LTB 74/2014 Motion 30 Postal Conference 2013

[Geezer]

Letter to Branches



No. 74/2014 Ref: 300 Date: 31st January 2014


To: Branches with POSTAL Members

Dear Colleague

Motion 30 Postal Conference 2013

Following the carriage of motion 30 (below) at last year’s Postal Conference, the department has been involved in discussions with Royal Mail in recent months regarding this matter and also a number of other driver initiatives/issues.

This element of work will continue to be raised with Royal Mail under the auspices of the RTA Working Group which was set up last year as an outcome of the RTA Agreement and Zero Accident Programme. The working group meets on a quarterly basis to discuss issues related to Driving Royal Mail vehicles and has a cross representation of CWU Representatives from the relevant grades across Royal Mail.

In recent months the department has become aware of an increase in the number of reported instances involving component failure in relation to the use/application of handbrakes. This matter is being addressed in conjunction with other relevant departments at CWU HQ and the matter will be raised at the next meeting of the working group.

However we are unsure as to the scale of this issue and whether it is a widespread problem or something that is only prevalent in certain areas of the Country. Therefore we are asking Branches to provide the department with any instances where our members either have to take Royal Mail vehicles off the road due to the vehicle being considered generally unroadworthy or more specifically due to problems with handbrakes. It would be appreciated if Branches could provide the department with the relevant details before Monday 10th February so that they can be raised with Royal Mail.

Further updates on this matter will be reported in due course. In the meantime any queries should be raised with Bob Gibson’s Office, quoting reference 300
Email address: hnutley@cwu.org

Yours sincerely

Bob Gibson
CWU Assistant Secretary - Outdoor




CATEGORY A:

This Conference notes that with the introduction of Delivery Methods into Royal Mail, many more of our members now perform driving duties, or are reliant on Car Derived Vans (CDV’s) to carry out their deliveries. This in turn has put increasing pressure on the system that repairs and/or replaces damaged or broken down vehicles and Conference notes with concern the increasing numbers of vehicles that are returned to Delivery Offices with reported faults still unresolved.

This Conference also notes that an unwelcome side effect of this is that our members are coming under increasing pressure to use vehicles that are in an unsatisfactory condition and are, on some occasions, unroadworthy. Therefore, the Postal Executive is instructed to commence a campaign amongst our members which will fully inform them of the standards they should be able to expect/demand from Royal Mail vehicles. The campaign should raise this important issue with the employer as well as inform our members of their rights and responsibilities in relation to request/instruction to use unsafe/unsatisfactory vehicles.

The campaign should consider all forms of communication available to the CWU and may include letters to individuals, articles in The Voice magazine, an information request campaign similar to that used for the “Delivery under Pressure” campaign, or any other communication as determined by the Postal Executive.
Eastern No.3

STATEMENT ACCEPT - CARRIED