MEETING WITH EP GROUP REPRESENTATIVES

Today we have met with representatives of EP Group. The meeting was useful and constructive and further meetings will take place including the direct involvement of Daniel Kretinsky.

We made it very clear that the current commitments from EP Group are neither strong enough or long enough. Daniel Kretinsky has openly stated he wants to own Royal Mail for the rest of his life – we need commitments for the workforce that match that level of ambition.

The CWU put forward our wide ranging concerns and also our view that we need to see a completely new ownership / business model for Royal Mail and one that gives all employees a real stake in the future of the business. Both parties have agreed to explore this further.

Royal Mail have led a prolonged and deliberate attack on its own workforce which continues to this day in many workplaces. Representatives of EP Group understood the reality that unless the workforce are on board the company will never succeed.

Alongside this meeting we are increasing our plans to engage the government and Labour Party on the takeover bid. This bid needs to be heavily scrutinised and debated, particularly in the run in to a general election.

The CWU position is clear. We do not support a foreign equity company taking over Royal Mail. At the same time we have absolutely no confidence in the current Board of the company. Royal Mail should be renationalised but the political climate makes that very difficult at the moment. Our job now is to make sure our members voice is heard at every opportunity as this takeover bid unfolds.

We will keep you updated with any developments.

Dave Ward
General Secretary

Martin Walsh Deputy General Secretary Postal

DO NOT REPLY 🛑

INSTRUCTIONS FOR BRANCHES- GENERAL ELECTION SPENDING 

Regional and Branch Funding

As per past elections, we ask that branches transfer 50% of their political fund to their regional account. This is so the fund can be spent more effectively and we can target spending to candidates who support our values and in areas where the money may be spent more effectively and equitably across the region.

However, branches should leave a minimum of £500 in their accounts- so if a branch had £650 in their political fund account, they should only transfer £150 to the regional account.

If you are concerned about this or have any questions, please contact your Regional Secretary.

Donations

Branches are free to make donations to prospective parliamentary candidates. We strongly advise branches to adhere to the policy passed at the Special Virtual Conference in 2021 and only support candidates who support the union’s political and industrial aims. If you want to make a donation but are unsure of who to support, please contact your regional secretary.

Limits on expenditure

There are several different types of expenditure that the CWU is legally limited in spending during an election. These include ‘targeted expenditure’ (i.e. costs related to pro-Labour materials, flyers etc) and ‘local expenditure’ (costs related to a specific candidate’s campaign).

In past elections, the Labour Party has allocated some of its (much higher) expenditure limits to affiliated trade unions, in order to allow them to campaign more and produce campaigning materials. However, they have chosen not to continue this practice and, as a result, the CWU is very limited in our own expenditure.

Therefore, branches must not incur any election expenditure costs outside of election donations. Firstly, this means that branches must not produce their own campaigning material. An example of this would be printing out flyers with a candidate’s name and constituency on it. Secondly, it means branches must not campaign while on paid release for union duties or seek paid release time in order to campaign, as this would also constitute an election expenditure. This is so we can comply with electoral law.

Members are, however, free to volunteer their own time campaigning and branches are also free to organise voluntary CWU campaigning days, as long as they do not incur any costs (including reimbursing volunteers’ accommodation and travel costs). However, members are allowed to wear CWU apparel when they campaign.

To be clear, branches are still free to make donations to prospective politicians and CLPs. That is not restricted. Also, any communications to members only (ie not publicly available communications or campaigning) are unrestricted.

It is very important that branches adhere to these rules.

Campaigning Materials

If branches want campaigning materials, including flyers and leaflets on the New Deal for Workers, please contact ckoffman@cwu.org.

Branches are also able to collect and distribute campaign materials that have been produced elsewhere (ie TULO materials or materials produced directly by the candidate or local Labour Party).

Reporting political fund expenditure 

Branches are required to report all political fund expenditure to Regional Secretaries during the general election period. Branches must also report any ‘in-kind’ donations they may make (i.e. non-cash donations, use of space etc).

Please use the attached form to report any donations or other expenditure to your regional secretaries by 5pm on each Friday until the campaign is over.

You do not need to report any other political fund expenditure that does not have any relevance to the general election. Please also remember that branches are prohibited, by law, from spending general fund money on political activities.

If you have any questions regarding rules around expenditure and spending during the General Election, please contact ckoffman@cwu.org and copy in your Regional Secretary.

Dave Ward

General Secretary

186.24

General Election Spending

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CWU LIVE – TONIGHT AT 7PM

Dear Members,

Tonight at 7pm the weekly CWU Live show will cover some vital issues. 

    ⁃    The Royal Mail takeover bid 
    ⁃    Communications for our telecoms and financial services members 
    ⁃    The forthcoming general election 
    ⁃    A report from the TUC Disabled Workers Conference 

In the coming weeks we will cover more crucial subjects as we open up the union more than ever. 

You can watch tonight’s show by subscribing to the CWU YouTube channel or simply by clicking this link at 7pm tonight: https://youtu.be/I5nyShsN2Qo

The show will also be available via catch-up. 

Solidarity,

Dave Ward 
General Secretary 

Chris Webb
Head of Communications

ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2024 – DECISIONS AND CARD VOTES

Please find attached copies of the decisions taken during Annual Conference 2024 and the results of the Card Votes that were taken.

Any enquiries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed to Angela Niven, 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

24LTB183 – Annual Conference 2024 – Decisions and Card Votes

1. Special Restructuring Conference – Sunday 21.4.24 (003)

2. Rules Revision Conference – Monday 22.4.24

3. TFS Conference – Tuesday 23.4.24

4. TFS Conference – Wednesday 24.4.24

5. TFS Conference – Thursday 25.4.24

6. Postal Conference – Tuesday 23.4.24

7. Postal Conference – Wednesday 24.4.24

8. Postal Conference – Thursday 25.4.24 (3)

1. Restructuring Conference 2024 – Card Vote 1

Copy of 1. Postal Conference Motion 16 Card Vote

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IDS TAKEOVER UPDATE

Branches will be aware that it was reported yesterday that Daniel Kretinsky, via his investment groups, as expected has now formally made a bid for the ownership of Royal Mail. The board has accepted this offer and we now expect EP Group to seek agreement from the IDS shareholders.

It is understood that any takeover will be investigated by the government, under the National Security and Investment Act, as Royal Mail is part of the UK’s critical infrastructure. However, the recently announced general election, set to take place on the 4th of July, means there may be some delay to this investigation.

Daniel Kretinsky has given the company and the government assurances regarding some aspects of Royal Mail’s operation. The published assurances, as part of the contractual obligations, do not go far enough for the union and our members. We will be meeting with Vesa Equity next week to seek extensive assurances, including his plans for investment in the workforce, the operation and future growth for the company, as well as the full terms of our CWU Conference policy.

We would anticipate this being part of an ongoing process throughout the takeover and will keep members updated as frequently as possible. In addition to ongoing discussions with the Labour Party on this issue, we will be contacting the new government minister about any investigations as soon as a new government is formed.

Please see the attached statement from Royal Mail and Kretinsky on details of the takeover bid. Over the coming days, we will be scrutinising this document and taking the necessary steps to make our views heard. We will soon call a national briefing to update you on this issue. If you have any questions, please contact jdunn@cwu.org.

Kind regards,

Dave Ward                                                               

General Secretary            

Martin Walsh                                   

Deputy General Secretary (P)                                       

LTB 182/24 – IDS TAKEOVER UPDATE

Attachment – rule-27-announcement

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ELECTION OF NATIONAL DELEGATIONS – 2024

• TUC Congress

Further to LTB 179/24 Errata  dated 28^th May it has become evident that Prince Kingsley- Faborode of Nottingham & District Amal branch was omitted from the list of TUC Lay Candidates.

For complete clarity the full list of candidates is shown below:-

Lay Members (7 Members at least 2 delegates must be women & at least 1 delegate must be BAME)Tina HolmesLeicestershire*Elected (Woman)Adam AlarakhiaLeicestershireBALLOT REQUIREDSteve CrokeSouth Midlands Postal Scott HartlesScotland No 2 Prince Kingsley-FaborodeNottingham & District Amal Kristopher McGuireGlasgow & District Amal Ian MurphyHarrow & District Sajid ShaikhBirmingham District Amal Lee Starr-ElliotBristol & District Amal 

Yours sincerely,

Tony Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

24LTB181 – Election of National Delegations – 2024

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BRT&G Agreement – Para 6.4.1 Sick Pay – Joint Working Group 

Please find attached Joint Statement and updated action plan agreed by the joint working group set up in accordance with the above agreement.

The Joint Working Group have been meeting on a regular basis since its formation in September last year and have made steady progress in identifying the causes and cost of sick absence.

We have also attached an updated action plan to bring Branches up to date with all the activities planned this year. The Group is made up of CWU Postal Executive members and Senior RM Managers.

We hope the actions will result in and bring about a sustained reduction in the overall percentage cost needed to get below the 5.5% target in order to reinstate full occupational sick pay.

Branches should know the Union is continuing to try and reach an agreement on the Attendance procedure itself where the negotiations are continuing where we are attempting to achieve the policies carried out at our recent Annual Conference. Any further progress made will of course be published in due course.

Any enquiries to this LTB please contact: The PTCS Department, email address: khay@cwu.orgor hmaughan@cwu.org

Bobby Weatherall
Acting Assistant Secretary

LTB180

Attendance JWG – Joint Statement final

JWG Action Plan Master.clean

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• TUC Congress
• Labour Party Conference (including Labour Party Women’s Conference)

ELECTION OF NATIONAL DELEGATIONS – 2024

• TUC Congress
• Labour Party Conference (including Labour Party Women’s Conference) 

Further to LTB 154/24 dated 9^th May at the close of nominations on 24^th May the following have been received:-

TUC 

Postal Constituency

NEC (1 Member)Rob WeatherspoonBristol & District Amal*Elected

Lay Members (7 Members at least 2 delegates must be women & at least 1 delegate must be BAME)Tina HolmesLeicestershire*Elected (Woman)Adam AlarakhiaLeicestershireBALLOT REQUIREDSteve CrokeSouth Midlands Postal Scott HartlesScotland No 2 Kristopher McGuireGlasgow & District Amal Ian MurphyHarrow & District Sajid ShaikhBirmingham District Amal Lee Starr-ElliotBristol & District Amal 

Telecoms & Financial Services Constituency   

NEC (1 Member)Ali MoosaMidland No 1, Lincolnshire & South Yorks*Elected

Lay Members (5 Members at least 1 delegate must be a woman & least 1 delegate must be BAME)Josh BarclayGreat Western, Algus National, Capital, Glasgow & Motherwell, Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Meridian, Mersey, Mid Wales, The Marches & Nth Staffs, North Anglia, North East, Northern Ireland Telecom,  Portsmouth West Sussex & IOW, Scotland No 1,  South Wales, Tyne & Wear Clerical,  West Yorkshire,*ElectedGraham ColkSouth Wales,  Algus National, Capital, Glasgow & Motherwell,  Great Western, Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Meridian, Mersey, Mid Wales, The Marches & Nth Staffs, North Anglia,  North East, Northern Ireland Telecom, Portsmouth West Sussex & IOW,  Scotland No 1, Tyne & Wear Clerical, West Yorkshire,*ElectedFiona CurtisNorthern Ireland Telecom, Algus National, Capital, Glasgow & Motherwell, Great Western, Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Meridian, Mersey, Mid Wales, The Marches & North Staffs, North Anglia, North East,  Portsmouth West Sussex & IOW, Scotland No 1, South Wales, Tyne & Wear Clerical, West Yorkshire*ElectedPeter FrancisCapital, Algus National, Glasgow & Motherwell, Great Western, Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Meridian, Mersey, Mid Wales, The Marches & North Staffs, North Anglia, North East, Northern Ireland Telecom, Portsmouth West Sussex & IOW, Scotland No 1, South Wales, Tyne & Wear Clerical, West Yorkshire,*ElectedQuincy RaymondTyne & Wear Clerical, Algus National, Capital, Glasgow & Motherwell, Great Western, Lincolnshire & South Yorks Meridian, Mersey, Mid Wales, The Marches & Nth Staffs, North Anglia, North East, Northern Ireland Telecom, Portsmouth West Sussex & IOW, Scotland No 1, South Wales, West Yorkshire,*Elected (BAME)

LABOUR PARTY

Postal Constituency

NEC (1 Member)No Nominations Received

Lay Members (7 Members at least 2 delegates must be women & at least 1 delegate must be BAME)Tina HolmesLeicestershire*ElectedLaura SnellEastern No 4*ElectedAdam AlarakhiaLeicestershireBALLOT REQUIREDPaul BraithwaiteNorth Lancs & Cumbria Huw DaviesLondon Phoenix Hugh GaffneyGlasgow & District Amal Des HeemskerkEssex AmalPrince Kingsley-FaborodeNottingham District AmalAlan TateLondon RMTDominic WirdnamBristol & District

Telecoms & Financial Services Constituency   

NEC (1 Member)Andrew MercerGreater Mersey Amal, Lincolnshire & South Yorks*Elected

Lay Members (5 Members at least 1 delegate must be a woman & at least 1 delegate must be BAME)Craig AndersonScotland No 1, Algus National, Capital, Glasgow & Motherwell, Great Western, Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Meridian, Mersey,    Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, North Anglia,  North East, Northern Ireland Telecom, Portsmouth West Sussex & IOW, South Wales, Tyne & Wear Clerical, West Yorks,*ElectedJacqueline MorreyMid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, Algus National,   Capital, Glasgow & Motherwell,  Great Western, , Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Meridian, Mersey, North Anglia, North East Northern Ireland Telecom, , Portsmouth West Sussex & IOW, Scotland No 1,  South Wales, Tyne & Wear Clerical, West Yorkshire,*ElectedDavid RayTyne & Wear Clerical,  Algus National, Capital, Glasgow & Motherwell,  Great Western, , Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Meridian, Mersey,  Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, North Anglia, North East,  Northern Ireland Telecom,  , Portsmouth West Sussex & IOW,  Scotland No 1, South Wales, West Yorkshire*ElectedJoyce StevensonScotland No 1, Algus National,  Capital, Glasgow & Motherwell, Great Western, , Lincolnshire & South Yorks, Meridian,  Mersey,  Mid Wales The Marches & North Staffs, North Anglia, North East, Northern Ireland Telecom,  Portsmouth West Sussex & IOW South Wales, Tyne & Wear Clerical, West Yorkshire*Elected

The ballot timetable is as follows:

Despatch ballot papers:                 30^th  May 2024

Ballot closes:                                     13^th June 2023 (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.

Yours sincerely,

Tony Kearns

Senior Deputy General Secretary

LTB 179/24 – Election of National Delegations – 2024 – TUC Congress and Labour Party Conference

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Royal Mail Property & Facilities Solution Limited (RMPFSL) – Pay Claim 2024 (Update)

Further to LTB 128/24 (Letter To Branches) issued on 17^th April, we are writing to share an update regarding the Pay Claim for 2024 for all our members in RMPFSL and the Company’s response.

By way of recap, the CWU first submitted the formal Pay Claim on behalf of our members for 2024 back in December of last year in a serious attempt to secure a speedy resolution, in order for any reached agreement to be in place by the pay date of April 2024. Disappointingly, RMPFSL management failed to respond to our claim for approximately five months, however we can now confirm that in the past month we have received a pay offer and have also met with them twice.

The management has now tabled a formal, but ‘closed offer’ on pay, however it is littered with upfront proposals and demands to change several associated terms and conditions of employment aspects, alongside other programmes and activities, all outlined by RMPFSL, based on the need to cut staff and operational costs.

While we are willing to address some needed and difficult changes, there is still little in the way of common ground between us in terms of the conditions and demands placed by RMPFSL, which they require us to meet before they are willing to move forward with the pay claim talks. We also believe that this is unacceptable on RMPFSL’s part, since initially, as mentioned above, we were kept waiting for a response to the Union’s original claim for many months.

Indeed, as if this matter was not difficult enough, at the same time that RMPFSL set out its ‘closed offer’ and linked conditions, they further wrote to the CWU to advise that the Cleaning Incentive Scheme, agreed and outlined in the 2022 / 24 Pay and Associated Agreement, had not achieved its second half financial or recycling targets. This announcement was even more bitter, given the fact that we concluded the terms of this Bonus Arrangement with the assistance of ACAS, based on the strong upfront assurances made by the company that, whilst achieving the recycling target was going to be challenging, the financial target was very much on course and was achievable.

As outlined above, we now find ourselves in another difficult position with RMPFSL concerning pay and conditions, noting our long-standing policy and claim for full harmonisation on terms and conditions with the rest of the Royal Mail Group.

We have advised RMPFSL that we will now need to reflect on their outlined position and formally respond before we are able to resume further negotiations. We have also asked them to reflect on their position and have requested that further meetings are arranged, as both parties have been clear that they remain committed to continuing discussions. Equally, however, there is a marked and considerable gap between each party’s position, which we remain determined to seek to narrow down.

We will continue to update Branches and members accordingly and in due course. Any enquiries regarding the content of this LTB should be addressed to the PTCS Department, quoting reference number 320, email: hmaughan@cwu.org or the Outdoor Department, quoting reference number 120.12, email: Pharacz@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Baulch      

Assistant Secretary            

Bobby Weatherall

Acting Assistant Secretary

LTB 178/24 – RMPFSL Pay Claim 2024 Update

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CWU 2025 Diary 

We have extended the deadline for personalised diaries.

Branches can personalise an area on the front cover of the CWU pocket diary and also have the option to have a personalised page (printed on one side only) which will be inserted near the front of the pocket diary.

The CWU pocket diary is priced at £2.00 and the A5 desk diary is priced at £4.00.

Personalised branch diary orders  

Branch personalised diary orders must be returned by no later than Friday 7^th June. On receipt of your order form, you will be emailed the appropriate template/s with further information.

Complete your template/s as soon as possible and note the return deadline is Friday 14th June.

If you would like to use the content from your 2024 diary template/s and there are no changes, please let me know.

Orders will be based on the following: 

Minimum order to personalise front cover: 250 units
Minimum order to insert page: 500 units
Minimum order to personalise front cover and insert page: 500 units

Branches ordering unaltered diaries should return their completed order form by no later than Friday 20^th September.

We continue to offer bulk discount on non personalised pocket diaries on orders of 1,000 or more for £1.50 per diary.

The diaries will be dispatched from w/c Monday 23^rd September 2024.

All completed order forms and enquiries on this LTB should be sent to Marcia Murray by email mmurray@cwu.org

Kind regards,

Marcia Murray
Communications Department 

24LTB177 CWU 2025 DIARY

DIARY ORDER FORM

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