LTB 219/23 Section 5: Joint Statement Between Royal Mail Group and The CWU Covering the Deployment of Parcelforce Rural Parcel Volumes Into Royal Mail

[POSTMAN]

https://www.cwu.org/ltb/ltb-219-23-busi ... -into-roy/

LTB 219/23 Business Recovery, Transformation & Growth Agreement - Section 5: Joint Statement Between Royal Mail Group and The CWU Covering the Deployment of Parcelforce Rural Parcel Volumes Into Royal Mail
No: 219/23

23rd August 2023



For the Immediate Attention of All:

Postal Branches

Divisional Representatives

PFW Regional Organisers

Area Delivery Representatives

Area Processing Representatives

Area Distribution Representatives

PFW Depot Representatives



Dear Colleagues,

BUSINESS RECOVERY, TRANSFORMATION & GROWTH AGREEMENT – SECTION 5

JOINT STATEMENT BETWEEN ROYAL MAIL GROUP AND THE CWU COVERING THE DEPLOYMENT OF PARCELFORCE RURAL PARCEL VOLUMES INTO ROYAL MAIL

Branches and representatives will be aware of the commitments contained in the Business Transformation, Recovery and Growth agreement: Section 5 – Establishing an Optimised Single Parcel Network for Larger Parcels and Section 1.6 of the Parcelforce Appendix 3, moving volume in geographical areas on to a single network (rural areas).

In this regard agreed trial activity has taken place involving the movement of rural parcel traffic from PFW Leeds LD to Skipton DO for delivery to support assessment for a potential future Optimised Single Parcel Network. Further to a successful outcome of the abovementioned trial, Royal Mail now wish to assess the potential for a further 41 Delivery Offices to deliver PFW items, with the aim to move these volumes before the 2023 peak period.

Discussions have therefore taken place with the business and a Joint Statement has been concluded and endorsed by the Postal Executive to enable the activity to take place, a copy of which is attached for your information.

To make deployment more manageable and to enable any operational or people issues to be addressed during the planning period, the activity is being planned in 5 Waves. The attached Joint Statement provides detail of the 41 RM Delivery Offices and related PFW local depots involved.

There will be a ‘means test’ performed at the Delivery Offices involved in the activity to ensure that they have the capability to undertake the PFW work to the required standards. Details of the elements covered are contained in the attached Joint Statement. Colleagues will note that it has been accepted that it is likely that the ‘means test’ will identify that not all of the 41 Delivery Offices will be suitable to perform the PFW work. Where this is the case then further National discussions will take place to review or agree alternative Delivery Offices within the catchment area.

CWU representatives will be fully involved in the activity with appropriate Union release time provided to ensure meaningful involvement. The activity will be further supported by the CWU Area Delivery Representative and Area H&S Representative and Parcelforce Regional Organiser.

Each Delivery Office and local Depot can be deployed independently. No deployment will commence earlier than w/c 4th September 2023 and all 5 waves will be targeted to be completed by the end of October 2023.

Any impact on PFW and RM employees will be kept to a minimum wherever possible and will be managed in line with National agreements. PFW Drivers displaced as a result of the transfer of work to Royal Mail will migrate to vacant alternative substantive C&D routes, or routes covered by Owner Drivers or external resource. All headcount reduction will be achieved in line with paragraph 3.1.9 of the Job Security section of the Business Recovery, Transformation and Growth Agreement. Full cognisance will be taken of current earning levels that the affected individuals have signed for, as part of recent Parcelforce revision activity. Best efforts will be made to match individuals against an alternative C&D duty of equivalent duty hours.

Adjustments will be made to affected Royal Mail Delivery duties to ensure that the PFW workload can be accommodated within current structures, while retaining manageable workload.

The RM Delivery Offices and PFW Local Depots will need to ensure that the solution developed is focussed on delivering QofS for PFW parcels. RM DO’s will receive the relevant WIPWH (Weighted Items Per Work Hour) workload values relating to delivery and collection of PFW volumes.

PFW Depot, Regional Distribution and Mail Centre will coordinate, support and distribute parcels to the Delivery Office efficiently including the handling, loading, unloading of Yorks and non-Yorkable items.

The usual provisions have been made in respect of H&S responsibilities.

A PIR will take place following the deployment of all 5 Waves. However, if any major issues are flagged up during or after the deployment, all parties are committed to resolving them in a timely manner, rather than waiting for the PIR to take any corrective action required.

The outputs and learning points from the PIR will inform National discussions on the next phase of deployments into another 54 Delivery Offices, which have been identified for the transfer of rural workload. Planning work will progress in parallel with the first phase of transfers so that agreed deployment can commence in January 2024 for completion by the end of March 2024. Joint activity will also review opportunities to migrate Royal Mail large parcel workload into Parcelforce, where this delivers economic and operational benefits.

Arrangements are currently being finalised for a virtual joint launch meeting to take place with the representatives at the sites involved in the activity and an invite to participate will be sent to those individuals in due course.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to:

PFW & MCs and Distribution: Davie Robertson, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org quoting reference: 054.13.

Delivery Offices: Mark Baulch, Assistant Secretary, email: njones@cwu.org quoting reference: 580.



Yours sincerely,

Davie Robertson Mick Kavanagh
Assistant Secretary Acting Assistant Secretary

[SpacePhoenix]

If it doesn't go on a york, it aint going anywhere. Loose loaded stuff would take up too much space on the lorry, and if heavy it might require someone from the DO to be at the DO ready for when the first lorry arrives.

[Subman]

Is there a list somewhere of the initial 41 Delivery Offices or the 54 in the second wave.?

[77SAMPOST77]

Is there a list somewhere of the initial 41 Delivery Offices or the 54 in the second wave.?

The list is above , top of page 2 .

[citypostie]

Can see this being a disaster! I know one of the offices on that list is failing tracked and mail everyday so dont see how they will be able to do parcel force stuff as well they can't get people to do lats either. Do parcelforce still do timed deliveries? How would that work?

[Subman]

Is there a list somewhere of the initial 41 Delivery Offices or the 54 in the second wave.?

The list is above , top of page 2 .

[77SAMPOST77]

Can see this being a disaster! I know one of the offices on that list is failing tracked and mail everyday so dont see how they will be able to do parcel force stuff as well they can't get people to do lats either. Do parcelforce still do timed deliveries? How would that work?

It is a yes on timed deliveries , at the moment anyway , Parcelforce customers are given a one hour time slot .

But what about the size of parcels ? can you fit a 3m screwfix pipe in a small van ?

[citypostie]

Can see this being a disaster! I know one of the offices on that list is failing tracked and mail everyday so dont see how they will be able to do parcel force stuff as well they can't get people to do lats either. Do parcelforce still do timed deliveries? How would that work?

It is a yes on timed deliveries , at the moment anyway , Parcelforce customers are given a one hour time slot .

But what about the size of parcels ? can you fit a 3m screwfix pipe in a small van ?

Wouldn't in alot of the vans we've got! Don't see how this works unless they are going to be on dedicated parcels routes, the 1 hour time slots would mean delivering mail would never happen, plus the 1pm specials. But i thought parcel routes where due to work 11 to 7? Unless parcel force dont have any guaranteed deliveries before that?

[77SAMPOST77]

Can see this being a disaster! I know one of the offices on that list is failing tracked and mail everyday so dont see how they will be able to do parcel force stuff as well they can't get people to do lats either. Do parcelforce still do timed deliveries? How would that work?

It is a yes on timed deliveries , at the moment anyway , Parcelforce customers are given a one hour time slot .

But what about the size of parcels ? can you fit a 3m screwfix pipe in a small van ?

Wouldn't in alot of the vans we've got! Don't see how this works unless they are going to be on dedicated parcels routes, the 1 hour time slots would mean delivering mail would never happen, plus the 1pm specials. But i thought parcel routes where due to work 11 to 7? Unless parcel force dont have any guaranteed deliveries before that?

Parcelforce offer 3 different am services
before 9am
before 10am
before 12am .

[citypostie]

Can see this being a disaster! I know one of the offices on that list is failing tracked and mail everyday so dont see how they will be able to do parcel force stuff as well they can't get people to do lats either. Do parcelforce still do timed deliveries? How would that work?

It is a yes on timed deliveries , at the moment anyway , Parcelforce customers are given a one hour time slot .

But what about the size of parcels ? can you fit a 3m screwfix pipe in a small van ?

Wouldn't in alot of the vans we've got! Don't see how this works unless they are going to be on dedicated parcels routes, the 1 hour time slots would mean delivering mail would never happen, plus the 1pm specials. But i thought parcel routes where due to work 11 to 7? Unless parcel force dont have any guaranteed deliveries before that?

Parcelforce offer 3 different am services
before 9am
before 10am
before 12am .

9am specials fail all the time now so there's no chance of them getting done, and the office I know on that list don't get there last arrival until nearly 8 o'clock now. It's Gona be a disaster in that office, luckily mine isn't on the list

[Ozzvaldo]

My office is on that list.......bugger all chance of this working where I am unless RM change their attitude. We have rurals that don't go out for days on end, sometimes because there are times when nobody attending work actually knows them. Rural knowledge appears to be a state secret in my unit because the management refuse to train people on them and it's embarrassing how few staff actually know the duties. If 3 or 4 individuals are off on sick or annual leave at the same time then it's chaos. Of course, sometimes the managers simply decide to fail them and move the incumbents onto shared van duties.

[Subman]

Can see this being a disaster! I know one of the offices on that list is failing tracked and mail everyday so dont see how they will be able to do parcel force stuff as well they can't get people to do lats either. Do parcelforce still do timed deliveries? How would that work?

It is a yes on timed deliveries , at the moment anyway , Parcelforce customers are given a one hour time slot .

But what about the size of parcels ? can you fit a 3m screwfix pipe in a small van ?

Wouldn't in alot of the vans we've got! Don't see how this works unless they are going to be on dedicated parcels routes, the 1 hour time slots would mean delivering mail would never happen, plus the 1pm specials. But i thought parcel routes where due to work 11 to 7? Unless parcel force dont have any guaranteed deliveries before that?

Parcelforce offer 3 different am services
before 9am
before 10am
before 12am .

Royal Mail also offers 3 different services.
Not today
Not tomorrow
Maybe the next day..

[Jen1]

Just checking I’ve understood this

So RM are taking all the rural parcels off parcelforce

Ok that’s fine they go up there anyway

But are parcelforce going to take the oversized off RM for the other duties?

Are they going to take off the additional flex/lapse that they’ve added to the rurals to compensate for the additional parcels?

Because if so (which I think they’d need to do) then I’m guessing that flex/lapse will be shared out amongst the rest of us

So in order for that to be possible (maybe) then those parcels that don’t fit in our bags need taking off us

Is that what’s happening?

because I didn’t find anywhere that said parcelforce would be taking the oversized??? Did I miss that bit?

[LouBarlow]

The oversized parcels are going to be delivered by separate parcel duties aren’t they? I thought that was the plan?

[postslippete]

Surely it would be better the other way round. Parcelforce already have the bigger vans so they should be taking the bigger parcels that are coming into our network off us?

Rather than trying to reduce the head-counts in parcel force they should be giving them more work to do.