**New video** Royal Mail agreement presented to reps

[TrueBlueTerrier]

**New video** Royal Mail agreement presented to reps

21st January 2014

CWU area reps, field officials and Branches came together at the Queen Elizabeth II centre in Westminster toward the end of last year for a briefing on the proposed agreement between Royal Mail and the union. The New Year kicked off with briefings of unit reps at locations around the country. With the ballot scheduled to open this week, watch what the union's deputy general secretary for postal, Dave Ward, had to say about the proposed agreement and why the union is recommending members vote yes.

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Speaking at the briefing of national reps, Dave said: "This is the best possible agreement for the new private ownership environment. The agreement meets the union's aim of putting growth in the forefront of the future rather than managed decline and the agreement needs to be viewed in the context of that new environment.

"Customer expectations are changing," he said, adding: "Putting customers first is right and this will secure the future of the industry."

Turning to the pay and legal protections element of the proposed agreement Dave said: "We are pulling further away from the competitors' agenda. Whilst they are paying 40 per cent less than Royal Mail pay rates, we are still increasing pay and committing Royal Mail to continue raising the benchmark for the industry."

On the pay element of the agreement Dave added: "We have improved the pay offer from 2.6 to 3% in year one. Over the three years, pay will increase by over 9%. If this isn't the best deal in industry, it must be close to being the best. In addition, we have completely reshaped the lump sum. We have taken it from a divisive payment offered to people to break the strike to a payment for all. It now has a far greater cost to the business and reflects work done by members in the last year. It is also not affected by the ballot on the remainder of the agreement.

"We have eliminated the shortfall on overtime for those affected by raising the rate, improved the formula for holiday pay and secured additional money through incentive arrangements. These incentive payments will also be key to tackling the difficulties our members see in some workplaces."

Dave moved his focus on to the legal protections contained within the agreement, saying: "The legally binding protections for terms and conditions hold the company and the union to account. Neither party can get out the deal readily just because they don't like it. The protections meet legal requirements and can only be tested in court.

"The anti-privatisation campaign built the platform to enable us to secure those legal protections. Now, at the very point of privatisation they will not be able to franchise - they will not be able to achieve the model that has been rolled out in other countries where privatisation has taken place," explained Dave.

"In addition the union and our industrial relations structures are embedded in the company. CWU will be present in the company, in the workplaces and here to defend the interests of the workers."

On industrial stability Dave added:"We have re-enforced industrial relations and while we have strengthened the union's ability to say no to management excesses, we will bring a new culture to working with Royal Mail underpinned by training for managers and reps, to take a new approach to deliver a more stable environment based on joint benefit.

"The new governance model means we can influence the direction of the company in a real way including addressing the main board on key issues and look at new up-to-date interfaces between the union and the company where they have disappeared through management re-structuring.

"Industrial stability gives us nothing to fear and is key if we want an agenda for growth. It also means Royal Mail's control and command culture must go."

In conclusion Dave committed to a full discussion of the agreement to promote understanding and confirmed that he and the assistant secretaries will take the briefing to the unit reps in each region in the first weeks of January and that further national communications will explain the agreement in more detail before an individual members' ballot.

"We want the agreement to be voted on from an informed position and we will brief all our reps and ensure all members fully understand the agreement before they are asked to vote on it," he said.


General secretary Billy Hayes thanked officials and reps who have worked hard to help deliver this deal. "This is an excellent agreement in difficult times. In future years this agreement will be cited by industrial relations analysts and experts as a courageous new direction," he said, adding: "We fought privatisation for 21 years and have taken more industrial action than any other union on terms and conditions. This agreement sets a new benchmark to strengthen the union and its members for the future.

"Looking at this agreement in the international and UK labour market context we can see how strong it is," said Billy.

On delivery, assistant secretary Bob Gibson said: "Absorption remains high on our agenda but Royal Mail doesn't share the reach of that problem. So we have agreed workshops of managers and reps that will assess the problem and put us in a strong position to tackle outdoor absorption.

"The review is key to finding and agreeing the solution," said Bob, adding: "We have achieved ending annualised hours and stopping increased flexibility and increased monitoring.

"The debate going forward needs to be driven by growth not absorption.

"We have agreed to launch fairness, dignity and respect in every delivery office. These presentations will be jointly made by the manager and the rep and this will bring accountability," Bob explained.

"We will be proud of this agreement," said assistant secretary Terry Pullinger.

"Privatisation is a game changer and this agreement has faced that with legally binding protections. The agreement is about the future - we are swimming against the tide in industry, protecting terms and conditions while everyone else is reducing them.

"We have ensured we are the most relevant union in workplaces in the UK and this agreement protects our representatives and adds legal action to our armoury," concluded Terry.

Assistant secretary Ray Ellis added: "The implications on flashpoint issues are very important. Where Royal Mail doesn't agree an issue is negotiable, the flashpoint process can make it so. This agreement does not limit the union to take industrial action and the dispute resolution process makes that clear."

Both Terry and Ray laid out programmes of work agreed for mail centres, network, engineers and fleet with Terry adding: "the legal protections will be crucial in defending terms and conditions on Parcelforce."

A question and answer session took place in the afternoon and was followed by a presentation by Ivan Walker of Thompsons Solicitors who explained the strength of the legally binding contract between the two parties.

Read the full version of the proposed agreement and the separate pensions agreement.

Download the briefing documentsfor a breakdown of the agreement, legally binding contract and pensions agreement for more information.

[El-Bandito]

Dave Ward for general secretary now? Failure to do so will result in burst lime green chairs nationwide. Those negotiations last year must have been a struggle. Dave looks as though he's about to burst. Yikes.

[fishtank]

These incentive payments will also be key to tackling the difficulties our members see in some workplaces."

Anybody care to elaborate because I'm f****d if I know how an incentive payment stops bullying and harassment?

What it might mean is some of your colleagues might join in if they think you not lapsing might cost them their incentive payment....

[El-Bandito]

These incentive payments will also be key to tackling the difficulties our members see in some workplaces."

Anybody care to elaborate because I'm f****d if I know how an incentive payment stops bullying and harassment?

What it might mean is some of your colleagues might join in if they think you not lapsing might cost them their incentive payment....

Dangle the carrot long enough and the part -timers will be in work before all the full-timers. For what? An extra £2 a week? Hee Haw.