Royal Mail Dispute – Update on Negotiations

[johnson]

Letter to Branches




No. 755/2009
Ref: PTC/RE/ac
Date: 8 September 2009


TO ALL BRANCHES WITH POSTAL MEMBERS

Dear Colleague

RE: Royal Mail Dispute – Update on Negotiations

A two-day meeting took place with Royal Mail on the 2nd & 3rd September 2009.

Some progress was made with the company now clearly accepting that there is a requirement to negotiate further national agreements that will shape and take forward modernisation. Both parties explored, in more detail, the various elements that needed to be part of new national agreements. Royal Mail has also now recognised that the whole issue of what constitutes a fair day’s workload is a crucial part of finding a solution.

The talks also covered, at length, the urgent need for both parties to agree ground rules that would ensure a fairer approach to local deployment of change, including offices where managerial executive action has already taken place. Again, whilst there is a consensus for the need to set out fair and succinct ground rules, the company remains hesitant to stand down planned executive action because they believe this would signal to our branches an acceptance of no change.

To try and move this forward the union took the initiative and put forward a proposal that would break the current cycle, end all current disputes and conclude phase 4 national negotiations by the end of September ’09. We exchanged views on this proposal and Royal Mail called for an adjournment which lasted three hours. Subsequently position papers were exchanged and the intention is to build on this in meetings later this week.

Having given further consideration to all the issues raised at the meeting the union wrote to Royal Mail on the 4th September summarising our position and detailing a formal offer that would achieve the following:

Immediately restore customer confidence by bringing an end to all current local disputes.

Ensure Royal Mail and CWU can both re-engage in the Industrial Relations Framework with a fairer approach to deployment of local change – in accordance with all existing national agreements.

Introduce at pace the transformation of the business by concluding phase 4 negotiations and reaching further national agreements by the end of September ’09. A positive outcome to these talks would resolve any potential national dispute.



For the purpose of complete clarity, we are setting out the detail and rationale behind the union’s offer.

CWU Fresh Offer

All planned managerial executive action and local strike action should be immediately suspended.

In offices where executive action has already taken place, fresh negotiations should commence immediately to reach acceptable agreements. Our regional / divisional and area teams should support the local parties in resolving their differences.

These negotiations should review the changes Royal Mail has made and ensure new local agreements are reached in accordance with ground rules agreed by the national parties and in line with all existing national agreements.

There would be a process of parallel talks which would allow both parties to re-engage initially with area level teams overseen by our regional / divisional parties. Meetings at area level could then take pragmatic and informed decisions on the best way to proceed and facilitate positive local outcomes. This would also avoid immediate disagreements over what stage our respective local parties have reached in the IR Framework.

To assist local solutions, parameters should be set by the national parties which state unequivocally that maintaining earnings and innovative attendance patterns must be part of local agreements. These are key principals within existing national agreements including the 2007 Pay and Modernisation deal.

Voluntary redundancy must only be offered in line with the MTSF agreement. This should be spelt out by sequencing the proper process for voluntary redundancy so that there can be no further misunderstandings.

The level of savings targeted for local revisions must also be negotiable. This should take account of a joint assessment of workload, the impact of any volume loss, safe working practices and ultimately what people can cope with. The subject of what constitutes a fair day’s workload is proper for national phase 4 talks. Local parties should be encouraged to take pragmatic decisions on what can be achieved in the short term prior to the introduction of new automation. In the meantime, national negotiation should resolve the substantive workload issues in a way which everybody accepts is fair and objective.

In order to facilitate a fairer approach to local change, agreement should be reached on a new mechanism to incentivise local change.

Guidelines should be agreed by the national parties that would assist the local parties on what is relevant to local discussions and what is out of bounds for local parties because it is part of phase 4 national negotiations.

Both parties should clear diaries and commit to concluding phase 4 by reaching further national agreements no later than the end of September ’09. Key issues should be prioritised and we should accept that a successful outcome requires the legitimate concerns of both parties to be resolved simultaneously.








Conclusion

It is clear that the pressure of local industrial action is now having an impact on Royal Mail both in their approach to negotiations and in the substantial build up of work as we come out of the summer period and enter what is traditionally a higher traffic period.

However, we must also acknowledge that key to making genuine progress is that Royal Mail must abandon managerial executive action and accept that change by diktat has no place in a modern industry. This issue is holding back genuine progress and as every week goes by further executive action, including the imposition of Network ’09 duty arrangements, makes finding a solution more complicated.

It is important that branches convey to our members the initiatives the union are taking to resolve the dispute and that our latest offer represents an entirely reasonable position.

In the meantime we must maintain the pressure on the company by doing everything possible to secure a “yes” vote in our forthcoming national industrial action ballot.

Further meetings are planned on the 9th & 10th September and we will advise you of developments in due course.

Yours sincerely,



Dave Ward
Deputy General Secretary (P)

Ray Ellis
Assistant Secretary

Martin Collins
Assistant Secretary

Bob Gibson
Assistant Secretary

Davie Robertson
Acting Assistant Secretary

[concerned]

so, what does this mean?! no strikes for the moment? while negociations take place?

[dudleylicious]

It means diddly squat

-We the rank & file members have to keep the pressure on RM & the so called leaders of the CWU

We must return a YES vote

[pinstripe]

so, what does this mean?! no strikes for the moment? while negociations take place?

My impression is that there is some slight progress in that RM have accepted that they need to negotiate, if they do or not is another matter. The ballot is still going ahead.

[dvbuk55]

so, what does this mean?! no strikes for the moment? while negociations take place?

Well I don't want to be a Jeremiah but is this yet another weasel attempt to avoid the necessary?

We've been here before, more talking, natter natter meeting meeting and then the 2007 agreement which lets face it even the union say it wasn't popular.

At some point you have to use the big stick not keep threatening to use it.

What value does anyone on the shop floor put on any agreement the Royal Mail have made in the last 5 years and can anyone state which ONE they have adhered to.

[donut]

so, what does this mean?! no strikes for the moment? while negociations take place?

My impression is that there is some slight progress in that RM have accepted that they need to negotiate, if they do or not is another matter. The ballot is still going ahead.

Don`t be suprised if the ballot gets called off at the 23rd hour .........i smelt a rat when the CWU postponed the ballot by a week , hhhmmm

[concerned]

so did i.....smell a rat that is. some of the posts on here said that you didnt even agree with what CWU signed up to in 2007.... maybe thats it. they are bottling it as RM are just doing what CWU agreed to on your behalf!

[dvbuk55]

I'm already ordering the lubricant! and in huge quantities. It makes you wonder what sort of deal can be done that benefits the membership and can be made to look like yet another triumph for the leadership.

[banner18]

Busy period of the year coming up, rm feeds the union a few bits and pieces to try to avoid IA and maintain the status quo. What a puppet show with poor old mr postman in the middle as the bait.

[concerned]

well, personally i think you should hold your union to rights too.....

[mandelsons_toenail]

what a crock of s**t
cut off again today was told no overtime is allowed to be booked

Mail piled up both inward and outward,

Please please CWU dont bottle it now

What about all the changes already bought into our offices? Mine for example. Mostly unrealistic absorbtion amounts we all take out 3 days a week. What they are just gonna say " oh its ok lads forget that now!" yeah right

piss off

strike now!! ffs else all these posties have lost pay for nothing, rm = bullshit

[stokes11eg]

Have the Union rolled over and died?? Will Billy Hayes declare which side he is really on? Not ours for sure.
OUT OUT OUT --Billy no good Hayes that is.

[UNION IVOR]

cant the cwu top people see its just lip servce by royalmail , the cwu fell into that on the last strike ,and then had to reballot everyone ,carry on until we got every thing in black and white , no good stop start all the time, you keep the presure on them , i think if nothing comes of this we need a change at the top , i will wait and see what happens hopefully we might get somethink out of this for the good hard working posties.

[Stormproof]

My office is snowed under with work, yesterday no one was allowed to book and they were told they have to stay out for an extra half hour under the flex agreement which I thought was Phase 4 and has'nt been implemented yet. Looks like HQ are going to stitch us up yet again.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

My office is snowed under with work, yesterday no one was allowed to book and they were told they have to stay out for an extra half hour under the flex agreement which I thought was Phase 4 and has'nt been implemented yet. Looks like HQ are going to stitch us up yet again.

The half hour flexibility IIRC was part of Phase 2 or 3 - I'll check and post it up. But one thing I am certain of is that they now owe you that 1/2 hour and you should be able to claim it back this week. I would ask for Saturday

Yep Phase 2 of the P&MM agreement - its buried in the enablers

Variation of hours – Where necessary, for example when traffic volumes are unexpectedly high or resourcing issues arise, individuals may be asked and may themselves request to vary their duty times by up to 30 minutes on a swings and roundabouts basis. Again, individual circumstances will be taken into account and total weekly contractual hours would not change.

Notice it does not say "worked hours" would not change but "weekly contractual hours" there is a big difference between the two.