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[jbo5066]

Dear ,



Today we have informed the Communication Workers Union (CWU) that we will move discussions regarding deployment of Universal Service reform into our Achieving National Agreement Procedure in an effort to reach agreement.



Universal Service reform is essential for our future and any further delay in deploying the changes threatens our financial resilience, particularly at a time of significantly increased costs for Royal Mail.



The Pay Agreement that we reached last year assumed that full agreement between Royal Mail and CWU on the approach to the implementation of the USO reform required would be achieved by no later than 18 July 2025.



Six months past this deadline, we have unfortunately not reached an agreed position. The CWU has chosen to link an agreement on Universal Service reform deployment to ongoing discussions regarding new joiners’ terms. But these are separate topics, and the CWU’s current proposals for new joiners are simply unaffordable, particularly in light of the cost of Universal Service reform delays.



We want to deploy reform in collaboration with CWU, but the ongoing delay is costing us money and means we can’t realise the necessary savings. If we don’t deploy the changes soon, we risk undoing all our hard work getting the company back in the black last year, as well as jeopardising the future sustainability of the business and our obligation as the Universal Service provider. We simply cannot afford to wait any longer.



The Achieving National Agreement Procedure (also known as the Dispute Resolution Process) was set up for exactly this sort of situation. It provides a framework to have focused and meaningful discussions so that we can reach an agreement as quickly as possible.



The process will last for a calendar month, and we expect to be in talks from next week.



Both EP Group and Royal Mail remain committed to securing a strong and successful future for our business where we deliver for both colleagues and customers. Separately, we continue to discuss potential options with the CWU that would ensure all colleagues can share in Royal Mail’s future success and benefit from new earning opportunities. We hope to share more details soon.



We want to reach agreement as soon as possible and will keep you updated as our discussions progress over the coming weeks.



Alistair Cochrane Jamie Stephenson

Chief Executive Officer Chief Operating Officer

Royal Mail Royal Mail

[Bellaber]

Well and truly shafted so it begins!!

[Valentina@1]

So they gonna just walk all over CWU and just implement through executive action?

[Sean06]

Well and truly shafted so it begins!!

Just seen cwu response..so please explain..well an truly shafted.

[hans solo]

The plebs voted for it
And the new entrants believed the lie of equal pay
You reap what you sow
Each man for themselves

[Rommagic]

So it starts next month.

[taurus88]

I don’t know how USO reform will save any more money. Offices are being run on a skeleton staff already, and there’s no magic way of getting more done for less. The levels of delusion from up-high are comical, there’s just no way of fixing what they’ve broken.

[SMS1969]

So it starts next month.

Is likely that it’ll start in March/April, but don’t worry, we’ll get an inflation (cpi) based increase. Yippee

[Perseus]

I don’t know how USO reform will save any more money. Offices are being run on a skeleton staff already, and there’s no magic way of getting more done for less. The levels of delusion from up-high are comical, there’s just no way of fixing what they’ve broken.

Not all.
Ones near me very rarely fail anything, cleared most days, and I don't think they are alone.

[ted_e_bear]

Well and truly shafted so it begins!!

Just seen cwu response..so please explain..well an truly shafted.

What's the CWU response ?

Thought you might have included it

Edit....never mind just received it myself by email I've posted it below

[chickenwittle]

Well and truly shafted so it begins!!

How ? They are entering into a month of talks to find a resolution is my reading of that statement.They are clearly becoming impatient with how long everything is taking.

[chickenwittle]

So it starts next month.

No it doesn’t

[chickenwittle]

So they gonna just walk all over CWU and just implement through executive action?

They are entering a months mediation to hopefully find a resolution , nobody is being walked over .

[ted_e_bear]

Just received this from the CWU

The Communications Workers Union

TO ALL CWU POSTAL MEMBERS

Royal Mail Update

Dear Colleague,

We have attached a letter that was sent to our Branches and Representatives last week which clearly set out CWU’s position in relation to the USO and our agreements with EP Group and Royal Mail.

It is very important that our members take a moment to read the content of the attached communication.

We are aware that Royal Mail is writing to employees today explaining that they have triggered our dispute resolution process over the issue of how USO reform is deployed. This means that there will be a 4-week process of further talks between the company and the union with the aim of reaching an agreement.

In the event that no agreement is reached by the end of this 4-week period – the company and CWU will be free to take whatever course of action they deem necessary.

Our position as explained in last week’s communication to our representatives, remains that even if Royal Mail decide to take executive action and impose their version of USO Reform – we will not agree to that proposal.

This is because all of the evidence from the pilot sites demonstrates conclusively that Royal Mail’s model is flawed and has not met any of the previously agreed success and evaluation criteria.

If the company takes executive action, on top of the current quality of service failures, we all know it will be a disaster for customers and increase the likelihood of huge ongoing fines from Ofcom. The CWU has put an alternative USO Reform proposal forward that we believe is the only realistic way of supporting our members and putting customers and the service first.

The actions of the company now call into serious question whether EP Group and Royal Mail’s senior leadership are committed to the agreements they reached with both the union and the UK Government.

It is important to remember that a key part of EP Group’s takeover with Royal Mail was conditional on the Government being given written guarantees and assurances to support and protect employees and the Royal Mail brand.

These assurances formed part of an agreement between the Government and EP Group and were also summarised (in the Government’s own words) as a section of the CWU/EP agreement that became the Rebuilding Royal Mail Agreement Part 1 that was endorsed by our members.

Our objective is still to reach an agreement and we will be engaging in the dispute resolution process in a constructive way. However, we simply cannot accept that a model that has proven not to work is the answer for customers, our members and the future of the company.

Neither can we accept that EP Group and the company do not have the finances to honour all of the commitments they made to our members, including the full equalisation of new entrant’s terms and conditions. The CWU will now trigger the dispute resolution process on this issue

In the coming weeks the union will be communicating further with our representatives and members and we will explain in more detail our response to dealing with this serious situation.

In the meantime, it really is important that you read the attached communication and going forward we will be holding briefings with our representatives and asking them to hold subsequent meetings with our members in the workplace.

Finally, we are also taking steps to hold the Government to account and will ask you soon to take steps to support us in this objective.

Yours in solidarity.

Dave Ward

General Secretary

Martin Walsh

Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

Attached Communication - Letter to Branches 019/26 - Royal Mail Update

[Valentina@1]

So they gonna just walk all over CWU and just implement through executive action?

They are entering a months mediation to hopefully find a resolution , nobody is being walked over .