LTB 296/24 – UPDATE: New Entrants’ Terms and Conditions (Union subs)

[POSTMAN]

https://www.cwu.org/ltb/ltb-296-24-upda ... onditions/

LTB 296/24 – UPDATE: New Entrants’ Terms and Conditions
No: 296/24

6th September 2024

Dear Colleagues,

UPDATE: New Entrants’ Terms and Conditions

All Branches will recall that at the National Briefing on Recruitment and Organsing held on 10th July, we announced that we would be offering a reduced union subscription rate for new entrants who have been employed since 1st December 2022.

The reason for the initial reduced subscription is in recognition of the fact that Royal Mail imposed the new terms and conditions without agreement with the CWU. Royal Mail’s rationale for introducing the new terms and conditions is to reduce the costs of recruiting new staff but also because the union refused to have compulsory Sunday working for our members.

As part of the BRT&G Agreement we are in discussions with Royal Mail on how we can improve new entrants’ terms and conditions.

Prior to the BRT&G Agreement Royal Mail did not want those employed from 1st December 2022 to be the subject of collective bargaining or within a union.

There are circa 17,000 new entrants who have joined Royal Mail since 1st December 2022. Current attrition rates for new entrants are at 16% nationally but is much higher in certain areas. In addition, up to 25% of new entrants who leave Royal Mail do so within 90 days of joining.

There are a number of reasons why attrition rates are higher for new entrants. These include:

• • Royal Mail advertise for new entrants up to 40 hours but the vast majority are employed on part-time hours.

• • Where new entrants are having to work all or most Sundays.

• • Where they do not get suitable training and support especially at least 6 weeks on a fixed walk.

On a wider level, we believe it is also down to the lower rate of pay and terms and conditions.

New entrants’ hourly rate is just 54p more than the national living wage and £1.17 above the national minimum wage. They do not receive RRIS, inner or outer London weighting, the delivery supplement, they do not have paid meal reliefs and are monthly paid.

As part of our discussions with Royal Mail we want to improve new entrants’ terms and conditions and this is part of our strategy – to offer a temporary reduced union subscription to new entrants. Once we have improved their terms and conditions, we will give them 3 months’ notice that they will move to full rate.

CWU membership have now updated their membership system to ensure that there is a drop-down menu which allows for anyone who has joined Royal Mail since 1st December 2022 to go to the reduced rate.

The new rate of £9.41 (without political levy) and £10.28 (with political levy), will be introduced from week commencing 9th September. We are going to launch communications publicly next week about the campaign.

We are also going to ask Divisional Reps and Regional Secretaries to support Branches in communicating the union’s strategy of lower union fees to maximise membership numbers to provide the strength to improve their terms and conditions.

Finally, Branches who have already recruited new entrants should contact membership to ensure that they benefit from the introductory union subscription rate.

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

Yours sincerely,

Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary (P)

[chickenwittle]

Desperation.

[tramssirhc]

This is a kick in the teeth. New entrants are already earning less and this reduction is a joke. Other unions do better than this for workers on inferior t's and c's.

[Smoothbackground]

Desperation.

Desperation. And a dawning realisation that the union is on its last legs — unless it can “level up” the Ts and Cs pronto, which I doubt it can do. New entrants know full well that the CWU deliberately pushed the issue of new entrants’ Ts and Cs right off the debating table during the last industrial dispute, instead taking the short-sighted and foolhardy stance during the negotiations of “Let’s just worry about existing employees and members”, and so the clued-up new entrants refuse to join the union. The CWU is facing extinction as a result — unless it can level up the Ts and Cs pronto, which I doubt it can do. New entrants would be stupid to join the union — even if the subs were zero!

[fb1969]

Does the CWU employ a fact checker?

They quote posties are paid £1.17 above the minimum wage but they are wrong. Minimum wage is £11.44 while non-London offices are paid £12.54 an hour. That is only £1.10 above the minimum wage - only 7p difference but you'd think the CWU could work it out

If they can't work out the basics correctly I feel for you guys with the CWU representing you!

(I do realise they may be saying £1.17 above if it is the average inc London area, but they should make that clear if they are)

[1560loopsayear]

There should be a law that makes all employers pay for their employees 'meal breaks'. It's by law due to the working time regulations that we have to take a break, so why should it be unpaid for new starters?

[clashcityrocker]

I think it is unpaid for most of the working population.

[fadetogrey63]

What's this new starters six weeks on a fixed walk? I started around six weeks ago, I've been on diff walks every week. Never had a work coach and on my 1st day I was paried with a postie who's never trained anyone up and shoved out on the round..

[britwrit]

Wow. Wonder if there' could possibly be a link between staff retention and quality of service?

[tramssirhc]

This is the Union that expects owner drivers at Parcelforce to pay exactly the same union dues as directly employed workers. The only thing owner drivers get for that is the pisspoor services like 50% off air fryers or whatever tawdry nonsense the CWU has obtained that month. New entrants have got zero chance with an executive that's so detached from reality.

[SpacePhoenix]

Deliveries were sold down the river by the union

[SpacePhoenix]

Deliveries were sold down the river by the union

Yup, many many years ago that happened. It's mind-blowing that all MC staff are absolutely petrified of being moved to Delivery. Colleagues moan about the difference in legacy/new contracts, but tbh I don't think even 5% of MC staff could hack delivery.

Don't think RM would want any of us in deliveries anyway as we're on the old contracts, they'd only want people who are on the new contracts. I think once the % of people on the new contracts is high enough, it'll reach a point where it's cheap enough for RM to force everyone onto the new contracts even when the costs of an employment tribunal is factored in.

Within ten years with the way things are going I doubt that deliveries in the future will be even the remotest bit like they are now.

At the rate it's going there won't be any RM staff left in MCs. I think we're virtually at or maybe just past the point where half the people on shift are agency/casuals. I think that most wouldn't be able to do deliveries anyway due to commitments outside of RM or they're too old to do deliveries

[BishopKing]

Finally had enough of this crap company and their new contracts so I posted this review on Indeed. This week is my last week and I can’t see it quick enough. Might have a sore throat on Saturday! Anyway this got taken down

The 2 tier workforce policies at Royal Mail are as follows:
Old Contracts get paid over £1 hr more than you for doing the same job and you’ll find you WILL work harder.
Old Contracts get paid breaks, you don’t
Old Contracts don’t have to work Sundays you will
Old Contracts have a better pensions than you.
Old Contracts get paid for delivering leaflets (known as door2doors) you get nothing.
When duties are lapsed you doing somebody else’s work for free. It’s a very regular occurrence and some seem to get out of it.
When you join you get a few days shadowing a fellow postie then you’re left to do it all yourself and you dare not make a mistake. You won’t have an assigned duty so you’re a spare covering people days off and sick. Some staff who know they won’t be in the next day won’t bust themselves and will bring Mail back for you to clean up the next day. Same carry on when they have holidays. Some staff can just not show up and nothing will be said but if you are sick you won’t get paid and will get a warning. Your told the rota on a Friday so you have no time to plan anything before then. The rota isn’t worth the paper it’s written on anyway as it will change when other posties see it and whinge about being on a duty that they don’t want to be on. The duties are massive and it’s hard to complete and packets are insane even in the supposedly quieter months. Christmas is absolute chaos with packets. Your day off will always be a Tuesday as it’s the quietest day while those who have duty get rotating days and one long weekend in 6. The only time you’ll get a Saturday off is annual leave. Managers do their best to keep the yes men sweet with overtime and handy duties while you’ll get lied too and pulled from pillar to post. Vans and equipment are done. Please please don’t work here, you will regret it! The start times change all the time and when the Czech Billionaire buys it over it will be Amazon style 7 day deliveries and out to all
Hours. Mark my words.

[ted_e_bear]

Finally had enough of this crap company and their new contracts so I posted this review on Indeed. This week is my last week and I can’t see it quick enough. Might have a sore throat on Saturday! Anyway this got taken down

The 2 tier workforce policies at Royal Mail are as follows:
Old Contracts get paid over £1 hr more than you for doing the same job and you’ll find you WILL work harder.
Old Contracts get paid breaks, you don’t
Old Contracts don’t have to work Sundays you will
Old Contracts have a better pensions than you.
Old Contracts get paid for delivering leaflets (known as door2doors) you get nothing.
When duties are lapsed you doing somebody else’s work for free. It’s a very regular occurrence and some seem to get out of it.
When you join you get a few days shadowing a fellow postie then you’re left to do it all yourself and you dare not make a mistake. You won’t have an assigned duty so you’re a spare covering people days off and sick. Some staff who know they won’t be in the next day won’t bust themselves and will bring Mail back for you to clean up the next day. Same carry on when they have holidays. Some staff can just not show up and nothing will be said but if you are sick you won’t get paid and will get a warning. Your told the rota on a Friday so you have no time to plan anything before then. The rota isn’t worth the paper it’s written on anyway as it will change when other posties see it and whinge about being on a duty that they don’t want to be on. The duties are massive and it’s hard to complete and packets are insane even in the supposedly quieter months. Christmas is absolute chaos with packets. Your day off will always be a Tuesday as it’s the quietest day while those who have duty get rotating days and one long weekend in 6. The only time you’ll get a Saturday off is annual leave. Managers do their best to keep the yes men sweet with overtime and handy duties while you’ll get lied too and pulled from pillar to post. Vans and equipment are done. Please please don’t work here, you will regret it! The start times change all the time and when the Czech Billionaire buys it over it will be Amazon style 7 day deliveries and out to all
Hours. Mark my words.

Mostly true, partly not quite (no one gets paid extra for d2ds although previous contracts do get a delivery supplement) but yes that sums it up quite well.

[BishopKing]

Yes apologies poor wording on my part. Delivery supplement is correct I should have put it that way. Manager also tried to cherry pick who he wanted to sign for what duty in the resign. When it came to my turn I said I’m signing for nothing. Union rep was quickly pushed to another office on the back of a few choice words while loading the van one day with another colleague.