Romec Dispute Resolution

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Letter to Branches




No. 104/2014
Ref: PTC/RE/dj/312
Date: 14 February 2014


TO ALL BRANCHES WITH ROMEC MEMBERS


Dear Colleague

RE: Romec Dispute Resolution

Following the announcement of the ballot result on the 27th January 2014 an initial meeting took place with Romec HR Director John Fisher at which the company agreed not to seek to TUPE transfer engineers with the corporate Alarm Maintenance contracts which Romec had terminated. It was agreed to deal with the resultant staff surplus using the Managing Surpluses Agreement – however, Romec was not prepared to apply MSA redundancy and early pension terms in full.

Following further talks with Romec MD Simon Holliday and Royal Mail Director of IR / HR Peter Walls (acting on behalf of Romec) a resolution to all the issues in dispute has been achieved.

The attached Joint Statement:

Confirms that there will be no TUPE transfer associated with the Sainsbury’s contracts (paragraph 3).
Confirms resolution to potential TUPEs in various other smaller contracts, such as Siemens, Maersk, Met Police, GMP and Camelot (paragraph 4). These cases were reviewed individually by Romec National Representatives Ged Garside and Cyril Onyejekwe together with Romec HR. The union has agreed that those who were previously TUPEd in on a specific contract will TUPE out with that contract, as will staff recruited specifically for a particular contract. Romec members who moved on to these contracts will be given the option of redeployment within Romec as an alternative to TUPE transfer.
A programme of VR will be undertaken, using the terms, process and principles of the MSA. The Joint Statement confirms that full MSA terms will apply in this and other exercises, including the Cleaning Efficiency programme. MSA terms have been brought into line with MTSF (paragraph 6).
Preference exercises will take place in Fire & Security Maintenance, Install and at the Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) with three options; VR, redeployment within Romec or remaining in Fire & Security (paragraphs 8 and 9).
The agreement confirms that selection for the Engineering workforce to support the POL contract will be carried out in line with agreed principles, using seniority within agreed geographical and skills criteria (paragraph 10).

The Joint Statement therefore:

Resolves the potential TUPE issues arising from termination of the corporate contracts.
Resolves the various problems created by Romec’s attempts to avoid using MSA / MTSF redundancy terms, not just in regard to the issues affecting engineers which the union balloted on, but across all CWU represented grades in Romec.
Resolves the issue of unagreed allocation of Engineers to a dedicated POL contract workforce.

The situation in Romec remains serious – the POL contract is not guaranteed beyond the end of August if Romec is unsuccessful in the tender process. The union has however, ensured that members will be treated fairly and decently within the terms of national agreements and will have some choice in determining their future.

Thanks are due to branches and representatives who helped to deliver an overwhelming majority for industrial action in a very short timescale which made this agreement possible.

Any enquiries should be addressed to Ray Ellis’s department, quoting reference PTC/RE/dj/312.
Email address: rellis@cwu.org

Yours sincerely



Ray Ellis,
Assistant Secretary

[TrueBlueTerrier]

ROMEC/CWU
JOINT STATEMENT TO RESOLVE THE ‘UNAGREED ALLOCATION TO JOBS’ DISPUTE
1. This statement resolves the current issues regarding un-agreed allocation to jobs which have been subject to a ballot notice.

2. Following detailed discussions the following conclusions have been reached with regard to both the implications of the withdrawal of BBTS contracts and the creation of a POL – dedicated engineering workforce.

3. No CWU represented employee works more than 54% on any of the Sainsbury’s contracts. In light of this and the fact that this % varies from time to time both Romec and CWU believe that TUPE would have been contested successfully by the incoming contractor and therefore agree that TUPE will not be pursued in this case.

4. Romec and CWU have also reviewed the list of employees on other contracts primarily of a residential nature which may move to other contractors over the next few weeks. Both parties recognise that where employees have TUPE rights the employer is obliged to offer these rights. The aim has been to secure a mutually satisfactory solution, which recognises all the issues raised and this has been achieved.

5. A wider discussion has taken place over the impact of the loss of the corporate portfolio on the business financial position and the number of jobs that can now be provided by the company not only but in particular Fire & Security mobile engineering.

6. From our initial analysis it is recognised that a surplus will exist and that a programme of voluntary redundancies will be required. The number will be notified and discussed in the usual way. The terms, processes and principles of Managing Surpluses Agreement (MSA) will be applied to this exercise, the cleaning efficiency programme agreed as part of the 2013 pay review and any other current surplus situations, with the following exceptions:

The method of calculating redundancy compensation for Romec employees in CWU represented grades with over 2 years’ service will be changed to the following, subject to a minimum of 6 months’ and a maximum of 2 years’ pay, except for employees entitled to early payment of pension:

0.5 weeks’ pay for each full year of service where age during year was less than 22
1.0 weeks’ pay for each full year of service where age during year is 22 or above, but less than 41
1.5 weeks’ pay for each full year of service where age during year is more than 41
Multiplied by 3.75
Enhanced early pension will not be available for 50-54 years olds who are members of RMPP as this is no longer permissible under HMRC regulations
The abatement for employees over age 62 will no longer be applied
It is the intention of both CWU and Romec to review the Managing Surpluses Agreement during 2014. MSA terms as modified above will apply pending completion of the review.
7. Both parties are committed to address the implications of the loss of corporate work with urgency with the intention of restructuring to ensure that the business has a sustainable and profitable range of products.

8. Romec and CWU will now conduct a jointly agreed preference exercise amongst the F&S engineering population to determine preference for remaining in F&S, redeployment within Romec or VR. Within the constraints of providing nationwide services to contractual standard and constructing a credible bid for POL services Romec and CWU commit to using their best endeavours to meet the preferences of those covered in the exercise.

9. Similarreviews will be undertaken in F&S installationand at the Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC). The approach as outlined above will be adopted in those reviews.

10. Following the loss of corporate contracts it is envisaged that approximately 30 positions in F&S Service will be required to service Royal Mail Letters and Parcelforce. In addition, in line with the intention of creating a dedicated POL grouping, 49 positions will be required to provide services to POL. The process for populating duties following the preference exercise will follow the principles agreed in the 2008 Attendance &Modernisation agreement and discussions to agree the geographical and skills criteria to apply will take place as a matter of urgency.

11. This joint statement resolves the current dispute relating to the un-agreed job allocation process and in consequence CWU agree to withdraw the ballot notice.

Peter Walls Ray Ellis
Acting HR Director Assistant Secretary
Romec CWU
11 February 2014 14 February 2014