BLAMEWORTHY ACCIDENTS IN NETWORK

[fishtank]

To All Postal Branches with Network Members
To All Area Distribution Representatives
To All LGV Representatives

Dear Colleague

BLAMEWORTHY ACCIDENTS IN NETWORK

The department was contacted last week in regard to and a brief that was being used for WTLL’s in Network, a forum that management had informed us had ceased, and the fact that the brief carried a section on road traffic accidents and a three strikes and you’re out policy.

This approach is not agreed at a National level and attached to this LTB is a letter to Tony Fox, Network Director, which is self explanatory and reflects the department’s view on this issue.

Please use this information to brief all representatives and members affected by this issue.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Terry Pullinger, Assistant Secretary, email dwyatt@cwu.org, quoting reference 211.

Yours sincerely

Terry Pullinger
Assistant Secretary


Our Ref: TP/211/11/dw

Date: 25th July 2011

Tony Fox
Director Logistics
Royal Mail
First Floor Admin, National Distribution Centre,
Danes Way, Dirft East Crick,
NORTHAMPTON
NN6 7DD



Dear Tony

WTLL RTA BRIEFING

I am writing to you with a certain amount of irony given the recent exchange of correspondence between Helen Diksa and myself in regard to the cessation of WTLL’s in Network.

It would appear however that WTLL’s were still taking place in June of this year, specifically in the Peterborough area. Attached to this letter is a very amateurish WTLL brief, totally out with your claimed desire to professionalise the approach to communication and totally irresponsible insomuch that the content does not represent anything that is agreed between us.

Therefore rather than improve understanding and assist in our commitment to improve relationships, this action by local managers is divisive, causing unnecessary pressure and stress on drivers and relates to no agreement we have reached.

Our National agreements in regard to relationships and understanding talk of adult to adult and mature dialogue, attitudes and solutions and it is long over due for that philosophical approach be used to understand the life of a driver. Our members, your employees, have seen their terms and conditions in respect of working environment deteriorate year on year. Not necessarily in terms of the vehicles they drive which have clearly improved, but in regard to traffic congestion and it’s associated air and noise pollution. Equally, the stress levels have increased with the pressures of maintaining demanding schedules in circumstances that make that task almost impossible at times.
Quite frankly they are at the sharp end of the failures of our transport system, which with Government cuts could actually get worse as time goes on. Everyone of us who drives knows this to be the case and yet rather than your managerial team spending time to recognise the intensification of a wide range of work pressures on our members working in a hostile environment and empathising with their employees, they chose to threaten them with this three strikes and your out nonsense.

We have introduced Driver Coaches and we are currently in talks to enhance their skills so that the whole thrust of our attitude of working with drivers should be one of development and counselling not punitive mechanistic and crude practices such as three strikes and your out.

Against that backdrop I would be grateful if you would confirm that the attached document does not relate to a new National approach and that you will ensure that the brief is withdrawn and the employees briefed accordingly. If it does represent your National policy, which would be extremely disappointing, then I would ask that you suspend both the approach and the briefings until we have held the appropriate National discussions and have an agreed way forward.

In closing I think it only fair that I also inform you that I shall be briefing the field on this response and inform them that the document attached represents an un-agreed procedure as far as I am concerned.

I thank you for your time and look forward to your reply.

Yours sincerely


TERRY PULLINGER
ASSISTANT SECRETARY

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