Processing Report for 2019

Annual General Meeting’s

 

 

General 

I would like to start this report by thanking those CWURepresentatives and Substitutes who have supported me and each other over the last year. I also thank those members of the CWU Eastern No5 Branch Committee for the supportthey have given me and last of all thanks go out to you our members who have patiently shown support and understanding in another testing year.

The Pay and Four Pillars Agreement (P&FPA) was in its infancy at last year’s AGM. A lot of time over the last 12months has been spent negotiating the many challenges that the agreement offered up, as well as all the normal day to day tasks that face the CWU Reps and members. 

An ever-growing aspect of the business, which we have reported on before, Is the change since privatisation on the business approach to our Royal Mail/CWU Joint National Agreements, which is putting increasing pressure on your CWU Representatives and you the members. It has become evident Managers are being directed to seek advice from HR Legal Advisors when dealing with the Attendance, Grievance, Conduct Code and Bullying and Harassment Procedures. Where pre-privatisation your Union Rep would represent you in front of your Manager and your Managerwould conduct the meetings making their own decisions on the circumstances set out before them. They are nowdirected to consult and adhere to the advice given by these advisors who offer advice purely from a legal point of view. This results in more issues of reviews in the Attendance Procedure and further than normal escalations of the Conduct Code and Bullying and Harassment Procedures,which the CWU feel is fundamentally wrong as this takes away the personal relationship between staff and Management which is against the spirit of our agreements.

 

Processing Re-alignment of Duty Structure

The year started with preliminary discussions around resourcing. We were originally approached by the Production Control Manager (PCM) with proposals torecruit twenty to thirty Anguard Casual conversions to new eight-hour Saturday only contracts. The reason being Saturday afternoon was under resourced because a lot ofthe original Saturday only staff were on temporary increases of contracts to either full–time or mid-week part–time. Which meant we were using casual staff every week.

We were happy to agree on the proviso we would look at the whole processing duty structure in line with the resourcing re-alignment section of the P&FPA, with a view of guaranteeing permanent increases of contracts for all staff who were performing temporary contracts, increase duty work hours on all four shifts, reduce the reliance on casualsand high percentages of overtime, stop diverting work out to other mail centres and secure both the 1c and 2c operationsat Peterborough Mail Centre. 

This is something we had attempted to do several times over the last four years but had failed due to inconsistency of Plant Managers and Royal Mails privatisation with severebudget restrictions. However, the current Plant Manager Su Redshaw was determined to agree with the union a re-alignment of the duty structure which would see all  staff on temporary duties made permanent on the temporary hours they were performing, the introduction of new duties to resource against the Amazon growth and the introduction of the 1st hour towards the shorter working week for full-time staff from the P&FPA and secure our future workplace. The aim was to agree and implement by October 1st, 2018.

We agreed a re-aligned duty set with a minimum amount of disruption to the current working patterns of staff to present to the CWU Processing Shift Reps and Managers to point out people and content issues they identified and aligncurrent staff against the duties, most of whom were alignedagainst the duties they originally picked. The temporary contract staff were re-aligned to their permanent contract duties.

This was displayed to the members and we briefed staff in the Work Time Listening and Learning (WTL&L) sessionsalong with the agreed procedures we would use for the forthcoming pick exercise.

The first two rounds of picks were for processing staff only, whereas rounds three and four were open to staff from other functions under the roof. This resulted in significant increases in contractual hours for 118 people, 78 of which went part-time to full–time, all staff on temporary increaseof hours contracts were successful in picking permanent duties reflecting their temporary hours, staff being able to change shifts to their preference and staff moving into processing from other functions. Of the 78 who moved up to full time, 35 had previously been on 20-hour contracts and 28 new full-time workers moved straight from eight-hour Saturday-only contracts, while another 27 eight-hour Saturday-only people picked 20-hour contracts.

Although the old processing scheduled attendances (SA)were cancelled when the new re-aligned duty structure came in on October 1st, it was agreed to continuing honouring the hours to the staff who held them until the new SA pick exercise had taken place and implemented. The reason for this was we knew a lot of staff would be able to change their shift and work patterns during the pick exercise and therefore deemed it unfair to do the SA pick at the same time as the duty pick. The new re-aligned SA pick was advertised and allocated during the Christmas pressure weeks and implemented in January 2019. There are several vacant SA’s which were not picked. One of the reasons for this is the ceiling on how many SA hours a member of staff can hold in any one week, which is 12 hours, as per The Way Forward Agreement. The CWU are proposing to take a motion to this year’s Postal Conference to address this.

There will be a Post Implementation Review (PIR) of the re-alignment in February 2019 where meetings will be held with the Shift Reps and Managers to discuss how the re-alignment is working towards the Processing workplan with a view to address any issues raised.

Overall the exercise has been a huge success which hasearned the applause of the CWU Postal Executive.

 

 

 

Romec Cleaners Applying for Internally Advertised Mail Centre Duties

During the recent Processing re-alignment exercise jobs became vacant for staff from other functions to pick. Romec cleaners applied which raised issues which needed confirmation from CWU HQ. Confirmation came back stating Romec cleaners can only apply and be allocated a Royal Mail duty if they had previously applied and been successful in passing a Royal Mail aptitude test for an externally advertised Royal Mail job. There was not yet an opportunity for Romec staff to take an aptitude test when applying for an internally advertised job. Because of this some Romec cleaners were unsuccessful with their applications.

The CWU are proposing to take a motion to this year’sPostal Conference to address this.

 

 

Shorter Working Week (SWW)

The first hour was agreed when we Nationally agreed totrials on Automated Hours Data Capture (AHDC), PDA actuals and the Resource Scheduler. The PCM gave his first proposals on where the SWW should be, based on the information produced by the Resourse Scheduler this was put to the CWU Shift Reps and after negotiations andcounter proposals we agreed the first hour reduction to be implemented on October 1st with the re–alignment in line with the P&FPA. However, because of the reduction some members of staff attendances fell below 7 hours 1 min, which is the threshold of the 40+20-minute meal relief entitlement as outlined in The Way Forward Agreement. Royal Mail were quick to react and reduce those members meal relief entitlement by 10 minutes as per the agreement.

The CWU are proposing to take a motion to this year’sPostal Conference to address this. This is a challenge we will face again this year as the second hour reduction to the SWW is due to commence in October 2019.

 

Conduct and Attendance Procedure

In terms of conduct code cases we have had a number to deal with and had varied success. We live in testing times and Royal Mail seem evermore determined to handle cases with qualified Legal HR Advisers and most cases are raised to Second Line Managers, which is a dismissal level. On a plus side we only had one person dismissed under the attendance procedure and this was overturned on appeal.

 

Christmas 2018

The Christmas 2018 Agreement was a bone of contention as Royal Mail Top Management wanted to enforce a maximumlimit of 70 hours work per week with an 11 hour daily rest period and a 24 hour weekly rest period  for all four weeks of Christmas pressure in line with the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) totally undermining the last Nationally agreed resourcing for Christmas pressure found in Special Briefing 351/2001 which states:

 

1. Christmas 2001

We agreed that the hours limit would be 80-gross-hours for each of the two peak Christmas weeks, with a 9-hour break in each 24-hour period and no requirement for a weekly break. For the remaining two weeks, the limit will be 72-gross-hours with the daily break flowing through from the year-round position (10-hours if introduced by then, 9-hours if not). Again, with no mandatory requirement for a weekly 24-hour break.

 

As this was the last Nationally agreed statement on Christmas, we quickly entered the Industrial Relations Framework completing stages 1 & 2 locally before raising to stage 3. However, before the stage 3 could be heard,Royal Mail Top Management conceded and allowed the status quo to continue for this year as the disagreement was very near to the start of Christmas pressure and the CWU had threatened not to agree planned diversions in or out of the Mail Centre until we had a jointly signed Christmasagreement.

The CWU are proposing to take a motion to this year’sPostal Conference to address this in time for next year.

 

2018 Christmas Raffle

This year’s raffle for the long-term sick was another success raising £961.70. There were 37 prizes donated for the raffle by Union Reps, Managers and Members of Staff. I would like to say a big thank you to all the Reps who helped organise the event and sell raffle tickets and a big thank you to all the people who supported the raffle by buying tickets.

 

Parcel Sort Machine

At the beginning of 2018 we were told Peterborough Mail Centre (PMC) had been taken of the list of mail centres who were to have a parcel sort machine (PSM) installed.However, there were two machines which had not been allocated and PMC had been shortlisted along with Glasgow, Newcastle and Sheffield, as a possible centre to have one installed. In September, the eve before the first pick of the Processing duty re-alignment closed, we were informed PMC had been successful with our application for one of the remaining two machines. Installation will start in May 2019 with a view of an up and running date for October 2019. Joint Negotiations will commence shortly around staffing assumptions and the effect the machine will have on PMC.

Further updates will be reported as they become availablethroughout this year.

 

Nationally Agreed Trials

PMC will be a trial site for a re-usable bag tie and AGV’s which is essentially an automated (driverless) TUG consisting of four carts and multiple pick up and drop off points for York’s. Engineers have started to prepare for the trial by installing extra power lines in the Processing hall.

Further updates will be reported as they become availablethroughout this year.

 

 

 

Proposed Motions for CWU Postal Conference 2019

 

1) Since the introduction of the Shorter Working Week (SWW) agreed in the Nationally Agreed Pay and Four Pillars Agreement some duty days have been reduced to a less than 7 hours 1-minute attendance. Royal Mail have been quick to react to these changes by enforcing the entitled meal relief from The Way Forward Agreement. 

Therefore, a member who used to work a 8-hour attendance used to qualify for 1-hour break (40+20) whereas now a member working a 7-hour attendance qualifies for a 50-minute break (30+20) in effect reducing the SWW by 10 mins.

The Postal Executive is instructed to negotiate in any future pay deals a new meal relief structure which will not disadvantage our members when the length of attendance times is shortened by the introduction of the shorter working week.

 

2) Christmas pressure 2018 saw Royal Mail attempt to enforce the European Working Time Directive (EWTD) of a maximum weekly working limit of 70–hours, an 11-hour daily rest break and 24-hour weekly break or 48-hours in two weeks. The last time a joint Nationally agreed document on Christmas was Special Briefing 351/2001 which states.

1. Christmas 2001

We agreed that the hours limit would be 80-gross-hours for each of the two peak Christmas weeks, with a 9-hour break in each 24-hour period and no requirement for a weekly break. For the remaining two weeks, the limit will be 72-gross-hours with the daily break flowing through from the year-round position (10-hours if introduced by then, 9-hours if not). Again, with no mandatory requirement for a weekly 24-hour break.

The Postal Executive is instructed to negotiate with Royal Mail in preparation for Christmas 2019 a new jointly agreed working time directive for the Christmas pressure weeks which will include, the hours limit would be 80-gross-hours for each of the two peak Christmas weeks, with an 11-hour daily rest break and no requirement for a weekly break. For the remaining two weeks, the limit will be 72-gross-hours with an 11-hour daily rest break and no requirement for a weekly break. 

This will be agreed and published in time for local negotiations for Christmas and New Year 2019

 

3) There is not an opportunity for Romec cleaners to apply for Royal Mail internally advertised Mail Centre duties unless the applicant has applied for an external Royal Mail position and been successful in passing an aptitude test.

The Postal Executive is instructed to negotiate with Royal Mail and Romec the opportunity for Romec staff to take an aptitude test when applying for internally advertised Royal Mail duties.

 

4) The Way Forward reads Scheduled Attendances will be limited to no more than 12 hours per employee in any week.

Scheduled Attendances can be introduced on a seasonal basis and therefore are sometimes difficult to resource against whilst a limit is in place. 

The Postal Executive is instructed to negotiate with Royal Mail the removal of a limit to how many Scheduled Attendance hours an employee can hold in any week providing they adhere to the European Working Time Directive.

 

EJ Orviss

Area Processing Representative

Area.processing@cwue5.org

 

Date 7th February 2019

RETIRED MEMBERS REPORT FOR THE COMMITTEE MEETING

19TH FEBRUARY 2019

 

TV LICENSES FOR THE OVER 75’s

 

This is now gaining momentum, and is being featured more and more by the media with questions also being asked in parliament. Hopefully the letter designed by the NPC will be successfully circulated by all pensioners to their MPs, and that many pensioners would have participated in the on line BBC questionnaire on the issue.

Dick Hewlett and myself we be attending the NPC organised rally in London on the 7th of March.

 

LTB 078/19 REVISED  BRANCH MODEL CONSTITUTION

 

Paragraph 4.4 Branch Organisation item 6 which refers to Retired Members with their position and roles within the Branch appears to be settled albeit a little ambiguous with reference to electing ‘other branch officers’ in item 3 of the paragraph. However, this should allow us (RMs) the opportunity to move forward.

 

SANTANDER BRANCH CLOSURE : POST OFFICE CONNECTION

 

An aural report will be given, and will serve as an, forinformation only contribution which may be beneficial toward pensioners.

 

LOCAL AUTHORITY BUDGETS 2019/20

 

It would be a worthwhile exercise to asses, when it happens, what the local authority budgets for councils within our Branch boundaries will have on pensioners. The main issues being care in the community and potential reductions in bus services. Should there be any significant reductions in either, then the Branch with the support of all likeminded organisations be prepared to rally and protest against any proposed cuts.

 

RETIRED MEMBERS VOICE SUPPLEMENTARY

 

I have requested additional copies of the RMs supplementary for the Branch which can be circulated within the Branch for information purposes to all the membership. CWU HQs are looking into the request.

 

 

 

 

CWU CONFERENCE – BOURNEMOUTH – 28^THAPRIL– 2^ND MAY 2019

Crèche Facilities

We shall be making arrangements for the provision of crèche facilities at this year’s Annual Conference in Bournemouth.

If any member of your delegation would like to use these facilities they should contact Angela Niven on conferences@cwu.org for a crèche registration form as soon as possible and no later than Friday 22^ndMarch 2019.

We require this information as early as possible to ensure that arrangements can be made to provide the correct number of staff to look after the children.

Prayer Room

Please email conferences@cwu.org as soon as possible if a delegate requires a prayer room so that arrangements can be made for a quiet room to be made available.   Please state the conference that the facility will be required.

Signer Requests

If anyone needs a signer please email conferences@cwu.org as soon as possible and no later than Friday 22^nd March 2019 stating the conference the delegate(s) will be attending.

Online Registration

Further information will be issued regarding online registration in due course.

Procedures for Considering Bucket Collections

1. All requests for bucket collections to be taken during Annual Conference shall normally be submitted in writing to the General Secretary.   Such written requests should include   background material/information/full details on the organization for which the collection  is to be made.   The Officer of the General Conference SOC will be advised accordingly   and will then make arrangements for the Union’s stewards to take such collections.     The monies so collected will be counted by the Senior Deputy General Secretary’s Department and a cheque made out to the appropriate body.
2. The number of bucket collections to be taken during Annual Conference will only exceptionally exceed two.

Distribution of Documents at General Conference

1. All requests for the distribution of documents on delegates’ seats shall, in the first instance, be referred in writing to the General Conference SOC, together with a copy of  the document(s) concerned, for consideration. Please send any requests to     conferences@cwu.org
2. Any documents that have been agreed for distribution on delegates’ seats at General Conference shall be delivered to the General Conference Administration office by no later than 5.00 pm on the day prior to distribution.
3. Branches are reminded of the facility of the conference guide to publicise meetings and other events.

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to Chris Tapper in the Senior Deputy General Secretary Department on telephone number 020 8971 7331 or email ctapper@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

 

Tony Kearns 

Senior Deputy General Secretary 

19LTB115 – CWU Conference – Bournemouth -28th-2nd May 2019

THE U WORD DELIVERY WORKPLACE PODCAST – EPISODE 2 – DOING THE JOB PROPERLY

Dear Colleagues,

Please see below a link to the latest episode of our workplace podcast. This month we have focused on the critical issue of doing the job properly.

Over the coming months we plan to work with the Communications Department and re-launch this campaign in workplaces across the UK. With this in mind could all CWU Representatives share this link with members via social media, email, text and WhatsApp. We would also encourage Reps to bring the podcast to the attention of members during WTLL sessions or indeed any other any similar opportunity.

https://soundcloud.com/user-53225609/the-u-word-workplace-special-episode-2

Any enquires should be directed to the Outdoor Department, reference 535, email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

 

Mark Baulch

CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 111.19 – The U Word Delivery Workplace Podcast – Episode 2 – Doing The Job Properly

This month we cover the critical issue of Doing the Job Properly. It is vital we now relaunch the campaign and here Mark Baulch, Outdoor Secretary tells us why.

Please share this as widely as possible

HSE Publishes Updated First Aid Guidance to Include Mental Health

As part of their commitment to enhancing work-place mental health, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have updated their online first-aid guidance to include a section on managing mental health conditions.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published the updated online guidance to help employers support staff experiencing a mental health issue.

The HSE’s updated first aid guidance states companies should consider appropriate ways to “manage mental ill health in the workplace”.

According to the guidance, this could include providing information or training for managers and employees, employing occupational health professionals, appointing mental health-trained first aiders and implementing employee support programmes.

The updated guidance comes after businesses and trade unions including the CWU wrote letters to the Prime Minister which called for a change in the law to protect mental health in the workplace. The letters were co-ordinated by Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England and specifically called on ministers to amend health and safety legislation to put mental and physical first aid on an equal footing.

The new guidance is a result of the government looking to ensure that everyone has the same opportunity to progress in the workplace and achieve their potential, including those with mental health conditions, and follows the recommendations from the government commissioned ‘Stevenson-Farmer’ Report.

The HSE guidance suggests that following an employer’s first-aid needs assessment, it may be decided that it would be beneficial to have someone trained to identify and understand symptoms, and be able to support someone who might be experiencing a mental health issue. They advise on methods in which mental health can be managed in the workplace and how the method can vary dependent on the business. These methods can range from:

• providing information and training;
• employing an occupational health professional;
• appointing mental health trained first-aiders; and
• implementing employee support programmes.

Mental Health First-Aid training courses teach people how to recognise warning signs of mental ill health, and develop skills to approach and support someone, whilst also keeping the first-aider safe. The HSE hopes their guidance will help employers to better understand the need to consider mental health with physical health when undertaking a needs assessment.

The new HSE guidance is an important step towards supporting workers mental health but clearly that equality will only truly be reached when the law demands that every workplace must make provision for mental, as well as physical, first aid.

We look forward to achieving legislative change so that Health and Safety Regulations are designed to protect our whole health, mental and physical.

Mental Health First Aiders are a catalyst for engagement, helping to provide workers with the confidence to come forward and seek support at their time of need.

The HSE’s new guidance is a welcome step forward, but legislative change is needed if we want to see real progress across society. It’s essential that every workplace has access to first aid support for both mental and physical health.

St. John Ambulance has also welcomed the HSE news, releasing a statement which read: “St. John Ambulance firmly believes that taking care of our own and one another’s mental wellbeing, whether it’s managing stress, depression or another condition, is as important as looking after physical illness. As a practical starting point, employers can ensure they have an appropriate number of trained mental health first aiders among their workforces and for the last 18 months, St. John Ambulance has been helping them to do this.”

In a survey by the health-tech firm ‘Mynurva’ it has found that 32% of all UK adults in full-time employment have suffered from mental health problems in the workplace. Of those people who have suffered from mental health in the workplace, over a third (37%) have never sought any professional help for their mental health problems and 44% have never disclosed their issues to a manager at work. Mynurva’s research shines a light on just how many people in full-time work across the UK are suffering in silence with their mental health problems and clearly, workers still live in fear of what will happen to their jobs and colleague relationships if they were to open up about the problems they are facing, and this is a serious concern.

The updated HSE on-line first aid needs assessment guidance is attached along with HSE Guide L74.

Yours sincerely

 

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

19LTB109 HSE Publishes Updated First Aid Guidance to Include Mental Health

First Aid At Work H

SE – First Aid Needs Assessment

Unit Representative Briefings – Signer Assistance

Further to LTB 046/19 advising of the upcoming Unit Representative Briefings that will be taking place over the next few weeks, it would be greatly appreciated if Branches could advise as soon as possible if they have delegates attending who require assistance with auditory interpretation to contact Chris Webb, Head of Communications, who will make the necessary arrangements for a Signer(s) to attend the event.

For ease of reference, please find below the best contact details.

Chris Webb, Head of Communications, Engagement and Media
Email: cwebb@cwu.org

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)

19LTB108 Unit Representative Briefings – Signer Assistance