Pace of Change/Shorter Working Week : National Joint Stateme

[POSTMAN]

TO: ALL BRANCHES WITH POSTAL MEMBERS

Dear Colleague

Pace of Change/Shorter Working Week – National Joint Statement

The Union has recently engaged in talks with Royal Mail to address widely raised concerns over Royal Mail’s extended delivery revision timetable and the resulting delay in the benefits due to CWU members, including the Shorter Working Week.

The National talks have now concluded with the attached Joint Statement, which was endorsed at a Special Postal Executive meeting held yesterday. The salient points are as follows:-
• The Union has secured an agreement that no matter what stage local revision activity is at, the Shorter Working Week will now be introduced for all eligible employees no later than week commencing the 28th January 2013. For those affected employees, a nationally agreed range of options for implementing this outside of the normal revision process will be issued in due course.
• For those affected part time employees, the Shorter Working Week will also be introduced no later than week commencing the 28th January 2013 by applying an hourly rate increase in the usual way.
• The Royal Mail Delivery Director and the CWU Outdoor Secretary will urgently develop measures to accelerate and improve implementation of local revisions. Overall progress on revision activity will be reviewed on a monthly basis.

The terms of the Joint Statement means that the benefit of a Shorter Working Week will now be implemented everywhere within the original timescale of the Business Transformation Agreement. Furthermore, the Joint Statement will also allow the Union to move forward the approach to local revisions and we will review progress on the associated lump sums on a monthly basis.

We believe CWU Branches and Representatives will welcome the National Joint Statement as a positive development and we would ask that the content is conveyed to CWU members in their workplace.

Any general enquiries should be directed to the DGS (P), specific functional delivery enquiries to the Outdoor Secretary.

Yours sincerely

Dave WardBob Gibson
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)Assistant Secretary

Pace of Change / Shorter Working Week –
A National Joint Statement between Royal Mail and CWU

The Business Transformation Agreement recognised the scale of the challenges facing the business and its employees from changes in its core market place. Royal Mail and CWU committed to work together to respond at the scale and pace required to address these challenges and so create a sustainable future.

Two years on, much has been achieved. However, both parties recognise there is a need to do more to deliver all the change included in the BT 2010 Agreement and also deliver the full range of benefits due to all employees in a structured and timely manner.

To address these issues, the Royal Mail Delivery Director and CWU Outdoor Secretary will urgently develop measures that will accelerate and improve the implementation of local revisions, whilst delivering the full terms of the National Agreement, with the aim of concluding these arrangements as soon as possible. Progress will be regularly reviewed on a monthly basis at National Deployment Group meetings and at the most senior level of both organisations.

Alongside this joint statement, it is agreed that the one hour reduction in the standard working week will be introduced no later than the w/c 28th January 2013 in all functions, for all eligible full time employees remaining on a 40 hour week at that point. Where this happens in advance of the appropriate planned revision, the reduction in hours will be allocated in time from that date. A Nationally agreed range of options for implementing this will be issued in due course. Similarly the shorter working week will be introduced for part time employees no later than the w/c 28th January 2013 by applying an hourly rate increase in the usual way.

Both parties remain fully committed to delivering the full terms of the BT 2010 Agreement as near as practicably possible to the original timescales.

[daveallum]

How about making sure that we get the minimum of 1 saturday off in four as per the agreement,being a reserve I find that having a saturday off is almost as rare as rocking horse s**t.

[fishtank]

How about making sure that we get the minimum of 1 saturday off in four as per the agreement,being a reserve I find that having a saturday off is almost as rare as rocking horse s**t.

It has to be said that this agreement,in many offices has had the opposite effect than was planned.
Reserves have been used to facilitate 1in4 saturdays for other members of staff rather than receiving 1in4 themselves so actually the situation has worsened since pre-agreement.
Democracy has been used as the excuse when in fact it has been used more as a weapon,it's a piss poor version of democracy that allows the majority to screw over the minority for their own gain?
Winners and losers i suppose.

[Pat Ostman]

How about making sure that we get the minimum of 1 saturday off in four as per the agreement,being a reserve I find that having a saturday off is almost as rare as rocking horse s**t.

It has to be said that this agreement,in many offices has had the opposite effect than was planned.
Reserves have been used to facilitate 1in4 saturdays for other members of staff rather than receiving 1in4 themselves so actually the situation has worsened since pre-agreement.
Democracy has been used as the excuse when in fact it has been used more as a weapon,it's a piss poor version of democracy that allows the majority to screw over the minority for their own gain?
Winners and losers i suppose.

[eian687]

we have just had our shorter week implemented on us, agreed by local and area rep and we are still doing exactly the same job but in less time.
i have pointed out to local rep how stupid he and the area rep are being, but he says as our parent office has already had there revision and we will not get sequenced mail its the only way he can get us the £800 payment. we have to wait 6 weeks before we get it , have pointed out we should get £600 straight away but it falls on deaf ears..............................thinking about leaving the union in protest.

[daveyeff]

How about making sure that we get the minimum of 1 saturday off in four as per the agreement,being a reserve I find that having a saturday off is almost as rare as rocking horse s**t.

well, the rep at ours is trying to sell us a new deal asking us to go back on 5 day weeks, but keeping the delivery span the same. 4hrs. 45min. he says our working day will be 7hrs 48mins (thats including 40 mins meal break).totalling 39 hrs. why??? well according to him it will cause rm so much difficulty because we wont have enough time to double prep, get out on time, etc etc, that they,ll have to bring in more full time jobs. personally i think the dom is behind it and he,s using the rep to flog it to us. because they cant cope with coverage from 9 day fortnights, 1 week off in 4 etc. i know im not voting for that s**t. the only good thing we got out of this deal is more time off.

[Phantom]

The whole agreement is s**t and should be scrapped! Its not working and never will