CWU NATIONAL BRIEFING 16/1/09 – RESPONSE TO THE HOOPER REVIEW AND PART PRIVATISATION PROPOSAL
REPORT TO REPS AND MEMBERS
A national briefing of all Branches was held in London on 16 January.
It was stated by Billy Hayes and Dave Ward that both the political fight and the fight within Royal Mail to ensure national agreements are honoured, needed to go hand in hand.
Also attending the meeting were John Grogan MP who is working with the CWU in Parliament and Neil Lawson Director of Compass – a left wing think tank with excellent links to senior politicians within New Labour.
1. National Political Situation
Without doubt there was a genuine feeling of betrayal by the Government. It was explained that on the same day as the Hooper Review recommendations came out, Government were supportive of everything in it.
And yet, in June last year at the Labour Party National Policy Forum it was agreed by all that Royal Mail Group remain wholly owned and integrated in the public sector.
In September 2008 at Labour Party Conference the then Minister for Industry John Hutton said the policy on Royal Mail “was fixed” ie no sell off.
The gloves are now off and we must now do everything in the next 3 or 4 months to stop this happening.
Why ?
Because commercial interest will drive down terms and conditions for CWU members. Remember, the claim is we are 25% overpaid. Once TNT get their hands on Royal Mail there will be no stopping them. TNT have mail centres of their own and staff of their own who are on less pay. This will be a race to the bottom, and all to ensure that big business can post mail cheaply.
Is Privatisation needed ?
No. It is clear that once the pension liabilities are taken over by Government, some £280million will be freed up every year. If agreed, a change to the regulatory regime will also free up cash eg no more subsidising the competition via cheap DSA.
To date only £600million out of £1.2billion from the Government has been invested. This means we remain less competitive. We would argue this is a deliberate strategy to ensure Royal Mail looks in a poor shape. Where’s the rest of the money gone then ?
There is an Early Day Motion which to date has 91 signatures. More will sign up. Mandelson has already accepted that we have clout to stop what he wants. He is now threatening to “walk away” from the pension issue if we don’t agree to the sell off. He is threatening us !
You will be needed to help – don’t be apathetic. Don’t sit back and leave it to others !
2. Industrial Relations in Royal Mail
It is clear that across the UK, management are breaking national agreements and demanding budget cuts year on year of between 8% and 11%.
Despite efforts to meet Royal Mail nationally, they are refusing to sit down in a sensible fashion to ensure stable industrial relations.
It was the case that some Branches (ourselves included) believed that CWUHQ had not got a grip on the situation and had allowed matters to drift in the hope that politically something would be sorted out. The Branch were very vocal on this point and stated as much. They explained that the Government could not be blamed for the way we were dealing with the Pay & Modernisation Agreement for instance or the Mail Centre closures issue.
In short Royal Mail believe they don’t need to engage nationally whilst locally change can be forced through and whilst 1000s of postal staff run around carving up duties – why would we be able to get an agreement against that background !?
It was stated however by the National Officers, that there would now be a policy of no agreement locally to proposals which are purely down to budget targets. The Branch will be dealing with this issue carefully and in line with guidance from CWUHQ.
In any event, is anyone really up for cutting hours to meet a budget, when they know those hours aren’t there to come out in the first place ?
In respect of Mail Centres, talks are taking place, but these do not seem to be going well and it maybe that all we get is an improved framework agreement with better personnel terms for those who are displaced. We will have to wait and see.
Overall, the picture was grim. Sooner or later, things will explode again if nothing changes.
3. Conclusion
Whilst things do not look good at the moment, we must keep positive. We have all the arguments and research on our side. It is us who want modernisation and us who want a positive vision for a great public service , not beholden to private commercial interest, which looks after and values its employees.
That is the goal we must fight for. We will have no excuses if we don’t try to fulfil this.
It is our hope to ensure that campaign information gets out to you as soon as we can. Famous last words !
ANNOUNCEMENT : ALL OF ROYAL MAIL'S EMPLOYMENT POLICIES (AGREEMENTS) AT A GLANCE (Updated 2021)... HERE
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cwu briefing 16/01/2009
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cwu briefing 16/01/2009
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Re: cwu briefing 16/01/2009
ARGUS SPECIAL
National Briefing
Dear Members
On 14/1/09 the Branch was represented at was touted as one of the most important National Briefings ever held.
The meeting was opened by Dave Ward DGS(P) and he emphasised the need for a healthy debate to take place before we left the hall united.
Dave stated that the campaign ahead was both a political and industrial one with battles against the Government and Royal Mail facing us. He informed the briefing that the 3 aims of the campaign would be to:-
· Defeat Privatisation and hold the Government to their manifesto pledge of a wholly publicly owned Royal Mail
· Deal with the growing issue of Pensions
· Deal with modernisation – but on the CWUs and not Royal Mails terms
POLITICAL ISSUES
There are some that doubt the influence of Trade Unions in 2009 but the Labour rebellion against the proposed privatisations shows the influence we still have politically.
In addition to this it was pointed out by the General Secretary Billy Hayes (don’t forget he’s at our AGM on January 25th) that the Government has performed a massive U-Turn on the Post Office Card account recently.
The CWU will not just be arguing for a position of no change. Any proposals on the future of the industry will have a sound financial basis with ideas such as the Government underwriting our Pensions and the introduction of the ‘Peoples Bank’ via Post Office counters seen as key ways of releasing funds for investment.
Dave Ward pointed out that although CWU members will not be happy with the whole content of the Hooper report – its is clear that we have made progress in areas such as
1. Pensions – Report states that Government have a responsibility to protect our Pensions
2. IR – The Report recognises that the IR climate must improve before the industry moves forward
3. USO – The protection of the USO will be a solid basis on which to maintain jobs in the postal industry.
Much like in 1994 when the CWU successfully fought off Privatisation our campaign will feature a number of outside allies. The pressure Group COMPASS will be used to campaign in and around the Labour Party to increase our already high levels of support.
An Early Day Motion has already been put down in Parliament and the aim is to get as many signatures from MPs (from all parties) as possible. The branch will be working hard on this but we would also encourage members to write to your MPs asking them to sign up to EDM 428 as a matter of urgency. Copies of the EDM are available from your local CWU representative!
Billy Hayes (don’t forget he’s at our AGM on January 25th) was the next National official to contribute to the briefing and he outlined some of the key statistics the CWU will be using throughout the campaign.
Billy highlighted the fact that if the Government took on the responsibility for the Pension scheme this would immediately raise £288million a year for the next 15 years that Royal Mail could invest.
The issue of competitors using the USO without paying anything towards it is also seen a key campaigning issue. Once again if this was changed then Millions of pounds could be released for investment into the Industry.
The Government (and Peter Mandelson in particular) have been championing the possible use of a foreign postal company as a partner for Royal Mail. It is their belief that the management of these companies could transform Royal Mail. What they forget to inform people is that TNT, Deutchpost etc operate on another playing field altogether.
The price charged for a 100g letter in Holland and Germany is 3 times more expensive than in the UK. The price for 50g letters is that of Royal Mail. These statistics show clearly that Privatisation would mean rising prices for customers in the UK!
Royal Mail is also stating that they have no money for investment – it is a little known fact that the business has £600m of the last Government loan still unspent.
Billy Hayes then took the opportunity to outline exactly where we are with the campaign at this moment in time.
· He stated his disillusionment that we are facing the threat of Privatisation from a Labour Government
· There will be a Rally in Wolverhampton (constituency of Post Office Minister Pat McFadden) on March 14th. All representatives and members will be encouraged to attend. More briefings and rallies will be arranged across the UK.
· All Labour MPs have been contacted by CWU HQ asking them to sign up to EDM 428
· Press releases went into the media throughout last week and will continue to do so for the duration of the campaign.
· Compass (pressure group) has already started to work within key areas of the Labour Party.
The Briefing was then addressed by John Grogan MP. John is the MP responsible for EDM 428. His contribution to the meetings was very impressive as he outlined the spirit within the Labour party to reject the plans for privatisation.
Key points made by John were
· Labour must honour their manifesto and party policy pledge of a publicly owned Royal Mail
· Peter Mandelson is the key figure in these plans
· Time is of the essence as Mandelson will be looking to push things through Parliament ASAP
· Gordon Brown has stated that Privatisation is the only way to gain investment for the future. As we know this is clearly not the case it gives is a strong basis to campaign on.
· With the impending departure of Allan Leighton, John Grogan stated that he would like to see a public service minded person given the role
· The campaign ahead is winnable but only with massive efforts from everyone
INDUSTRIAL ISSUES
As stated earlier in the report we feel that the fight ahead of us is not just a political one. Put simply – we could find ourselves in a position where we defeat privatisation yet Royal Mail still continue to attack us in the workplaces.
Let’s make things clear – with or without Privatisation Royal Mails plans include
· Up to 50,000 Job Cuts
· No More Full-Time jobs created
· 50% of Mail Centres CLOSED
· 1/3 Delivery Units CLOSED
The fight ahead will be with both the Government and Royal Mail.
The briefing was given an update from Phil Browne (Mail Centres) and Bob Gibson (Deliveries).
Phil Browne gave some background information on why the Pre-Christmas Mail Centre strikes were called off. He stated that progress was being made with the business and also with the release of the Hooper Report imminent the PEC felt that strike action would not better the causes of the members in these units.
Phil stated that meetings have now taken place with Royal Mail. The CWU are seeking improvements to the existing MTSF and Mail Centre restructuring agreements. The key points the CWU want in any future agreements include
· The Protection of Jobs over anything else
· An improved relocation package for any member moving workplace
Talks over Mail Centres Nationally are still ongoing and further meetings have been scheduled for next week. As soon as there are any developments we will let you all know in the usual timely fashion.
Bob Gibson gave a broader update on the future of Deliveries and stated that although several meetings have taken place with Royal Mail little progress has been made!
He stated that it was his view that Royal Mail wanted to interface with a ‘say yes to everything organisation’ rather than a fighting trade union.
Bob stated that job security should now be the CWUs number one priority with the ongoing recession in the background. Despite this Royal Mail has yet to give any assurances on the protection of jobs.
It was revealed that the CWU outdoor department have drawn up a ‘future of deliveries’ document. It is scheduled to be examined by the PEC this week and hopefully sent out into the field in the very near future. This will give a very clear vision for Delivery members of how the CWU see our future.
Finally on the Industrial front it was stated that now the time has come to put a halt to all discussions on savings. The National Union needs pressure to build up in a bid to force Royal Mail to the negotiating table with a serious attitude. They are showing no goodwill to members right across the UK and all representatives should now be using the IR Framework to challenge any savings proposals.
CONCLUSION
It is the view of the Branch that we are now at a crossroads on all fronts. We have tried to cover off all pertinent issues in this report but it really is difficult to put in writing how important 2009 will be for all of our Futures.
As representatives we put in countless hours on your behalves and rarely ask for anything in return. We are however asking that ALL MEMBERS DO THEIR VERY BEST TO ATTEND THIS YEARS AGM.
We know some of you have families and outside interests – so do we. Surely though we can all spare and hour or so on this occasion! Billy Hayes General Secretary of YOUR Union has been secured as the Guest Speaker. WE NEED YOU THERE.
2009 AGM
Sunday 25th January
10:30 AM
Venue
GWRSA Railway Club
Pennycomequick
Plymouth
(Reasonable travelling costs will be met for those travelling from outside Plymouth)
GUEST SPEAKER
BILLY HAYES
CWU GENERAL SECRETARY
National Briefing
Dear Members
On 14/1/09 the Branch was represented at was touted as one of the most important National Briefings ever held.
The meeting was opened by Dave Ward DGS(P) and he emphasised the need for a healthy debate to take place before we left the hall united.
Dave stated that the campaign ahead was both a political and industrial one with battles against the Government and Royal Mail facing us. He informed the briefing that the 3 aims of the campaign would be to:-
· Defeat Privatisation and hold the Government to their manifesto pledge of a wholly publicly owned Royal Mail
· Deal with the growing issue of Pensions
· Deal with modernisation – but on the CWUs and not Royal Mails terms
POLITICAL ISSUES
There are some that doubt the influence of Trade Unions in 2009 but the Labour rebellion against the proposed privatisations shows the influence we still have politically.
In addition to this it was pointed out by the General Secretary Billy Hayes (don’t forget he’s at our AGM on January 25th) that the Government has performed a massive U-Turn on the Post Office Card account recently.
The CWU will not just be arguing for a position of no change. Any proposals on the future of the industry will have a sound financial basis with ideas such as the Government underwriting our Pensions and the introduction of the ‘Peoples Bank’ via Post Office counters seen as key ways of releasing funds for investment.
Dave Ward pointed out that although CWU members will not be happy with the whole content of the Hooper report – its is clear that we have made progress in areas such as
1. Pensions – Report states that Government have a responsibility to protect our Pensions
2. IR – The Report recognises that the IR climate must improve before the industry moves forward
3. USO – The protection of the USO will be a solid basis on which to maintain jobs in the postal industry.
Much like in 1994 when the CWU successfully fought off Privatisation our campaign will feature a number of outside allies. The pressure Group COMPASS will be used to campaign in and around the Labour Party to increase our already high levels of support.
An Early Day Motion has already been put down in Parliament and the aim is to get as many signatures from MPs (from all parties) as possible. The branch will be working hard on this but we would also encourage members to write to your MPs asking them to sign up to EDM 428 as a matter of urgency. Copies of the EDM are available from your local CWU representative!
Billy Hayes (don’t forget he’s at our AGM on January 25th) was the next National official to contribute to the briefing and he outlined some of the key statistics the CWU will be using throughout the campaign.
Billy highlighted the fact that if the Government took on the responsibility for the Pension scheme this would immediately raise £288million a year for the next 15 years that Royal Mail could invest.
The issue of competitors using the USO without paying anything towards it is also seen a key campaigning issue. Once again if this was changed then Millions of pounds could be released for investment into the Industry.
The Government (and Peter Mandelson in particular) have been championing the possible use of a foreign postal company as a partner for Royal Mail. It is their belief that the management of these companies could transform Royal Mail. What they forget to inform people is that TNT, Deutchpost etc operate on another playing field altogether.
The price charged for a 100g letter in Holland and Germany is 3 times more expensive than in the UK. The price for 50g letters is that of Royal Mail. These statistics show clearly that Privatisation would mean rising prices for customers in the UK!
Royal Mail is also stating that they have no money for investment – it is a little known fact that the business has £600m of the last Government loan still unspent.
Billy Hayes then took the opportunity to outline exactly where we are with the campaign at this moment in time.
· He stated his disillusionment that we are facing the threat of Privatisation from a Labour Government
· There will be a Rally in Wolverhampton (constituency of Post Office Minister Pat McFadden) on March 14th. All representatives and members will be encouraged to attend. More briefings and rallies will be arranged across the UK.
· All Labour MPs have been contacted by CWU HQ asking them to sign up to EDM 428
· Press releases went into the media throughout last week and will continue to do so for the duration of the campaign.
· Compass (pressure group) has already started to work within key areas of the Labour Party.
The Briefing was then addressed by John Grogan MP. John is the MP responsible for EDM 428. His contribution to the meetings was very impressive as he outlined the spirit within the Labour party to reject the plans for privatisation.
Key points made by John were
· Labour must honour their manifesto and party policy pledge of a publicly owned Royal Mail
· Peter Mandelson is the key figure in these plans
· Time is of the essence as Mandelson will be looking to push things through Parliament ASAP
· Gordon Brown has stated that Privatisation is the only way to gain investment for the future. As we know this is clearly not the case it gives is a strong basis to campaign on.
· With the impending departure of Allan Leighton, John Grogan stated that he would like to see a public service minded person given the role
· The campaign ahead is winnable but only with massive efforts from everyone
INDUSTRIAL ISSUES
As stated earlier in the report we feel that the fight ahead of us is not just a political one. Put simply – we could find ourselves in a position where we defeat privatisation yet Royal Mail still continue to attack us in the workplaces.
Let’s make things clear – with or without Privatisation Royal Mails plans include
· Up to 50,000 Job Cuts
· No More Full-Time jobs created
· 50% of Mail Centres CLOSED
· 1/3 Delivery Units CLOSED
The fight ahead will be with both the Government and Royal Mail.
The briefing was given an update from Phil Browne (Mail Centres) and Bob Gibson (Deliveries).
Phil Browne gave some background information on why the Pre-Christmas Mail Centre strikes were called off. He stated that progress was being made with the business and also with the release of the Hooper Report imminent the PEC felt that strike action would not better the causes of the members in these units.
Phil stated that meetings have now taken place with Royal Mail. The CWU are seeking improvements to the existing MTSF and Mail Centre restructuring agreements. The key points the CWU want in any future agreements include
· The Protection of Jobs over anything else
· An improved relocation package for any member moving workplace
Talks over Mail Centres Nationally are still ongoing and further meetings have been scheduled for next week. As soon as there are any developments we will let you all know in the usual timely fashion.
Bob Gibson gave a broader update on the future of Deliveries and stated that although several meetings have taken place with Royal Mail little progress has been made!
He stated that it was his view that Royal Mail wanted to interface with a ‘say yes to everything organisation’ rather than a fighting trade union.
Bob stated that job security should now be the CWUs number one priority with the ongoing recession in the background. Despite this Royal Mail has yet to give any assurances on the protection of jobs.
It was revealed that the CWU outdoor department have drawn up a ‘future of deliveries’ document. It is scheduled to be examined by the PEC this week and hopefully sent out into the field in the very near future. This will give a very clear vision for Delivery members of how the CWU see our future.
Finally on the Industrial front it was stated that now the time has come to put a halt to all discussions on savings. The National Union needs pressure to build up in a bid to force Royal Mail to the negotiating table with a serious attitude. They are showing no goodwill to members right across the UK and all representatives should now be using the IR Framework to challenge any savings proposals.
CONCLUSION
It is the view of the Branch that we are now at a crossroads on all fronts. We have tried to cover off all pertinent issues in this report but it really is difficult to put in writing how important 2009 will be for all of our Futures.
As representatives we put in countless hours on your behalves and rarely ask for anything in return. We are however asking that ALL MEMBERS DO THEIR VERY BEST TO ATTEND THIS YEARS AGM.
We know some of you have families and outside interests – so do we. Surely though we can all spare and hour or so on this occasion! Billy Hayes General Secretary of YOUR Union has been secured as the Guest Speaker. WE NEED YOU THERE.
2009 AGM
Sunday 25th January
10:30 AM
Venue
GWRSA Railway Club
Pennycomequick
Plymouth
(Reasonable travelling costs will be met for those travelling from outside Plymouth)
GUEST SPEAKER
BILLY HAYES
CWU GENERAL SECRETARY
I Wrote-During Covid-Which is still relevant now
It's good to get these types of threads, the ridiculous my manager said bollox, so we can reassure ourselves that while the world is falling apart, Royal Mail managers are still being the low-life C***S they have always been.
My BFF Clash
The daily grind of having to argue your case with an intellectual pigmy of a line manager is physically and emotionally draining.
It's good to get these types of threads, the ridiculous my manager said bollox, so we can reassure ourselves that while the world is falling apart, Royal Mail managers are still being the low-life C***S they have always been.
My BFF Clash
The daily grind of having to argue your case with an intellectual pigmy of a line manager is physically and emotionally draining.
-
Geezer
- EX ROYAL MAIL
- Posts: 1347
- Joined: 19 Jun 2007, 21:01
Re: cwu briefing 16/01/2009
CWU NATIONAL BRIEFING 16/1/09 – RESPONSE TO THE HOOPER REVIEW AND PART PRIVATISATION PROPOSAL
Posted this yesterday in Union Room
Posted this yesterday in Union Room
-
Geezer
- EX ROYAL MAIL
- Posts: 1347
- Joined: 19 Jun 2007, 21:01
Re: cwu briefing 16/01/2009
POSTMAN wrote:ARGUS SPECIAL
National Briefing
Dear Members
On 14/1/09 the Branch was represented at was touted as one of the most important National Briefings ever held.
The meeting was opened by Dave Ward DGS(P) and he emphasised the need for a healthy debate to take place before we left the hall united.
Dave stated that the campaign ahead was both a political and industrial one with battles against the Government and Royal Mail facing us. He informed the briefing that the 3 aims of the campaign would be to:-
· Defeat Privatisation and hold the Government to their manifesto pledge of a wholly publicly owned Royal Mail
· Deal with the growing issue of Pensions
· Deal with modernisation – but on the CWUs and not Royal Mails terms
POLITICAL ISSUES
There are some that doubt the influence of Trade Unions in 2009 but the Labour rebellion against the proposed privatisations shows the influence we still have politically.
In addition to this it was pointed out by the General Secretary Billy Hayes (don’t forget he’s at our AGM on January 25th) that the Government has performed a massive U-Turn on the Post Office Card account recently.
The CWU will not just be arguing for a position of no change. Any proposals on the future of the industry will have a sound financial basis with ideas such as the Government underwriting our Pensions and the introduction of the ‘Peoples Bank’ via Post Office counters seen as key ways of releasing funds for investment.
Dave Ward pointed out that although CWU members will not be happy with the whole content of the Hooper report – its is clear that we have made progress in areas such as
1. Pensions – Report states that Government have a responsibility to protect our Pensions
2. IR – The Report recognises that the IR climate must improve before the industry moves forward
3. USO – The protection of the USO will be a solid basis on which to maintain jobs in the postal industry.
Much like in 1994 when the CWU successfully fought off Privatisation our campaign will feature a number of outside allies. The pressure Group COMPASS will be used to campaign in and around the Labour Party to increase our already high levels of support.
An Early Day Motion has already been put down in Parliament and the aim is to get as many signatures from MPs (from all parties) as possible. The branch will be working hard on this but we would also encourage members to write to your MPs asking them to sign up to EDM 428 as a matter of urgency. Copies of the EDM are available from your local CWU representative!
Billy Hayes (don’t forget he’s at our AGM on January 25th) was the next National official to contribute to the briefing and he outlined some of the key statistics the CWU will be using throughout the campaign.
Billy highlighted the fact that if the Government took on the responsibility for the Pension scheme this would immediately raise £288million a year for the next 15 years that Royal Mail could invest.
The issue of competitors using the USO without paying anything towards it is also seen a key campaigning issue. Once again if this was changed then Millions of pounds could be released for investment into the Industry.
The Government (and Peter Mandelson in particular) have been championing the possible use of a foreign postal company as a partner for Royal Mail. It is their belief that the management of these companies could transform Royal Mail. What they forget to inform people is that TNT, Deutchpost etc operate on another playing field altogether.
The price charged for a 100g letter in Holland and Germany is 3 times more expensive than in the UK. The price for 50g letters is that of Royal Mail. These statistics show clearly that Privatisation would mean rising prices for customers in the UK!
Royal Mail is also stating that they have no money for investment – it is a little known fact that the business has £600m of the last Government loan still unspent.
Billy Hayes then took the opportunity to outline exactly where we are with the campaign at this moment in time.
· He stated his disillusionment that we are facing the threat of Privatisation from a Labour Government
· There will be a Rally in Wolverhampton (constituency of Post Office Minister Pat McFadden) on March 14th. All representatives and members will be encouraged to attend. More briefings and rallies will be arranged across the UK.
· All Labour MPs have been contacted by CWU HQ asking them to sign up to EDM 428
· Press releases went into the media throughout last week and will continue to do so for the duration of the campaign.
· Compass (pressure group) has already started to work within key areas of the Labour Party.
The Briefing was then addressed by John Grogan MP. John is the MP responsible for EDM 428. His contribution to the meetings was very impressive as he outlined the spirit within the Labour party to reject the plans for privatisation.
Key points made by John were
· Labour must honour their manifesto and party policy pledge of a publicly owned Royal Mail
· Peter Mandelson is the key figure in these plans
· Time is of the essence as Mandelson will be looking to push things through Parliament ASAP
· Gordon Brown has stated that Privatisation is the only way to gain investment for the future. As we know this is clearly not the case it gives is a strong basis to campaign on.
· With the impending departure of Allan Leighton, John Grogan stated that he would like to see a public service minded person given the role
· The campaign ahead is winnable but only with massive efforts from everyone
INDUSTRIAL ISSUES
As stated earlier in the report we feel that the fight ahead of us is not just a political one. Put simply – we could find ourselves in a position where we defeat privatisation yet Royal Mail still continue to attack us in the workplaces.
Let’s make things clear – with or without Privatisation Royal Mails plans include
· Up to 50,000 Job Cuts
· No More Full-Time jobs created
· 50% of Mail Centres CLOSED
· 1/3 Delivery Units CLOSED
The fight ahead will be with both the Government and Royal Mail.
The briefing was given an update from Phil Browne (Mail Centres) and Bob Gibson (Deliveries).
Phil Browne gave some background information on why the Pre-Christmas Mail Centre strikes were called off. He stated that progress was being made with the business and also with the release of the Hooper Report imminent the PEC felt that strike action would not better the causes of the members in these units.
Phil stated that meetings have now taken place with Royal Mail. The CWU are seeking improvements to the existing MTSF and Mail Centre restructuring agreements. The key points the CWU want in any future agreements include
· The Protection of Jobs over anything else
· An improved relocation package for any member moving workplace
Talks over Mail Centres Nationally are still ongoing and further meetings have been scheduled for next week. As soon as there are any developments we will let you all know in the usual timely fashion.
Bob Gibson gave a broader update on the future of Deliveries and stated that although several meetings have taken place with Royal Mail little progress has been made!
He stated that it was his view that Royal Mail wanted to interface with a ‘say yes to everything organisation’ rather than a fighting trade union.
Bob stated that job security should now be the CWUs number one priority with the ongoing recession in the background. Despite this Royal Mail has yet to give any assurances on the protection of jobs.
It was revealed that the CWU outdoor department have drawn up a ‘future of deliveries’ document. It is scheduled to be examined by the PEC this week and hopefully sent out into the field in the very near future. This will give a very clear vision for Delivery members of how the CWU see our future.
Finally on the Industrial front it was stated that now the time has come to put a halt to all discussions on savings. The National Union needs pressure to build up in a bid to force Royal Mail to the negotiating table with a serious attitude. They are showing no goodwill to members right across the UK and all representatives should now be using the IR Framework to challenge any savings proposals.
CONCLUSION
It is the view of the Branch that we are now at a crossroads on all fronts. We have tried to cover off all pertinent issues in this report but it really is difficult to put in writing how important 2009 will be for all of our Futures.
As representatives we put in countless hours on your behalves and rarely ask for anything in return. We are however asking that ALL MEMBERS DO THEIR VERY BEST TO ATTEND THIS YEARS AGM.
We know some of you have families and outside interests – so do we. Surely though we can all spare and hour or so on this occasion! Billy Hayes General Secretary of YOUR Union has been secured as the Guest Speaker. WE NEED YOU THERE.
2009 AGM
Sunday 25th January
10:30 AM
Venue
GWRSA Railway Club
Pennycomequick
Plymouth
(Reasonable travelling costs will be met for those travelling from outside Plymouth)
GUEST SPEAKER
BILLY HAYES
CWU GENERAL SECRETARY
I Have been told Phil Browne was not quoted for what he said which was that it was up to RM which Mail Centres they closed ! All we are moaning about are the MTSF terms !