IMPROVED S/A HOLIDAY PAY AGREEMENT – WIDER SA ISSUES

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Letter to Branches




No. 465/14
Ref: 62000a
Date: 11th July 2014


TO: ALL BRANCHES WITH POSTAL MEMBERS


Dear Colleague

IMPROVED S/A HOLIDAY PAY AGREEMENT – WIDER SA ISSUES

The purpose of this LTB is to update branches on the implementation of the above Agreement and provide guidance on how to address some wider S/A issues, that although not related to the Agreement, are impacting on it in some locations.

General Enquiries

Since the publication of the original Agreement, we did field a significant number of enquires about the approach to back pay and various interpretations that were being placed upon the implementation arrangements. Although these have mostly been dealt with and general enquiries have subsided, if there are remaining individual questions on back pay that cannot be answered by managers, CWU members should in the first instance contact the HR Services Helpline on 0845 6060603 or, Postline on 5456 7100. Alternatively, they can email advicecentrepay@royalmail.com

Wider S/A Issues

Separate from the more general individual enquiries, what has emerged more recently and is of concern to the Union, are the difficulties being experienced over both the cessation of S/A and the 12 hour limit. This is not related to the improved Holiday Pay SA Agreement and appears to be becoming a bigger issue due to volume decline. The Union is addressing these matters as follows:-

Cessation of S/A - In response to declining traffic volume, which is more apparent in areas that are being impacted on by direct delivery competition, it appears that management are looking to reduce costs and are targeting scheduled attendances. The Union is providing the following advice:-

These issues are not related to the new Holiday Pay Agreement and should be dealt with in line with the normal consultation and negotiation procedures outlined in the IR Framework. CWU Branches should not accept unilateral action by Royal Mail. Although we accept that Royal Mail are bound to look at maintaining and improving efficiency, this must be dealt with by both parties scoping solutions that are mutually acceptable – not just based purely on Royal Mail terms. At National level the Union are now engaged in talks with Royal Mail on the best way to tackle the more general problem of volume decline.





A further concern for the Union is the potential for a double impact over these wider S/A issues i.e. if Royal Mail are looking to reduce S/A over the summer period at the same point as the new arrangements are introduced, then CWU members could lose out twice. We have told the company that this is not acceptable and that if this requires a review of the new arrangements then this will need to happen. Further discussions are currently taking place on this aspect and more information will follow in due course.

The 12 Hour Limit – Around the time of the Way Forward Agreement, Working Time Limits linked to the introduction of the European Working Time Directive were agreed. However, where local arrangements have continued to operate outside of the 12 hour SA limit, these should be honoured and not changed by unilateral action. Again, Royal Mail and CWU have agreed the right approach is to deal with this matter through the IR Framework and seek to find mutually acceptable solutions over what can be done. For clarity, for the purposes of the SA on Annual leave agreement, calculations on agreed, fixed or average SA commitments ‎ should not be capped at 12 hours, where they currently exceed this level.

Conclusion

The advice issued in this LTB has been agreed with Royal Mail and should be followed when experiencing difficulties over Scheduled Attendance matters.

The CWU does acknowledge that we must tackle volume decline, particularly in those areas where TNT and Amazon are having a noticeable and immediate impact. It is not in CWU members’ interest to avoid this debate and we should engage with Royal Mail both nationally and locally to find solutions that are fair to everybody. The objective should be to achieve the right balance between protecting jobs, earning opportunities and maintaining efficiency.

In the coming weeks, the Union will be communicating further on how we are dealing with the competitive threat and efficiency issues. In the meantime, please ensure that the content of this LTB is distributed to all CWU representatives. Any general enquiries to the DGS(P) Department, specific functional enquires to the relevant Assistant Secretary.

Yours sincerely



Dave Ward
Deputy General Secretary (P)

[britwrit]

Sorry. Maybe I had trouble reading between the lines there but what are they doing about Christmas SA? And the receding-into-the-distance "new" bonus system?

[donein]

so does this mean we get paid for sa when we have a holiday instead of a lump sum twice a year .i know but i get lost on the first paragraph

[TrueBlueTerrier]

so does this mean we get paid for sa when we have a holiday instead of a lump sum twice a year .i know but i get lost on the first paragraph

Stand by to me more confused.

No this LTB is not about the Holiday SA. But you are right about it being paid while you are on holiday instead of as a Lump Sum twice a year. That LTB is this one http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 53&t=61963" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[donein]

so does this mean we get paid for sa when we have a holiday instead of a lump sum twice a year .i know but i get lost on the first paragraph

Stand by to me more confused.

No this LTB is not about the Holiday SA. But you are right about it being paid while you are on holiday instead of as a Lump Sum twice a year. That LTB is this one http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 53&t=61963" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

thanks bub
my manager reckons he knows nothing about it i reckon he is just trying to save money