LTB 201/23 - Recruitment Drive - New Entrants in Royal Mail Group

[postslippete]

There are definitely areas of the agreement that are failures though, and not securing parity for new starters is one of them. How any union could sign off on lesser conditions for new starters is beyond me, and almost an act of self flaggelation.

They didn't agree to that. Royal Mail just started employing new staff on less pay,terms and conditions from the end of last year. The Union tried to mitigate it by trying to level them up if Royal Mail starts making profits - but I believe that when I see it

[guardianangel]

https://www.cwu.org/ltb/ltb-201-23-recr ... ail-group/

LTB 201/23 - Recruitment Drive - New Entrants in Royal Mail Group
No. 201/23

28th July 2023

Dear Colleagues,

Recruitment Drive – New Entrants in Royal Mail Group

Further to the National Briefing at the Queens Hotel, Leeds on 25th July where the profile of Recruitment was raised. Branches and representatives will appreciate the importance of ensuring this activity across all Royal Mail Group workplaces, remains a high priority.

This is necessary more so than ever, as RMG have informed us they have embarked upon a significant recruitment drive and have already employed 1200 new starters in the past two weeks. It is crucial every effort is now made to recruit these people into the CWU and plans are put in place by all Branches to achieve this aim. Alongside this, Organising and Recruitment must feature prominently as an agenda item for all business based and Branch meetings.

We realise recruitment of new entrants on inferior pay terms and conditions is a new challenge. The Union is fully committed to securing improvements and fairer terms and conditions on a par with those recruited prior to 1st December 2022. The more new-entrants joining the CWU the better the chance of achieving success.

In terms of the wider organising and recruitment strategy, including a review of all supporting communications and recruitment literature, this work is ongoing at Headquarters. Once our plans have been finalised the intention is to hold a launch event via a national zoom call with all Branch Secretaries.

Recruitment into the Union is the responsibility of representatives at all levels and must be treated as a priority.



Yours sincerely,



Dave Ward Andy Furey
General Secretary Acting Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

You couldn't make it up these clowns gave it all away and are coming out with the tripe of getting fairer conditions for new entrants,this shower really do need to go they should be ashamed to be associated with the word UNION,they are even more despised than the Tories at least Boris and co finally got the message and resigned,ward furey and webb will always be known as the 3 men who s**t on the working class posties,they had the chance to become heroes and ended up being scumbags.

Can you possibly explain why they ended up being scumbags.i thought the vote on the agreement was a resounding yes.just seems like the no voters have lost any sense they had with some of the things being said about anyone who voted yes.an also have no doubt ward an furey will be re-elected.

Most yes voters didnt vote yes because they agreed with the union they voted yes because they wanted the money and backed into a corner,wake up.

[guardianangel]

https://www.cwu.org/ltb/ltb-201-23-recr ... ail-group/

LTB 201/23 - Recruitment Drive - New Entrants in Royal Mail Group
No. 201/23

28th July 2023

Dear Colleagues,

Recruitment Drive – New Entrants in Royal Mail Group

Further to the National Briefing at the Queens Hotel, Leeds on 25th July where the profile of Recruitment was raised. Branches and representatives will appreciate the importance of ensuring this activity across all Royal Mail Group workplaces, remains a high priority.

This is necessary more so than ever, as RMG have informed us they have embarked upon a significant recruitment drive and have already employed 1200 new starters in the past two weeks. It is crucial every effort is now made to recruit these people into the CWU and plans are put in place by all Branches to achieve this aim. Alongside this, Organising and Recruitment must feature prominently as an agenda item for all business based and Branch meetings.

We realise recruitment of new entrants on inferior pay terms and conditions is a new challenge. The Union is fully committed to securing improvements and fairer terms and conditions on a par with those recruited prior to 1st December 2022. The more new-entrants joining the CWU the better the chance of achieving success.

In terms of the wider organising and recruitment strategy, including a review of all supporting communications and recruitment literature, this work is ongoing at Headquarters. Once our plans have been finalised the intention is to hold a launch event via a national zoom call with all Branch Secretaries.

Recruitment into the Union is the responsibility of representatives at all levels and must be treated as a priority.



Yours sincerely,



Dave Ward Andy Furey
General Secretary Acting Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

You couldn't make it up these clowns gave it all away and are coming out with the tripe of getting fairer conditions for new entrants,this shower really do need to go they should be ashamed to be associated with the word UNION,they are even more despised than the Tories at least Boris and co finally got the message and resigned,ward furey and webb will always be known as the 3 men who s**t on the working class posties,they had the chance to become heroes and ended up being scumbags.

They managed to secure a pay rise and lump sum out of a failing business. That is heroic alone. There are definitely areas of the agreement that are failures though, and not securing parity for new starters is one of them. How any union could sign off on lesser conditions for new starters is beyond me, and almost an act of self flaggelation.

Agree with most of your comment but if it was a failing business surely a lump sum and pay rise is a nail in its coffin,there is more to it than meets the eye.

[thefox]

We aint got the lump sum yet

[Linden14]

Asking new starters to join the union who you have failed even more than the current workforce,I'm sorry but you lot are a disgrace.T and c,s once lost are never won back

[Tman]

Don't ask new starters then, and RM will soon be on course for a de-unionised workforce.
Quite why anyone (other than management) would see that as a desirable objective is really weird.

[scotchy1962]

I am surprised some on here think how could the union not get this sorted out before the agreement we voted on, and then they voted yes to this.
Now whos fault is that, could you not read all of a sudden. It was there for all to see.
The vote is long gone, now's the time for the consequences and so far they don't look promising

[Minischoles]

Has the union officially thrown in the towel? The union vehemently opposed the following

No two-tier workforce
No new sick policy
No performance related bonuses

these where officially declared red lines the union would not allow the company to cross. How many back handers did the union get for this?

Vehemently opposed them in Operations maybe, but two of those three have existed for donkeys in CE and the other back office roles.

Bonuses for years based on performance, many of which were entirely outside of personal control.

And by now it must be a 3 or 4 tier workforce - the older bunch that don't work lates (now 8pm) or saturdays, the bunch that work lates but not saturdays, the bunch that have to work every saturday but not lates, the new bunch that have to work all lates and every saturday.

All the things that are coming into Operations are things the Union just let happen in other parts of the business without a whimper - it's just operations are now getting to see how truly spineless the CWU are when it comes to actually opposing these things.

They talk big, but roll over immediately.

[Martin Walsh]

Maybe most of you don’t remember but the majority of members did not want to be compelled to work Sundays and do Dedicated parcels later in the day.

Once the union achieve this , the reality is that Royal Mail were going to introduce a new workforce to do the growth areas which the existing workforce did not want to do.

Royal Mail due to their financial problems have paused until next year the roll out of tracked 48 on Sundays which will massively increase volumes on a Sunday and decrease volumes in delivery units on the. Monday.

During the talks Royal Mail were willing to commit to the levelling up of new entrants contracts the discussion was about at what stage , Royal Mail want 5 , the CWU wanted less. However it was only when Royal Mail revealed that they would not be in the new pension scheme for that period of 5 years which led to the review in the agreement of the new entrants.

Royal Mail wanted them in a DC scheme and then transfer them after 5 years into the new CDC scheme which is due to come in early next year. The pension experts said this would create real problems with the new CDC scheme if significant numbers all tip into the scheme at the same time.

This is why the new agreement says they will be a joint review of new entrants terms and conditions and we want to improve them significantly as it is classic gig economy style with no paid meal reliefs , total flexibility meaning even if they are a 25 hour contract they can work up to 2080 hours over 12 months equalling 40 hours per week.

The CWU have never agreed these contracts. We have agreed and Royal Mail originally position was they did not to have the new entrants subject to collective bargaining.

So the joint working group will review and look at these contracts. The retention of new entrants will obviously force a review in any case.


However here is the problem unless the existing workforce wants to be made to work on Sundays and move to 11-7 Dedicated parcels duty them the only alternative workforce is new entrants with working Sundays and DPRs in their contracts or owner drivers. The current agency staff working Sundays and On DPRs are costing Royal Mail a fortune.

So the union has agreed to review the new entrants and we may even look at a new grade to ensure that the growth in the future which will in the main come from Sundays and larger parcels are delivered by Royal Mail staff and not owner drivers.

Remember we have different grades now , Area Distribution, network drivers are different grades and we have had different grades in the past ie PHGs.

[Geordiepapa]

Trying desperately to justify the CWU's actions but failing miserably with a lot of the workforce now. Admit it Martin, the CWU have no clout now.

[LouBarlow]

Trying desperately to justify the CWU's actions but failing miserably with a lot of the workforce now. Admit it Martin, the CWU have no clout now.

Are you in the union?

[zz666]

Maybe most of you don’t remember but the majority of members did not want to be compelled to work Sundays and do Dedicated parcels later in the day.

Once the union achieve this , the reality is that Royal Mail were going to introduce a new workforce to do the growth areas which the existing workforce did not want to do.

Royal Mail due to their financial problems have paused until next year the roll out of tracked 48 on Sundays which will massively increase volumes on a Sunday and decrease volumes in delivery units on the. Monday.

During the talks Royal Mail were willing to commit to the levelling up of new entrants contracts the discussion was about at what stage , Royal Mail want 5 , the CWU wanted less. However it was only when Royal Mail revealed that they would not be in the new pension scheme for that period of 5 years which led to the review in the agreement of the new entrants.

Royal Mail wanted them in a DC scheme and then transfer them after 5 years into the new CDC scheme which is due to come in early next year. The pension experts said this would create real problems with the new CDC scheme if significant numbers all tip into the scheme at the same time.

This is why the new agreement says they will be a joint review of new entrants terms and conditions and we want to improve them significantly as it is classic gig economy style with no paid meal reliefs , total flexibility meaning even if they are a 25 hour contract they can work up to 2080 hours over 12 months equalling 40 hours per week.

The CWU have never agreed these contracts. We have agreed and Royal Mail originally position was they did not to have the new entrants subject to collective bargaining.

So the joint working group will review and look at these contracts. The retention of new entrants will obviously force a review in any case.


However here is the problem unless the existing workforce wants to be made to work on Sundays and move to 11-7 Dedicated parcels duty them the only alternative workforce is new entrants with working Sundays and DPRs in their contracts or owner drivers. The current agency staff working Sundays and On DPRs are costing Royal Mail a fortune.

So the union has agreed to review the new entrants and we may even look at a new grade to ensure that the growth in the future which will in the main come from Sundays and larger parcels are delivered by Royal Mail staff and not owner drivers.

Remember we have different grades now , Area Distribution, network drivers are different grades and we have had different grades in the past ie PHGs.

The cwu last month were talking about a reduction in the uso. So where does this tie in with Sunday working?

[Martin Walsh]

We need an honest and factual debate on whether the USO is reduced to 5 days.

Remember the core delivery duties in the future will only deliver letters , flats and small parcels. Letters will continue to decline.

When we supported the 6 day USO , it was at that stage moving one day would lose significant amount of jobs. This has potentially changed as we are now losing jobs by spreading the declining letters over 6 days rather than over 5.

If the Saturday is removed from the USO as Royal Mail want , Saturday and Sundays will still have significant volumes of parcels/ tracked delivered on them days.

However Monday’s will become the heaviest core delivery day. W
Lots of work to be done to work this through and the government will ultimately decide.

However if you don’t change your mind when the situation changes than you are not trying to resolve the problems we face.

From next year all large parcels will be delivered later from the 346 delivery Hubs , this will mean that the core delivery will have less work to perform and spreading that over 6 days is going to potentially loss more jobs in the long run.

The UK are the only delivery service in Europe which has a 6 day USO , most are 5 days but places like Belgium have moved to 3 day USO.

So you asked the question why are we discussing the USO and I have try to answer and this is going to be a massive debate.

[GlassDoor]

This seems desperate. Why would any new starter join a union that views them as second class workers? I wouldn’t want to be in charge of union strategy right now, as it must be a fine balancing act trying to appease old members while trying to entice new.

Unions needs its membership fees

[Kenfandango]

The "two tier workforce" debate again, in a company with more tiers than a toffs wedding cake. We have people who are 6 years into the job, have their own duty and come in to double prep every morning but are still on a 30 hour contract so get stuffed by "pro rata" payments, we have people 2 years into the job who have to work 1/3 Sundays and a week of afternoon LATs a month... this just adds another layer of poorly treated people to the bottom so those at the top can pretend they're making money.
And mail doesn't have to decline, it's not an inevitability. Plenty of our customers told us they'd cut right back on Christmas cards last year due to the ridiculous price increase of stamps. Lower the price and advertise it as a more tactile, worthwhile way of sending messages and get some Tiktokers to make irritating videos about it, capitalise on the "nostalgia cycle" that's now fetishising the late 90s/early 2000s (when letters were at their peak,) stick S Club, Atomic Kitten or Blue on some stamps and let the money roll in