Lord Falconer review

[daveyeff]

just got this on union whatsapp. seems most of the sacked reps have won their jobs back. good

[daveyeff]

im sure teebs or postman will post a better version soon

[enskied]

Well I wonder how they feel about the support from the union.

[Valentina@1]

What support?

[aiden01]

What support?

You tell us all? DO YOU REALLY JUST COME ON HERE TO BASH THE UNION..AN PISS PEOPLE OFF.

[POSTMAN]

https://www.cwu.org/ltb/ltb-287-23-outc ... agreement/

LTB 287/23 – OUTCOME OF THE LORD FALCONER INDEPENDENT REVIEW – CWU/RMG COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT
No: 287/23

9th November 2023



TO: ALL BRANCHES


Dear Colleagues

OUTCOME OF THE LORD FALCONER INDEPENDENT REVIEW – CWU/RMG COLLECTIVE AGREEMENT

We are pleased to announce that we have now reached a collective agreement with RMG that concludes the Lord Falconer Review, which as Branches will be aware was a key part of the BRTG Agreement.

You can read a copy of the agreement here: www.cwu.org/lfr



Confirmation of Lord Falconer’s decisions in the first 26 cases, plus confirmation that Royal Mail has now agreed that the 2 cases identified for further investigation, will instead be automatically covered by the terms of the collective agreement.


Confirmation that the agreement has been reached following consideration of Lord Falconer’s decision’s on the 26 and his rationale for these. In this regard the deal reflects the reality that whilst Lord Falconer overturned the vast majority of Royal Mail’s original dismissal decisions, he did confirm that misconduct had taken place in all but two of those cases.


Recognition that the agreement has also been reached based on the overriding principle of reconciliation and the need for all parties to move on from the dispute.


The agreement sets out the categories of dismissals and short of dismissals alongside the number of cases involved. It goes on to explain that with the exception of the 3 cases Lord Falconer upheld and the referred back cases, the overwhelming majority of individuals involved in the review will now be automatically reinstated via a process of commuting down the original Royal Mail sanction and then confirming all these penalties and warnings are now time spent.


There is a section covering the 46 cases which Royal Mail had previously challenged as not being in scope. This issue has also been resolved in a positive way with 35 of those cases now automatically covered by the terms of the collective agreement. There are 3 cases in this category that will be referred back to Lord Falconer for a final decision, with the remaining 8 being referred back for Lord Falconer to determine whether or not they are in scope. A separate process covers these 8 cases and is helpful to our members in whatever decision Lord Falconer arrives at.


All individuals who are reinstated under the terms of this agreement will also have the choice of an enhanced financial settlement, if their preference is to leave the business.


There are 10 cases identified as requiring a mediation process to support all of those affected, before reintegration into their unit. This is an alternative to Royal Mail wanting to bring these individuals back with a compulsory transfer. This section of the agreement has been carefully worded to reflect the concerns of all parties, albeit we are confident that the individuals will return to their unit once the mediation process has been concluded.


The agreement is based on the principle of reconciliation and covers the approach to this. This includes Royal Mail committing to apply the 2015 Conduct Code Agreement going forward and participating in a session with ACAS to learn the lessons from the dispute and the Falconer Review.


Summary

Lord Falconer’s initial review of the 26 cases and the subsequent agreement represents a major victory for our members and our union. Throughout the dispute, Royal Mail attempted to break the spirit of our members through their disgraceful actions. In response, the CWU set out not only to resolve the dispute but also to get justice for these workers who had been unfairly treated. We can now say that we have delivered a resolution that brings justice to our members and delivers the choice of enhanced compensation for reinstated employees who may prefer to move on and leave the business.

However, we must also acknowledge that there will be three individuals who will be extremely disappointed that their dismissal cases were upheld by Lord Falconer. Furthermore, there are eleven cases that have yet to receive an outcome and these members will understandably be anxious regarding their future at Royal Mail. We will continue to support these members in the processes that will now take place.

The outcome of the agreement completely justifies the decision of the Postal Executive to put our faith in the Independent Review and the subsequent strategy of using the first 26 cases to negotiate a settlement for the overwhelming majority of the remaining cases. For purpose of complete clarity and to illustrate the magnitude of this agreement, it means 93.1% of those who submitted consent forms have already had a successful outcome, with the possibility this figure will increase.

We want to place on record our thanks to members of our team for their exceptional work that has greatly assisted this outcome. In particular, Postal Executive member Rob Wotherspoon, who has coordinated significant research and information on all cases. We would also like to thank members of the working group for their detailed submissions on the priority cases, which paved the way for the collective agreement.

We have attached a link for the member’s communication that will go out today and we would urge all Branches and Representatives to ensure this distributed in every workplace.

Lord Falconer Review – Justice
A conclusion has been reached in both the initial conduct cases reviewed by Lord Falconer and the subsequent discussions between Royal Mail Group and the CWU. The outcome of both has been directly communicated with the impacted CWU members.

We are pleased to relay that justice has been delivered. Over 100 CWU members have won the right to return to their job. Many more have had this original conduct warnings reduced.

This is a turnaround of an unprecedented scale. This must be seen as nothing other than total validation for the unions original call for an independent review, you as members backing that and our insistence that it formed part of any final agreement.

There are very limited numbers of members whose decisions were not overturned. This was always going to be the nature of entering an independent process. We have engaged with and will continue to support these members.

There are also a very limited number of cases that require further judgement from Lord Falconer. Again, we are in contact with and will fully support these members in a bid to reach a successful conclusion.

93.1% of the original decisions have been overturned. This could increase as the additional cases reach a conclusion.

We want to use this communication to deliver some very clear messages.

Firstly, if anyone doubted the influence and strength of this union then today you have been given the most emphatic answer possible. To understand the overall context and the magnitude of this achievement then we would recommend all members take the time to read the collective agreement in full www.cwu.org/lfr

This result should be a boost for every single member of the union. We must now take that into the workplace and resolve the ongoing issues we have with the employer and their attitude towards too many of our members.

The fact that Royal Mail Group have not contested the outcome of the Lord Falconer review and have agreed to apply the principles of his decisions to the remaining cases as part of a collective agreement, is a strong indicator that they are willing now to finally move on from the dispute. The new CEO has been clear on this point.

The union has been ready to do this for a long time. What we now need to see is the same levels of commitment to reach agreement applied in all our negotiations and at all levels.

Finally, it would be appropriate to say thank you. To the members and representatives who have waited months for justice. You deserve this day. And to our members, whose support delivered this moment – never doubt your own strength.

Now we move on and tackle the wider issues. This moment should be seen as the platform to do that.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Ward

General Secretary

Andy Furey

Acting Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

Finally, we would like to place on record our thanks to Lord Falconer for the work he has undertaken in leading the independent review.

Yours sincerely



Dave Ward
General Secretary

Andy Furey
A/Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

[Valentina@1]

Lets just keep it honest here,both the CWU & Royal Mail considered these reps as problems,the fact that most will receive substantial compensation payouts means they won’t return to job(part of the union breaking plan),it clearly suited CWU to have these reps out of way whilst pushing through this shocking deal,knowing that a lot of them would push against it,union knew they had to wave white flag,toe company line and go into self preservation mode.

The shameless way the CWU are now dressing this up as some sort of win for them is disgusting.

[1560loopsayear]

Sorry although I feel the union are very much weakened following the agreement, I can't believe in the conspiracy that they were behind getting their own reps sacked. Many of these frivolous suspensions were at the height of the industrial action and strikes long before any deal was on the table. They were barely talking to each other. Anyway good news for those who want to return to RM but I feel many would have moved on to pastures new.

[Valentina@1]

I didn’t say they were behind them getting sacked,read the post properly

[Valentina@1]

Once the CWU decided to toe the company line,the sacked reps didn’t fit into the new self preservation mode that they had to take,hence why they passed everything over to lord Faulkner,it became clear that having these reps out of the way actually suited both parties.

Just to make clear I not for one minute suggested CWU had anything to do with the initial jumped up charges.

[thefox]

What support?

You tell us all? DO YOU REALLY JUST COME ON HERE TO BASH THE UNION..AN PISS PEOPLE OFF.

Hes following you around the forum valentinalooks like you have a stalker

[1560loopsayear]

I didn’t say they were behind them getting sacked,read the post properly

Apologies - a presumption made in error on my behalf.

[Ren Hoëk]

Lets just keep it honest here,both the CWU & Royal Mail considered these reps as problems,the fact that most will receive substantial compensation payouts means they won’t return to job(part of the union breaking plan),it clearly suited CWU to have these reps out of way whilst pushing through this shocking deal,knowing that a lot of them would push against it,union knew they had to wave white flag,toe company line and go into self preservation mode.

The shameless way the CWU are now dressing this up as some sort of win for them is disgusting.

The absolute worst hot take iv read from you yet.

[Valentina@1]

Some people don’t like the truth

[Ren Hoëk]

I think it more that some people cant handle the truth so invent crazy conspiracies.