all parts of Royal Mail of aggressive and bullying misapplication of the Attendance Procedure – in particular:
 
Abuse of contact strategy

Routine issue of stage reviews regardless of circumstances

Threatened or actual stoppage of pay for alleged “non-cooperation”

Counting absences arising from accidents on duty or disability

Sacking people with an underlying health condition – in some cases when they were attending work regularly

 
Despite this return to the sort of management behaviours in evidence before the introduction of the 2013 Attendance agreement, the level of sickness absence has continued to increase. The union has called for a joint and root and branch analysis of the underlying causes of this increase, which has taken place over the same period in which the number of reported bullying and harassment cases has increased by 52% and significant concerns about reasonable workload and aggressive management have been reported by staff in the company’s “Big Conversation” employee opinion exercise. Royal Mail has agreed to meet to discuss this in January. The union will positively engage to improve workplace morale and address some of the issues which we believe are driving the increase in sickness absence. This half-baked panic measure will not help. Branches should ensure that the Grievance Procedure and Industrial Relations Framework are used if managers abuse the contact strategy (the terms of which were jointly summarised by CWU and Royal Mail in LTB 691/2016) or if any of the other aggressive management behaviours and breaches of the Attendance Procedure listed in the bullet points above are encountered.
All enquiries regarding the content of this LTB should be addressed to the PTCS Department, quoting reference 415.
Yours Sincerely,
RAY ELLIS
ASSISTANT SECRETARY 
 
Attachment can be found in the attached LTB.
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· LTB 751/16 – Managers’ Update: Recognising Good Attendance

CWU Youth Conference Agenda Pad 2017
Branches would wish to know that the agenda for the forthcoming CWU Youth Conference being held in Manchester on Saturday 21st January 2017 has now been published on the website and can be accessed by pasting the link below into your browser:

Click to access youth-conference-agenda-pad-2017.pdf

Hard copies of the agenda will be sent to Branch addresses of everyone that has registered using the online registration system.
Credential cards for delegates/visitors and voting cards for this conference will be issued on the Thursday morning at registration prior to the conference opening.  
Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to Angela Niven by telephoning 020 8971 7256 or by post to head office or by email to conferences@cwu.org
Yours sincerely,
 
A P Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary
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LTB 749/16 – CWU Youth Conference Agenda Pad 2017

Youth Conference Agenda Pad

CWU Retired Members Conference Agenda Pad 2017
Branches would wish to know that the agenda for the forthcoming CWU Retired Members Conference being held in Manchester on Thursday 19th January 2017 has now been published on the website and can be accessed by pasting the link below into your browser:

Click to access retired-agenda-2017.pdf

Hard copies of the agenda will be sent to Branch addresses of everyone that has registered using the online registration system.
Credential cards for delegates/visitors and voting cards for this conference will be issued on the Thursday morning at registration prior to the conference opening.  
Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to Angela Niven by telephoning 020 8971 7256 or by post to head office or by email to conferences@cwu.org
Yours sincerely,
 
A P Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 748/16 – CWU Retired Members Conference Agenda Pad 2017

Retired Members Conference Agenda Pad

Election of: CWU Delegates to the TUC Equality Conferences – 2017
Please find attached the Regulations, Nomination Forms and Candidate Consent and Biographical Details forms for the above Conferences. The details of which are as follows: 
TUC WOMEN’S CONFERENCE
Date: 8/9/10 March 2017
Venue: Congress House, London
TUC BLACK WORKERS CONFERENCE
Date: 7/8/9 April 2017
Venue: Congress House, London
TUC DISABLED WORKERS CONFERENCE
Date: 18/19 May 2017
Venue: Congress House, London
TUC LGBT WORKERS CONFERENCE
Date: 6/7 July 2017
Venue: Congress House, London
 
The Timetable for the elections is as follow:
Nominations open: 5 January 2017  
Nominations close: 19 January 2017 (14:00)
Despatch ballot papers: 24 January 2017

Ballot closes: 7 February 2017 (14:00) 
Reminders:
All candidates for election to the TUC Women’s Conference must be women.

All nominees require the nomination of their own Branch.

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
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 750/16 – Election of CWU Delegates to the TUC Equality Conferences – 2017

Regulations – TUC Equality 2017

Nomination Forms – TUC Equality 2017

Candidate Consent & Biographical Details

RE: CWU NORTH WEST REGION – ‘WOMEN OF TODAY’ EVENT 
The CWU North West Region are holding their ‘Women of Today’ event on Thursday 26th January 2017 in Manchester. The details of the event are as follows: 
DATE: Thursday 26th January 2017 
TIME: 10.30 – 15.30  
VENUE: Mechanics Centre, 103 Princess Street, Manchester, M1 6DD 
Tea & Coffee will be available during registration between 10.00am and 10.30am 
The Keynote Speaker will be FRANCESCA MARTINEZ, a comedian, writer and respected social commentator. In 2014 she was named as one of Britain’s most influential women. 
Other speakers include: 
LINDA ROY, CWU National Equality Officer

KATE HUDSON, CWU Midland Regional Secretary

LISA NANDY, MP for Wigan

LYNN COLLINS, North West TUC Regional Secretary

CAROL SCHEFFER, CWU Ireland National Equality Officer

JEAN SHARROCKS, Chair of CWU Women’s Advisory Committee

LYNNE MORRIS, UNISON & North West TULO Chair

There will also be a panel discussion and various information stalls
LUNCH will be provided
The aim of the day is to increase involvement of women members in the CWU and the wider Labour movement. All women Representatives and Branch Women’s Officers are encouraged to attend and for them to bring as many CWU women members as possible. 
To register please visit: https://nwcwuwot17.eventbrite.co.uk 
If you require any further information, please either contact Karen Bosson, North West Regional Women’s Secretary on 07894 423 892 or Carl Webb, Regional Secretary on 07850 019 602. 
Yours sincerely
 
Dave Ward

General Secretary
Email Attachments – Click to download
Attachment 1: LTB 746/16 – Women of Today Event

Attachment 2: Women of Today Event Flyer