LTB 054/25 – Royal Mail Group: Special National Briefing & Postal Policy Forum – Wednesday 21st & Thursday 22nd May 2025

[POSTMAN]

https://www.cwu.org/ltb/ltb-054-25-roya ... -may-2025/

LTB 054/25 – Royal Mail Group: Special National Briefing & Postal Policy Forum – Wednesday 21st & Thursday 22nd May 2025
No 054/25

11th March 2025

Dear Colleagues,

Royal Mail Group: Special National Briefing & Postal Policy Forum – Wednesday 21st & Thursday 22nd May 2025

Branches are advised that we are making plans for a combination of a Special National Briefing and Postal Policy Forum to be held on the following dates – Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd May 2025 at the Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel, Portland Street, Manchester M1 4PH (in the International Suite).

The current thinking is as follows:

The first day will be the Special National Briefing commencing at 09:30 until 17:30 and the purpose of this day will be to provide extensive updates on a range of key issues linked to the EP takeover, USO pilots, the plan to transform IR/ER in every workplace, and other important matters.
The second day will focus on the Postal Policy Forum commencing at 09:30 until 17:00.
These are provisional plans as the situation is extremely fluid due to the delay linked to the Romanian Government. The dilemma we are facing is the takeover transaction is taking longer than originally anticipated and potentially may not take place until late May, and this potentially could mean that an in-principle Agreement reached could be in breach of the takeover panel protocols as EP would not be the owners at that point.

All Branches will appreciate that the delay in the transaction has added more complexities to the way we had originally planned the Policy Forum. Our plan had been to produce an Agreement on all of the matters below and present this to Branches in advance. If possible, we will still aim to present an in-principle Agreement linked to Section 5 of the Agreement.

In this regard, we are due to commence negotiations on pay and associated issues as follows from 31st March:

• Pay

• The first step on equalisation of new entrants’ terms and the following stages

• Agreed steps to reduce agency

• Pathway to improve overtime/SA

• Improving sick pay first step

• Improved VR terms

• A proposed incentive scheme

• A pilot on new ways of working

Below is a list of Representatives invited to attend the two-day Event:

Senior Field Officials:

• Regional Secretaries

• Divisional Representatives

• Territorial Engineering Representatives

• Parcelforce Regional Organisers

• Fleet and Maintenance Service Territorial Representatives

• RMPFS National Representatives (Cleaning and Engineering)

• RMPFS Regional Cleaning and Engineering Representatives.

Branches:

• Branch Secretaries

• All Royal Mail Area Representatives (Delivery, Processing, Distribution, including Network and Logistics, Health & Safety, Admin and Engineers)

• Customer Experience Representatives

• Two Unit Representatives, one of which must be a woman in line with our proportionality requirements.

Due to space constraints at the meeting venue, unfortunately we cannot accommodate visitors on this occasion.

Branches are expected to cover delegates’ travel and subsistence costs associated with attendance at the Event in line with previous instructions and advice issued.

Once we have greater clarity on these matters, further details will follow.

Any enquiries in relation to the content of this LTB should be addressed to the DGS(P) Department hford@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Andy Furey

A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

Mick Kavanagh

Postal Executive Chair

[POSTMAN]

• Pay

• The first step on equalisation of new entrants’ terms and the following stages

• Agreed steps to reduce agency

• Pathway to improve overtime/SA

• Improving sick pay first step

• Improved VR terms

• A proposed incentive scheme

• A pilot on new ways of working

Help me out, wasn't all these voted out/in recently?

[scotchy1962]

• Pay

• The first step on equalisation of new entrants’ terms and the following stages

• Agreed steps to reduce agency

• Pathway to improve overtime/SA

• Improving sick pay first step

• Improved VR terms

• A proposed incentive scheme

• A pilot on new ways of working

Help me out, wasn't all these voted out/in recently?

Ahhh but we haven't discussed over tea and hobnobs yet.
Nothing gets in the way of tea and bickies!

[tramssirhc]

This meeting is about retaining power. Despite it being long after the discussions and sellouts have happened the bag avoiders know they have to keep the rest of the gang on board. They need the lower level bag avoiders to keep the rank and file in line and do everything to stop even more workers leaving. These type of events prove just how rotten the CWU is. For many attending it will simply be paid days off and they'll be on the piss by dinner time.

[oypostie]

Meanwhile back in their offices the managers will be working on the revisions that are going to happen everywhere this summer whether the union likes it or not. When will they wake up

[Valentina@1]

Meanwhile back in their offices the managers will be working on the revisions that are going to happen everywhere this summer whether the union likes it or not. When will they wake up

CWU beyond delusional at this point

[Postee2]

How on earth is pay only being discussed the day before the pay deal should be completed

[Martin Walsh]

It is very simple. The IDS Board won’t be in charge to honour any pay deal.

The new owners EP cannot sanction a pay deal until they’re the new owners which will now not take place till their late May.

We will be negotiating in principle pay and all the other issues which are contained within the EP agreement.

However the laws governed by the Takeover panel are quite clear that until the takeover is completed then it is only agreed in principle.

There ia no blame attached to the CWU in any delay as the law is crystal clear that whilst the takeover is clearly very likely to take place, it still has to follow the formal process which means they have to be cleared by Romania and then get over 75% to be the controlling shareholder and if they get to 90 they can compulsory buy the remaining shares to become the sole shareholder.

[Playmail]

By may it's gonna be hard to recruit new staff being that the wage is only 30p over the minimum wage and hard the keep them more than a week when they find out how hard the job has become.

[Londonsburning]

By may it's gonna be hard to recruit new staff being that the wage is only 30p over the minimum wage and hard the keep them more than a week when they find out how hard the job has become.

I don't understand why more people are talking about this. RMs new start retention must be one of the worst across any business in the country. The T&C's are downright scandalous. They are bad enough for legacy contracts these days compared to a few years ago and tbh the CWU are as much to blame as RM themselves.

[redlen]

Cannot understand why the CWU allowed these two tier contracts as it was one of the legal undertakings in the Agenda for Growth. Why did the CWU not simply sue for breach of contract when executive action was imposed.

Martin Walsh, or any CWU national officer will not answer that question, you have to ask yourself why?

Had a lot of respect in the past for Martin Walsh as a Trade Union official, but nothing more than a yes man now.

[Martin Walsh]

Redlen

Simon Thompson on behalf of Royal Mail served notice on the legal undertakings of the agenda for growth when we took action part of the force majure link to the agreement.

Once the CWU stopped Royal Mail from introducing compulsory Sunday working and their proposal was 1 in every 4 for Sunday Hubs and 3 times per year for non Sunday hub staff. Then Royal Mail were always going to impose new entrants terms and conditions and they wanted them not be subject to collective bargaining.

We will equalise their pay and terms and conditions.

As for being a yes man , if you say you know me then you know the strike and disputes I have been involved in and led over the years.

But here is a question two things will happen this year !

1. There will be a change of ownership.!
2., There will be a change to the USO based on Royal Mails Optimised Delivery Model.

Does the CWU sit on the sidelines and oppose theee realities or does it influence and ensure these changes transform things for the better for our membership from what they are experiencing everyday now.

It really is a no brainier. I will be judged quite rightly on the agreements we reach on pay and the section 5 linked to the agreement and the USO change both will be subject to an individual member ballot. So the membership will ultimately decide.

[redlen]

Can you expand please on your comment force majure and that was never to my knowledge an express term in the agenda for growth, (stand to be corrected though) and what is the relevance?

From what you are saying, it appears it was the CWU that breached the agenda for growth giving Simon Thompson a get out of gaol card to terminate the agreement and the legal undertakings. Is this correct?

[Martin Walsh]

Redlen alongside the Agenda for Growth agreement was a legal contract. With any set of legal guarantees there will be potential get out clauses which are called force majure.

There were two specifically written into this , one was if the company got into financial difficulties and needed to withdraw from the legal obligations and the other was if the union took strike action.

We took strike action covering both pay and change and this triggered Royal Mail writing to the CWU withdrawing the legal obligations in August 2022.

We have now under the EP agreement for those legal protections back but all legal protections will have similar force majure elements within them.

The Agenda for Growth protected us for 8 years from the worst aspects of privatisation.

[drb]

Martin,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to all of the posts on this forum (positive or not). In fact, I do remember you were in a similar position on here during the 2007, 2009, disputes answering similar questions. I'm just looking back over all of the "backseat drivers" comments/criticisms, (including the 2023 agreement comments). It's interesting that all those agreements were voted "Yes" buy a huge mandate & huge turnout by the rank & file membership.

Keep up the great work - on behalf of all reps & members.