The purpose of this LTB is to advise Branches that the NEC has endorsed a programme of courses for 2025.
Core Residential Programme
Arrangements have been made for our residential training programme to be delivered at the GFTU owned Quorn Grange Hotel, 88 Wood Lane, Quorn, LE12 8DB.
Representative’s accommodation costs on a dinner, bed and breakfast basis will be met centrally.
Branches are responsible for student travel and any other appropriate expenses.
Scheduled Programme 2025
The programme cuts across all the specialisms that our representatives perform incorporating both accredited and unaccredited courses:
Skills courses all include elements of industrial / employment relations, negotiating and organising
Health & Safety courses lead representatives through theory and practice of legislation and organising around Health and Safety
Equal Rights deal with equality and diversity in the workplace and wider society
Residential Programme 2025FromToCourseCut-off date20/01/2524/01/25Essential Skills 109/12/2427/01/2531/01/25Essential Skills 116/12/2403/02/2507/02/25Postal Agreements23/12/2410/02/2514/02/25Essential Skills 130/12/2417/02/2521/02/25Introduction to Health & Safety 106/01/2503/03/2507/03/25Advanced Skills 120/01/2517/03/2519/03/25Mental Health Awareness03/02/2524/03/2528/03/25Intermediate Health & Safety 110/02/2507/04/2511/04/25Postal Agreements24/02/2528/04/2502/05/25Union Learning Reps 117/03/2512/05/2516/05/25Essential Skills 131/03/2502/06/2506/06/25Essential Skills 221/04/2509/06/2513/06/25Introduction to Health & Safety 228/04/2516/06/2520/06/25Intermediate Health & Safety 205/05/2530/06/2502/07/25Women in the CWU19/05/2507/07/2509/07/25BAME Representatives in the CWU26/05/2521/07/2525/07/25TBC09/06/2501/09/2505/09/25Essential Skills 221/07/2508/09/2512/09/25Introduction to Health & Safety 228/07/2529/09/2503/10/25Advanced Skills 218/08/2506/10/2508/10/25Branch Chairs25/08/2513/10/2517/10/25Postal Agreements01/09/2527/10/2531/10/25Introduction to Health & Safety 115/09/2503/11/2507/11/25Essential Skills 122/09/2510/11/2512/11/25LGBT+ in the CWU29/09/25
Online Programme 2025FromToCourseCut-off date24/02/2528/02/25Introduction to Health & Safety 113/01/2510/03/2511/03/25Discipline & Grievance (UTAW Branch)27/01/2531/03/2504/04/25Intermediate Health & Safety 117/02/2519/05/2520/05/25Mental Health Awareness07/04/2523/06/2527/06/25Introduction to Health & Safety 112/05/2514/07/2518/07/25Postal Agreements02/06/2521/07/2525/07/25Essential Skills 209/06/2528/07/2529/07/25Discipline & Grievance (UTAW Branch)16/06/2515/09/2519/09/25Intermediate Health & Safety 204/08/2522/09/2526/09/25Equal Rights 111/08/2520/10/2524/10/25Essential Skills 108/09/2527/10/2531/10/25TBC15/09/2510/11/2514/11/25Postal Agreements29/09/2517/11/2521/11/25Equal Rights 206/10/2524/11/2528/11/25Introduction to Health & Safety 213/10/25
All of the above is subject to the necessary funding being available.
Application Process
Branch Secretary’s and Branch Admins should continue to use the CWU Portal, please make sure applicants emails are up to date.
Release & Notice
Paid release should normally apply where the union is recognised and/or in line with any existing agreements.
Prospectus
The CWU Course Prospectus for 2025 is currently being finalised and will be issued shortly by LTB and here CWU. The prospectus will assist branches and students in planning their training requirements for the coming year and gives an overview of course content.
Online courses
Online learners must preferably have access to a good PC or laptop. Tablets can be used but have some limitation in our experience. Attending training courses using a mobile phone is not possible.
There must be a stable internet connection from where the learning is taking place.
Colleges will also be in contact before the course to advise of any additional requirements.
We would appreciate Branches / ULRs assistance in ensuring any applicants are prepared in line with the above points. If any representative encounters difficulties getting set up with IT equipment in preparation for course attendance, please advise their Branch Secretary, Union Learning Rep or the Equality, Education & Development department as soon as possible.
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 from 1stJanuary 2025 until the end of April 2026
The timetable for the elections is as follows:
Nominations open: 22ndNovember 2024
Nominations close: 6thDecember 2024 (14:00)
Dispatch ballot papers: 9thDecember 2024
Ballot closes: 23rdDecember 2024 (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.
The NEC has agreed the arrangements for the election of the CWU National Trustees.
Please note that the term of office for these positions is from January 2025 to the end of April 2026.
Accordingly please find enclosed the Regulations, Nomination Forms and Candidate Consent and Biographical Details Form for these positions.
The Timetable for the election is as follows:
Nominations open 22ndNovember 2024
Nominations close 6thDecember 2024 (14:00)
Dispatch ballot papers 9thDecember 2024
Ballot closes 23rdDecember 2024 (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.
JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL NATIONAL LOGISTICS AND THE CWU REGARDING BANK HOLIDAY RESOURCING FOR NETWORK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS, CHRISTMAS 2024/25
Colleagues will recall that as an integral part of the 2007 Professional Drivers Agreement, Bank Holidays effectively became normal working days for Network LGV Drivers and while we have long had an understanding with the business that, where possible, attendance would be on a voluntary basis, in reality our members can be compelled to attend on those days where sufficient numbers fail to volunteer. In line with the PDA, all staff who attend are credited with a lieu day.
Branches and representatives will be aware that, in addition to the generic Christmas Arrangements Agreement, the department has in previous years reached agreement with Royal Mail Logistics on specific guidelines covering the resourcing of Network LGV duties across the Christmas and New Year Bank Holidays.
In line with previous arrangements, discussions have therefore taken place with the business and the attached Joint Statement has been concluded and endorsed by the Postal Executive.
The Joint Statement reaffirms the following commitments:
Advance planning;
A wholly voluntary approach to any attendance on Christmas Day;
The use of the full range of resourcing options to reduce the burden on our members;
A commitment to only run essential services on Bank Holidays;
A commitment to minimise any mandatory attendance – no driver asked to attend on both the Boxing Day and New Year Bank Holidays.
Much like in previous years, the department believes that the attached clarification provided in relation to the arrangements for 2024/25 will be welcomed by representatives and members.
Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: jrodrigues quoting reference LTB 365/24.
Branches are advised that discussions have been ongoing with Royal Mail for some time with regards to a Christmas Arrangements document for 2024. The CWU sought an early agreement and initial discussions took place during September/October 2024.
An initial draft was received from the business on 1st October which included a number of difficult areas and omissions from previously agreed documents, the last of which had been agreed in 2023.
Those areas of concern included the approach to Customer Service Point Opening, Sunday Delivery, proposed temporary changes to workplan and additional wording on Working Time Directive (WTD), which could restrict the hours our members could work during peak. Wording around Cyber Weekend, new entrants and the imposed change to monthly paid employees pay date being moved to 31st December.
A meeting took place on 14th November 2024, where the CWU raised concerns and sought clarification in a number of areas.
The final draft retains the structure from previous agreements and addresses the majority of the areas of difficulty in the initial drafts. The revised section on National Peak Workplan now includes commitments which ensure that all internal Mail Centre Resource, including current Supernumerary employees, are fully utilised in line with the Peak Resourcing arrangements prior to any movement of work and confirms any agreed change to workplan with regard to 2c / T48 is temporary for peak only.
Words have been included with regard to CSP opening during peak and the ability for local agreement to adjust attendance times and this will be subject to local discussions.
On the Attendance and Resourcing arrangements, the Bank Holidays this year fall on the least complicated pattern with no additional non USO days. The words in this section mirror previous years.
The document confirms that Christmas Supplement and the additional £100 ex Colleague Share payment will be made as usual and are unaffected by the Peak Incentive Scheme. The traditional paragraphs on Scheduled Attendance, SA Holiday Pay and Temporary Variation to Contract have been retained unaltered in the final draft.
Traditional paragraphs on Scheduled Attendance, SA Holiday Pay and Temporary Variation to Contract have been retained, cyber weekend working is also covered. The agreement also addresses the imposed change to the monthly paid employees pay date, members can now request their December salaries to be paid as per normal on 24th December. This was reported to Branches via LTB 361/24, issued on 15thNovember and further information on the full process will follow in due course.
We believe that the final draft will provide guidance to Reps and Branches.
Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to:
Post Office Chairman’s Strategic Review – Attack on Crown Network and CWU Members’ Jobs
Branches and our Post Office members will be aware of the significant number of press and media articles that started to appear on Tuesday evening regarding the Chairman’s Strategic Review and their plans to close or franchise all of the remaining 115 Crowns. It is clear these reports were deliberately leaked and timed prior to Nigel Railton, Interim Chair’s announcement on the first stage of the outcomes of his Strategic Review.
The Union has still not been provided with a copy of the Strategic Review document and recommendations to Government and tellingly, Post Office failed to consult with the CWU at any point prior to the Board endorsing the Strategic Review / Transformation Plan. As a key stakeholder, representing the majority of employees, the attitude displayed by the Interim Chair in bypassing the CWU is unacceptable – we have made this very clear to him.
Clearly, the Union needed to respond to the press leak and in particular, Post Office’s apparent plans to decimate the Crown Office Network and cut over 1000 jobs. The CWU Press Release is linked below:
We secured interviews with BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, BBC Radio 5, ITV and Sky News. This has once again led to major criticism of Post Office management’s actions. Additionally, Gareth Thomas, Business & Trade Minister made a statement to the House of Commons which led to a debate with concerns being expressed by a number of MPs relating to the potential loss of their Crown Offices. The link to the debate is:
Nigel Railton, when delivering his communication to staff on Wednesday, focused on his “vision for the future” which was primarily about securing better remuneration for Postmasters. At no point did he say that the Crowns would have no part in the future and that 1,000 people would lose their jobs as a consequence. This was despite the fact that he would have undoubtedly known about all of the press activity arising from the leak. This is yet another damning indication at the lack of integrity Post Office displays at the most senior level.
The CWU has been at the forefront of campaigning for a significantly enhanced remuneration package for Postmasters and indeed we have, at every opportunity, highlighted the fact that Postmasters deliver a great service to their communities and are significantly undervalued by Post Office. We therefore totally support the need for Postmasters to be much better rewarded; however, this must not come at the expense of over 1,000 loyal and professional employees working in Crown Offices losing their jobs. This smacks of the same lack of vision and lack of honesty that we have seen from Post Office management for so long and throughout the Horizon scandal.
The money Post Office squandered on firms of lawyers could have been used to give everybody a better deal. The ill-conceived attack on the Crown Office network has led to our members quite rightly feeling they are associated victims of Horizon due to the disgraceful waste of monies which should have been invested in the Post Office Network overall, including Crowns, as well as improving Postmaster pay.
We are meeting with Gareth Thomas, on Monday and will obviously raise our serious concerns around these latest developments. Our members, both directly employed and Postmasters, deserve to have job security and fair remuneration for the long-term future.
The CWU will be developing an industrial and political campaign that will deliver a better future for our Post Office members and we will ensure you are a key part of that work, and your voice is heard.
All Branches will be aware through previous reports that CWU had been involved in a long running dispute with the GMB on the future of Unionline. This was a direct result of the GMB reneging on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was previously agreed to address historic funding imbalances in Unionline and money owed to the CWU from the operation of the company.
Following lengthy discussions, we are pleased to announce that we have now reached a legally binding agreement with the GMB, the salient points of which are as follows:
All key commitments contained in the original MOU have been restored.
An independent financial advisor has found all of the CWU’s assessment of the financial calculations involved to be correct.
The GMB have now transferred the outstanding monies due to the CWU under the original Memorandum of Understanding to Unionline for onward transmission to the CWU.
The GMB have agreed to fund the historic funding imbalance and restore the process in the original MOU for funding the ongoing running costs of Unionline.
CWU and GMB have agreed a clear process to jointly review the effectiveness of Unionline and maximise both parties’ options for the future.
We believe that the agreement also now gives us the opportunity to develop and finalise how we restructure our own Legal Services Department as part of the changes required to secure the future of the CWU.
Finally, the NEC endorsed the terms of the legally binding agreement and we are confident it represents the best outcome for the CWU in resolving this dispute and we look forward to rebuilding our relationship with the GMB.
Any enquiries on the above LTB should be sent to Dave Ward General Secretary jdunn@cwu.org.
CHRISTMAS PAY UPDATE FOR ROYAL MAIL GROUP MONTHLY PAID STAFF
Earlier this week we were made aware that Royal Mail Group had issued communications stating that monthly paid employees and all grades in Royal Mail, Parcelforce and RMPFSL would see a change in the December pay date for 2024 from before Christmas to 31st December 2024.
Royal Mail also wrongly stated this move had been made in consultation with the CWU. This was not the case.
It is true that some members were comfortable with this change given it shortens the gap between December and January salaries but we know many of you will have budgeted your Christmas arrangements already.
Following strong interventions from the union the following has been agreed:
For monthly paid staff the cut-off date for overtime payments to be included in December salaries has been moved from 8thDecember to 15th December. All staff who want some or all of their December salaries paid on the 24th will now have the right to request this.
We are working with the company on the exact details of the process and will communicate with you again once it is resolved.
Whilst we are disappointed that an intervention was required, we are pleased that we have been able to ensure no monthly paid member will be negatively impacted by this change and we now have concrete solutions in place.
We ask that this update is shared with all your monthly paid colleagues.
Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be referred to the DGSP department.
CWU Eastern No5 Branch 