UPDATE FROM HQ

[lovejoy]

TO All CWU MEMBERS - UPDATE ON ROYAL MAIL NEGOTIATIONS


Dear Colleague

You will be aware that negotiations have been taking place for nearly 3 months since reaching the interim agreement in November 2009.

We understand that CWU members will be concerned about the lack of detailed information and how long talks are taking.

However, the length of negotiations really does reflect the fact that the scale of change involved and the challenges that lie ahead are unprecedented.

Furthermore, whilst we would like to provide more detailed information, the negotiations are taking place under the auspices of an independent chair with the support of ACAS and all parties agreed to retain confidentiality. Despite this we believe it is important to remind everybody what we set out to achieve.

The CWU has consistently stated that we cannot afford to face away from change – but that change must be introduced through negotiation and in a way that aligns the interests of customers, the workforce and the company as a whole. We set out our key objectives as follows:

• The need to reach an agreement covering all aspects of operational change, the introduction of new machinery/new technology and how this affects jobs.

• The need to reach an agreement that ensures we protect as many jobs as possible -with no compulsory redundancies - alongside a package of measures that will provide greater long term job security.

• The need to reach an agreement that provides an improved benefits package covering higher basic pay, overall earnings opportunities, a shorter working week and family friendly policies.

• The need to reach an agreement that will fundamental improve industrial and employee relations.

• The need to reach an agreement that will ensure future workload is based on fair, objective and transparent measurement systems.

We must also recognise that our aspirations are set against the environment the business now operates within and the company’s own objectives, which include the introducing of a standarised six day work plan.

The current position is that whilst there are a few of major issues to finalise, we have made real progress and we want to conclude an agreement very soon and communicate in more detail. At the same time we continue to pursue a pensions resolution through all available channels.

A further update will be provided in due course.

Yours sincerely


Dave Ward
Deputy General Secretary (P)

[fishtank]

We must also recognise that our aspirations are set against the environment the business now operates within and the company’s own objectives, which include the introducing of a standarised six day work plan.

Just a little warning about longer and later saturdays

[DirtyHarry]

Just a little warning about longer and later saturdays

Yeah, very family friendly, that.

[guvenor]

no mention of safeguarding ft work
no mention of pay increases
no mention of d2d
no mention of deliv model

[k979aaa]

Well if that is the sum total of three months work i would have been sacked as for aspiration they are rarely met by both sides!. But even the DUP and Sinn Fein done more in ten days than R/M and the CWU in three months!.

[SWIM]

We must also recognise that our aspirations are set against the environment the business now operates within and the company’s own objectives, which include the introducing of a standarised six day work plan.

= preparing us for the worst

[postietaz]

[postietaz]

higher basic pay ,thought royal mail already said no pay rise.
family friendly ,then keep saturdays as volutary overtime so it does not conflict with family life ,ie football ,swimming.dance and any other activity that are children rely on us to beable to take them.
fair workload,so why cant we complete are duties in the time allocated .
earning opportunities,hours being taken out of duty sets.
good luck dave

[dvbuk55]

Right on cue - just at close of play - has it really taken all day to put that together - is there anything there that has not been said over and over and over again in the last 3 months - AND TO CAP IT ALL - further information will be provided in due course - very precise!

Are there any more meetings? What's the hold-up now? Judging from this missive everything is still in the air and we are nowhere nearer now than we were 3 months ago.

[naughton]

Its not just people with familys affected,plenty of single people live for their saturday afternoon fix of watching football,racing and many other pastimes ,that they have probably done for years,and any ploy to get us working while 2-30-3-00 ish should be rejected out of hand-WE SHOULD WORK TO LIVE-NOT LIVE TO WORK.

[dvbuk55]

Or should we just work to keep some in the manner they have become accustomed to?

[DGP1]

We're all dooooomed

TBH I think we're going to get done over like a kipper, if the union really wanted to succeed then they'd have us out on the streets.

Come on now CWU, RM is taking all of us for fools, call us back out now before it's too late.

[donut]

Come on now CWU, RM is taking all of us for fools, call us back out now before it's too late.

It`s already too late for some !

[dvbuk55]

We're all dooooomed

TBH I think we're going to get done over like a kipper, if the union really wanted to succeed then they'd have us out on the streets.

Come on now CWU, RM is taking all of us for fools, call us back out now before it's too late.

It's already too late - the initial ballot has run out according to some on here and so we would be back to square one with the memberships trust in the union at an all time low. There are so many people on the shop floor where I work considering leaving the union, and with good reason IMHO, that they are already convinced that they have been/will be stitched up that they are already prepared for the worst so any further delay only reinforces that attitude. The latest information from Dave Ward doesn't exactly instill any confidence either.

[Danelectro]

Ive misplaced my copy of the interim agreement,though im sure it will be on this site somewhere, does it not say that there would be regular updates/review of the talks?and is there in that interim agreement any mention of a confidentiality clause?If that is the case then instead of going stir crazy on RM chat would we not be be better off organising a demonstration outside CWU HQ otherwise as the LTB says shut up and leave it to the experts.Of course if there is mention of a confidentiality clause then we can all go back to pining the tail on an invincible donkey.