BALLOT TIMETABLE FOR THE RESOLUTION OF THE TWO DRPS ON USO AND EQUALISATION

We are pleased to announce the timetable for the consultative ballot on the resolution of USO and the equalisation of new entrants’ pay, terms and conditions.

• Ballot papers will be dispatched on 11^th May 2026.
• The ballot will close on 29^th May 2026.
• The ballot result will be announced at 17:00 on 29^th May 2026.

Those eligible to vote on the agreement will be all members who work in UK operations.

There will be an additional vote for new entrant members to vote on the first step.

Any enquiries relating to the content of this LTB should be referred to the DGSP department hford@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Walsh

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

LTB 124/26 BALLOT TIMETABLE FOR THE RESOLUTION OF THE TWO DRPS ON USO AND EQUALISATION

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CWU/RMG AGREEMENT – FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS 

As you are aware, the union has been undertaking a series of briefings across the UK to explain the agreement reached with Royal Mail to our Local, Area & Branch Representatives. 

A key part of these briefings has been a detailed session on the USO element of the agreement – explaining why the new model is different and better than ODM, the extensive safeguards that have been negotiated, as well as what it means to our members’ daily workload.

To further support the explanations that were given during the briefings, please find attached a document that provides answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs). This document should also be seen as a Representatives brief when discussing some of the key points, particularly on the USO, with our local members.

These FAQs are being uploaded to our website today to support our members’ understanding of the agreement and to answer their frequently asked questions. You can find them on the website here.   

Next week, the union will be sending out further communications to our members and representatives on all elements of the agreement. 

Finally, we will be announcing the ballot timetable on Monday.

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to the Postal Department, Hayley Ford on hford@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Walsh                                 

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)                                                                      

Dave Ward

General Secretary  

Tony Bouch              

Assistant Secretary                               

Davie Robertson                

Assistant Secretary                       

Andy Furey

Assistant Secretary                     

LTB 123/26 – CWU RMG AGREEMENT FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS

Attachment: FAQ RM BALLOT 26

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ROYAL MAIL STATUTORY PENSION SCHEME (RMSPS): GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCEMENT – CAPITA

Branches and Representatives may be aware from the publicity late yesterday that Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Government’s Paymaster General and Cabinet Office Minister, announced to Parliament that he was terminating the recent extended contract with Capita for “failure to meet critical transition milestones” and a “lack of confidence” in Capita’s ability to move to a new operating model.  To avoid any confusion as to who this impacts, the RMSPS is managed by the Cabinet Office, but administered on their behalf by Capita since 2018.  The RMSPS was introduced at the point of the privatisation of Royal Mail and has been in operation since 1^st April 2012.

The Minister stated “Capita had an 18 month transition [period]. They failed to deliver on numerous milestones, including a failure to implement required IT automation. Furthermore, the Minister said “To ensure members are protected, we will ensure continuity of the existing contract, but let the message be clear: We will not tolerate delivery failure from contracted partners.”  

As members of the RMSPS Governance Group, myself and Steve Halliwell, Postal Executive member, were notified of the Government’s decision also late yesterday afternoon in a letter from Simon Claydon, Director of Civil Service Pay, Policy & Pensions.  The letter states “The Cabinet Office is writing to formally advise the Board of the decision to terminate the new RMSPS administration contract with Capita”.  Simon Claydon stated “Since the transition programme commenced in September 2024, the provider was required to deliver 10 specific milestones.  To date, only four have been delivered, and all of those were significantly past their due date” He also said “Service delivery failure from contracted partners cannot be tolerated”.  

Crucially, Simon Claydon confirmed “As the existing service is currently operating without issues, members are not expected to be detrimentally impacted by this decision.”  He went on to say “The Cabinet Office will now carry out a comprehensive assessment to identify the optimal delivery model for this service”.  

Firstly, I consider this development to be significant, bearing in mind the contract to administer the RMSPS was originally awarded to Capita by the Conservative Government and Capita have administered the scheme since October 2018.  Recently, the Labour Government extended the contract, but in doing so, insisted on Capita delivering significant improvements to its service, including automation.  At the time of the Conservative Government’s decision, we were very critical of the decision to move the work from Royal Mail Group, as we felt that the service provided by our members in the Pension Service Centre in Sheffield was excellent and we had severe reservations that this would be matched by Capita.

The actions of the current Labour Government to terminate the new contract should be applauded, as this is a positive and brave decision.  That said, our concern now turns to what the future holds and what the long-term arrangements will be for the administration of the RMSPS.  In this regard, we intend to discuss this development with Royal Mail to ascertain what their views are in regard to bringing the work back in-house as the scheme was originally managed by Royal Mail from 2012 to 2018, prior to Capita being awarded the contract.

The Governance Group (which Simon Claydon refers to as “The Board”) is due to meet next Thursday, and this will afford Steve Halliwell and myself the opportunity to pose questions about the Cabinet Office’s assessment for future service provision.

The Postal Executive is meeting on Tuesday 28^th April, and will carefully consider this matter, and determine our policies for next steps.

Further developments will be reported.

If you have any queries in relation to this LTB, please contact Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org  or Heidi Maughan at hmaughan@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey 

Assistant Secretary 

LTB 122/26 – RM Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS) Government Announcement – Capita

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Joint Statement between Royal Mail and the CWU on the Deployment of the 2026 National Mail Centre Realignment Revisions 

Branches and Representatives are informed that discussions have been taking place with the business in relation to progressing arrangements for the 2026 National Mail Centre Realignment Revision activity 2025.

Attached for the information of Branches and Representatives is the Joint Statement covering this activity along with the detailed processes at Annexes A – F. As in previous years realignment activity will seek to ensure proper alignment of resource to workload and workplan compliance while creating attractive duty patterns for our members.

The document covers the ability to utilise inventive duty patterns, to assist the ability to achieve revision outcomes, which better match the aspirations of our members. Whilst continuing the current activity on reducing agency usage within the Mail Centres.

A Joint online launch event will take place with Plant Managers and Divisional/Area Representatives on Wednesday 29^th April 13:30-14:30.

As in previous years the department believes that the agreed process supported by all relevant national agreements including the IR Framework and MTSF will enable Representatives to achieve the best possible outcome in the realignment activity.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: jrodrigues@cwu.org  or jmansell@cwu.org  quoting reference LTB 121/26.

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

LTB 121/26 – Joint Statement between Royal Mail and the CWU on the Deployment of the 2026 National Mail Centre Realignment Revisions

Joint Statement 2026 Resource Realignment Process in Mail Centres

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Joint Statement between RM National Distribution and the CWU on the Deployment of the 2026 PAD Revision Activity

Branches and representatives are informed discussions have been taking place with the business in relation to progressing arrangements for the 2026 PAD Revision activity.

Building on the processes developed in previous reviews, all aspects of the process will mirror previously agreed arrangements. Attached for information is a Joint Statement covering the details along with the agreed process for the deployment of this year’s review, which has been endorsed by the Postal Executive.

As was agreed in 2025, the inclusion of container tracking data as part of the revision activity will remain, this will be reviewed as part of the joint working group activity prior to any data being shared with the sites.

As with the previous PAD Revision Activity, the process fully recognises the role of the CWU at all levels and all activity will be overseen by the Area Distribution Working Group.

A Joint online launch event will take place with Distribution Managers and Divisional/Area Representatives on Wednesday 29^th April 11:45-12:45.

Colleagues will note that the Stage 1 Data Gathering will commence on Thursday 30^th April 2026 and representatives are therefore requested to engage with management accordingly in relation to the activity and release arrangements. 

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: jrodrigues@cwu.org  or jmansell@cwu.org  quoting reference LTB 120/26.

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

LTB 120/26 – Joint Statement between RM National Distribution and the CWU on the Deployment of the 2026 PAD Revision Activity

Joint Statement between RM National Distribution and the CWU on the Deployment of the 2026 PAD Revision Activity

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International Workers’ Memorial Day 2026 

Remember the Dead. Fight for the Living — Addressing Psychosocial Hazards at Work

Dear Colleagues,

On International Workers’ Memorial Day, 28 April 2026, workers and trade unions around the world will come together to remember those who have died, been injured, or made ill because of work — and to demand action to prevent further harm.

International Workers’ Memorial Day (IWMD) commemorates those workers. We are calling upon CWU Branches, Regions, Safety Forums, Reps and members to please support your local IWMD events and come together to remember those who have lost their lives to work, been injured or disabled and to further renew our trade union commitment to fight for the safety and health of the living and make workplaces and working methods safer.

Psychosocial hazards—including work‑related stress, excessive workloads, long and unpredictable hours, job insecurity, bullying, harassment, workplace violence, and the misuse of technology and surveillance are among the leading causes of work‑related ill health worldwide.

The continued importance of International Workers’ Memorial Day is captured in this TUC timeline.

Workers Memorial Day: a timeline | TUC which details some of the events in British labour history where employer and government failures led to the preventable deaths of workers. It also includes dates which mark when trade unions won key legislative change to protect rights to safety at work.

List of IWMD Local Events

Workers’ Memorial Day – 2026 | Megaphone UK

The TUC and Scottish TUC have published the details of a list of many local events across England, Scotland, and Wales which are taking place from 24^th April right through to 2^nd May 2026, the above link has details of these events.

TUC Cymru have also organised a Wales’ National Workers’ Memorial Day event.

Here is the link to register for the event

TUC CYMRU – Workers Memorial Day 2026 Registration Form

TUC CYMRU – Workers’ Memorial Day 2026 event details:

Date: Tuesday, 28 April 2026

Time: 10:00 – 12:00

Venue: Unite Building, 1 Cathedral Road, Cardiff, CF11 9SD

Food and hot drinks will be available from 10:00, with the ceremony beginning at 10:30. Smart, dark clothing is requested.

Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) WMD Event

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) normally mark International Workers’ Memorial Day with a wreath laying ceremony at the IWMD Commemorative Tree in the grounds of the Parliament Buildings Stormont Estate, Stormont Ct, Belfast BT4 3LP. For further event details email: info@ictuni.net 

Many more events will take place on International Workers’ Memorial Day 2026 which may not be officially listed. We therefore advise that enquiries should be made with local Trades Councils and other Trade Unions, Local Authorities, Hazards, and other campaign organisations for details of local IWMD events that Branches and Reps may further wish to support.

CWU 2026 International Workers’ Memorial Day Poster

A CWU Workplace poster is attached to this LTB, which draws attention to this year’s theme of: Addressing Psychosocial Hazards at Work. Also attached is a statement from Dave Ward, General Secretary, for International Workers’ Memorial Day 2026.

‘Light up Purple’ CWU campaign for IWMD

The ‘Light Up Purple’ campaign continues to grow in the name of the CWU since 2022. We invite and encourage any CWU members or IWMD activists to continue to ask for local landmarks, buildings, bridges, town halls to ‘light up for IWMD’ to remember the estimated 2.7 million workers who die globally each year because of occupational accidents or work-related diseases.

A few of the many landmarks, buildings, bridges that will be lighting up purple on the 28^{th of} April 2026 are listed via the link below, which also includes an updated link to the latest ‘Light up Purple’ Sway webpages: CWU LIGHT UP PURPLE CAMPAIGN 2026 | Megaphone UK

If you are interested in more information on the Global IWMD events campaigns and further guides and news items, you can visit the 28April.org website which contains details of the hugely valuable work undertaken by Hazards magazine and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

28 April | Remember the dead, fight like hell for the living

This LTB is shared on behalf of CWU Central Services.

If you have any questions or need any further information, please contact:

Jamie McGovern FRSPH MIIAI 

CWU Health & Safety Policy Assistant at jmcgovern@cwu.org

LTB 119/26 IWMD 

Att: 08650 – Workers Memorial Day 2026 – A3

Att: Dave Ward CWU statement words for IWMD 2026

Joint Statement between RM National Distribution and the CWU on the Deployment of the 2026 National Network (Linehaul) Review

Branches and representatives are informed discussions have been taking place with the business in relation to progressing arrangements for the 2026 Network (Linehaul) Review activity.

Building on the processes developed in previous reviews, all aspects of the process will mirror previously agreed arrangements. Attached for information is a Joint Statement covering the details along with the agreed process for the deployment of this year’s review, which has been endorsed by the Postal Executive.

As with the previous Network Review Joint Statements, the process fully recognises the role of the CWU at all levels and all activity will be overseen by the Network Working Group.

A Joint online launch event will take place with National Network Managers and Divisional/Area Representatives on Wednesday 29^thApril 10:30-11:30.

Colleagues will note that the Stage 1 Data Gathering will commence on Thursday 30^th April 2026 and representatives are therefore requested to engage with management accordingly in relation to the activity and release arrangements. 

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: jrodrigues@cwu.org  or jmansell@cwu.org  quoting reference LTB 118/26.

Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

LTB 118/26 – Joint Statement between RM National Distribution and the CWU on the Deployment of the 2026 National Network -Linehaul- Review

Joint Statement between RM National Distribution and the CWU on the Deployment of the 2026 National Network (Linehaul) Review

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Postal Agenda Pad – Tuesday 12th – Thursday 14th May 2026

No. 117/26

21^st April 2026 

TO:    ALL BRANCH SECRETARIES 

REGIONAL SECRETARIES 

DIVISIONAL REPRESENTATIVES

SUB DIVISIONAL REPRESENTATIVES 

FLEET TERRITORIAL REPRESENTATIVES 

RM ENGINEERING REPRESENTATIVES 

RMPFS REPRESENTATIVES

RMPFS CLEANER REPRESENTATIVES 

REGIONAL PARCEL ORGANISERS

Dear Colleagues,

CWU POSTAL AGENDA PAD – TUESDAY 12^TH – THURSDAY 14^THMAY 2026

Branches would wish to know that the agenda for the CWU Postal Agenda Pad which is being held in the Solent Hall at the Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth from Tuesday 12^th – Thursday 14^th May 2026 has now been published on the website and can be accessed by opening the attachment or pasting the link into your browser:

Click to access POSTAL-AGENDA-2026-WC.pdf

Hard copies for your delegation can be collected on Saturday 9^th May 2026 when collecting   your credentials.

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be addressed to Angela Niven by telephoning 020 8971 7237 or by post to head office or by email to conferences@cwu.org

Yours sincerely,

Dave Ward

General Secretary

LTB 117/26

POSTAL AGENDA 2026 WC

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ROYAL MAIL: WINDING UP THE RMDCP SCHEME – TRANSFER OF MEMBER ASSETS TO LEGAL AND GENERAL MASTERTRUST IN JULY 2026 – WEBINAR 

Further to LTB 087/26 dated 25th March 2026.  

Branches and Representatives are reminded that our members in the Royal Mail Defined Contribution Plan (RMDCP) have now received a communication from the Trustee advising that the scheme is winding up with all savings/assets invested moving to the Legal & General Mastertrust from July 2026. 

All reports received indicate that the first Webinar on this matter which took place on 14th April was well received and informative.  Therefore, Representatives are encouraged, where possible, to join the next session on Thursday 23rd April at 14:00-15:00.  You can register for this event via the following link: 

 Upcoming changes to the Royal Mail Defined Contribution Plan 

 Also, attached to this LTB is a set of slides entitled “Understanding the changes to Royal Mail Defined Contribution Plan (RMDCP)” which provide a detailed explanation of what is happening to the RMDCP, why it’s happening and when.  For further key information, please visit: 

 www.legalandgeneral.com/rmdcp 

 If you have any queries in relation to this LTB, please contact Samantha Nicholas at snicholas@cwu.org  or Heidi Maughan at hmaughan@cwu.org 

 Yours sincerely,  

 Andy Furey  

Assistant Secretary  

LTB 115/26

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