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.