Joint Statement Between Royal Mail And The CWU Covering Tracked 48 High Volume Extended Collection Later Acceptance Times (LATS) For Regional Distribution Centres (RDCS) 

Branches and representatives will be aware that Royal Mail and the CWU are working together in order to develop mutual interest solutions and factor into them opportunities to deliver on the core commitments contained in the Agenda for Growth, Stability and Long Terms Success Agreement.

 

That agreement recognised the need for a greater focus on growth via introducing enhanced customer offerings on current product range, creating growth through better utilisation of our existing pipeline and exploring more radical solutions. The Joint Statement attached to this LTB is consistent with that commitment and provides an operational change which proactively responds to online shopping trends and the clear demand for customers to have later access into our RDC network for high volume Tracked 48 product posters.

 

This positive development will enable Royal Mail to compete for more of this business and in doing so it is hoped to build and retain traffic volumes that might have otherwise been lost to other competitors.

 

Against that backdrop a Joint Statement covering the introduction of Late Acceptance Times (LATs) into RDC’s, for both existing and potentially Royal Mail Tracked 48 customers, has been agreed and is attached for your information.

 

This new service will enable the RM Tracked 48 customers to benefit from a collection up to 23.59 Monday to Friday, so allowing them to process orders later into the day and via the existing Royal Mail network achieve delivery of items to their consumers within the Tracked 48 service window times.  

 

Operational arrangements will be determined by the success of this initiative. However it is anticipated that initially and for the most part, current arrangements will accommodate this change and if adjustments are required then discussions should be conducted in line with the IR Framework.

 

I am sure that Branches and representatives will agree that this product offering is a step in the right direction in enabling Royal Mail to respond to the competitive challenge and grow traffic in our network. In addition I believe our members and in particular those working in the RDC network, will be pleased to see this new product offering which enhances the utilisation of the current RDC network.

 

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Terry Pullinger, Assistant Secretary, e-mail: dwyatt@cwu.org or shayman@cwu.org quoting reference number: 709.02

Yours sincerely

 

 

Terry Pullinger

Assistant Secretary

 
COMMUNICATION WORKERS UNION

URGENT INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS

 Facebook: Dave Ward CWU @DaveWardGS

 

 JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL AND THE CWU COVERING TRACKED 48 HIGH VOLUME EXTENDED COLLECTION LATs FOR RDCs

 

 

Background

 

Royal Mail (RM) and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are working together in developing key business policies, mutual interest solutions and a new culture, all of which are at the core of the commitments in the Agenda for Growth, Stability and Long-Term Success Agreement.

 

Both parties recognise that creating the right joint working environment is key to the success of the business and the commitment to provide employment security in all operational functions of the business.

 

Both parties recognise the pressures of the increasingly competitive and rapidly evolving environment and are committed to the strategic objective of creating and developing an agenda for traffic, product and revenue retention & growth, as a positive alternative to simply managing decline across the RM operational network and defining a tangible competitive response.

 

 

Introduction

 

Parcels competition continues to increase with competitors expanding their networks and delivering enhanced customer services. Royal Mail is responding to the market challenges through a number of initiatives designed to defend and grow revenue & traffic, and to extend Royal Mail service capabilities.

 

Online retail is increasingly becoming 24/7 with shoppers ordering later into the evening. Retailers are now picking and packing their orders later into the evening in order to improve delivered service times. Therefore we are introducing an improved collection option for Royal Mail Tracked 48 high volume retailers, which will allow our customers to process orders later into the day and get the item to the consumer faster.

 

We are introducing these changes so that we can compete more effectively with competitors who are already offering this facility. These changes will enable Royal Mail to compete for business we would otherwise not have had access to, additionally we can also retain volumes that might otherwise go to our competitors. This is good for our company and our people.

 

 

What Are Changing  

 

Against that backdrop we are improving our weekend collections and distribution for high volume Tracked 48 customers accessing a Regional Distribution Centre.

 

To continue offering customers greater choice and flexibility we are launching further improved collections times for Royal Mail Tracked 48 customers. These customers can benefit from a collection until 23.59 Monday to Friday.

 

Exceptions for a 23:59 customer departure time are as follows: Areas served by Aberdeen and Inverness MC’s must have a latest arrival into the MC by 21:00 and Truro MC Acceptance time at 00:00.

 

 

When Are We Changing

 

Currently the sales teams are being briefed and customers will be able to access this enhancement to collection from June 2015.

 

 

Operational Impact

 

This enhancement to customer collections may have an impact on RDC’s from High Volume Customers and collection services which will depend on the customer take up.

 

The introduction of any revised duty/attendance arrangements will be negotiated at local level in line with the IR Framework to meet Customer collection times.

 

 

Involvement

 

Timely engagement will take place between local managers and CWU IR representatives in regard to the process for taking on new customers and appropriate Union release time will be provided for the CWU representatives to ensure meaningful involvement.

 

Any questions of interpretation, implementation, or application of this Joint Statement shall be referred to the respective Headquarters for resolution.

Terry Pullinger

Assistant Secretary

CWU

Francis Williams

Head of Parcels Design

Royal Mail

 

 

Date: ​25th June 2015

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Driving Licence Checks – Removal of Paper Licence – Interim Arrangements (Except Northern Ireland) 

Branches will be aware that from the 8th June 2015, the paper counterpart to the Photocard driving licence is longer valid. From this date, the counterpart will no longer have any legal status though Branches should note that the paper driving licence issued before the Photocard was introduced in 1998 will remain valid and should not be destroyed.  

 

Agreed existing arrangements for initial or six monthly licence checks for all staff required to drive as part of their duties entailed the presentation and review of the paper counterpart. This existing practice is now no longer valid and the Postal Department has been attempting to conclude arrangements with the business on a revised electronic process for the checking of licences, which maintains and complies with legal obligations while ensuring that the process maintains existing standards.  

 

Without using the electronic licence checking service it would be impossible to check the details of a driving licence. New endorsements/penalty points will only be recorded electronically, and will not be printed or written on either the Photocard licence or paper driving licence. Due to negotiations with third party suppliers the business has as yet been unable to conclude a proposal on a new process.

 

Against this backdrop, the business has shared with the union an interim arrangement to be deployed for the checking of licences. This process has taken effect from the 8th June 2015 and will be used to check licences of all agency staff and internal staff taking up driving duties.  

 

All new licence checks – including agency drivers – must be done online with the driver’s consent. The driver will be required to provide a mandate code, and the last eight characters of their driving licence number. The code should be used within 72 hours.

 

If the driver has access to a PC at the unit, the attachment outlines the process to be followed.

 

The details of the interim arrangements are attached to this LTB and Branches are asked to ensure that they are bought to the attention of all postal members who perform driving duties.

 

It is anticipated that a long term solutions will be in place prior to the next scheduled 6 monthly licence check in October.

 

The interim arrangements will also apply to driving licence checks for Parcelforce Worldwide drivers.

 

 

 

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

 

For Deliveries: Bob Gibson, Assistant Secretary, e-mail hnutley@cwu.org or mstewart@cwu.org, quoting reference: 300.02

 

or

 

For Network, Area Distribution & Parcelforce: Terry Pullinger, Assistant Secretary, e-mail: dwyatt@cwu.org or shayman@cwu.org quoting reference number: 202.09

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terry Pullinger​Mark Baulch​

Assistant Secretary ​Acting Assistant Secretary

THE FUTURE OF THE POSTAL INDUSTRY – WESTMINSTER EVENT 9TH JULY 2015 

Further to LTB 402/15 we write to give additional information about the plans for the Westminster event on 9th July. The briefing will be held in two sections with the opening part of the day being a Rally with key speakers in attendance followed by a CWU session on the campaign and various activities will then be undertaken. Given we will be freshening up our approach; there will not be any actual lobby of your MPs taking place as part of this particular event.

 

We have secured some excellent, high profile speakers for the rally and will be releasing a full list over the coming days. Amongst those confirmed so far are:

 

• Owen Jones – Guardian columnist and political commentator

• Kevin Maguire – Daily Mirror columnist and political commentator

• Matt Wrack – General Secretary of the FBU

 

Given the profile of this event and the need to launch our campaign in the most effective and engaging way possible we are calling for CWU Branches from every section of the Union to bring as many delegates as possible. Delegations should also include your senior IR representatives. With a view to making the hall as visually impressive as possible all Branches are requested to bring their Branch banners to the event.

 

The details of the event are again set out below.

 

DATE: THURSDAY 9TH JULY 2015    

VENUE: THE LIBRARY, CENTRAL HALL

ADDRESS: STOREY’S GATE, WESTMINSTER SW1H 9NH

VENUE LINK: http://www.c-h-w.com/

TIME: 11.00 – 15.00 – REFRESHMENTS FROM 10.30AM

 

We want to see as many of you there as possible and to participate fully you should make arrangements to be there for the duration of the event. A full agenda will issued nearer the time but if there are any enquiries about the content of this LTB these should be addressed to the General Secretary’s Office.

 

Yours sincerely

​​​​

Dave Ward ​​​​​Tony Kearns ​​

General Secretary ​​​​Senior Deputy General Secretary

Women’s Officers One Day Event 

The Department is pleased to advise that our first Women’s Officers event will be held on:

 

Date: Wednesday 9th September 2015

Venue: CWU HQ, Conference Rooms 2&3

Time: 11 am – 4 pm

 

This event is only open to Women’s Officers.  

 

It will be an opportunity to meet members of the Women’s Advisory Committee and to gain some valuable guidance to maximise work around the Women’s Officers role. Equally as important, some exercises will be set up to allow a two-way process, so that we can establish how Women’s Officers carry out the role and also they can exchange view/ideas.

 

Please RSVP with the names of Women’s Officers attending to dgittens@cwu.org​

 

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be referred to the Equal Opportunities Department.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Linda Roy​

National Equality Officer​

 

Newly Elected BAME Officers – Rescheduled One Day Event 

Further to LTB 177/2015, the Equal Opportunities Department have now rescheduled the above event and the new details are as follows:

 

Date: Tuesday 8th September 2015

Venue: CWU HQ, Conference Rooms 2&3

Time: 11 am – 4 pm

 

This event is only open to newly elected BAME Officers.  

 

It will be an opportunity to meet members of the Race Advisory Committee and to gain some valuable guidance to maximise work around this role. Equally as important, some exercises will be set up to allow a two-way process, so that we can establish how our BAME Officers see the role working.

 

Please RSVP with the names of BAME Officers attending to dgittens@cwu.org​

 

Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be referred to the Equal Opportunities Department.

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Linda Roy​

National Equality Officer​

 

Processing Report

 

 

Strategic Involvement (SI) Meeting

A report of this weeks SI meeting is on display on the union board and the Together for Growth board outside the Operation Support room. To give a more in depth report on some of the subjects discussed that would be of interest to our members there was a lengthy discussion around special leave in particular the recent issues that have been highlighted by reps. The responsibility of the authorisation process of special leave was changed from the book room manager to the shift managers. Now the process is going back to how it was with the book room manager dealing with special leave requests. The special leave requests granted by shift managers in April which were brought to our attention will now stand as they were. Ongoing and any future special leave applications including doctors and hospital appointments should be taken on there own merits and managed more efficiently in line with the special leave policy document, which means more detail of circumstances will be required with the application forms. All special leave ‘A’ requests will need to be authorised by the MCM.

On safety again it was noted that some employees do not follow the safe systems of work (SSOW) when handling Yorks. Managers should challenge any employee not following the SSOW for the handling of Yorks.

Para: Ongoing.

 

Processing Duty Structure

The closing date for the return of the preference exercise forms the CWU asked for the members of staff whose current duties have been proposed to be changed by the business in the duty review was Wednesday. We are now gathering the data to form part of our counter duty proposals to present back to the business.

Processing is now responsible for the funding of the distribution hall work which includes the loading and unloading of trailers and housekeeping. It is important that the duty structure includes the appropriate hours at the right times needed for the hall to support the processing operation.

It is hoped that the counter proposals will be ready by the end of next week for the business to look at in preparation for the processing reps meeting scheduled for the 6^th July.

The plan is for negotiations to go well around the proposals and the set to be agreed by the middle of July, meaning resourcing against the set can commence in preparation for implementation for the middle of August just in time for the autumn pressure period.

It will always be the policy of the CWU to negotiate and agree a duty set that has the minimum amount of disruption to our members whilst ensuring a robust duty structure that will secure the future of the mail centre.

Para: Ongoing

 

Reconciling GP, fit to work OHS advice

It was brought to our attention that the business has produced a new policy document: Reconciling GP, fit to work OHS advice.

Management have interpreted the advice given in the policy to mean that an OHS consultant can phone a member of staff on sick leave covered by a GP’s sick note, if they think they should be fit for work and override a GP’s diagnosis. A cutting from the policy highlighted in red below clearly contradicts the cutting taken from the Joint RM/CWU National Attendance Procedure Agreement highlighted in maroon below.

Where the manager receives a report from the Fit for Work service and the advice differs from that provided by OHS, the OHS report and advice should take precedence; because this is the preferred route for obtaining occupational health advice for Royal Mail Group and OHS provide tailored advice for Royal Mail Group due to their knowledge of the business.

 

What happens when Occupational Health Service and the GP differ on fitness to attend work?

On occasion, the GP opinion regarding fitness to work may differ from that of the Occupational Health Service. In the vast majority of instances this can be resolved by the employee talking further with their GP, who may not be aware of the opportunity to modify the employee’s role. If this does not resolve the situation the Occupational Health practitioner should contact the GP to ensure that such opportunities can be explored. If this does not resolve the issue for further advice, please contact the HR Advice Centre.

The branch made CWU HQ aware of this and asked the question if the new policy document supersedes the attendance procedure. The response was NO! and CWU HQ has written to the business asking them to withdraw their policy and to adhere to the National Attendance Procedure Guidelines.

Local management have been made aware of this.

Para: To be noted.

 

Annual Leave Caps

Rumours have been going around saying the Production Control Manager has put a cap on all leave requests through the summer. This is not the case. Each shift’s annual leave cap is divided into the work areas, however there is obviously only a certain amount of total staff allowed off in any one week per shift.

The CWU negotiated in 2.3 of the 2015/16 annual leave agreement all staff to be guaranteed their first two weeks choice and leave caps will be imposed after that. In some weeks, in order to guarantee the first two weeks choice it meant going over the leave caps in certain work areas and reaching the shift ceiling cap of staff allowed off. It may be the case that certain work area caps have not been breached but overall the shift cap has. These weeks are predominately the most popular weeks i.e. school holidays. This is why it is important for staff to return their annual leave requests at the initial process and prioritise their first two weeks choice.

Para: To be noted.

 

EJ Orviss

Area Processing Representative

Area.processing@cwue5.org

Date 18^th June 2015

Election of: 

• Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

 

• Postal Executive Representatives (Postal Grades)

 

 

Further to LTB 380/15 dated 11th June 2015.

 

1.​DESPATCH OF BALLOT PAPERS

 

This LTB is to advise Branches that we have received confirmation from ERS that the ballot papers for the Deputy General Secretary (Postal) and Postal Executive (Postal Grades) ballots were handed over to Royal Mail today (23rd June 2015).

 

I would also take this opportunity to advise that the method of posting is Royal Mail Economy.

 

This information is being provided to assist those Branches that are intending to send out a corresponding mailing to their members.

 

2.​CWU ELECTION MEMBERS OBSERVERS

 

Branches will be aware that the regulations for the above elections contain the following statement:

 

“Returned ballot papers will remain unopened in their envelopes until the close of ballot. Two lay CWU members (who do not hold any elected or appointed position) will be selected as observers. The Observers together with the Senior Deputy General Secretary will attend the start of the count of the ballot papers. Their sole responsibility will be to ensure that the envelopes are unopened prior to the commencement of the count, after which the Scrutineer shall arrange to count the number of valid votes cast for each candidate. The Scrutineer will declare the results of the election as soon as possible after the completion of the count.” 

 

The purpose of this LTB is to seek your branch assistance in publicising the information detailed below to all members of your branch.  

 

CWU ELECTION MEMBERS OBSERVER – 2015

 

The CWU is looking for two lay members of the union (who do not hold an elected or appointed position) to be Members Observers at the election count for the Deputy General Secretary (Postal) and Postal Executive (Postal Grades) elections. The count will take place at offices of ERS, London on 14th July 2015.

 

Interested? The two observers will receive 2 paid days off work, subsistence and travel expenses and a fee of £100 after tax. If you would like to put your name forward then please contact Tony Kearns, Senior Deputy General Secretary, CWU, 150 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London SW19 1RX by no later than 3rd July 2015 or by email to sdgs@cwu.org.

 

Any enquiries regarding the above should be directed to the Senior Deputy General Secretary’s Department for the attention of Peter Metcalfe.

Yours sincerely

Tony Kearns 

Senior Deputy General Secretary

 

 

UPDATE ON HOLIDAY PAY

 

As you will know, the union wrote to members on holiday pay in February this year with a letter that was sent out to home addresses with the Voice. A copy of this was attached to LTB 64/15. The purpose of this letter is to provide an update on the issue.

 

As we stated in the letter to members, the CWU is seeking to deal with the issue collectively and we are currently in the process of trying to negotiate agreements with all of the employers across the postal side. The aim of the union in these discussions is to resolve the issue in relation to both backdated claims and to bring holiday pay entitlements in the different employers into line with the law going forward.

 

As we also explained in the letter to members, the fact that the union is continuing to negotiate on this on your behalf does not prevent you from making a claim yourself, should you wish to pursue this individually. For those who do wish to do so, it is important to be aware that any claims for past underpayments that are lodged after 30th June will be subject to a two year cap.

 

Because the union is seeking to take a collective approach to holiday pay, and given the number of members across the CWU who may be affected by this issue, as set out in the letter to members we will not be able to provide legal support to individuals who wish to make a claim themselves. There is, however, a guide to making a claim on the CWU website at http://www.cwu.org/holiday-pay.html

 

We will keep members informed of developments and progress on reaching settlements with the employers on the postal side as these progress. Any queries on the contents of this LTB should be addressed to dgspholidaypay@cwu.org

 

Yours sincerely

                                             

Dave Ward Ray Ellis

General Secretary Acting Deputy General Secretary (P)

THE FUTURE OF THE POSTAL INDUSTRY – ALL BRANCH MEETING AND PARLIAMENTARY LOBBY OF MP’s: CHANGE OF DATE TO THURSDAY 9TH JULY 2015 

I write further to LTB 387/15 which gave details of the important all branch Parliamentary event on the “Future of the Postal Industry” due to take place in Central Hall, Westminster.

 

Due to the Summer Budget being announced on the same day, it was necessary last week for us to change the date of this event to Thursday 9th July 2015. We advised all branches of this by email on 18th June 2015.

 

CWU officers and representatives are urged to prioritise this meeting and make every effort to attend.

 

The full details of the event are as follows:-

 

DATE: THURSDAY 9TH JULY 2015    

VENUE: THE LIBRARY, CENTRAL HALL

ADDRESS: STOREY’S GATE, WESTMINSTER SW1H 9NH

VENUE LINK: http://www.c-h-w.com/

TIME: 11.00AM – Refreshments from 10.30AM

 

We apologise for any inconvenience this change may have caused.

 

I look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.  

 

An agenda will issued nearer the time but if there are any enquiries about the content of this LTB these should be addressed to the General Secretary’s Office quoting the reference LTB402/15. 

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

​​​​​

 

Dave Ward​​​​​​

General Secretary

 
COMMUNICATION WORKERS UNION

URGENT INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS

 Election of National Representative Positions – 2015

 

• CWU Retired Members Advisory Committee

• CWU Youth Committee

 

Further to LTB 358/15 dated 1st June 2015 please find below ballot results for the above named Delegations.

 

 

RETIRED MEMBERS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

 

6 Retired members living in England

 

Dorothy Burnett

Newcastle Amal

126,725

*Elected

Ernie Coggins

Midland No 1

121,645

*Elected

Rodney Downing

South East No 5

92,802

*Elected

Brian Lee

East London Postal

105,876

*Elected

Allan Trotter​

Merseyside Amal

122,619

*Elected

Ken Ward

Plymouth & East Cornwall

89,802

*Elected

Graham Wilson

Manchester Clerical

66,607

 

 

 

CWU YOUTH COMMITTEE COMMITTEE 

 

South West

 

Gary Daw

Plymouth & East Cornwall

79,698

*Elected

Nebo Mutemwakwenda

Bristol & District Amal

48,746

 

 

London

 

Jay Bhundia​

South West Middlesex Amal

69,259

 

Charlotte Regan

Greater London Combined

71,778

*Elected

 

 

 

 

​​

The branch analysis for the above ballots is attached to this LTB.

 

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