CWU welcomes Royal Mail dog attacks inquiry

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.cwu.org/news/archive/cwu-wel ... quiry.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The CWU has welcomed an announcement by Royal Mail that it is to conduct an independent inquiry into the prevalence and consequences of attacks by dogs on postal workers and to make recommendations to address the findings.

Led by high court judge, Sir Gordon Langley, the inquiry is expected to report later this year and will:

Seek to ascertain why so many employees are subject to dog attacks whilst delivering mail
Consider the background and human consequences of continuing dog attacks on postwomen and postmen
Consider existing relevant laws and regulations and the extent to which they are adequate and enforced
Consider any relevant actions taken by other employers in the UK or elsewhere
Make recommendations with a view to achieving a reduction in attacks.
In its statement announcing the inquiry, Royal Mail paid tribute to the CWU Bite Back campaign, saying: "Despite significant organisational effort to control employee exposure, and an outstanding and ongoing campaign - Bite Back, led by the CWU - the number of attacks remains unacceptably high. The Inquiry will look more widely than just at primary legislation and therefore will look beyond current proposed amendments to the Dangerous Dogs Act."

Donald Brydon, Chairman of Royal Mail Group, said: "It is an offence to decency that good people should suffer these attacks when carrying out their daily jobs and serving the public. "

Commenting on the inquiry, CWU national health, safety and environment officer Dave Joyce said: "This is a very positive and welcomed development at a key moment and will definitely raise the profile of the issue and influence the public and political debate and strengthen the case for change which is overwhelming and must not be further delayed."

Echoing these sentiments, CWU deputy general secretary, Dave Ward said: "We are very pleased to see Royal Mail taking positive action on this very serious issue affecting postal workers. The CWU has been campaigning for a change in the law on dangerous dogs for a long time - we welcome this important Inquiry and would also like to see the Government act now."

More than 6,000 postal workers are attacked every year while delivering the country's post. The CWU is campaigning for:

An extension of the law to cover attacks on private land where 70 per cent of attacks on postal workers occur but irresponsible owners are immune from prosecution
Increased police and dog warden powers
Compulsory microchipping
Introduction of dog control notices
Better enforcement
Stiffer court penalties.
All interested parties are invited to submit evidence and proposals for action to the Inquiry in writing to the inquiry secretary, Robert Allnutt by post to:

Robert Allnutt
Secretary to the Langley Inquiry
3rd Floor
100 Victoria Embankment
London
EC4Y 0HQ

Find out more about CWU Bite Back campaign, download the campaign leaflet and poster, get involved by signing the e-petition calling on the government to strengthen the laws governing dangerous dogs and see what else you can do to support the campaign.

[DGP1]

RM doesn't give a f*** about dog attacks, anything they put into place is just to blame the postie for not following (usually multiple and complicated) rules.

BTW anyone in from Cardiff North and can they confirm that they haven't had a dog incident in over a year?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

BTW anyone in from Cardiff North and can they confirm that they haven't had a dog incident in over a year?

It must be true they had a story on the Pravda, sorry my mistake, the myroyalmail website https://www.myroyalmail.com/mrm/appnews ... aspx?i=396" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[fishtank]

Some time not so long ago a member had the tip of his finger badly bitten through a letterbox.
He didn't stick his fingers through but anybody who has delivered mail on a regular basis knows that occasionally with some doors your fingers will go further through than you want them to.
The owners had just moved in,there was no prior warning and it was a silent attack.
Local management were sympathetic,they wanted to suspend the mail until the owner could guarantee that the threat was removed either by ensuring that the animal was kept away from the letterbox or fitting a basket/mail box....perfectly reasonable.

However when senior management responsible for health&Safety in the area found out they went ballistic.
Under no circumstances was the mail to be suspended.
Under no circumstances was any letter to be sent out that was outside the "templated" Royal Mail response.
And most damming of all an email was sent to the Delivery Office Manager asking why the OPG had not been conduct coded for deliberate disregard of Health&Safety.

Royal Mail has no control over it's managers so anything they say at boardroom level is meaningless.

[DGP1]

Some time not so long ago a member had the tip of his finger badly bitten through a letterbox.
He didn't stick his fingers through but anybody who has delivered mail on a regular basis knows that occasionally with some doors your fingers will go further through than you want them to.
The owners had just moved in,there was no prior warning and it was a silent attack.
Local management were sympathetic,they wanted to suspend the mail until the owner could guarantee that the threat was removed either by ensuring that the animal was kept away from the letterbox or fitting a basket/mail box....perfectly reasonable.

However when senior management responsible for health&Safety in the area found out they went ballistic.
Under no circumstances was the mail to be suspended.
Under no circumstances was any letter to be sent out that was outside the "templated" Royal Mail response.
And most damming of all an email was sent to the Delivery Office Manager asking why the OPG had not been conduct coded for deliberate disregard of Health&Safety.

Royal Mail has no control over it's managers so anything they say at boardroom level is meaningless.

Totally agree, any dog bite and they will find a way of blaming the postie so much so that people just wont report them (which in turn makes the whole situation worse because it's not being dealt with).

Although I believe NI and Scotland have the same numpties at the top who are very much more aggressive than the English ones.