LBT:Local Relationship Project

[POSTMAN]

10 February 2012
LTB 091/12 Local Relationship Project

No:091/12
Ref: 24209
10th February 2012

TO: ALL BRANCHES WITH POSTAL MEMBERS

Dear Colleague

THE LOCAL RELATIONSHIP PROJECT




The Business Transformation Agreement placed a major emphasis on the need to bring about a radical improvement in relationships at all levels as a pre-requisite for business success.

Although there is evidence that some Managers have been willing to engage in a more productive relationship, sadly there are far too many places where no visible change has been seen and relationships continue to be strained.

The Union acknowledges that problems in working relationships is never a one way street and we recognise that as an organisation the CWU cannot say it is blame free. Furthermore, it is always more difficult to build relationships when we are operating in a much harsher environment and when there are open differences between the parties on how we deploy local change.

However, none of this should mask the fact that the Union has consistently argued that the biggest barrier by far remains the managerial command and control culture that has held this company back for years. Unfortunately, this is often translated into the pursuit of unrealistic short-term results and the micro-management of employees - rather than building the long-term foundations of success.

Against this background the Union has continued to press Royal Mail to jointly bring about a wholesale change of attitudes to employee and Industrial Relations. As a result, there has recently been an exchange of correspondence between the Chief Executive and myself in which Royal Mail and the Union have renewed our commitment, particularly at Local Level, to bring forward as a priority new relationship initiatives. We are pleased to report that this has led to us agreeing a new Local Relationship Project, the Terms of Reference of which are attached.

The Project will be launched this month with a Proof of Concept Phase which will then lead to a wider National roll out Programme.

The Proof of Concept Phase is deliberately focused on a small number of offices so that we can really concentrate on getting underneath some of the deep-rooted problems that exist, as well as building on what works well. The approach is about engaging our local members, Management and the Union to develop solutions that can then be rolled out and built upon in other locations.
We would urge Branches and Representatives to look closely at the objectives of the Project and the key activities that will take place, as this will help everybody gain a better understanding of what we are trying to achieve.


This particular Project is the first in what we hope will be a number of new initiatives designed to fundamentally change the local working environment. To this end, the National Parties will now be working on other approaches and we would welcome any constructive ideas from Branches and Representatives that will help build momentum.

The Local Relationship Project will be subject to further Reports in due course and we will be fully involving our Divisional, Area and Local Representatives in the selected locations.

Any enquiries on this LTB should be addressed to the DGS(P) Department.

Yours sincerely

Dave Ward
Deputy General Secretary (P)

[hans solo]

here we go again after the lies lies and damn lies over the past years
the threat of performance,bullying sarcasm the list is endless
we have all to kiss and make up to get rm back on track two words cwu
fcuk off

[Lincox]

Agreed, today we have been given two days written notice of a change in start times/longs and shorts, all apparently agreed by CWU. Where is the change in management attitude and cwu capitulation, when they cannot even stick to agreements that are already in place.

[BELIAL]

said the spider to the fly

[DAF85]

Agreed, today we have been given two days written notice of a change in start times/longs and shorts, all apparently agreed by CWU. Where is the change in management attitude and cwu capitulation, when they cannot even stick to agreements that are already in place.

irrespective of CWU agreement is it not still 7 days notice WITH agreement or 28 days notice without ?

[fishtank]

Royal Mail/CWU Local Relationship Project - Terms of Reference

Royal Mail and CWU have agreed to launch a new project, as one of a number of new initiatives, designed to fundamentally change relationships at local level. The project builds on the commitment within the Business Transformation 2010 Agreement, to develop a culture of mutual interest.

The terms of reference for the project are as follows:-

Purpose

To transform relationships and the culture within the local working environment.

Objectives

• To improve the overall working environment (industrial and employee relations).

• To minimise the potential for daily conflict situations.

• To successfully deliver operational change in a way that aligns the interests of customers, employees and the company.

• To underpin sustainable success with motivated and valued employees.

• To create a platform for innovation and growth in new products and services.

The Approach

The project will be delivered through a number of different stages that will commence with a Proof of Concept Phase followed by a wider rollout programme. The intention is to launch the Proof of Concept Phase within a framework that will encourage employee engagement as well as the full involvement of the appropriate managers and CWU representatives. This is set out under the heading ‘Key Activities’.

The selection of six offices in the first phase is designed to have a manageable number of units whereby everybody can gain a better and deeper understanding of all the issues involved.

The project and this terms of reference are also designed to get things moving with minimum bureaucracy, creating a real sense of purpose, trust and confidence between our organisations.

Key Activities

• Develop a local programme that will enable representatives, managers and employees to identify what works well and what can cause problems in working relationships.

• Through local involvement develop a blueprint for the standards that we would expect to apply in good working relationships (IR and ER).

• In carrying out the above activities the local parties will be encouraged to look at the current situation with local industrial relations, how problems are resolved, communications and other employee engagement initiatives e.g. WTLL and the application of personnel procedures.

• Provide the time and support to develop qualitative research and analysis within the local office.

• Develop a programme to support the local managers and CWU representatives to become facilitators of the project, working with the overall project team.

• Identify ways of managing the day to day needs of the work environment.

Project Team

The project will be led by representatives from the senior management team and the Union’s Postal Executive with an inclusive approach that will enable appropriate input from the field and area/local structures.

Proof of Concept Phase

The Proof of Concept Phase will commence in February with six locations. These will be selected jointly by the project team. The offices chosen should indicate their willingness to participate and a letter will then be sent to the affected employees explaining what the project is about and what their role is within it.

The Proof of Concept Phase will be reviewed in three months from its commencement date and the lessons learned will inform a wider rollout phase to be agreed by the national parties.

Evaluation

The success of the project will be evaluated on an ongoing basis and decisions to launch the wider rollout programme will be agreed at each stage.

[dvbuk55]

Lets look at the facts.

Same managers, same reps, same bullying and harassment, same cosy relationship between the CWU and RM, same reluctance by the CWU to face facts. In other words same old,same old UNLESS the road to Damascus is going to be busier than usual.

[Lincox]

Can someone please confirm the notice periods required for change of start times and application of longs and shorts please. Thankyou.

[fishtank]

Can someone please confirm the notice periods required for change of start times and application of longs and shorts please. Thankyou.

The application of any major change in an office without agreement should be subject to disagreement and the IR framework.
The minimum timeframe to move through the 3 stages of the IR framework without agreement is 4 weeks or 28 days.
During this period there should be no enforced change and no industrial action.

If it is an agreed change a reasonable period of notice should also be agreed.
If it involves a major change to start times 4 weeks would be my minimum.

[fishtank]

Lets look at the facts.

Same managers, same reps, same bullying and harassment, same cosy relationship between the CWU and RM, same reluctance by the CWU to face facts. In other words same old,same old UNLESS the road to Damascus is going to be busier than usual.

Like most wordy good intentions the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
How seriously this will be taken when it moves outside the very limited "proof of concept" phase is debatable.
For it to work it needs to have direct access by members,not be hidden away by reps at all levels who don't want to rock the boat.
I would also like to know what sanctions will apply to managers and reps who continue to work outside it's parameters.
If it has no teeth it can't bite and if it can't bite it's a waste of time.

[Martin Walsh]

Agreed, today we have been given two days written notice of a change in start times/longs and shorts, all apparently agreed by CWU. Where is the change in management attitude and cwu capitulation, when they cannot even stick to agreements that are already in place.

At what level did the CWU agree it ? Most of the guideance that the CWU have put out states it is the call of the local office at a vote on what they agree. I would never agree a revison for an office , I would have the local rep in the meetings and then whatever came out would go to the members for their say.

[dvbuk55]

To be fair our revisions have been put to the membership but it is very difficult to say what will and will not work sight unseen. The change in the makeup of the mail and the volume has meant that deliveries have become out of kilter. What is not easy, is to put amendments to the revisions in - ours has taken 15 months and I firmly believe that would not have happened if the indoor revision was not taking place now. Management are only too happy to let revisions limp along regardless. Many of the criteria on which the revisions are based is wrong and the figures provided by RM are also wrong.

Local relationship project - isn't that what has been the problem all along? The CWU and RM have a new relationship and understanding apparently and that is what brings it into conflict with the membership who DO NOT have a new relationship and understanding.

[Lincox]

I am not sure when this was agreed Dingo, the letter just states as follows
Date 10th February 2012
Please find attached new attendance times which will come into effect on Monday 13th february, 2012
The changes are part of the Businesss Transformation that was signed up to by CWU National and now that the transformation payments have been paid out it is important that we get these changes into our offices.
The aim of these changes is to reduce the number of sweeper runs, align daily hours to the amount of mail traffic on a daily basis and ultimately reduce our running costs.
As a business we are expecting mail volumes to reduce further this year and with that our revenue, as such the requirement to cut our operational costs is imperative.
These changes are not set in stone and they may need some minor tweaking in the coming weeks.
I have spoken with (name given but is Area Rep) this morning to confirm that the start times will change next week and he is aware of the need to implement these changes quickly as part of the ongoing national implementation of the Business transformation programme.

Please note that the members have not been given a vote. There was talks by the line manager with some employees not all, suggesting there was an option of going on to longs and shorts, or to continue working flexibly as some of them do including banking hours (swings and roundabouts) but this is the first notification of hours including new start times. I would point out that all employees have had a notification stating that they will now go on to longs and shorts and start times vary from 8.15am on the busy days to 9.00 on the less busier days. There has been no discussion on how this effects ability to deliver specials on time, how health and safety issues are to be addressed surrounding longer delivery times on the longs (all cycle rounds)
I would appreciate opinions on whether this letter complies with BT2010 agreement or any other agreement within Royal Mail

[drb]

National Agreement States
Page 14 Workplan
To provide ongoing confidence, the roll-out of the new workplan and associated changes will be the subject of joint national reviews to establish that the operational assumptions within the workplan support the criteria detailed below. As part of these reviews both parties commit to make such improvements/adjustments as are necessary.
That mail arrivals are consistent with the transformation workplan and support and enable the attendance patterns and duty structures contained in the functional sections of this agreement to be delivered at local level.


In terms of your traffic,is your rep having resource meetings? On which model weeks is your DOM referring to? Using the Forecast tool only will produce reasonably accurate traffic levels. Your DOM is flat lining them. Has your rep had training on the IWT? This will align hours to workload. If your rep has not been offered the above,go into disagreement immediately. You need to establish how your DOM has established low traffic levels all year round. What about the "flexing up" aspect? In regards to "revenue",well the business do have the revenue. However it also trying to fund a massive pension pot. Has your DOM been told we will not receive EU state aid? The above national agreement is set in stone and to be agreed locally only. Here is the recent model week agreement :

http://www.mediafire.com/?9dl9obpeji3vl3m" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Lincox]

Will take some of these issues up with Area Rep today DRB. Thanks for the info.