Election of National Representative Positions – 2021

• Members Auditors

The NEC has agreed the election arrangements for the National Representative positions listed above.  Accordingly please find attached the regulations and nomination form for this election.

Branches will wish to note that the term of office for these positions is for a 2-year period commencing 1^st January 2022.

The timetable for the elections is as follows:

Nominations open:  2 November 2021      

Nominations close:  16 November 2021 (14:00)

Dispatch ballot papers:  23 November 2021

Ballot closes:  7 December 2021 (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

LTB 460/21

Regulations 2021

Nomination Forms

Consent & Biographical Details Form

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OPENREACH LTD. – Fibre Network Delivery (FND) Career Pathway Update

Letter to Branches 697/2019 set out the basis of an agreement relating to the career pathway within FND.  The National Team (NT) has been in detailed discussions with the company on a revised and enhanced approach to that career pathway.  These are additions to the existing process that will see more of our members move to the Advanced Engineer paypoint and grade.  As well as improving the pathway for those carrying out repayments activities in the field, a new pathway has been developed which recognises the fibre build activities carried out by our members.  For repayments activities, a brand new web based training package and buddying checklist has been developed to support our members on that pathway.

The revised approach will apply in FND from Monday 1 November 2021.  The attached letter and slides set out the detail of both new approaches and form an additional agreement to that contained in the LTB mentioned above, specifically the pay uplift mechanism.

As a result of the agreement, circa 160 team members will progress based on the existing pathway provisions and a further circa 300 will progress based on the revised approach.  Finally, it is expected that a further circa 250 team members will progress to the Advanced Engineer level in the next 4 months.  It is important the Branches assist any individuals who believe they meet the existing or new criteria and are not contacted by their line manager.

The CWU and company will review the introduction of the new approach in the next 6 months. We would therefore welcome feedback from Branches on its rollout from a local perspective.  The NT will continue to update Branches both directly and via the Regional Co-ordinators in the weeks and months ahead.

Also attached are the communications issued by the company today, managers at 2.00 p.m. and team members at 3.00 p.m.

Any enquiries from Branches regarding this LTB should be referred to my office in the first instance.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Bowman

Assistant Secretary

LTB 457/21 – OPENREACH LTD. – Fibre Network Delivery (FND) Career Pathway Update

LTB 457 – ATTACHMENT 1

LTB 457 – ATTACHMENT 2

LTB 457 – ATTACHMENT 3

LTB 457 – ATTACHMENT 4

LTB 457 – ATTACHMENT 5

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The Post Office – Election of:

• 7 Post Office Area Representatives Crowns/Admin
• 2 Post Office Representatives for Supply Chain

Further to LTB 442/21 dated 13^thOctober 2021. At the close of nominations at 14.00 on the 28^thOctober 2021 the following had been received:

AREA REPRESENTATIVES CROWNS/ADMINSCOTLAND & NI  Carole BowmakerGlasgow & District Amal*Elected   NORTH WALES & NORTH WEST  Neil BarryNorth Lancs & Cumbria*Elected SOUTH WALES /SOUTH ENGLAND Chris RochePlymouth & East Cornwall*Elected   NORTH WEST LONDON  Garrie BondLondon Phoenix*Elected   NORTH EAST  Richard TitteringtonLeeds No 1 Amal*Elected ANGLIA & MIDLANDS  Tim PavelinEastern No 4*Elected   EASTERN & NORTH LONDON Clive TicknerNorth/North West London*Elected

SUPPLY CHAIN REPRESENTATIVESNORTH AREABALLOT REQUIREDDavid BowmakerGlasgow & District Amal Alan RobertstonGrampian & Shetland AmalSOUTH AREARobert Peter JonesEast London Postal*Elected

The timetable for the above ballot is as follows:

Ballot Papers Dispatched: Wednesday 3^rd November 2021

Ballot Close:  Wednesday 17^thNovember 2021

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

LTB 459/21

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CWU Virtual Special General Conference 2021 – Standing Order Report

Please find attached the following:

• General Conference SOC Report Supplementary No.1

Any queries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed to Angela Niven on conferences@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Tony Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

LTB 458/21 – CWU Virtual Special General Conference – Standing Orders Report.doc

Att: SVGC 2021 SOR No.1

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Royal Mail Group – Provision of Personal Attack Alarms (140db) To Postal Workers

This is a further short update following LTBs 422/2021 issued on 6 October 2021 and 435/2021 issued on 11 October 2021.

LTBs 422/2021 and 435/2021 reported that agreement had been reached with Royal Mail Group for the provision of Personal Attack Alarms for CWU members and that following discussions with Royal Mail Group and ‘Dimensions’ the company’s work-wear supplier, it had been agreed that the new Personal Attack Alarms (PAAs) would be made available on the Royal Mail Group website/uniform ordering portal, date to be confirmed, following which CWU members could pre-order the item.

I’m pleased to report further progress, and on Thursday 21 October, the Personal Attack Alarms went live on the Royal Mail uniform ordering portal for pre-orders of the alarms. To date Royal Mail has received 600 orders.

As previously reported, a first initial order for 5,000 alarms was placed with manufacturers and as a result of measuring the rate of orders so far, as well as to ensure Royal Mail maintains a continuous supply, a further order has been placed with the manufacturer for another 5,000 alarms.

Royal Mail expect delivery of the first batch in mid/late November with the second batch shortly thereafter (tbc).

See attached ‘screen shot’ of the Personal Attack Alarm (PAA) showing on the Royal Mail website/portal for your information.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

LTB 455/21 – Royal Mail Group – Provision of Personal Attack Alarms (140db) To Postal Workers

Att: Extract From Royal Mail Group Website/Uniform Ordering Portal

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Protecting Mental Health in the Workplace – TUC Webinar – Tuesday 26 October 2021, 1pm – 2pm

This is a final reminder regarding today’s TUC short Webinar event ‘Protecting mental health in the workplace’.

This is an increasingly important issue for Trade Unions and employers have a legal responsibility to help their employees.

This free event is open for Trade Union Safety Reps and other Reps to hear the two speakers and join a discussion with speakers Peter Kelly, Senior Psychologist at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Quinn Roache, TUC Policy Officer for Disability and LGBT+ Equality, who will discuss what action employees should expect from their employers to prevent work related stress and promote the mental wellbeing of all staff in and around the workplace.

Any questions for the speakers should be posted in the ‘Ask a Question’ box.

Registration For The Event is at this link: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/protecting-mental-health/register

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

LTB 453/21 – Protecting Mental Health in the Workplace – TUC Webinar – Tuesday 26 October 2021, 1pm – 2pm

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ROYAL MAIL: PATHWAY TO CHANGE AGREEMENT – MDEC CLOSURE PROGRAMME

Further to LTBs 225/21 dated 2^ndJune and 266/21 dated 28^th June.

We have continued to hold regular discussions with management and specifically we have reviewed bumping opportunities for the members that remain as unresolved surplus within the MDEC units in Farnworth, Plymouth and Stoke.  In this regard, I am pleased to report a significant development.  Essentially new work has been identified relating to Brexit and involves keying CN22 (Postal Customs Declarations) by confirming and typing what is seen on the screen.  Whilst it is unclear on the volumes at this stage, it is hoped there will be opportunities for c.40 former MDEC keyers to perform this work, primarily in Farnworth, although some work may be incorporated into the Plymouth operation.

Due to the EU requirements, the timescales on training for our members and the deployment of this work is tight and we also need to jointly work on duty patterns to ensure fair and reasonable attendances whilst incorporating weekend working where necessary.  In this regard I’m grateful to both Steve Halliwell and Saf Khan, Postal Executive members, and Jayne Crolla, Area Admin Rep, who will be working on these activities with Wyatt Walsworth, Head of MDEC and the unit managers to ensure the most suitable outcomes for our members.

The above has been reported to the Postal Executive today and a Joint Statement (attached) has been agreed.  In terms of next steps, a further preference exercise will take place in Farnworth.  Obviously this is good news for those who would otherwise be on the surplus list.

Further developments will be reported.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey

Assistant Secretary

LTB 452/21 – Royal Mail – Pathway to Change Agreement – MDEC Closure Programme

Att: Joint Statement

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Rivus Fleet Solutions Garage Network CWU National Team Election

Following the publication of LTB 447/21, we have been advised that Ashley Stuart has withdrawn from the Rivus Fleet Solutions NT election.  This means that an election is no longer necessary.

The following people will therefore be the Rivus Fleet Solutions National Team for their two year period of office.

Rivus Fleet Garage Network Representative Name

BranchChris EvansGreater Mersey and South West LancsElectedSteve PhillipsCentral Counties and Thames ValleyElected

 Rivus Fleet Solutions Support Centre Representative

NamesBranch Samantha HamiltonMidland No.1Elected

The Executive member on the team will be Kate Walsh.

Yours sincerely

Allan Eldred

Assistant Secretary

LTB 451/21 – Rivus Fleet Solutions Garage Network CWU National Team Election

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ROYAL MAIL: CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE – AGREED INCREASE TO RESOURCING LEVELS

Branches will be aware, in conjunction with our Senior Customer Experience Reps, we regularly monitor the resourcing arrangements within CE and engage in national negotiations as appropriate.  To this end, with the introduction of extended opening hours coupled with increasing volumes of customer enquiries, we have agreed with CE that there should be an increase to the overall template as follows

• 60 New Recruits to commence in the New Year
• 18 current temporary contract workers to be made permanent (these are the longest serving people and following this activity nobody left on a temporary contract will have more than 6 months service)

This is clearly a positive development and will have benefits on the wider membership as a total of 78 new permanent advisors will relieve some of the pressure felt in respect of workload and will crucially help to reduce queuing times, resulting in a better experience for the customer.

This development is being reported via the attached Joint Statement.

If you have any questions in relation to this LTB, please contact Lea Sheridan – lsheridan@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey                             

Assistant Secretary       

LTB 443/21 – Royal Mail – Customer Experience – Agreed Increase to Resourcing Levels 

Attachment: Joint Statement

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Royal Mail Group (Royal Mail & Parcelforce) – Lifting of Covid-19 Secure Restrictions and Re-Introduction of Standard Operating Procedures/Business As Usual (SOP/BAU) – ‘Coronavirus Test Kits Collections Over-Bagging’

This LTB is being issued further to LTB No. 436/2021 issued on 12 October 2021 and LTB No. 420/21 issued on 5 October 2021. This should be read in conjunction with those LTBs and is a further update for Branches to provide clarification and to assist local discussions facilitating progression back to standard operating procedure and business as usual, through the agreed, cautious lifting of Covid-secure restrictions.

The attached Royal Mail Group communications, briefing document, Risk Assessment and Safe Systems of Work are being published and issued this week to give further definitive guidance to Managers confirming the following.

In line with the communications released by Royal Mail Group on 8^th October 2021 and after careful consideration and review of safety documentation, in consultation with DHSC (Department for Health and Social Care) and HSA (Health Security Agency) – see attached letter. Royal Mail and CWU have agreed that it is no longer necessary to over-bag correctly packaged test kits following the lifting in Government Covid restrictions. Therefore, from Monday 18^th October the requirement for over-bagging of test kits will be removed by Royal Mail.

The original risk assessment has been reviewed from which there are three key factors;

• Firstly, the DHSC and HSA medical and scientific experts state that over-bagging is unnecessary.
• Secondly, we are informed that less than 5% of the samples test positive.
• Thirdly, the packaging of the Test Kits meets the international UN3373 Transport Packaging standard for biological/pathological diagnostic samples including Covid-19 for sending via the post and the this includes ‘three layers’.

Royal Mail has been a key player in the collection and delivery of Covid19 test kits on behalf of the nation since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Many aspects of the coronavirus were still unknown when the national testing programme was introduced and as an added protection measure and for workforce reassurance, a polybag, over-bagging process was introduced on collections to mitigate any potential and perceived risks associated with carrying test kits. At that time, the benefits of the polybag process outweighed other issues such as the impact on processing time at the laboratory and the environmental impact of using single-use plastic for each test kit.

Whilst the polybag process has been amended, collections, processing and delivery staff can wear disposable gloves to handle test kits if they prefer to use them and feel more comfortable doing so but this is not mandatory. This is recommended for staff that have not been vaccinated or are clinically vulnerable. All staff should however maintain good hand hygiene by washing hands frequently and using hand sanitiser where washing facilities are not available. NOTE: Any damaged or incorrectly packaged kits should still be over-bagged.

In summary, the following standards must be adhered to:

• From this week, polybags are no longer required for Covid19 test kits to be ‘over-bagged’ and a new Safe System of Work has been issued to reflect this.
• As with all collection, delivery and processing work it is important to maintain good hygiene by more frequently washing hands with soap and water or use sanitiser, especially before eating, drinking, touching the face or after coughing.
• Polybags will continue to be available for use across the whole pipeline in case of damaged or incorrectly packaged items, but there is no longer a general requirement to poly-bag test kits when clearing a post-box of these items.
• Gloves are readily available for handling the test kits if staff prefer to use them.

Attachments:

• Changes to Coronavirus Test Kit Collections – Message from Dr Shaun Davis RMG Global Director Compliance & Sustainability – 18 October 2021
• Relaxation of Polybag Requirements for CV19 Test Kits – RM Communication to all Collection, Processing and Distribution staff – October 2021
• Royal Mail & Parcelforce – Royal Mail Group Safety Health & Environment ‘Huddle’ FY21 034 – Collection of Test Kits – Employees who collect Coronavirus test kits. 18 October 2021
• RMG SHE SAC1 – Delivery, Collection and Processing of Coronavirus PCR Test Kits between customers and laboratories for analysis review – Oct 2021
• RMG (RM & PFWW) – COVID-19 test kit mailings Processing (Royal Mail Operations SSOW) V2.3
• RMG (RM & PFWW) – COVID-19 test kit mailings Delivery and Collections (Royal Mail Operations SSOW) V3.7
• Letter from DHSC & HSA regarding no need for Royal Mail Poly Over-Bag Test Kits dated 22 October 2021.

Yours Sincerely

Dave Joyce

National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

Mark Baulch

Assistant Secretary

Outdoor Department

Davie Robertson

Assistant Secretary 

Processing, Logistics, Parcelforce, International, Quadrant Department

LTB 450/21 – Lifting of Covid-19 Secure Restrictions

Att: Changes to Coronavirus Test Kit Collections Message From Dr Shaun Davis 18.10.21

Att: Coronavirus Testing Kits SAC1 Review Oct 2021

Att: COVID 19 Test Kit SSOW Deliveries and Collections Oct 2021v2

Att: COVID 19 test kit SSOW Processing Oct 2021v2

Att: Letter From DHSC & HSA on No Need For Royal Mail Test Kit Poly Over Bags…

Att: Relaxation of Polybag Usage Brief Oct 2021 v0.4

Att: SHE Huddle FY21 034 Collection of Test Kits

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