CWU Delegates to the TUC Equality Conferences – 2016 
Further to LTB 698/15 Dated 30th October 2015, at the close of nominations on the 17th November the following have been received:-
 
 
TUC Womens Conference
Postal
 
NEC Member No Nominations Received
 
4 Lay Members Ballot Required
 
Cathy Chilcott Bristol & District Amal
Clare Drummond Greater Manchester
Kath Kelly Newcastle Amal
Vicki Turner Leeds No 1 Amal
Arlene Whittaker Mount Pleasant International
                                                                                               
 
Telecoms & Financial Services
                                                                       
NEC Member Julia Upton East Midlands *ELECTED
 
 
3 Lay Members Ballot Required
 
Sylvia Beckett Capital, Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs
 
Vicki Cornelius Birmingham, Black Country & Worcestershire, Coventry, Great Western, Midland No 1, South London Surrey & North Hampshire
 
Jacky Morrey Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, Capital, Lincolnshire & South Yorks
 
Jean Sharrocks North East, Capital, Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs
 
TUC Black Workers Conference
Postal                                                                        
 
NEC Member No Nominations Received
 
4 Lay Members (1 Woman) Ballot Required
 
Gregory Amissah North Lancs & Cumbria
Bimba Kasturiratne Mount Pleasant International
Bola Omoyeni South Midlands Postal
Ceaford Renton Bristol & District Amal
Sajid Shaikh Birmingham District Amal
Amarjite Singh South East Wales Amal
Rosebery Taiwo South Central Postal 
Ian Taylor Greater Manchester
Arlene Whittaker Mount Pleasant International *Elected
                                                                                               
 
Telecoms & Financial Services
                                               
NEC Member Tom Cooper Leicester & Midshires *Elected
 
 
3 Lay Members (1 Woman) Ballot Required
 
Sylvia Beckett Capital, Lincolnshire & South Yorks, *Elected
Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs
                            
Colin Bell South London, Surrey & North Hampshire
 
Ali Moosa Midland No 1, Capital, Lincolnshire & South Yorks, 
Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs
 
Winston Richards Greater London Combined
 
 
TUC Disabled Workers Conference
Postal
                  
NEC Member No Nominations Received
 
 
4 Lay Members (1 Woman) Ballot Required
 
Richard Hirtsch Leeds No 1 Amal
Tony Pedel York & District Amal
Tony Sneddon Scotland No 5
Lee Starr-Elliot Bristol & District Amal
 
 
 
Telecoms & Financial Services
 
NEC Member No Nominations Received
 
3 Lay Members (1 Woman) Ballot Required
 
                            
Jonathan Bellshaw Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Capital, Mid Wales
The Marches & North Staffs
 
Elspeth Bettany Scotland No 1 * Elected
 
Rob McCracken Capital, Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Mid Wales
The Marches & North Staffs
 
Peter Sharrocks North East, Capital, Lincolnshire & South Yorks,
Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs
                                     
Jeffrey Till Greater London Combined
 
 
TUC LGBT Conference
Postal
                                     
NEC Member No Nominations Received
 
 
4 Lay Members (1 Woman)
 
Dave Daniel Grampian & Shetland Amal * Elected
Suzanne Dorritt Newcastle Amal * Elected
Merlin Reader Mount Pleasant International * Elected
Tony Sneddon Scotland No 5 * Elected
 
 
Telecoms & Financial Services
                  
NEC Member No Nominations Received
 
 
3 Lay Members (1 Woman) Ballot Required
 
Jason Reynolds Capital, Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Mid Wales
The Marches & North Staffs,
 
Duncan Strivens South London, Surrey & North Hampshire
 
Laurie Smith Greater London Combined   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The timetable for the ballot is as follows:-
 
Despatch ballot papers: 24 November 2015
Ballot closes: 8 December 2015 (14:00)
 
 
Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to the Senior Deputy General Secretary’s Department on telephone number 0208 971 7237 or email address sdgs@cwu.org.
 
Yours sincerely
 
 
Tony Kearns                                      
Senior Deputy General Secretary
 

UNI EUROPA WOMEN’S CONFERENCE AND UNI EUROPA CONFERENCE – 2016 

Further to LTB 700/15 dated 30th October 2015, at the close of nominations on the 17th November 2015 the following had been received.

 

Postal​​​

 

NEC Member

 

Shelley Banbury

Kent Invicta

*Elected 

 

 

5 Lay Members (2 Women, 1 under 30)​Ballot Required

 

Jackie Gatward

Shropshire & Mid Wales

*Elected

Andrew Rook

Bournemouth & Dorset Amal

 

Sajid Shaikh

Birmingham District Amal

 

Amarjite Singh

South East Wales Amal

 

Mohammed Sakib

South Central Postal

*Elected

 

Telecom & Financial Services​

 

NEC Member

 

Brendan O’Brien​Midland No 1​​*Elected

 

4 Lay Members (2 Women, 1 under 30)​Ballot Required

 

Amanda Collick​Great Western, West Yorkshire, Mid Wales

​The Marches & North Staffs

 

Vicki Cornelius​Birmingham, Black Country & Worcester, Coventry,

​Midland No 1, South London Surrey & North Hampshire.

 

Jake Fear​South Wales, Capital, ​*Elected  

​Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Mid Wales,

​The Marches & North Staffs​

​​

Bobby Kelly​Scotland No 1, Capital, Lincolnshire & South Yorks,

Mid Wales, The Marches & North Staffs

 

Continued on the next page

 

 

 

Kirsty Lenham​Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Capital, Mid Wales, The Marches & North Staffs, Tyne & Wear Clerical

 

Miranda Stephenson​​Tyne & Wear Clerical

 

Jeffrey Till​Greater London Combined​​

 

 

Please note that the women delegates elected above will form the CWU delegation to the UNI Europa Women’s Conference.

 

The timetable for the ballot is as follows:

 

Despatch ballot papers:​24 November 2015

Ballot closes:​8 December 2015 (14:00)

 

Any enquiries regarding this LTB 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

 

Branch Elections 2016-18Nominations at the close of Set 2

 

Boston

Julian Charlton​​Unit Rep

Nigel Baxter​​Unit Sub Rep

Alastair Wilson​​Unit Sub Rep

Colin Damms​​Unit Sub Rep

Russell Warby​​Unit Sub Rep

Steve Wood​​Unit Health & Safety Rep

Russell Warby​​Unit Health & Safety Sub Rep

Julian Charlton​​Unit Health & Safety Sub Rep

 

Bourne

Unit rep & Health & Safety rep – Vacant, will be re-advertised in January 2016

 

Chatteris

Unit rep & Health & Safety rep – Vacant, will be re-advertised in January 2016

 

Downham Market

Unit rep & Health & safety rep – Vacant, will be re-advertised in January 2016

 

Hunstanton

Unit rep & Health & safety rep – Vacant, will be re-advertised in January 2016

 

Huntingdon

Unit rep & Health & safety rep – Vacant, will be re-advertised in January 2016

 

Kings Lynn

Unit rep & Health & safety rep – Vacant, will be re-advertised in January 2016

 

March

Darren Biggs​​​Unit Rep

Darren Biggs​​​Unit Health & Safety Rep

 

Orton Southgate

Damon Pywell​​​Election required for Unit Rep

Marija Obradovic​​Election required for Unit Rep

Marija Obradovic​​Unit Sub Rep

Mark Smith ​​​Unit Health & Safety Rep

 

Peterborough Delivery

Clifford Muchemeyi​​Unit Rep

Luke Skillings​​​Unit Health & Safety Rep​

 

Skegness

Unit rep & Health & Safety rep – Vacant, will be re-advertised in January 2016

 

Spalding

Vinny Pulling​​​Unit Rep

Mohamed Azafad​​Unit Sub Rep

Dave Eason​​​Unit Sub Rep

Lorraine Higham​​Unit Sub Rep

Mohamed Azafad​​Health & Safety Rep

 

Spilsby

Unit rep & Health & Safety rep – Vacant, will be re-advertised in January 2016

 

St Ives

Unit rep & Health & Safety rep – Vacant, will be re-advertised in January 2016

 

St Neots

Richard Preston​​Unit Rep

Elaine Harvey​​​Unit Health & Safety Rep

Swaffham

Maurice Dye​​Unit Rep

 

Wisbech

Tony Epps​​Unit Rep

Stefan Duff​​Unit Sub Rep

Carolyn Ward​​Unit Health & Safety Rep

 

Mail Centre Reps – Delivery

Clifford Muchemeyi​Unit Rep

Luke Skillings ​​Health & Safety Rep

 

Mail Centre Res – Distribution & Network

Sean Courten​​Afternoon Shift Rep

Zafar Hussain​​Afternoon Sub Shift Rep

Richard Aucott​​Morning Shift Rep

Frank Ginty​​Night Rep

Kate Jackson​​Nights Sub Rep

Brian O’Sullivan​Network Rep

Austin Goldsmith​Network Sub Rep

Barry Kirchin​​Weekend Rep

 

Mail Centre Reps – Processing

Ben Fearon​​Afternoon Shift Rep

Alan Killingworth​Afternoon Sub Shift Rep

Dave Westbrook​Morning Shift Rep

Luke Smith​​Morning Sub Shift Rep

Joel John​​​Morning Sub Shift Rep

Ian Emms​​Morning Sub Shift Rep

Dave Barsby​​Night Shift Rep

Jez Oliver Smith​Nights Sub Shift Rep

Saima Arif​​Election required for Weekend Shift Rep

Ian Cole​​​Election required for Weekend Shift Rep

Imran Ali​​​Election required for Weekend Shift Rep

 

Mail Centre Health & Safety Rep

Mark Biggs​​Morning Health & Safety Rep

Dave Barsby​​Nights Health & Safety Rep

Ben Westley​​Nights Sub Health & Safety Rep

 

Sub Area Reps

Mark Biggs​Election required Sub Area Health & Safety Rep

Luke Skillings​Election required Sub Area Health & Safety Rep

Julian Charlton​Election required Sub Area Delivery Rep

Damon Pywell​Election required Sub Area Delivery Rep

Frank Ginty​Sub Area Distribution Rep

Dave Westbrook​Sub Area Processing Rep

 

Letter Section Secretary

Austin Goldsmith

Letter Section Chair

Vacant

 

Mail Centre (APC Committee)

Secretary​​​Vacant

Chair​​​Vacant

 

Union Learning Reps

Jasbir Singh

Saima Arif

Darrell Herd

 

 

 

 

Ballot timetable​Ballot Opens ​01/12/2015

​​​​Ballot Closes​16/12/2015 (09:00)

 

 

Term of office will run from March 2106 to March 2018

Trade Union Bill – Report Stage and Third Reading Update 

As you will have seen, the Trade Union Bill had its report stage and third reading in the House of Commons last week. As was expected, with the Conservative majority in the Commons, the Bill was voted through despite sizeable opposition from Labour and other parties and it will now go on to the House of Lords.

 

The first and second reading stages in the Lords are likely to be held before Christmas with subsequent stages expected to be held in the New Year. Given that no single party has a majority in the House of Lords, as we have seen with the recent developments on tax credits, these stages offer the best chance of securing changes to the Bill, though any amendments would need to be approved by the House of Commons in order to go through.

 

With the parliamentary process on-going and the possibility of amendments coming back to the House of Commons next year, it is extremely important that Branches continue to campaign against it by lobbying Conservative MPs and raising the issue in local media and elsewhere, to make clear the strength of opposition to the government’s proposals. Resources for this were attached to LTB 696/15.

 

As Branches will be aware, the TUC Congress in September agreed that the TUC should put together a comprehensive strategy for fighting the Bill, which included a co-ordinated national day of action and protest against the Bill across the country. The CWU is pushing for a firm commitment to this from all unions and for the TUC to agree a date for this as quickly as possible.

 

Branches will be kept up to date with any developments on this and any queries on the contents of this LTB should be addressed to the General Secretary’s Office at gsoffice@cwu.org.

 

Yours sincerely

 

​ ​

 

Dave Ward​

General Secretary

 

 

Election of:

 

• National Executive Council –

​Postal Constituency – Vacancy (1 Position) 2015  

​

 

Further to LTB 701/15 dated 30th October 2015.  

 

Please find listed below the list of received nominations for the above Postal Constituency NEC vacant position.

 

Name​Branch

 

Paul Edwards​Greater Mersey & South West Lancs

Darren Glebocki ​​Nottingham & District Amal

Steve Halliwell​Newcastle Amal

Steve Jones​London Postal Engineering

Khurram Khan​South West Middlesex Amal ​

Katrina Quirke​​South East Wales Amal​

Bobby Weatherall​Northern Ireland Combined

 

 

1.​BALLOT ARRANGEMENTS

 

Branches will wish to note that the ballot arrangements for the above election are as follows; ​

 

Dispatch ballot material from:​23 November 2015  

Close of ballot:​14 December 2015 (first post)

Result Announced:​​16 December 2015​    

 

In this particular ballot all eligible members of the Postal Constituency will receive a ballot paper inviting them to vote for ONE candidate only.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.​CWU ELECTION MEMBERS OBSERVERS

 

Branches will be aware that the regulations for the above election contain the following statement:

 

“Returned ballot papers will remain unopened in their envelopes until the close of ballot. Two lay CWU members (who do not hold any elected or appointed position) will be selected as observers. The Observers together with the Senior Deputy General Secretary will attend the start of the count of the ballot papers. Their sole responsibility will be to ensure that the envelopes are unopened prior to the commencement of the count, after which the Scrutineer shall arrange to count the number of valid votes cast for each candidate. The Scrutineer will declare the results of the election as soon as possible after the completion of the count.” 

 

The purpose of this LTB is to seek your branch assistance in publicising the information detailed below to all members of your branch.  

 

CWU ELECTION MEMBERS OBSERVER – 2015

 

The CWU is looking for two lay members of the union (who do not hold an elected or appointed position) to be Members Observers at the election count for CWU NEC Vacancy (Postal Constituency) position. The count will take place at offices of ERS, London on 14th December 2015.

 

Interested? The two observers will receive 2 paid days off work, subsistence and travel expenses and a fee of £100 after tax. If you would like to put your name forward then please contact Tony Kearns, Senior Deputy General Secretary, CWU, 150 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London SW19 1RX by no later than 2 December 2015 or by email to sdgs@cwu.org.

 

 

Any enquiries regarding the above should be directed to the Senior Deputy General Secretary’s Department for the attention of Peter Metcalfe.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Tony Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

​

 

Delivery to Neighbour – Bespoke P739 “With your Neighbour” Card

Further to LTB 211/15 regarding the trial of a bespoke P739 “With your Neighbour” card that informs customer’s that an item for them has been delivered to a neighbour. We have now agreed that the bespoke P739 will be rolled out to all Delivery Offices and become a standard product to be used by Delivery OPG’s.

The use of the bespoke P739 “With your Neighbour” card will be carried out in line with the Nationally Agreed Guidelines for Delivery to Neighbour.

The use of the revised P739 card will be subject to ongoing review by the Improving Customer Experience Strand of the Integrated Delivery Programme to understand whether there is an improvement in 1st time Delivery and Delivery to Neighbour and whether there is any adverse affect on customer, quality and performance measures.

The training for frontline OPG’s on the use of the bespoke P739 card will be undertaken by Workplace Coaches and through a WTLL brief (see attached).

Any enquiries to Bob Gibson’s Office, quoting reference 530
Email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Bob Gibson
CWU Assistant Secretary

Click on links to view documents

161115 WTLL With Your Neighbour (2)

Final Agreed Revised Deliver To Neighbour – FTD April 2014-1

161115 WTLL WYN FAQ-1

Dangerous Dogs Act – First Successful Private Prosecutions By Royal Mail: 

Background

The CWU’s successful, high profile “Bite-Back” campaign achieved new, far tougher dangerous dogs control laws and tougher sentences in the UK that were finally introduced in May 2014 after the union’s seven year campaign during which 30,000 postmen and women were attacked and injured by dogs.

 

Introduction

Further to earlier reports, Branches will be aware that it has long been CWU Conference Policy and subsequently one of the objectives of the CWU ‘Bite-Back’ Campaign to achieve agreement with Royal Mail that where the Police, Local Authorities or Crown Prosecution Service decide not to prosecute a dog owner following a dog attack on a CWU Member, Postman or Woman, then Royal Mail should themselves pursue a private prosecution wherever possible. This policy has been vigorously pursued over a number of years.

 

Agreement was reached with the former Royal Mail Group Chair Donald Brydon CBE for Royal Mail to commission an Independent Inquiry into Dog Attacks on Postal Workers led by former High Court Judge Sir Gordon Langley QC and in November 2012 the Report of Findings and Recommendations were published and strongly supported the CWU ‘Bite-Back’ Campaign objectives.

 

Langley Report Recommendation

In relation to Royal Mail Group pursuing private prosecutions where the Enforcing Authorities fail to act, the Langley Inquiry Report recommended Royal Mail’s policy of not pursuing complaints on behalf of individual postal workers in the courts should be changed and Langley, supporting the CWU position, urged RMG to consider changing their policy and instead pursue private prosecution cases, promoting the wider interests of postal workers to be kept safe from dog attacks, adding that the publicity attached to proceedings may assist in promoting public awareness, understanding and so responsibility. The Royal Mail Group Board accepted the Report’s recommendations.

 

Law Change England And Wales

As a result of the CWU ‘Bite-Back’ Campaign, having already achieved new Dangerous Dogs Laws in Scotland and Northern Ireland, In May 2014 the Law was finally changed in England and Wales. Following the Law change the issue of cases where the Police or CPS decided against prosecution arose again, in a minority of cases, despite the new more extensive and tougher legislation and so the issue of adopting a private prosecution policy was raised with Royal Mail Group again, pointing to paragraph 63 of the Langley Report. With the support of Shaun Davis Royal Mail Group Director Safety Health and

Environment and Tony Marsh Royal Mail Group Director Security agreement was reached on the introduction of private prosecutions in dog attack cases where Postal Workers were injured, wherever the Police or Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided against prosecution for whatever reason. In such circumstances the case would be evaluated and then private prosecution initiated via Royal Mail’s own lawyers.

 

Prosecution Protocol

Following year long talks with the National Police Chiefs Council and Police Federation, a new Prosecution Protocol/Service Level Agreement was agreed and is being trialled in 6 Police Forces from September 2015 to February 2016 when it is hoped to be rolled out nationally. The CWU welcomes the new arrangements the union and Royal Mail have agreed with police chiefs for investigating and prosecuting Dangerous Dogs Act offences and it is hoped that this will reduce further the number of cases not prosecuted in the long run. The new set of arrangements are to be piloted by five police forces, the Metropolitan Police, West Midlands Police and Merseyside Police (the country’s three biggest forces) along with South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire Police forces.

 

First Two Successful, Landmark Prosecutions

I’m pleased to report to branches that the first two cases privately prosecuted by Royal Mail of dog owners following attacks on CWU Members employed on delivery have resulted in successful convictions.

 

Dog owner Lauren Hoban, from Leeds, pleaded guilty to owning a dog which was dangerously out of control and was ordered to pay £300 compensation to the Postman victim after he was attacked and injured by her out-of-control Alsatian. She also had to pay £100 towards prosecution costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

 

Dog Owner Stephanie Brice from Manchester, pleaded guilty to owning a dog which was dangerously out of control. She was placed on a seven-week curfew order between the hours of 9pm and 6am and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £500, a surcharge of £60, a criminal courts charge of £180 and pay compensation to the Postman victim of £750. She was also banned from keeping dogs for 18 months and her Mastiff Cross Dog was destroyed.

 

There are a total of 12 more cases currently being pursued via the prosecution route.

 

In Scotland, the legal system is significantly different and private prosecutions in criminal cases are extremely rare. Therefore, using the Scottish system, an appeal to the Procurator Fiscal is being conducted requesting that reconsideration of a case not prosecuted be undertaken.

 

Yours sincerely

 
 

Dave Joyce

National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

Royal Mail Group/CWU Joint Statement And New Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Safety Standard: 

The Law:

Employers have duties concerning the provision and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) at work. Basically, Employers must provide PPE and workers must use it. The Regulations covering PPE are the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 2002 and 1992 (as amended). Remember workers have a right not to put themselves in danger.

 

Personal protective equipment (PPE) Examples:

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is all equipment (including clothing affording protection against the weather) which is intended to be worn or held by a person at work and which protects them against one or more risks to his/her health or safety. Examples for PPE are safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear, weatherproof clothing and safety harnesses or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer’s body from injury or infection etc. The hazards addressed by protective equipment can include physical, electrical, heat, cold, wet, chemicals, biohazards, and airborne particulate matter.

 

Main Requirements of the PPE Regulations:

The main requirement of the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations is that personal protective equipment is to be supplied and used at work wherever there are risks to health and safety that cannot be adequately controlled in other ways. The Regulations also require that PPE:

 

• is properly assessed before use to ensure it is suitable

• is maintained and stored properly

• is provided with instructions on how to use it safely

• is used correctly.

• is provided free of charge.

• This includes agency workers.

 

Information, Instruction & Training:

Anyone using PPE needs to be aware of why it is needed, when it is to be used, repaired or replaced and its limitations. It is essential that workers are Trained and instructed into how to use PPE properly and make sure they are doing this. Because PPE is the last resort after other methods of protection have been considered, it is important that users wear it all the time they are exposed to the risk. Employers must never allow exemptions for those jobs which take ‘just a few minutes’. Employers should regularly check that PPE is being used and investigate any reasons why it is not. Safety signs can be useful reminders to wear PPE.

 

RMG New PPE Standard

Royal Mail Group and the CWU have jointly reviewed the existing standards of PPE, following the HSE risk assessment process with PPE considered as a last resort. The covering ‘joint statement’ attached confirms that Royal Mail Group, the CWU and Unite/CMA value the workforce and view their personal safety as paramount. The ‘joint statement’ confirms the belief that the workforce have the right to undertake their duties with the correct standard of protection and that the Unions have and will continue to be involved with the ongoing monitoring and review of the PPE process and all parties fully support the deployment of the new PPE standards as outlined on the attached documents which are:

 

➢ RMG/CWU PPE Standard Joint Statement

➢ RMG PPE Standard 6.5 Flowchart – Appendix 1

➢ RMG PPE Standard 6.5 Guidance – Appendix 2

➢ PPE Work Area Matrix – Appendix 3

➢ RMG Job Types Matrix – Appendix 4

➢ RM Engineering Matrix – Appendix 5

➢ RM Fleet Matrix – Appendix 6

➢ PPE Issue & Instruction Record – Appendix 7

➢ RMG PPE – WTLL on the new Standard to share with all affected personnel

 

It is imperative that supplies of the correct PPE are ready for issue and that these new standards of PPE are then communicated to all staff by using the WTLL brief attached.

Strong employee engagement at this stage will mean better understanding of the standards and the reasons for the control of common workplace risks such as slips and trips. It is the legal responsibility of every employee at work to take reasonable care for the health and safety of themselves and others who may be affected by their acts or omissions. It is crucial that Royal Mail Group, CWU and Unite/CMA continue to work together to ensure these new PPE standards work in practice, locally and nationally, reviewing them as necessary, periodically to protect all staff. In particular Royal Mail will encourage and provide support both locally and nationally to staff to enable them to understand the PPE standard and any changes to past arrangements and how this new standard may affect their work area or individual job role. Promoting positive engagements, using the materials produced and working together to ensure compliance is key to the success of this initiative.

 

Deployment Process and Communications:

The PPE Standard has been jointly approved following extensive consultation and input and suggested changes are welcome from CWU Reps for consideration at the next review. The deployment began in October and, along with the Standard and Materials, the communications will include the following:

 

• Joint Statement

• Joint WTLL

• Ops Bulletin Article

• SHE Community internal communications

• RMG Plasma Screens

• RMTV

• Operational PPE Matrices will be expected to be displayed on Noticeboards.

 

Key messages:

• Safety is Royal Mail Group’s number one priority – and RMG will manage this by encouraging everyone to look at risks indoors and outdoors. Any work performed has to be risk assessed for potential risk(s).

• If any staff member has concerns in their office, or see any unsafe practices, a number of potential controls are available to apply. Members can speak to their Manager or CWU Safety Rep.

• Royal Mail is committed to keeping PPE up to date and appropriate to protect staff in their work activities.

• Royal Mail will provide appropriate PPE (and instructions of use), and staff must wear the appropriate items (as required by law and RMG rules).

 

Accidents due to people not wearing the correct PPE:

Royal Mail Group states that a high proportion of our accidents take place due to people not wearing the correct PPE. The top risks areas are:

 

1. Inappropriate footwear or safety footwear not being worn;

2. Not wearing high Vis PPE when required;

3. Hi-risk activities (e.g. Maintenance tasks);

 

Non Compliance:

Extensive discussions took place in respect of this aspect of the application of the PPE safety standard. Royal Mail’s original position was that any individual found not wearing or using the appropriate PPE would be taken down the RMG/CWU agreed ‘Conduct Code’. However I’m pleased to report that agreement has been reached that a three stage joint compliance process will apply, so ensuring a fair and reasonable approach to encouraging and ensuring members understand the need to comply with PPE requirements without immediately being confronted with a heavy handed approach which fails to inform the individual why the requirement is mandatory. The agreed process is as follows:-   

 

If someone is found not wearing or using PPE for identified job types or work areas:-

 

➢ First time: stop the individual working therefore reducing the risk of incident, giving time for the issue to be rectified. The member of staff will be required to wear the PPE before continuing with the designated task.

 

➢ Second time: the unit manager and area safety representative (or designated appointee/ASR substitute) will speak to the individual, making sure they understand the need to wear the required PPE.

 

➢ Third time: as the PPE requirements have already been explained to the individual and they form part of our safety procedures, as long as it can be demonstrated that the individual has received and understood the appropriate training information and instruction, it is reasonably practicable for Royal Mail to expect staff to comply and as a last resort, failure to use the appropriate PPE may be dealt with through use of the correct and ‘progressive’ application of the conduct code.

 

Joint Working – Monitoring and Reviewing Standards

Managers, CWU Safety Reps and all employees must review the On Site Work Area Matrix and the relevant Job Type/Task Matrix and ensure they are understood and followed at all times. PPE is a mandatory requirement.

 

WTLL Sessions

• Once the content of the WTLL brief has been communicated, the Matrix will be issued to staff with time allowed to read it and ask questions.

• If possible, the CWU Safety Rep will be involved in delivering the message (the PPE Standard has national CWU and CMA approval).

• Staff will be asked if they have any issues to be raised as soon as possible and employees will then be informed that the new Standard is to be introduced and enforced immediately.

• Staff will be informed that a signature will be required recording that they have received the WTLL communication.

• Managers will then identify and issue any required PPE not identified on the Group Matrices as required.

 

Roll Out and Review

There is a joint commitment between Royal Mail and the CWU on PPE. RMG have developed and updated PPE standards, and discussed how they’ll roll out across the business. This includes consulting with the Local Safety Teams and CWU Area Safety Representatives taking into account their input, ensuring Risk Assessments are reviewed on an annual basis, but where RMG install equipment and/or make other significant changes, they must be reviewed more regularly – dependent on what’s happening in your office.

 

High Risk Activities

Individual Safe Systems of Work for high risk activities and Risk Assessments may increase the standard of PPE required.

 

Posting Peg

The Posting Peg appears on the RMG PPE Standard Matrix for the first time. To clarify its use, it appears in the section entitled ‘Other’ – As per risk assessment for specific tasks or work area and it states ‘Posting Peg’ (delivery points where risk exists). To explain: The Posting Peg is not compulsory PPE for all delivery points. Firstly, it will only be compulsory for any address that has had a risk assessment and is recorded on WRAP as requiring a Posting Peg to be used at that particular address. Secondly, the Postman/Postwoman undertakes a ‘dynamic’ risk assessment whilst on their delivery round if there is the risk of a dog behind the door, then the individual will use it. Both RM and CWU encourage members to use the Posting Peg wherever necessary.   

 

Conclusion

Make sure you know your members’ responsibilities and they are kept up to date. The Safety Policy and RMG ‘Your Responsibilities’ leaflets are available on the RMG intranet.

 

Yours sincerely

 
 

Dave Joyce

National Health, Safety & Environment Officer