Royal Mail Proposal to CWU for Strike-Free Period

[POSTMAN]

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Royal Mail today called on the Communication Workers Union to abandon the totally unjustified strikes planned for later this week and to accept a proposal from Mark Higson, Managing Director of Royal Mail Letters, which would provide a strike-free period of calm for all our customers in the busy run-up to Christmas.

The proposal is set out in a letter, attached below, which was sent by Mr Higson this morning to Dave Ward, Deputy General Secretary of the CWU.
Ends

Issued by Royal Mail: 020 7250 2468 (24 hours)
100 Victoria Embankment
LONDON
EC4Y 0HQ
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Dave Ward
Deputy General Secretary
Communication Workers Union
150 The Broadway
Wimbledon
London
SW19 1RX

Dear Dave,

I have had time to reflect overnight about the position our teams have reached in the discussions. It seems that despite the many meetings we had trying to resolve the current differences between us, the union is set on a course for industrial action. It still need not be the case and we are determined to do what we can to avert strike action and resolve the issues: we both understand the damaging and lasting impact such a strike would have on our customers and all our futures.

Whilst it has not been clear in the meetings what your view of the central issues in this dispute are, it is clear that there are two consistent but unrelated areas of debate to which we keep returning:

1) At the heart of this dispute seems to be the concerns that the CWU in London has about the changes we have implemented in London in line with the national Pay and Modernisation agreement reached in 2007 with support from the TUC and, in the early stages, ACAS.
2) The other area which we have been discussing at length is how we deliver the next set of changes, which we agreed would form Phase 4 of the Pay and Modernisation Agreement.

In the late summer you publicly offered a moratorium on change and industrial action in London. We announced a few weeks ago that we had finished all structural change for this calendar year so that we can focus, as always, on providing good service in the run up to Christmas and we have since been asking for you, in return, to honour your repeated commitment to a moratorium on strikes. That would give an opportunity for your local teams to re-engage with us in discussing improvements to the changes that we have already made - in line with the agreed industrial relations framework and of course recognising that there is no going back on change. Those discussions will have much more chance of success if we allow enough time, and if they take place in a period of calm which a moratorium would provide.

This dispute started out as disagreement over change in London but has evolved so that the union is now threatening national industrial action over what phase 4 of Pay and Modernisation looks like - yet this is an area where we have no current disagreement - and talks are continuing and making progress. Again, I think we both accept that our combined ability to succeed in reaching agreement in this area can only be improved by allowing sufficient time for our discussions to progress in a calm atmosphere. I think we’d also agree that, even with us both fully focused on it, we are unlikely to achieve that much before Christmas.

We are both aware of the huge damage and distraction that industrial action would cause, which would inhibit and delay us reaching agreement and would mean an even longer period of pain and disruption for customers. For all these reasons, I am proposing that we agree that the union does not activate its ballot at this stage and allows a much-needed period of calm. I know that under current legislation, the union would need to take action by 3rd November 2009 otherwise the ballot will be invalid, unless the company agrees to an extension. So I am offering an extension on that date of 4 weeks (the maximum allowed under legislation) to 1st December provided that:

- the union take no industrial action until that extension expires other than 15 minutes in the final week of the extension period should you still feel the need to validate your ballot
- the union takes no industrial action between the 1st December and the end of December
- no further industrial action is taken on the back of any other current local ballots prior to the end of December
- the union withdraws all instructions to representatives not to cooperate with change and modernisation and tells them to re-engage with the agreed industrial relations framework

As I said in my letter last week, I am happy to consider using a third party to work with us on developing our industrial relations framework in the future, which (as you know) is part of Phase 4 of the 2007 Pay and Modernisation agreement - but again we can only do so once you have shown your commitment to real progress by calling off the planned strikes, as you have publicly promised to do.

This overall proposal gives our customers much needed stability and certainty in the run up to Christmas and ensures that our people can maintain that important relationship with their customers in this important period. It also gives us an opportunity to resolve the national issues between us whilst local teams can work on their issues without the disruption of ongoing industrial action.

I very much hope that you will accept this as a sensible way forward for all of us.

Yours sincerely
Mark Higson
Managing Director, Royal Mail Letters

[Phantom]

A stupid pointless letter just repeating the same old crap - move on!

[axeman]

implementation ......by threat, intimidation, and harrassment ..royal fail tries never to negotiate ever since we had 'mars' man a despicable excuse for a scotsman .......bet north of the border they are ready to denounce his claim of being a scot

[westlondonpostie]

[jaja]

A stupid pointless letter just repeating the same old crap - move on!

YEH IS TOO LATE

[bitchface]

i do hope this isnt all the union want.

my strike vote had nothing at all to do with the london issue.if they arnt yet geo routed .they should be forth width.if it works out like ours as a bag of poo and royal mail again ignore the agreement of geo route implimentation.then im right behind them..

i want part timers to be treated the same as full timers as the law states
i want part timers to have contracts which actually reflects the hours royal mail wants and bullies them to work
i want overtime payments ,i want to be able to earn SA rate if i do it
and i want my due holiday pay ,that i earn by law after being forced to work overtime,thats not volentary thats complusory with threats

if your a union rep pass these reasons on up..we donot want or will accept agreement that doesnt answer our issues not londons

and all of my office want start times back to what they were, before exective action changed them
how is it on saturdays they can get us the mail by 8.00am yet the rest of the week it 9.15 so we have to start later???????????
anyone know how or why?

[fishtank]

- the union take no industrial action until that extension expires other than 15 minutes in the final week of the extension period should you still feel the need to validate your ballot
- the union takes no industrial action between the 1st December and the end of December
- no further industrial action is taken on the back of any other current local ballots prior to the end of December
- the union withdraws all instructions to representatives not to cooperate with change and modernisation and tells them to re-engage with the agreed industrial relations framework

and while were at it we could all just bend over for you Mr Higson

[pinstripe]

"I am proposing that we agree that the union does not activate its ballot at this stage and allows a much-needed period of calm. I know that under current legislation, the union would need to take action by 3rd November 2009 otherwise the ballot will be invalid, unless the company agrees to an extension. So I am offering an extension on that date of 4 weeks (the maximum allowed under legislation) to 1st December provided that:

- the union take no industrial action until that extension expires other than 15 minutes in the final week of the extension period should you still feel the need to validate your ballot
- the union takes no industrial action between the 1st December and the end of December
- no further industrial action is taken on the back of any other current local ballots prior to the end of December
- the union withdraws all instructions to representatives not to cooperate with change and modernisation and tells them to re-engage with the agreed industrial relations framework"

He's not serious is he?
Is there another page to this letter because I cannot see one single concession by RM on this anywhere.
So, I've a better idea, we do exactly what he wants us NOT to. The action continues past the 3rd November, into December, over Christmas and till Hell freezes over, until we reach an agreement,that we accept and RM will stick to!

[Pat Ostman]

i do hope this isnt all the union want.

my strike vote had nothing at all to do with the london issue.if they arnt yet geo routed .they should be forth width.if it works out like ours as a bag of poo and royal mail again ignore the agreement of geo route implimentation.then im right behind them..

i want part timers to be treated the same as full timers as the law states
i want part timers to have contracts which actually reflects the hours royal mail wants and bullies them to work
i want overtime payments ,i want to be able to earn SA rate if i do it
and i want my due holiday pay ,that i earn by law after being forced to work overtime,thats not volentary thats complusory with threats

if your a union rep pass these reasons on up..we donot want or will accept agreement that doesnt answer our issues not londons

and all of my office want start times back to what they were, before exective action changed them
how is it on saturdays they can get us the mail by 8.00am yet the rest of the week it 9.15 so we have to start later???????????
anyone know how or why?

[jaja]

MARK HIGSON......YOU ARE THE WEAKEST LINK.....GOODBYE

[Lincox]

Am I reading this right. He is only offering us a 15 minute strike period between now and the end of the year? What planet does he live on. Next he'll be telling father christmas to delay the seasonal celebrations for a couple of months. Get your desk cleared Mark, your time is nigh. Have a wrotten christmas and the crappiest new year ever, because that is what you have given us the last 12 months.

[pickaname]

This is absurd.

Hes offering a 4 week extension to 1st December to keep the ballot live on the condition that theres no action from 1st December

No action for 4 weeks in December would render the ballot invalid anyway wouldnt it?

[DGP1]

Mark Higson

Les Grossman
I may have got them mixed up