RMG National Dispute briefing November 4th

[Tamsky]

National Briefing London November 4th 2013

RMG National Dispute

Dave Ward DGPS
Thanked reps for the work in securing a Yes vote for industrial action, it was only through this vote that the CWU had been able to front up RMG in all the issues facing the membership. To put the Yes vote in context he did not believe that any other Union would have been able to secure a significant Yes vote in the face of the tons of propaganda that the company had issued to staff. The publicity over £2-3,000 free shares was used to persuade workers not to support their Union, the Government continually changed the goalposts in terms of the timetable for the sell off, in effect saying to Postal workers why bother with a Yes vote. We even had the disgraceful situation where RMG in a historic low point offered workers a bribe of £300 to cross a picket line, they didn't do themselves proud with that one.
If the YES vote had been a general election result it would have been declared a landslide.

This is the first chance to explain to members since privatisation the reasons for calling off the 24 hour strike, even though the dispute is still on. It all the issues are not resolved by November 13th strikes will be back on and reps need to prepare for that. The issues around the agreement have been the subject of discussion at policy forums, let's have a constructive debate over the type of agreement we are seeking and take the message back to the membership.

On Privatisation there was nothing more that this Union could have done and no Union could have fought harder over the issue. It is a major setback for this industry but he passionately believes that we can deal with the impact of privatisation on members. There was no real serious political fight in Westminster against the sell off, all the major Parties were in favour and it is disappointing that the Labour Leadership could not bring itself to carry out the policy of the Labour movement to bring RM back into public ownership. There are good people in the Labour Party who fought hard on our side but we were badly let down by the Leadership, this will be discussed by the PEC.

If you sell off any company so cheap it will not deter investors from making a killing. The Government were so determined to defeat the CWU that the company was sold off so cheap. Within the first week of the sell off it was sickening to see Cable saying the vast profiteering was froth and the price would settle down. Every commentator agreed that the company was sold off too cheap. 30% of the company is still in public hands and members are now shareholders, we are looking to see how members can influence board policy through its shareholding.

The decision to call off today's strike was unanimous by the Executive and was based on progress made in the talks even though the ballot remains live.

We have said we are looking for a ground breaking national agreement with legally binding protections however RM had offered a cliff edge of 3 years and the offer was not legally binding RM have now shifted from this towards a review after 5 years, this would set out an employment model going forward.

In addition to protection we are seeking to establish a Company Charter which sets out the principles, values and strategy in a legally binding charter which will protect the USO and will not allow TNT to set the benchmark for the industry.

RM have moved away from the pay offer despite saying it' a great pay deal with 8.6% on the table, RM have accepted our rejection of the offer and have come back with a better offer with incentive payments in line with CWU wishes.

On pensions RM have agreed to separate the issues from the pay deal and there will be a discussion on this over the merits.

On the industrial strategy RM were looking for a no strike deal in return for legal protections and have now moved away from that position. We are talking about a better IR process although RM were looking for binding arbitration we will discuss where either party could refer issues to arbitration. The ballot will remain live in the lead up to the Xmas period, RM have agreed to keeping the ballot live.

There have been two policy forums talking extensively about issues of concern to members and have clear objectives.

The CWU are looking for a set of legal protections to go way beyond what RMG have offered. We are confident that we are on the way to an agreement where there will be no further break up of the Company, no further sell off of Admin, Parcelforce, collections delivery and processing will remain with a first review after 5 years. There will be no move towards self employment within RMG. TNT have announced plans to move into Manchester with 1,500 new 'jobs' there is a very real battle on to determine terms and conditions in the mail industry. We are seeking a deal to ensure that there is no intention of employing a new workforce on inferior terms and conditions and a very important part of the agreement will be that it covers all grades.

We nee a recognition that the CWU has a role to play in helping the Company to grow and a recognition that release is required for this to happen.

Pay and reward needs to be improve basic pay beyond the initial offer with bonus payments and guaranteed rewards must be certain and needs to cover all grades.

On pensions the Company have already made concessions with the restoration of the final salary link for grades who promote. We need protections for the defined benefits scheme and that improves the defined contribution scheme. It should be noted that there are now 30,000 members in the defined contributions scheme and this will eventually become the majority scheme.

There have been difficult discussions on an agenda for growth, the CWU wants an agreement to move the business out of decline with a proper strategy for growth. RM strategy for parcels growth is still not defined. Letters must not be merely a sideshow but must remain central to the business. This may mean the CWU sitting at the highest levels planning investment. However growth requires stability and this must not be continually undermined by enforced budget savings and a key requirement will be the removal of command and control management. Consensual change is required not dictatorship and not only at the top of the company but at the bottom. We cannot come out with a national agreement where there is no resolution to the issues on the ground. We know the company are looking for more flexibility but must abandon crisis management.

The CWU has forced concessions from the company but to sum up if we do not see progress and resolution of all the issues we will be back on strike.


Billy Hayes spoke on the disappointment with the spineless Labour leadership who failed to promise to take RM back into public ownership. This was despite the unanimous decision of the Labour Party conference where the issue came second only to concerns over the NHS. 46 local CLP's had put this to conference and the debate had been clear over the issue. The Executive will discuss our relationship with Labour. Cable was a phoney who completely mishandled the sell off.
Bob Gibson Outdoor Secretary spoke on the issues still to be resolved in Delivery, these were amongst the most difficult to solve with remote control of resourcing by Directors and out with the terms of national agreements. Issue around chaotic lapsing and absorption were being raised with the department daily. Unachievable budget savings were being forced through by bullying and harassment of members. There is an assurance that there will be no national agreement which leaves Delivery function isolated.

Terry Pullinger, Mail Centres, Network and Parcel Force. It was becoming clear in national talks where ACAS had been present that senior managers within RM are struggling to explain their strategy for growth without giving the game away about their real intentions. It is clear that some senior managers do not want an agreement with the CWU. There will be no national agreement until all the issues are resolved.


There was an extensive question and answer session on all major aspects of the talks at national level. It was generally accepted that the Executive were correct in calling off the 24 hour strike and to keep the ballot live till November 20th.

[Godric]

Thanks for the update Tam

[Red Robbo]

Cheers Tam, nothing from our local reps even though they ask for your mobile number & e- mail address to keep you updated, maybe their too busy doing overtime.

[worktotime]

National Briefing London November 4th 2013

RMG National Dispute

Dave Ward DGPS
Thanked reps for the work in securing a Yes vote for industrial action, it was only through this vote that the CWU had been able to front up RMG in all the issues facing the membership. To put the Yes vote in context he did not believe that any other Union would have been able to secure a significant Yes vote in the face of the tons of propaganda that the company had issued to staff. The publicity over £2-3,000 free shares was used to persuade workers not to support their Union, the Government continually changed the goalposts in terms of the timetable for the sell off, in effect saying to Postal workers why bother with a Yes vote. We even had the disgraceful situation where RMG in a historic low point offered workers a bribe of £300 to cross a picket line, they didn't do themselves proud with that one.
If the YES vote had been a general election result it would have been declared a landslide.

This is the first chance to explain to members since privatisation the reasons for calling off the 24 hour strike, even though the dispute is still on. It all the issues are not resolved by November 13th strikes will be back on and reps need to prepare for that. The issues around the agreement have been the subject of discussion at policy forums, let's have a constructive debate over the type of agreement we are seeking and take the message back to the membership.

On Privatisation there was nothing more that this Union could have done and no Union could have fought harder over the issue. It is a major setback for this industry but he passionately believes that we can deal with the impact of privatisation on members. There was no real serious political fight in Westminster against the sell off, all the major Parties were in favour and it is disappointing that the Labour Leadership could not bring itself to carry out the policy of the Labour movement to bring RM back into public ownership. There are good people in the Labour Party who fought hard on our side but we were badly let down by the Leadership, this will be discussed by the PEC.

If you sell off any company so cheap it will not deter investors from making a killing. The Government were so determined to defeat the CWU that the company was sold off so cheap. Within the first week of the sell off it was sickening to see Cable saying the vast profiteering was froth and the price would settle down. Every commentator agreed that the company was sold off too cheap. 30% of the company is still in public hands and members are now shareholders, we are looking to see how members can influence board policy through its shareholding.

The decision to call off today's strike was unanimous by the Executive and was based on progress made in the talks even though the ballot remains live.

We have said we are looking for a ground breaking national agreement with legally binding protections however RM had offered a cliff edge of 3 years and the offer was not legally binding RM have now shifted from this towards a review after 5 years, this would set out an employment model going forward.

In addition to protection we are seeking to establish a Company Charter which sets out the principles, values and strategy in a legally binding charter which will protect the USO and will not allow TNT to set the benchmark for the industry.

RM have moved away from the pay offer despite saying it' a great pay deal with 8.6% on the table, RM have accepted our rejection of the offer and have come back with a better offer with incentive payments in line with CWU wishes.

On pensions RM have agreed to separate the issues from the pay deal and there will be a discussion on this over the merits.

On the industrial strategy RM were looking for a no strike deal in return for legal protections and have now moved away from that position. We are talking about a better IR process although RM were looking for binding arbitration we will discuss where either party could refer issues to arbitration. The ballot will remain live in the lead up to the Xmas period, RM have agreed to keeping the ballot live.

There have been two policy forums talking extensively about issues of concern to members and have clear objectives.

The CWU are looking for a set of legal protections to go way beyond what RMG have offered. We are confident that we are on the way to an agreement where there will be no further break up of the Company, no further sell off of Admin, Parcelforce, collections delivery and processing will remain with a first review after 5 years. There will be no move towards self employment within RMG. TNT have announced plans to move into Manchester with 1,500 new 'jobs' there is a very real battle on to determine terms and conditions in the mail industry. We are seeking a deal to ensure that there is no intention of employing a new workforce on inferior terms and conditions and a very important part of the agreement will be that it covers all grades.

We nee a recognition that the CWU has a role to play in helping the Company to grow and a recognition that release is required for this to happen.

Pay and reward needs to be improve basic pay beyond the initial offer with bonus payments and guaranteed rewards must be certain and needs to cover all grades.

On pensions the Company have already made concessions with the restoration of the final salary link for grades who promote. We need protections for the defined benefits scheme and that improves the defined contribution scheme. It should be noted that there are now 30,000 members in the defined contributions scheme and this will eventually become the majority scheme.

There have been difficult discussions on an agenda for growth, the CWU wants an agreement to move the business out of decline with a proper strategy for growth. RM strategy for parcels growth is still not defined. Letters must not be merely a sideshow but must remain central to the business. This may mean the CWU sitting at the highest levels planning investment. However growth requires stability and this must not be continually undermined by enforced budget savings and a key requirement will be the removal of command and control management. Consensual change is required not dictatorship and not only at the top of the company but at the bottom. We cannot come out with a national agreement where there is no resolution to the issues on the ground. We know the company are looking for more flexibility but must abandon crisis management.

The CWU has forced concessions from the company but to sum up if we do not see progress and resolution of all the issues we will be back on strike.


Billy Hayes spoke on the disappointment with the spineless Labour leadership who failed to promise to take RM back into public ownership. This was despite the unanimous decision of the Labour Party conference where the issue came second only to concerns over the NHS. 46 local CLP's had put this to conference and the debate had been clear over the issue. The Executive will discuss our relationship with Labour. Cable was a phoney who completely mishandled the sell off.
Bob Gibson Outdoor Secretary spoke on the issues still to be resolved in Delivery, these were amongst the most difficult to solve with remote control of resourcing by Directors and out with the terms of national agreements. Issue around chaotic lapsing and absorption were being raised with the department daily. Unachievable budget savings were being forced through by bullying and harassment of members. There is an assurance that there will be no national agreement which leaves Delivery function isolated.

Terry Pullinger, Mail Centres, Network and Parcel Force. It was becoming clear in national talks where ACAS had been present that senior managers within RM are struggling to explain their strategy for growth without giving the game away about their real intentions. It is clear that some senior managers do not want an agreement with the CWU. There will be no national agreement until all the issues are resolved.


There was an extensive question and answer session on all major aspects of the talks at national level. It was generally accepted that the Executive were correct in calling off the 24 hour strike and to keep the ballot live till November 20th.

to be honest no more talking after this lets just get out s**t or bust and hit these bastards where it hurts in the pocket.

[redneck]

To be fair our rep informed us of all this first thing this morning.

[music4essex]

My area rep sent over a copy of the letter this morning , gonna put it up on the board in the morning and place some out

essex mum

[clashcityrocker]

Welcome back Tamsky

[Danelectro]

but he passionately believes that we can deal with the impact of privatisation on members.

Not saying we shouldn't try but if you have read every article Billy Hayes has written on privatisation from union pamphlets to socialist magazines in France then its a hard one to swallow as Billy has always maintained that job cuts and reduced services are inevitable in any privatised postal service.

In addition to protection we are seeking to establish a Company Charter which sets out the principles, values and strategy in a legally binding charter which will protect the USO and will not allow TNT to set the benchmark for the industry.

A company charter would not be in the interests of the locus and whatever other shareholders he might end up representing so its another one where we could be on a hiding to nothing.In Germany they imposed a minimum wage for postal workers and TNT took them to court and won.