Election of National Delegations 2019 

• TUC Congress
• Labour Party Conference

Further to LTB 311/19 dated 23^rd May 2019.

Following the publication of the above LTB, notification has been received today, 28^th May 2019, from Sajid Shaikh of the Birmingham District Amal Branch advising of his withdrawal from the ballots for the TUC Congress and Labour Party Conference 2019

Due to the above withdrawal in respect of the TUC Congress there is no longer a requirement to conduct a ballot.

The following candidates for the TUC Congress are now therefore elected:-

Due to the withdrawal in respect of the Labour Party Conference, the ballot will now consist of the 7 remaining candidates:-

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 319.19 – Election of National Delegations 2019

National Terms of Reference – Uniform Trial Panther Discovery Female Fit (Sizes 2-7) and Vegan Trainer

Dear Colleagues,

Branches will be aware of the current developments and improvements in relation to female gender specific uniform and that the Outdoor Department continues to hold discussions with Royal Mail on further options and opportunities in regards to female footwear.

In line with these further discussions and following initial positive feedback, which also includes feedback received from delegates at both the CWU Women’s and Annual Conference, it has been agreed to trial the Panther Discovery Trainer which is based on a female fit (sizes 2-7).

The Discovery Trainer is also a vegan option as the footwear is made without any animal ingredients or by-products; there are around 300 applications each year by employees for such vegan footwear.

For the purpose of the trial, 1k pairs of the Panther Discovery Trainer have been ordered (500 in sizes 2-7 and 500 sizes 7-13). The Panther Discovery Trainer will be made available on request in line with the normal uniform ordering arrangements for footwear.

The trial will take place from June 2019 and will run for a period of 12 weeks, with a joint review in August on progress and developments. A Copy of the trial Terms of Reference is attached.

We have also built into the trial TOR the necessary CWU involvement which includes H&S Representatives. Additionally, the trial is also being supported by the Sub Group of female CWU colleagues whilst also taking into full account feedback from those wearing the footwear.

Any enquires as to the content of this LTB should be directed to the Outdoor Department, reference 500, email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch              

CWU Assistant Secretary

National Terms of Reference – Uniform Trial Panther DiscoveryLTB 314.19 – National Terms of Reference – Uniform Trial Panther Discovery Female Fit (Sizes 2-7) and Vegan Trainer

Election of National Delegations 2019 

• TUC Congress

 Further to LTB 311/19 dated 23^rd May 2019.

Following the publication of the above LTB, notification has been received from Katie Dunning of the West London Postal Branch advising of her withdrawal from the nomination for the TUC Congress.

Due to the above withdrawal in respect of the 2 places allocated to Women there is no longer a requirement to conduct a ballot.

Rebecca Hufton               *Elected

Michelle Reid-Hay           *Elected

Accordingly the ballot will now consist of the following candidates for the 5 remaining places:

Stuart Davidson                 Glasgow & District Amal

Sajid Shaikh                        Birmingham District Amal

Amarjite Singh                   South East Wales Amal

Mark Walsh                        Greater Mersey & South West Lancs

Richard Wilkins                  South Central Postal

Rob Wotherspoon             Bristol & District Amal

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

19LTB315

CBRE PAY ISSUES 

The CWU is aware of a number of pay issues with this month’s salaries which has affected our members that work for CBRE.

Following representation we have received the following report from CBRE.

• Emergency Tax – It appears that colleagues have been put onto an emergency tax code by HMRC.  CBRE have stated the following

. …both BTFS and CBRE submitted the correct documentation, at the correct time, to the HMRC. But, in some cases, the way that this information has been processed by the HMRC has caused a misalignment of dates on the records that has resulted in colleagues appearing as a starter at CBRE prior to them being a leaver from BTFS, which would make CBRE looking like a second employer; hence the basic rate / emergency tax codes. Tax code changes from the HRMC are compulsory and automatically imported in to the payroll as per HMRC regulations.

I can also confirm that CBRE have not changed their name to Norland Managed Services as some of you may have been informed by HMRC, this actually a previous name for CBRE and in light of this feedback payroll are working with HMRC to make sure that HMRC advisor information is correctly updated to reflect this.

What you need to do

…it’s really important that you check your payslip (see the A-Z guide for information on how to do this) and if you believe that you have had an incorrect change of your tax code this month you will need to contact the HMRC Employees helpline on 0300 200 3300. Opening times are Monday to Friday: 8am to 8pm; Saturday: 8am to 4pm; Sunday: 9am to 5pm and closed bank holidays.

 Only you can do this as your tax code is personal to you and the HMRC will only discuss this with you. Have your National Insurance number with you when you phone and quote CBRE PAYE Reference – 846/R108. They will have notes on file regarding this situation and will be able to deal with your query very quickly and efficiently to make the necessary changes to rectify this for next month.

• Overtime Payments – It has been reported that a number of members have not been paid overtime that is owed.  CBRE are advising to email BTPayrollQueries@cbre.com or call 020 7871 9100 and ask for Payroll to discuss these on an individual basis.

If unable to resolve then this will need to be escalated via the Branch to my office.

• Broadband Compensation  – A number of reports have indicated that compensation has not been processed in the May salaries. CBRE have stated that  everyone has received 2 months payments (April and May).  This is shown on the payslip split over the Gross pay and Adjustments.  It has been confirmed that all those eligible have received the £80 or £60 accordingly.

The CWU fully appreciates that this has caused a great deal of concern and that there may be individuals that are seriously financially impacted as a result of these pay anomalies.  CBRE have stated that they are currently reviewing options on how they can support colleagues in this situation.  The CWU will continue to press CBRE as a matter of urgency to do everything they can to assist people that require financial support.

We will update branches again as soon as further information becomes available.

Any queries should be addressed to Sally Bridge sabridge@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Sally Bridge

National Officer

LTB 313.2019

Royal Mail Group Holiday Pay

Further to LTB 288/19 regarding the above.

We have been made aware that managers in certain locations are refusing to log grievances for members over the issue of holiday pay and are claiming that they do not need to follow this process as discussions are now taking place nationally.

If members in your locality are being told this, we advise them to email their manager asking for a grievance to be recorded so that a paper trail exists. We will then notify ACAS that this is the case.

We have also expressed concerns to ACAS about the final wording of the COT3 Settlement Agreement and in particular in relation to Paragraph 2. We are apprehensive that the current wording may result in members not receiving back pay in the event that this is secured through a national collective agreement.

The Union is currently in discussions with RMG through ACAS to agree suitable alternative wording that would prevent this from being the case. We have also informed ACAS that whilst members can agree the monetary offer, all of the associated COT3 forms that contain the legal terms and conditions, should be put on hold until this wording has been finalised.

Many members who are now taking annual leave are effectively losing out on money that is legally theirs. We would therefore encourage all Branches to continue to maximise the number of claims submitted to ACAS.

A meeting has been held with Royal Mail Group at national level in order to commence negotiations about this issue and secure a national agreement. Your ongoing efforts will help to bring this to fruition.

Any enquiries in relation to the content of this LTB should be addressed to the DGS(P) Department.

Yours sincerely,

Terry Pullinger
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)