COMMUNICATION ON NATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS FROM ROGER POOLE

[TrueBlueTerrier]

To All Postal Branches


Dear Colleague

A COMMUNICATION ON NATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS FROM ROGER POOLE THE INDEPENDENT CHAIR

Please find attached a copy of a communication which is being sent out simultaneously by Royal Mail and CWU.

The communication is a message from Roger Poole the independent chair giving his view of the current state of play on progress with the interim agreement. This communication should be conveyed to all local offices.

The Union will be providing Branches with an update of the situation no later that tomorrow.

Yours sincerely



Dave Ward Martin Collins Ray Ellis
Deputy General Secretary (P) Assistant Secretary Assistant Secretary

Bob Gibson Terry Pullinger
Assistant Secretary Assistant Secretary


A COMMUNICATION ON NATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS FROM ROGER POOLE THE INDEPENDENT CHAIR


As the independent person asked to oversee the modernisation negotiations between the CWU and Royal Mail I want, on behalf of myself and the senior negotiators from both sides, to keep you informed and abreast of the progress we are making. ACAS are assisting me and both sides in these discussions.

We have set a very tight timetable for these negotiations to be completed by the end of the year. To achieve this we will need everyone’s cooperation and help. We will endeavour to keep in touch with you all as we progress.

We have set some ground rules for the negotiations, one of which is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. This will give both sides confidence to deal with difficult issues knowing that nothing will be implemented until all their issues are dealt with.

To foster success in the process there have been some useful commitments made by Royal Mail management and the CWU:

management have stated that no further changes will be imposed while negotiations continue and that local agreements in the spirit of the interim agreement are encouraged. Any changes planned for 2010 will fully reflect and honour the new national agreements they are committed to reaching;

the CWU in turn have stated that members should now be working normally in line with the interim agreement and that no further industrial action will take place while negotiations continue and that they fully engage in the process to negotiate and deliver change.

We have had three review meetings so far as allowed for in the interim agreement. The issues being dealt with are as follows:

groups at national level are now making progress on the terms of various national agreements as set out in the interim agreement. The topics for the four groups are Operations, Managing the Change, Reward and Relationship;

we have also been looking at progress on deployment at local level.

There is still a way to go but we are encouraged by the spirit of pragmatism shown by the parties and the genuine will of everyone to achieve lasting progress and create a positive climate in which to take the modernisation agenda forward.


Roger Poole

[Viewfindergeneral]

...and I believe in Father Christmas...

[Geezer]

More non information.

I am slowly beginning to wonder if HQ have any Idea of how the Membership feel when it comes to the question of Members being kept informed.
Drivel like this just makes me more disillusioned with HQ as the days and weeks go by.This sort of non information does no-one any good, least of all the CWU.

[fishtank]

It's a bit.......short on......any information at all.
I suppose that's about all he can say.

[gerardy]

more stalling tactics
nothing agreed until everything agreed
what bullshit
wait till Christmas passes
then
ha ha up yours
RM win

[Geezer]

more stalling tactics
nothing agreed until everything agreed
what bullshit
wait till Christmas passes
then
ha ha up yours
RM win

Spot On

[Lounge Lizard]

So are any discussions actually taking place between the coffee breaks ?

[dvbuk55]

Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed - and voted on, lets not forget that - and lets not be bamboozled like last time. This time every i needs to be dotted and every t crossed before we should be entering any agreement - and to put it bluntly it is what WE think is acceptable NOT someone else.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

sorry but I thought this was good news perhaps I am an Anti-pessimist

We have set some ground rules for the negotiations, one of which is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. This will give both sides confidence to deal with difficult issues knowing that nothing will be implemented until all their issues are dealt with.

management have stated that no further changes will be imposed while negotiations continue and that local agreements in the spirit of the interim agreement are encouraged.

[Geezer]

sorry but I thought this was good news perhaps I am an Anti-pessimist

It is, in a way.
But i still want to be kept informed of what's on the table, what direction were moving in and ideas that have been put forward and are being discussed.
All this crap they keep putting out, tells us nothing of any interest as such and just leaves us all in the dark.HQ said they would keep members fully informed,
So they should be held to this and give us some real information !.

[headscrewedon]

LATEST NEWS:
Roger Poole is to make a guest appearance on this Saturday's edition of the hit show 'X Factor'. A spokesman for ITV said he was eminently qualified to sing on the show as, like past winners, he makes a pleasant-enough noise but ultimately, doesn't produce anything of substance or that you will actually remember in 6months time

[Big Daz]

The Union will be providing Branches with an update of the situation no later that tomorrow.


In theroy the above should answer our questions, but then again we thought last week we would get a proper update and all we had was some mickey mouse rubbish.

[Ahebban]

We have set some ground rules for the negotiations, one of which is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. This will give both sides confidence to deal with difficult issues knowing that nothing will be implemented until all their issues are dealt with.

The cynical and skeptical among us will see the above as a get-out clause for RM once Christmas is considered delivered.

The negotations that are taking place hardly involve national security or even claims of commercial confidentiality would be stretching things somewhat, so I believe we, the CWU membership and employees of RML, are entitled to a little more meat rather than the bare bones of information so far received.

For example, I would be happy for any information that agreement had been reached in key areas without going into specific detail ... for example, agreement had been reached on a shorter working week without specifiying actual hours.

My only hope is that the PEC will recognize the concerns expressed in offices countrywide and actually deliver meaningful information, whether it be positive or negative in its nature!

[Lincox]

There should be much more information coming out to what is open for discussion and what RM are not prepared to discuss. I think it would help OUR negotiators if CWU opened a discussion channel on their website where they tell us what is being talked about, and for us to give our comments. What good is it if they arrive at a final set of agreements with RM which we then have to vote upon, and they are rejected. Surely if the membership are party to the discussions through a discussion platform, the negotiators and the PEC will no what is acceptable to the membership and what will be rejected.

[jockstrapp]

We have set some ground rules for the negotiations, one of which is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. This will give both sides confidence to deal with difficult issues knowing that nothing will be implemented until all their issues are dealt with.

The cynical and skeptical among us will see the above as a get-out clause for RM once Christmas is considered delivered.

The negotations that are taking place hardly involve national security or even claims of commercial confidentiality would be stretching things somewhat, so I believe we, the CWU membership and employees of RML, are entitled to a little more meat rather than the bare bones of information so far received.

For example, I would be happy for any information that agreement had been reached in key areas without going into specific detail ... for example, agreement had been reached on a shorter working week without specifiying actual hours.

My only hope is that the PEC will recognize the concerns expressed in offices countrywide and actually deliver meaningful information, whether it be positive or negative in its nature!

The PEC don't give a f#ck about concerns expressed by offices countrywide