Royal Mail Fleet Maintenance – Territorial Rep Election South West/South Wales

Further to LTB 242/25 dated 5^thNovember 2025.

Branches will wish to note that the ballot timetable for the above position is as follows:

Ballot Papers Dispatched:      18^thNovember 2025

Ballot Close:                              5^thDecember 2025

Ballot papers to members home addresses will be posted by 2^nd class post and returns to the independent scrutineer by 1^st class post,

Any enquiries regarding the content of this LTB should be addressed to the PCTS Department, email address hmaughan@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Bobby Weatherall

Acting Assistant Secretary

LTB 246/25 – Royal Mail Fleet Maintenance Territorial Rep Election South West South Wales

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CWU CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNTS 2024

Please find attached a copy of the final CWU Consolidated Accounts for the financial year 2024.

Whilst these results are for the financial year 2024 branches will be more than aware of our ongoing work around restructuring the CWU. Decisions taken at the conference held in June of this year are now in the process of being implemented and the benefit of the decisions will begin to impact future financial performance.

As always there is much to do and we will continue to explore, agree and implement further changes that will deliver a sustainable CWU for the future.

Accordingly, Branches are now invited to forward questions to the attached CWU Consolidated Accounts 2024 to arrive by no later than 12.00 noon on Friday 21^st November 2025.

Please note all questions should be sent to the email address sdgs@cwu.org   Please note, any emails sent to any other email address will not receive a response and will not be included in the published questions and answers.

Any other queries on this LTB should be addressed to sdgs@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Tony Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

LTB 245/25

Attachment – CWU Consolidated Accounts 2024 

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Royal Mail Property & Facilities Solutions Limited and CWU Agreement on Progression within the Technical Pay Structure

As part of the 2024/25 Pay Agreement PFSL and the CWU committed to review the Technical Pay Structure in the Engineering function.  The aim was to conclude this by the pay review date of April 2025.

Despite our best efforts and for one reason or another this deadline was not met and therefore a further commitment was given in this year’s pay agreement to finalise a next steps/progression agreement by 31^stOctober 2025.

A draft agreement was reached with the business on 29^th October 2025; we then met with the National and Regional PFSL Engineering representatives on 30^thOctober 2025 where we gave an overview of the draft agreement, followed by a Postal Executive meeting on 4^th November 2025, where the agreement was unanimously endorsed. The agreement is attached to this LTB.

There is also a structure and skills matrix document which requires the technical knowledge of our National and Regional Representatives to input into and change where necessary. This document has been shared with them.

The issue of progression has been floating around not just for the last two pay deals but going back a number of years and the Union at the same time had an objective to try and harmonise and assimilate our Building Fabric Maintenance Engineers onto the main Technical Grading Structure. Our BFM Engineers are multi-skilled engineers who carry out such tasks ranging from toilet blockages to maintaining roller shutter doors etc.  Our other engineers carry out more specialist tasks such as gas, electrics and air conditioning maintenance etc.

BFM Engineers are multi-disciplined and multi-skilled but they are also on the grading structure in their own right, but are generally paid less than the specialist individually skilled technicians. The nature of the multi-skilled, multi-disciplined grade means that there is a disparity between the unskilled/low-skill work and higher skilled work performed by the individuals within this grade. It is fair to say that this disparity leads to some difficulties for not only the individual but the Business in not being able to self-deliver maintenance tasks without the need to sub-contact. Harmonisation is therefore a priority objective for us and colleagues will see from the attached agreement we have agreed a quite modest number of hybrid roles with this role being assimilated onto the Tech 2 Entry pay point.

The hybrid role will in the first instance be trialled but will also be used alongside the overall Progression Agreement which will hopefully begin the process of full assimilation into the Tech Structure for any individual who wishes to progress.

Our other objective over a number of years was the ability for those on the technical grade to progress.  Our engineers do pick up qualifications and upskill themselves but then are unable to progress onto higher pay rates because of the lack of a progression agreement.

We now believe that we have provided our Reps with the agreement to enable them to identify the gaps in resource and workload allocation, through a proper strategic involvement process and proper local resourcing plan which will allow our engineers to progress if needed.

Finally, the Business has a problem in recruiting gas engineers, and in particular specialist gas engineers which means a lot of these tasks and work is sub-contracted and outsourced. We believe that the introduction of the new Tech 1 grade and upgrading for some Tech 2 to Tech 1 grades will go a long way to solving this problem.

In conclusion, we believe we have achieved our objective of reaching an agreement which provides a clear progression route, assimilation and harmonisation for our BFM Grades, solves the problem of a lack of skilled gas engineers, and provides the framework for our local reps to be fully involved in the strategic planning going forward.

Any queries in relation to this LTB should be directed to Heidi Maughan at hmaughan@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Bobby Weatherall
A/Assistant Secretary 

Attachment 1: 25LTB244 – RMP & FSL & CWU – Progression within the Technical Pay Structure

Attachment 2: Attachment to 25LTB244

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BRT&G Agreement – Seasonal Variation 2025 Further Update (November 2025)

Dear Colleagues,

As Branches, Representatives and members alike will recall, LTB 167/25, issued on 11^th August, set out the details and timelines regarding system changes linked to the agreed suspension of Seasonal Variation for 2025 due to the significant unknowns and uncertainties concerning USO Reform activity.

We have now been advised by Royal Mail that all of the necessary system changes and technical solutions are in place and, as previously reported, will commence as of November. For your information, please see attached Royal Mail’s comms issued today to all Delivery managers, which detail the changes now in place.

For ease, please see below a summary of the key planned changes and dates:

As previously outlined, a system update in PSP will take place in November 2025 to remove the effect of Seasonal Variation from colleague work schedules. This update will be rolled out across operational sites between 31 October and 14 November. After this update, seasonalised working patterns will no longer appear in PSP or the People App.

Leave Balance Adjustments Ahead of the System Update

To ensure accuracy of colleague leave balances, manual corrections are being made to colleague leave records ahead of the system update.

Colleagues who took leave between May and August (originally a low season):

• Leave records will be corrected in PSP and the People App from w/c 3 November.
• 24 minutes (FT) or 10 minutes (PT) will be deducted for each day of leave taken during this period. This is because insufficient leave was deducted by the system.

Colleagues who took (or will take) leave between September and November (originally a high season):

• Leave records will be corrected in PSP and the People App by 30 November 2026
• 24 minutes (FT) or 10 minutes (PT) will be re-credited for each day of leave taken during this period. This is because too much leave was deducted by the system

These updates will not affect any current or future booked leave.

In setting out the above, it is noted and understood that the delays in removing the impact of Seasonal Variation from all Delivery units and individual members’ annual leave cards for 2025, as reported in LTB 167/25, have been frustrating and unhelpful. However, it is hoped that the system changes plan will end any remaining confusion in this regard and, in particular, with individual annual leave details in the PSP system.

If any member believes that, as a result of these changes outlined above, there have been errors made with their allocated Annual Leave entitlement and / or the changes create additional problems, the business have confirmed that, in the first instance, line managers should be able to assist, as outlined in the attached Royal Mail comms. Equally, as confirmed above, these changes in PSP will not impact or alter currently planned and booked annual leave arrangements for members.

Any enquiries to the content of this LTB should be directed to the Outdoor Department, email address: Pharacz@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Mick Kavanagh
Acting Assistant Secretary

LTB 241/25 – BRTG Agreement – Seasonal Variation 2025 November Update

Manager update – Seasonal Variation 05-11-25 v3

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LGV Apprentices – Application of the 2025 Pay Award

The Department has received several enquiries regarding the application of the 4.2% pay award to LGV Apprentices. Initial checks suggested that Royal Mail had not applied this increase, prompting immediate discussions with the business. At the outset, the Distribution Management team were uncertain whether the uplift had been implemented and requested time to investigate.

Royal Mail subsequently advised that adjustments were made to apprentice pay rates published in LTB 034/25 on 18th February 2025 to ensure compliance with the National Minimum Wage increase of 6.7% effective from that date. They stated that the revised rates were set significantly above the minimum wage requirement and, in their view, incorporated the 2025 pay award in full.

It is clear from the Pay Guidelines published after the endorsement of the Pay Deal that the business did raise apprentice rates by between 6.7% and 12% on the 1^stApril 2025.  However, several factors were significant in our view:

• Royal Mail had not informed or consulted with the CWU on any amendment to apprentice rates and had at no time indicated that they considered that the pay rise had been incorporated in any uplift.
• No apprentices were in place on the 1st April 2025, with all candidates being onboarded between mid-April and June 2025. As such any uplifts were made before any current apprentices started employment.
• That on passing their vocational licence test and ADC assessment apprentices progress on to 75% of the LGV Professional Driver Pay rates, which did rise in line with the pay award.
• That the Apprentice agreement specifically stated that the rate would rise in line with Pay Awards.

Following further discussions, Royal Mail have now agreed to make good the 4.2% pay award for all LGV Apprentices on the following basis:

1. Apprentices who have yet to pass their test
   • They will receive full back pay from the date they joined the scheme and remain on the new rate until they pass their test
2. Apprentices who have passed their test and progressed to the 75% pay rate
3. • They will receive back pay calculated from the date they joined the scheme up to the point they moved to the higher pay rate

The 4.2% increase will now be applied to the £24,476 rate taking the new rate to £25,504 – eligibility will be limited to the 51 LGV apprentices in the 2025 program affected by this issue.

For your information the 4.2% uplift was applied to LGV apprentice overtime and assigned allowances in September and backdated to 1^st April 2025 in line with the pay agreement. Any back pay due has already been paid for these two pay elements in September salaries.

Clearly the event of April 2025 and the agreement to apply the 4.2% pay deal in full has raised the Apprentice rates far higher than Royal Mail intended and our members will benefit from that, during the period they remain on the base rate. However, Branches should note that Royal Mail have reserved their position with regard to discussions on apprentice rates for any future intakes.

The business are hopeful they can get the additional uplift included in November salaries. The department would be grateful if you could ensure that our LGV Apprentice members are aware of the agreement and the pending uplift in their pay.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: jrodrigues@cwu.org quoting reference LTB 240/25.

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson                   
Assistant Secretary

LTB 240.25 – LGV Apprentices – Application of the 2025 Pay Award

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Telemetry Deployment Principles 

During 2023 Royal Mail initially engaged with the CWU on discussions around replacement of the various Telemetry systems in use across the business (Trimble, Microlise and Isotrak) as all were approaching end of life. The proposal was to trial a new telemetry system, which included forward-facing cameras. Although Terms of Reference (TOR) discussions began, given the prevailing attitude in Royal Mail at that time in the aftermath of the dispute the business refused to agree a TOR and proceeded with the trial independently.

The Telemetry trial took place in Swindon across a variety of vehicles, the trial included the installation of forward and rear-facing cameras, along with audible in-cab prompts to warn drivers of hazards. During the trial the data showed 70% of drivers improved their driving and RTC’s decreased from 20 to 2 year on year.

Based on this activity the business went out to tender to the market for a Telemetry System with Forward Facing Cameras, CameraMatics has now been chosen as the supplier of the new technology, and activity to roll out the new system will commence in November 2025. The business estimate it will take them up to 2 years to completely fit this technology to all Royal Mail Group vehicles, including Parcelforce. Every office will be notified of when the Telemetry will be fitted and training will be given to all drivers.

An initial meeting took place with the business on this activity and attached for your information is an agreed letter from the business covering the fitting and deployment of the new CameraMatics technology. As has become the norm in recent times the contents of the letter from Nick Dunn, National Distribution and Fleet Director has been the subject of discussions and agreement and effectively documents the agreed way forward that will support joint activity on the new telemetry equipment.

The new CameraMatics telemetry solution will replace all current telemetry systems, however as the process of fitting the new technology will take 2 years to complete, it has been confirmed with the business all current agreements relating to Telemetry and Forward-Facing Cameras will continue to apply to both remaining existing telemetry equipment, where still in use and importantly the principles and safeguards will fully apply to the new system. Discussions will commence within 6 months of the deployment completion to reach a revised overarching agreement covering the new technology which will apply to all business units.

The business has also confirmed that the introduction of the new system is without prejudice to the ongoing national discussions in relation to the appropriate use of data in setting KPI’s within My Performance in Delivery or any other function/business unit in the future.

The new telemetry system will support drivers with real-time alerts and insights that help reduce daily driving risks. In the event of an incident, it provides valuable evidence with the provision of forward and rear facing cameras. The system has a range of smart features to enhance safety and driver awareness, including:

• Real-time driver support with Audible voice prompts for:
• Forward collision alerts
• Pedestrian collision warnings
• Tailgating alerts

• Camera support:
• Forward and rear-facing cameras
• Rear visibility via a high-definition monitor or integration with the vehicle’s existing screen
• A Driver Event button to record immediate risks identified by the driver

Royal Mail have committed to full engagement with the CWU on the deployment and development of the use of the revised Telemetry equipment and to this end a Telemetry Joint Working group will be formed to ensure we are fully involved in all aspects of this deployment. This JWG will meet regularly to discuss all aspects of the planned migration including the calibration of in vehicle prompts, parameters for pushing data to managers and to share user feedback, etc.

Where new vehicles are entering the operation, they will come fitted with the new technology, the business have confirmed this technology will not be switched on until 17^th Novemberand drivers will be trained on its use before it can be utilised.

Attached for the information of Branches and Representatives are the letter from Nick Dunn, outlining the agreed way forward and the WTLL Royal Mail intend to roll out. We will re-circulate the relevant existing agreements (Trimble, Microlise, Isotrak and Forward Facing Camera) separately along with the initial site by site deployment plan once this is confirmed.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to:

Parcelforce/Distribution: Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: jrodrigues@cwu.org; quoting reference LTB 237/25

Deliveries/Collections: Tony Bouch, Assistant Secretary, email: pharacz@cwu.org; quoting reference LTB 237/25

Fleet: Bobby Weatherall, A/Assistant Secretary, email hMaughan@cwu.orgquoting reference LTB 237/25

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson     

Assistant Secretary                                           

Tony Bouch          

Assistant Secretary       

Bobby Weatherall

A/Assistant Secretary 

LTB 237/25 – Telemetry Deployment Principles

Attachment: FINAL to CWU_Telemetry Deployment Principles 2025

Attachment: WTLL TELEMATICS FINAL IN TEMPLATE

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USO Pilot Office – Jointly Agreed Peak Guidance

Dear Colleagues,

Further to LTB 216/25 outlining the CWU views regarding the ODM model and the impasse within the National Talks, which had subsequently confirmed that Royal Mail / EP Group have taken a step back and have now fully confirmed there will be no further pilot units or roll out of the USO until the new year and that any deployment will only take place once an overall national agreement has been reached with the CWU.

Within the update given, we also gave a commitment confirming that our immediate focus would be to support all the current pilot units and ensuring that the USO Pilot Offices (35 Units) are fully resourced and achieving all quality-of-service targets via a different operational method.

By way of a recap, the business have previously stated to the CWU, that they would be issuing managerial guidance to the 35 USO Pilot Offices for Peak and making it clear this was a non-negotiable issue for the CWU Nationally and would not involve the CWU Divisional, Area and Local Reps. The CWU made it clear that it was unacceptable, especially given the fact that it has been the CWU that have written to the business on numerous occasions over recent months seeking to resolve issues faced by the pilot offices during the peak period.

Following a week of challenging discussions and an intervention at the highest levels between RM and CWU, we have now agreed a Joint Guidance document, which has since been approved by the Postal Executive. It ensures the CWU is involved across all levels to review the plans within the 35 USO Pilot Offices, therefore, each office will have the ability to agree the following:

• Review and complete the units Manpower Plan;
• Select a revised USO model in line with the options, which includes the CWU Heavy & Light option, with 4 walks / routes being performed by 4 OPGs and ensuring that the 4 into 3 ODM model has the option to add a 4^thOPG into the current plan as additional support;
• Ensure the units’ resourcing plan has been fully planned and all options considered;
• Put in place a Governance process including Divisional Reps and Area Reps to support reaching an agreed plan and escalation process, if needed.

We want to thank our members in the pilot units for the support and understanding in recent months and for their belief that this revised approach will be welcomed by all CWU Reps and members in the pilot offices and that it will allow them to use that guidance to address the issues being faced within their offices.

Both RM and CWU have today jointly cascaded the agreed peak guidance document to the respective senior operational managers and CWU Divisional Reps. Each office will be tasked with completing their revised operational plan by no later than Friday, 14^th November.

Therefore, we hope the fact that we now secured a jointly agreed USO Pilot Office Guidance document will be welcomed in those offices and help the further talks to concentrate on securing the wider agreement on USO and Section 5 subjects, which will receive further updates in due course.

Any enquiries to the content of this LTB should be directed to the relevant department: DGS(P) Department on Hford@cwu.org, Outdoor Department on Pharacz@cwu.org or Indoor Department on Jrodrigues@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Walsh                         

DGS(P) 

Tony Bouch          

Assistant Secretary                        

Davie Robertson

Assistant Secretary

LTB 239/25 – USO Pilot Office – Jointly Agreed Peak Guidance

Attachment – Peak Sites USO Reform Joint Guidance_Final

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POLITICAL FORUM AGENDA – 6th NOVEMBER 2025

Dear Colleagues,

Further to LTB208/25, please find attached the agenda for next week’s political forum.

As previously stated, the briefing represents an opportunity to reflect on our views on the first period of a Labour Government, the challenge posed from Reform and the far-right and the changes in our wider political environment.

This is the first political forum since Labour has been in power and this event is part of the implementation of our new National Political Network, which will help sustain and improve political engagement across the union, at this crucial time.

We will also be discussing the merits of a new electoral voting system (proportional representation), in line with policy agreed at our last General Conference. The NEC will take a view from this debate and then prepare a policy paper to go forward to the next General Conference on this issue. We want to emphasise that this is not a decision-making forum and while we recognise that we are giving a platform to speakers that will have very strong views on the pros and cons of electoral reform, ultimately the union will need further discussion and any final policy decision will need to be made by our Conference.

For branches who have not yet registered, please consider this one of your priority commitments and email politics@cwu.orgto confirm your branch’s attendance and the names of your delegates as soon as possible.

If you have any questions or need any further information, please email aobrien@cwu.org.

Yours Sincerely,

Dave Ward
General Secretary                           

25LTB238 – POLITICAL FORUM AGENDA 6th NOVEMBER 2025

Agenda for Political Forum 6/11/2025

1. Arrivals, tea and coffee (10:00-10:30)

1. President to open the forum (10:30-10:40)

1. General Secretary- political overview (10:40-11:00)

1. Discussion session (11:00-12:45)

2. Our relationship with the Labour Party, including an update on the Employment Rights Bill (11:00-11:45)
3. The rise of Reform/far-right politics (11:45-12:20)
4. Other initiatives- political education etc (12:20-12:45)
5. Break (12:45-13:15)
6. Session on electoral reform (13:15-14:40)
7. Speakers (13:15-13:55)
8. Discussion and debate (13:55-14:40)
9. GS Final Remarks (14:40-14:45)

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Election of CWU Delegates to the TUC Equality Conferences 2026

Please find attached the Regulations, Nomination Forms, and Candidate Consent and Biographical Details Form for the above conferences. The details of which are as follows:

TUC Women’s Conference 

Date:             4^th – 6^th March 2026

Venue:           Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth

 TUC Black Workers Conference 

Date:             24^th – 26^th April 2026

Venue:           Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth

TUC Disabled Workers Conference 

Date:             19^th – 20^th May 2026

Venue:           Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth

TUC LGBT+ Workers Conference 

Date:             25^th-26^th June 2026 (TBC)

Venue:           TBC

The Timetable for the elections is as follows:

Nominations open:                         3 November 2025 

Nominations close:                       17 November 2025 (14:00)

Dispatch ballot papers:                 19 November 2025

Ballot closes:                                 3 December 2025 (14:00)

Reminders: 

All candidates for election to the TUC Women’s Conference must be women.    All candidates require the nomination of their own Branch.

Any enquiries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed by email to lparrett@cwu.org or telephone number 020 8971 7222.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Ward

General Secretary

LTB 236/25

Att: Regulations 2026 (Download)

Att: Nomination Forms 2026 (Download)

Att: Candidates-and-Bio-Form-2026 (Download)