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What is the dispute about?

The new Chief Executive, Rico Back, has clearly decided that the way forward for Royal Mail is to
have a cheaper more flexible workforce. 

 

This is why Royal Mail, under Rico Back’s leadership, has developed a strategy which is designed to marginalise the CWU in order to create a cheaper more flexible employment model.

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What is Royal Mail’s strategy?

• Royal Mail want to review the legal guarantees which the CWU secured when Royal Mail was privatised. This means they want to review, and possibly change, the legal guarantees which stopped Royal Mail from outsourcing, franchising, breaking up the company, creating a two-tier workforce as well as stopping Royal Mail from recruiting zero-hour contracts.

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• Royal Mail have also chosen to set up a separate profit and loss Parcelforce company which will require all Parcelforce staff to be TUPE over to the new company. If they get away with this then they could do the same with processing, distribution, collections, delivery, logistics,
RDCs or International. It is important that members understand TUPE only protects terms and conditions for a year.

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• Royal Mail want to separate larger parcels and stop them being processed in 37 mail centres and RDCs and 1,000 delivery offices.

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• Royal Mail want to deliver the larger parcels in circa 300 LAT units. They would be delivered later in the day, up to 19:00. The plan Royal Mail want is that one walk in every six would become the late driver and the remaining five walks would absorb the duty which has moved to the late parcel driver.

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• Royal Mail want to use PDA actuals to resource and also as a revision tool even though they know it does not give a true reflection of an OPG’s duty.

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• Additionally, Royal Mail want to introduce a system called resource scheduler which produces different duty sets for an office depending on traffic variations and linked to PDA’s actual. This is a complete game changer.

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• Royal Mail want to introduce automated hours data capture (automated signing in and out) and link it to what you are paid.

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• Royal Mail want to cut 20,000 jobs.

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• Royal Mail are not saying they will support the continuation of the USO (universal service obligation) when Ofcom reviews it next year. This possibly means the USO being cut to a five day service, and resulting in the loss of 20,000 jobs.

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• Royal Mail are refusing to honour the commitment to a further hour off the working week in October. This refusal also stops part timers from achieving a 2.6% increase in pay. Instead Royal Mail want unrealistic budgeting savings.

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• Royal Mail’s unacceptable management actions are creating flash points in too many offices in the UK. It is essential we have a resolution to poor culture in the workplace.

• Royal Mail want 30-minute flexibility 6 days per week on start and finish times.

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So what happens next?

• Royal Mail and the CWU are due to attempt to resolve these fundamental differences via external mediation later this month.

• All CWU members in Royal Mail/Parcelforce will be balloted for industrial action from 24 September 2019 and the close of the ballot will be 15 October 2019.

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What do I need to do as a member?

• As a CWU member it is vital that you cast your vote in the industrial action ballot.

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• The Conservative Government in 2017 introduced new anti-trade union employment which stipulates that an industrial action ballot has to achieve at least 50% or over for it to be valid. This is why it is so important you vote in this industrial action ballot.

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Why should I support the CWU?

The CWU have over many years not only defended members terms and conditions but also won significant new benefits for the members.

These benefits include:

 

• Basic pensionable pay

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  London Weighting pay ranges

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  RRIS payments

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  Paid holidays

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  Paid meal reliefs

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  Shift allowances which are pensionable

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  5 day or less working

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  Sick pay

• Christmas bonus

 

All of the above is because previous union members have taken industrial action to achieve.

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The CWU members have also stopped over many
years Royal Mail’s proposals on:

 

• Monthly pay

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  Reducing sick leave

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  Cutting shift allowances

 

• Introducing delivery duties from 09:00 in the morning to 17:00 in the late afternoon

 

• Introducing team working

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  Removing seniority

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• Removing MTSF

 

Only by voting yes will the CWU be in a strong position to defend members terms and conditions.

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Unless we get a massive yes vote then Royal Mail will attack our hard-fought terms and conditions.

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Vote Yes

Rise Up

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Defend Your Future

 

Use Your Vote

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#VoteYES

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