LEVEL 3 AWARD IN EDUCATION & TRAINING FOR ULRS

 

Dear Colleagues,

 

The CWU will be running two Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET) courses for CWU ULRs which have been arranged by the Education and Training Department with external funding. (This is the replacement for the PTLLS course that many ULRs will have done in the past). The courses will be a mixture of taught and distance learning and will be delivered via Ruskin College in Oxford. There are no qualifications required apart from being a trained ULR.

 

The first course will be for those who are already at a Level 3 study stage and a second course has been arranged for students who will receive additional training to prepare them for this level of study. In particular this will look at providing more experience with writing essays, referencing etc. to ensure that ULRs have the best opportunity to complete the course. We should stress that the bridging course has been developed to help because of previous experiences of distance learning which did not always provide enough support and led to ULRs sometimes not completing the programme.

 

The dates for the courses are as follows and the student would need to commit to attend all sessions.

 

• Level 3 AET Group 1 – Those who will comfortably work at L3
29 – 30 September 20’16 – 2 days residential at Ruskin College

3 – 4 November 2016 – 2 days residential at Ruskin

18 January 2017 1 day Portfolio completion at Ruskin

All interspersed with distance learning.

 

• Level 3 AET Group 2 – those who will receive pre-course training in study and research skills.
12 – 16 September 2016 – 5 day Bridging Course
22 – 23 November 2016 – 2 days residential at Ruskin College

26 – 27 January 2017 – 2 days Residential at Ruskin College

23 March 2017 -1 day Portfolio Completion at Ruskin College

All interspersed with distance learning.

 

 

 

 

Despite the fact that we have negotiated a good rate for the course tuition and accommodation this will involve a lot of financial and personal commitment by the Union along with the ULRs, their Branch and their employer however it will provide our ULRs with a very valuable qualification for themselves and the CWU.

 

The application process will entail submitting either an essay, report or project. This can be one that the ULR has done previously or one specifically for the purposes of the application. The ULR should also outline how they would plan to use the Level 3 qualification in their Branch and Region to assist learning for members and activists.

 

Please return this completed application and monitoring form to the Education and Training Department by Friday 19 August 2016. It can be emailed to learn@cwu.org or posted to AET Application, Education and Training, CWU, 150 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London SW19 1RX

And the application should also be signed off by the Branch Secretary to show the Branch’s support.

 

Funding

The course and overnight accommodation at Ruskin will be funded by the Education and Training Department via funding from the Union Learning Fund. Travel as well as lunch and evening meals will need to be paid for by the ULR’s Branch.

Release

Release for this course is covered under the ACAS guidelines for Union Learning Reps and attracts paid release.

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to Neil Coleby or Michelle Simpson by telephoning 07801 364088 (Neil) or 020 8971 7340 (Michelle) or by email to learn@cwu.org  

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Trish Lavelle

Head of Education & Training

Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 453/16 – LEVEL 3 AWARD IN EDUCATION & TRAINING FOR ULRS

AET Application Form

UNI GLOBAL WORLD YOUTH CONFERENCE AND UNI YOUTH ORGANISING FORUM – (2016)
Further to LTB 430/16 dated 19th July 2016, at the close of nominations on Friday 29th July 2016 the following have been received: 
POSTAL CONSTITUENCY
2 Lay Members (At least one of whom must be a woman)
Christopher Egan
Greater Manchester
*Elected
 
TELECOMS & FINANCIAL SERVICES CONSTITUENCY
2 Lay Members (At least one of whom must be a woman)
Kayleigh England
North East, Capital, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, Scotland No 1, South Yorkshire
*Elected
 
 
 
Chris Gadeke
Capital, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, Scotland No 1, South Yorkshire
 
Dan Harris               
Great Western, Greater London Combined
 
Liam Reed               
South East Central
Ballot Required
 
The timetable for the ballot is as follows:           
            Despatch ballot papers 1st August 2016
            Ballot closes 12th August 2016 (14:00)                                 
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 461/16 – UNI Global World Youth Conference and UNI Youth Organising Forum – (2016)

Light Commercial Vehicle Driver Behaviour Technology – TRIMBLE
Dear Colleague
As reported in LTBs 555/15 and 630/15, Branches will recall that Royal Mail has partnered with Trimble to improve safety whilst driving at work through the installation of in-cab technology, fitted to approximately 13,000 vehicles in approximately 1300 locations.
Data on different manoeuvres such as acceleration, braking and cornering is gathered using GPS in the on-board telematics unit installed in the vehicle with various profiles being compared against set standards (acceptable, moderate, harsh) accompanied by an audible warning sound.
The department has since been notified of an issue with the audible settings on the Large Van profiles for this technology, namely Peugeot Boxers, Peugeot Experts, Ford Transits and Vauxhall Vivaro’s. The Red Amber Green (RAG) light settings on these vehicles are set up correctly to highlight acceptable, moderate and harsh manoeuvres. The audible warnings however should be set to go off in line with drivers triggering a moderate or above manoeuvre. However, after a query received from a DO it has been noted that the buzzers are only triggered by manoeuvres which are more severe than the harsh setting. This means drivers will be seeing the lights moving up and down the scale, but not get an audible notification on individual instances of what is triggering the lights to move.
Trimble urgently need to reset this buzzer to the correct profile levels as fed back in real time to the vehicles in-cab technology. This may of course lead to an increase in audible warnings in the Large Vans across the country, causing concern to some drivers. In order to manage this change going forward, branches should note that such settings deemed necessary will only be adjusted on the following Large Vans; Peugeot Boxer, Peugeot Expert, Ford Transit & Vauxhall Vivaro week commencing Monday 8th August 2016.
This adjustment will be monitored at national level to ensure consistency of data gathering against agreed profiles in order to minimise any concern.

 

Any enquiries to Bob Gibson’s Office, quoting reference 300 

Email address:outdoorsecretary@cwu.org
Yours Sincerely

     

Bob Gibson                                

CWU Assistant Secretary – Outdoor  

CWU Equality Officer’s Seminar 2016 – Presentations 
Please find attached copies of the presentations given at the Equality Officer’s Seminar on 26th July 2016 for information.
Any enquiries please refer to the Equal Opportunities Department.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Linda Roy
Assistant Secretary
 
Attachments:
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 458/16 – CWU Equality Officer’s Seminar 2016 – Presentations

Attachment 1: mental health at work

Attachment 2: update on equality law

Attachment 3: Equality Act 2010 Update

CWU POLITICAL BRIEFING – MONDAY 1ST AUGUST 2016 
The purpose of this LTB is to remind Branches of the National Political Briefing on Monday 1st August at the National Union of Teachers (NUT) Headquarters in Euston which commences at 11.00am. 
DATE: Monday 1st August 2016

TIME: 11.00am (Refreshments available from 10.30am)

PLACE: National Union of Teachers (NUT) Headquarters

ADDRESS: Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London, WC1H 9BD

 (Just off Euston Road – between Euston and Kings Cross Train stations)
Given the scale of recent political developments, it is essential that Branches make this a priority commitment.
We can also advise that Jeremy Corbyn MP, Leader of the Labour Party, will address the briefing at the conclusion of our internal business. 
Finally, I can also advise that the CWU will make a public announcement at the event on our nomination for the Labour Party Leader. 
Branches should email gsoffice@cwu.org by noon on Friday 29th July 2016 to confirm who will be attending the event on behalf of the branch. 
We look forward to seeing you all on Monday. 
Yours sincerely 
 
Dave Ward

General Secretary
Email Attachments – Click to download
Attachment 1: LTB 455/16 – CWU Political Briefing

BARRY HARVEY – CORNWALL AMAL
It is with deep sadness and regret that we have to inform you that Barry Harvey former Branch Secretary and Gold Badge holder of Cornwall Amal passed away peacefully on the 21st July after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
At this sad time, our thoughts are with all Barry’s close friends and family. We will on behalf of the CWU convey our deepest sympathy and condolences to them.
Barry’s funeral will be held on 5th August 2016 at 12pm at:
Penmount Crematorium
Newquay Rd,
Truro
TR4 9AA
Should colleagues wish to contact the branch directly you can do so by calling 01872 243 462 or email cornwallamal.cwu@btinternet.com
If you have any enquiries in relation to this LTB, these should be addressed to the General Secretary’s Office at gsoffice@cwu.org quoting the reference GS1.5/LTB 452 /16.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Dave Ward
General Secretary
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 452/16 – BARRY HARVEY – CORNWALL AMAL

AUGUST ACTION WEEK 2016
Driving up our membership across CWU contact centre sites is critical for a number of reasons:
To widen our pool of activists and potential activists now and in the future.

Many non-members have no experience of trade unions. It’s vital that we engage with them now and bring them into the trade union family.

To strengthen our bargaining power when negotiating with companies by representing as high a density of workers as possible.

Following from LTB 179/2016, with the success of other action weeks in mind and to maintain and build on the good branch work, the T&FS constituency will be running a week of action on 8-12th August. T&FS branches with contact centre members are asked to support this campaign with the following action:
Leaflet or have a presence in at least one recognised contact centre site during the week using CWU resources and the CWU Contact Centre Charter. Please order hard copies of any leaflets you require through my office via Ray Walsh (rwalsh@cwu.org) as soon as possible. You can view the resources on the following link: http://www.cwu.org/59640/resources.html Can branches contact Ray Walsh (rwalsh@cwu.org) and nominate the contact centre(s) they will target.

Assist T&FS Field Organisers who will be leafleting non-recognised contact centres throughout the above weeks. The Field Organisers will contact branches providing dates for leafleting non-recognised sites well in advance.

Contribute photographs and news of site visits to give a sense of action taken around the country. Please send your stories and pictures through to my office via Ray Walsh (rwalsh@cwu.org). By contributing to this website we convey T&FS unity and the ability and desire to work together to strengthen the union. Branches may wish to delegate responsibility for this aspect to one individual to ensure that we are able to publicise the work we are doing.

Publicise Call Centre Action Week through branch publications and e-newsletters.

Field organisers are on hand to provide, help, assistance and advice on any of the above, should this be required, and branches are encouraged to utilise their assistance. 
Thank you in advance for your support and involvement in this important campaign.
 
Yours sincerely
 
Andy Kerr                                                                    
Deputy General Secretary (T&FS)
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 454/16 – AUGUST ACTION WEEK 2016

Harassment Complaints Database (HCD) Form
Further to LTB 432/16, which gives details of our new Harassment Helpline number, the Equal Opportunities Department would like to make Branches aware that we have now produced an updated version of the HCD form. As you will already be aware, you are required to log all harassment complaints made to you and forward to the Equal Ops Dept, so that we can make a record of them.
A copy of the new form is attached. 

 

Any enquiries please refer to the Equal Opportunities Department.
Yours sincerely
 
Linda Roy

Assistant Secretary
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 451/16 – Harassment Complaints Database (HCD) Form

CLLR JOHN KELLY – GLASGOW AND MOTHERWELL BRANCH
It is with deep sadness and regret I have to inform you that Cllr John Kelly, Assistant Secretary and Political Officer of the CWU Glasgow and Motherwell Branch, passed away peacefully earlier this week. Unfortunately, at the beginning of this year John had been diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease.
John Kelly joined the GPO and became a member of the Post Office Engineering Union (POEU) in 1970 – over 46 years ago. He was always an active member from joining the union. He steadily became more involved and served on the branch committee as well as holding various branch officer positions. He regularly represented the union as a delegate to the Scottish Labour Party Conference.
John was a proud and devoted member of the Labour Party and both he and colleagues in Scotland were delighted when in 2012 he was elected a Glasgow City Councilor for the Garscallen and Scotstounhill Ward. He remained a committed and active member of the CWU Scottish Political Forum. He regularly attended CWU conference and was always keen to make a key political contribution on behalf of his branch. 
He was highly respected in the union every level and was totally committed to the Trade Union and Labour movement. He always showed great dedication and conviction for the wellbeing of his members and constituents. I know that he will be missed by all his friends and colleagues in the union.
At this terribly sad time our thoughts of course are with John’s partner Trisha and all his close family and friends. I will on behalf of the CWU convey our deepest sympathy and condolences to them.
When further information becomes available regarding the funeral arrangements, branches will be informed. Should colleagues wish to contact the branch directly you can call 0141 552 1066 or email cwuglasgow@btconnect.com
If you have any enquiries in relation to this LTB, these should be addressed to the General Secretary’s Office at gsoffice@cwu.org quoting the reference GS1.5/LTB 450 /16.
Yours sincerely
 
Dave Ward
General Secretary
Email Attachments – Click to download
LTB 450/16 – CLLR JOHN KELLY – GLASGOW AND MOTHERWELL BRANCH