jockthearab wrote:CWU Scotland No2 Branch
Notice to members
Union policy re: Business Plan Savings
Further to the previous notice outlining the national union’s position regarding branches not supporting changes which are not covered by national agreements. Your union representative should have made you aware that the national position has now moved to a complete across the board no co-operation on business plan savings until such time as we have a national agreement covering the new delivery model which will include a link to new rewards for delivery staff and a shorter working week.
It is important that all our members understand that this stance is not about stopping people taking voluntary redundancy packages or preventing our part time colleagues from progressing to full time jobs, its about maintaining the unity and strength of a national union negotiating national agreements on our behalf, and not allowing our members to be picked off unit by unit.
Unfortunately we have had feedback that a number of units have been seduced into either making agreements or have allowed managers to ballot our members, thereby undermining the agreed industrial relations framework.
Due to the seriousness of the current situation we felt it necessary to make you aware of the current developments, and have issued your local rep with a brief on how to deal with some of the issues, if and when they arise, if you require any further information regarding the situation speak to your local CWU representative or alternatively contact your branch on 0131-xxx-xxxx.
Yours truly,
K---y L---n, M--k N----n
Area Delivery Representatives
Communication Workers Union
Scotland No2 Unit Reps Brief
Due to the development of the CWU policy regarding no co-operation on business plan savings until we have a national agreement covering the new delivery model,
we feel it is necessary to update the unit reps brief, in relation to the general activity within the area and in particular the actions of some royal mail managers.
Here are some of the issues you may have to face and
Suggestions on how to deal them.
EVR Packages
Part time to full time jobs
Rewards
Undermining the Industrial Relations Framework
Managers arranging a ballot of our members
Watering down initial proposals, then coming back for further savings
CWU committed to a National Agreement
We believe that some managers are employing these tactics to seduce our members/ reps into agreement and thereby undermining the national union.
EVR’S
It is Royal Mails intentions to offer some members voluntary redundancy packages without agreement with the union to saving the hours in the unit. You may come under pressure from some individuals stating that by not agreeing the savings in the unit you are stopping them getting an EVR package.
The issues here are that the MTSF agreement which was negotiated nationally is not about giving people EVR for the sake of it, but to allow members to leave with a reasonable package when or if a local agreement throws up surplus staff, therefore the issue should be can the unit absorb the work to allow people to leave on EVR,
We believe it is Royal Mails intention to release people in advance of agreeing any savings with the union thereby putting pressure on the remaining members of staff to absorb the work, which will mean increasing the indoor throughput and completing any new deliveries on time.
Basically there is no point in attempting or asking people not to take the EVR package, what we should concentrate on is making the remaining members in the office aware that they will be expected to work faster under potential pressure from Royal Mails individual performance standards, which is linked to the conduct code.
Part time to full time jobs
You may come under pressure from our part time members in the units were Royal Mail is proposing to extend the delivery span.
The issue here is that the CWU nationally and your branch have been keen to look how we can maintain or increase full time jobs on delivery despite the loss of indoor workload.
We as a union remain committed to a national agreement covering a new delivery model which will increase full time jobs in all areas of the country, however we believe this should be done with the protection of a national agreement not on a unit by unit basis.
Rewards
One of the reasons we are taking this stance is to get a national agreement on the new delivery model which will give our members some rewards over and above the part time/ full time mix of jobs within delivery. These rewards would link the move to a new delivery model with direct benefits such as the shorter working week and increased remuneration for our members on delivery.
Currently all that is being offered is a re-balancing of part time and full time jobs, and in some cases we have heard that managers are suggesting that members will receive 50/50 bonus payments. It should be pointed out
That the 50/50 bonus scheme finishes in March 09
Undermining the Industrial Relations Framework
In many cases managers are going direct to our members with their propaganda, deliberately by- passing the unit rep. This usually involves talking to members in small huddles or on an individual basis. We are also aware that members who have been promised EVR packages or part time staff, who would benefit from longer delivery spans, have been targeted. All of this puts pressure on you as the unit rep, which is why we must re-state the union’s position regarding full time jobs and the protection of national agreements such as the MTSF agreement which covers the EVR process, and our policy on creating full time jobs.
Managers arranging a ballot of our members
Again and unfortunately we have had feedback that managers are balloting our members, we cannot accept this position, under no circumstances should reps accept managers balloting our members, if your manager attempts to do this, you should instruct the members not to take part, inform the manager that any outcome will not be recognised by the CWU, and that you will register disagreement under the IRF as soon as practicable.
If in any doubt contact your area delivery representative immediately.
Watering down proposals
In many units managers are suggesting that if you do not agree to a supposedly watered down proposal then they will implement by executive action a more severe cut in duties/hours.
The issue here is that in many cases the higher unit target is used as a negotiating position, the reason they start high is to allow for a reduction through negotiations. Very often the original target is un-achievable in the first place.
The tactic seems to be to get an agreement on savings on any basis, then come back for further savings at a later stage. This is being done to undermine the national policy, and an attempt to isolate units.
CWU committed to a national union and national agreements
You must ask the question Royal Mail don’t want national agreements. The answer must be that it suites them, and that it is more beneficial for them to go direct to the hundreds of delivery units and get local agreement or implement changes by isolating offices and picking them off on a one by one basis.
This is why we have to ensure that we do not break union policy and force Royal Mail to talk to and negotiate with our national union, be under no illusion this is the first phase in an attack on the CWU as we know it.
All this stuff has been going in in our office for years--and still all the unions do is talk!!!!All the things they say they were fighting 'against; 3'4 years ago. are already here--it should not have happened in
the first place, time to stop the waffle and make a united stand,ballot NOW!!!!
