National Briefing Report NORTHAMPTON

[TrueBlueTerrier]

National Briefing Report
NORTHAMPTON
1/2 October 2008

Dear Members
On the October 1st and 2nd a National Briefing was held in Northampton. The following report has been produced to fully update you all on the latest state of negotiations on a variety of issues.

MODERNISATION AGREEMENT
The meeting was opened by Dave Ward DGS(P). He spoke of the need for the CWU to be a pro-active Union that will succeed and bring benefits to members in the modern era.

He highlighted the need for all CWU Representatives to leave Northampton united and ready for the challenges that lie ahead. An update was given to the briefing by Dave that covered off a whole host of issues.

The CWU are pressing Royal Mail to reveal ALL of their plans for the future of the Royal Mail network. At this point in time Royal Mail has said Mail Centre reviews will take place on a region by region basis. If this situation cannot be resolved in the near future then some form of conflict with the employer will be inevitable.

It was revealed that Royal Mail has put their walk-sequencing program on hold whilst they revisit the whole networks planning. This leaves a void and the CWU must be forward thinking when it comes to re-shaping the network.

Dave Ward made it clear that the CWU want an agreement on the modernisation of the postal industry but this will only be acceptable on a National basis. The Union will be looking to force Royal Mails hand on this issue before Christmas.

It was made clear that throughout any negotiations in the future the CWU will do everything possible to be reasonable so that the members, the public and any other interested parties are clear where the fault lies.

The Union is well aware that some members are keen to avoid any possible IA. This could be for a variety of reasons – Finance, hangover from 2007 strikes, or the ‘it doesn’t affect me’ attitude. It is vital therefore that the Union constructs exactly the right message to our members.

PENSIONS / HOOPER REVIEW
It is right to bracket these two updates in the same title as they really are tied in as one.
All Senior Union officers have made it clear that it is still the number one priority of the Union to reverse Royal Mails Pension changes.

The final Hooper Report will be absolutely critical when it comes to Pensions and indeed the future of the business. As soon as the report is published the CWU will know exactly what the lines of engagement are and it will be far easier to map out a way forward.

The CWU are hopeful that the Hooper report will give recommendations on
• Pensions
• Regulation
• Modernisation
• Future of the Company

In the absence of the Hooper report Dave Ward and all Union officials are keen to assure members that the battle of Pensions is far from over.

CWU VIEW OF FUTURE DELIVERY NEGOTIATIONS
Bob Gibson Outdoor Secretary made a presentation that included the following points.

• The CWU must be at the centre of the debate on the future of Deliveries.
• There must be a new set of agreed performance standards – geo-routes, call rates, walking speeds etc
• There needs to be an improved set of terms and conditions for Delivery staff – 4 day weeks, 9 day fortnights etc
• Shorter Working Week – The first reduction in the working week since 2000 will be sought
• There is a National D2D meeting on 13th October (Delivery members will be updated following this)

CWU VIEW OF MAIL CENTRE / MDEC NEGOTIATIONS
Martin Collins National Indoor Officer made a presentation on Mail Centre negotiations that included the following points
• Union is seeking a National Mail Centre Agreement
• The future of the Network will be driven by Delivery office changes
• Royal Mail must lay out their long term Mail Centre plans 5-10 years
• The current MTSF terms for closures must be looked at and re-negotiated
• Any savings from closures must go back into employee benefits

CWU VIEW OF NETWORK / DISTRIBUTION FUTURE
Dave Robertson Acting National Officer for Parcels / Logistics gave an in depth presentation on the future of the network. The key points he raised are listed below.
• Management state that the rising fuel costs are hitting their network profits
• Royal Mail need to look outside the Internal market and examine other haulage opportunities
• Why can’t Royal Mail carry other ‘non-mail’ stock – Internet shopping / haulage service
• Royal Mail could have their own mailing houses and offer a complete ‘end to end service’
• There is a feeling that Royal Mail are finally starting to listen to new ideas – A new ‘non mail’ arm of the company is being set up

CWU UPDATE ON CUSTOMER SERVICES
National Officer Andy Furey gave an update on Sales and Customer Services. He stated that together the CWU and Royal Mail are currently looking at improving the agreed reward and skills packages.

It was intimated that there is a market for CWU Members in Sales and Customer Services to increase revenue by making outgoing calls (Sales/Promotions) rather than just receiving complaints / enquiries.

There are 6-8 Meetings scheduled with the business over the above issues in the coming weeks.

NEW EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PACKAGE
Day 2 of the briefing started with Dave Ward giving an outline of what the Union will be seeking when entering negotiations on modernisation and the future of the industry.
The CWU want the current colleagueshares agreement with the Government renegotiated. The CWU feel that this money could be reinvested into basic pay and other employee benefits ahead of bonuses that we may never see.

CWU members must give the Union 100% backing on the colleagueshares issue. We must weigh up the value of basic pay, shorter working week etc against Colleagueshares and challenge Royal Mail.

It was noted that over the last few years that the CWU has done the membership proud when it comes to pay. The aim of the Union now is to raise the basic pay to £400 per week for OPG/MDEC grades. This may have to be done on a longer term deal i.e 2 years. This is not an unachievable goal and Royal Mail must share any savings from automation with the employees.

Royal Mail has stated that the shorter working week is an activists issue and this is a view we must change. Gaining a reduction in the working week will become vital when it comes to protecting and increasing the number of Full-Time Jobs and quality Part-Time positions.

The briefing was informed that the Union is aiming to renegotiate the terms of the MTSF and the main focus of the CWU will be protecting the members that are staying with the business.

POLITICAL ACTIVITY
A lot of CWU members have been frustrated by the lack of National Updates during the summer period but it must be understood that many political activities take place in the private arena. The briefing was given a full resume of the National Unions work over the last few months. The key points can be summarised as below
• Met with UNITE and issued joint statement. This was significant as UNITE have members in Royal Mail (Managers), TNT and Deutchepost
• Initial Hooper report agreed that competition had provided no significant benefits for customers
• Key words on the future of the Postal Industry were agreed at the Labour Policy Forum in Warwick – negotiations went onto 5am
• CWU motion on protecting postal service was passed unanimously at the TUC Conference
• CWU Held massive fringe meeting at the Labour Party Conference. Secretary of State for Trade and Industry John Hutton attended the meeting and informed delegates the Labour Government 100% backed the words agreed at Warwick. In addition to this he confirmed that the Government would not be renewing the contract our Chairman Allan Leighton.
• The CWU held the biggest demonstration at the Labour Party Conference on the same day that the Conference endorsed the words agreed at Warwick.
• 7th October a meeting has been scheduled with John Hutton (maybe now Peter Mandelson following cabinet reshuffle)
• Hooper review due out within 2 weeks
• A meeting with the Prime Minister will be held once the Hooper report is published

COMMUNICATIONS
Kevin Slocombe Head of Communications gave a full update to the meeting on the National Unions comms strategy.
• E-Communications with MPs have been taking place throughout the summer
• 2 companies have been used by the CWU to put pressure on MPs via E-Communications
• A full pack was given to all Labour Party delegates on the CWUs view of how a modern postal business should be
• CWU TV has come online
• Letters to members and Representatives are planned over the coming weeks/months
• 5% of Union Advocates policy will be developed. All branches have to give contact details of 5% of members in every unit. These individuals will then be asked to spread the Unions message to their colleagues
• New CWU website will go live in the next 2 weeks – This could include a discussion forum at some point

DAVE WARD CLOSED MEETING
The briefing was closed off by Dave Ward who thanked all delegates for attending. He took this opportunity to both re-cap and add to the points he had already raised.
• The CWU feel that the whole Royal Mail board needs re-shaping with a more public service orientated ethos
Dave felt that the key messages coming back from the representatives were that the communications must be upped and that Pensions are a big priority.

To finish the briefing Dave asked delegates to remember that the difference between Royal Mail and the CWU is that we care about the Industry. We must be positive in our messages to members as we move forward

It is obvious the Hooper Report in the next couple of weeks will be absolutely critical in where we head next. Once this report has been published another briefing will be held and as always we will do our very best to give you a high quality run down on events

[Big Daz]

Where did you get this from TBT

Nothing on HQ website surprise surprise.

[TrueBlueTerrier]