National Briefing 7/1/21 and 8/1/21

[Woody Guthrie]

An excellent report from the Branch Secretary of Grampian and Shetland Branch on the massive video call today with the negotiating team on the proposed agreement which goes to ballot on 18th January.
Thank you George Ross.

National Briefing 7/1/21

RMG & CWU
KEY PRINCIPLES FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

Jane Loftus opened the online forum and thanked all attending. She outlined this was the first in a series of briefings to discuss the proposed above agreement.

She then introduced the first speaker, Dave Ward.

DW thanked all on the forum. He stated he preferred the face-to-face element of conference type briefings but acknowledged we are in different & difficult times at present.
DW then said we are all on here to discuss the proposed agreement. He also said that we must remember where we started on this journey, where we are now and also take in to account the situation we face with COVID.
The Agreement has been circulated over the past couple of weeks. It has been a bad couple of years, difficult times but we are in a far better place now than we were at the start of this dispute.
We also need to look at the position we are in and remember some are not as fortunate to have the support we have as a Union.
The previous CEO leaving was monumental. Under his leadership & if he got his way, this company would have been dismantled, broken up and any savings made would maximise the dividends for the shareholders. Even after his leaving, his strategy remained for some time.
The Joint Statement in July was paramount for the shift in their position.
They wanted to trade jobs for change, with no benefits for the CWU or its members.
Only the introduction of the interim Chair allowed progress and help change the mindset of the RMG negotiators.
The CWU secured a massive shift in the idealism of RMG senior management.
The core business and pipeline are secure & have been secured as part of this agreement.
We need to diversify the business. We need to expand the roles of the OPG’s.
There are opportunities out there.
We can share local-to-local solutions.
We must relieve the pressure of command & control on our members.
We are ahead of most of our competition on trust with the public & we are the most trusted delivery company out there.
The so-called experts out in the business world have alluded to the demise of RMG & this agreement smashed that thought and shows that the CWU has changed the path the business wanted to take.
The 4 Pillars & the legally binding agreement has been secured until at least 2023.
We now have technology in the workplace. We acknowledge that but as is covered in the agreement, it will not and must not discourage or replace local negotiations.
We have secured local negotiations and the IRF (Industrial Relations Framework), something that cannot be overlooked.

Pay & the SWW speak for themselves.
Those on the outside looking in are astounded that in today’s industrial climate and employment uncertainty, the CWU has secured this in the agreement.
This is a great achievement that needs to be built upon.
This is not only a good deal for us, but also a good deal for RMG.
They (RMG) have now finally accepted that they need to change.
We have for some time told them that to secure work & to grow we need to meet the industrial challenges head-on & that includes a 24/7 operation. We had to shift them from their “save money by managing decline” stance and letting the business wither on the vine.
Sunday working is about meeting the customers needs and aspirations of a delivery company. We need and must be strong on the message to members, we must be better than the competition that is out there.
In closing, the employer recognises that to get change, you need to work with the CWU & its members.

Jane thanked Dave then introduced Terry Pullinger.

TP opened by thanking reps & members alike for backing the CWU in this dispute.
This is not the longest agreement by any stretch of the imagination, but we have had to live & breathe it for the past two years.
This agreement is not about money, it is about managing change in an agreed way. It speaks volumes of what can be achieved with a great & fighting trade union.
The industry we work in is surrounded by the cheapest of labour models.
This agreement challenges any conventional privatised company.
We must not lose sight of what we have had to defend ourselves against over the past 3 or 4 years.
Over the past 7 years, we have protected job security, wages, T&C’s & of course enhanced our pension scheme. We have also an agreement that moves us towards a SWW.
We have secured, against the previous CEO’s masterplan, the breaking up of the company, namely losing PFWW to the wilderness along with their CWU members.
He wanted to strip back our agreements & challenge at every possible turn, our legally binding Agreement.
RMG’s plans had to be exposed for all to see. It was flawed.
They wanted to move away from collective pay bargaining & any pay rise negotiated was to be on basic pay only.
We could not and did not accept this.
We are seeing traffic projected at levels expected in 24/25 and we wanted reward for dealing with these levels.
RMG posted losses and hinted at massive expected losses in the future and yet, we still cracked a deal on pay & the SWW.
Change & productivity should not be dirty words in the workplace if it’s done right.
We have secured no compulsory redundancies & we have protected the MTSF agreement until 2023 which again, should be a victory in today’s employment climate.
Members may not see this agreement as we hope but in the backdrop of the pandemic, letter decline & lockdown, we see it as a great deal.
We have shown we are still a force in the workplace & we have shown that in difficult times, we have risen to the challenge.
What we have done, what we are doing, is massive and how we managed to steer the negotiations to where we have a deal on the table is testament to the CWU & its members.
From 2018 – 2021 we have seen increases in pay (including allowances, SDIA, weighting allowances etc.) of around 16% for the members.
I am not sure many unions can or could have secured the deal we have on the table.
We have secured a pay rise, job security as well as our T&C’s and our members know at this time, job security is and must be massive.
In closing, the times we are living it at present, this is a massive deal.

Contributions followed;

Scan in/Scan out – banner of productivity
- Capture all those hours of member starting early.
- Annex 1 all agreed OT will be paid.
- Local autonomy.
- Removes command & control.

Conduct & Attendance – separate from this deal. Defend what we have if we can’t improve.

Legally enforceable deal – Aspects (some) are captured in the legally binding agreement.

Productivity – We now have a starting point where we are or can agree. We now must find a measure accountable to us.

USO lost – Not a given. The government & Ofcom are nervous about reducing the USO. We have highlighted over this difficult time our role in society.

Sunday deliveries – Should not be seen with reluctance. Our competition delivers 7 days a week and if we are to survive, we must match & ultimately leave them in out wake. We can also use Sunday deliveries as part of innovative duty structures leading to possibly 3- or 4-day weeks. If we are serious about growth, we must meet this challenge head on.

Culture & IRF – The chair of RMG refreshed the debate.
- Evident there was a consensus between parties.
- Some managers at National level were not up for change.
- Some managers may still have previous CEO mentality.
- Joint training on IRF at local level is a must.
- IR is key to culture change.
- Struggle never ends. We agree and move on to the next debate.
- We travel in hope.
- Possible issue, management capability.
- Some elevated to a level in management, they are not ready for.
- We need new products to make USO sustainable.

Timelines/dates – Practicality must come into play.
- Committed to the SWW (next hour October)
- Realistic timescales. In a pandemic setting, we must take this into account, as must RMG.

Pension Scheme – Awaiting Royal assent.
- Pandemic has slowed down legislation.
- Both sides committed to the scheme.

Average Holiday Pay – Tribunal in June for England & Wales.
- Scotland & NI, date still to be sorted.
- 4 Pillars VoC must be used.

The deal – Good deal for both sides.
- Genuinely tries to deal with all the issues.

Pay – 21-point ballot paper, pay for 2021 was not part of IA ballot.
- Became part of the talks. Sense to get the 2021 pay deal into the talks.

In summing up, the audience were told, they (RMG) wanted to reduce the influence of the CWU in the workplace and dilute the IRF. We haven’t allowed that to be the case.
The IRF remains the same, we try to crack a deal at the lowest possible level. This is set out in this agreement. It talks of local autonomy and that’s where we should be at. This is fundamental going forward & in protecting the IRF, we protect all levels of representation for our members.

Trust/culture/relationship; We must believe they want it as much as we do. No doubts there will be hiccups & bumps in the road, we must accept that will happen. We cannot give up on the ideas & future that we as a union see.
Finally, for them to achieve anything, they know they must meet us halfway to get things done.

This is my understanding on what I listened to on the National Briefing zoom call today.

George Ross. Branch Secretary. Grampian & Shetland Branch

[Edward Hunter]

Surely a change in the USO will blow this agreement out of the water. When is the decision on this as its pointless going into revisions until that outcome is known?

[worktotime]

and we all know what happens with LOCAL agreements and culture will never change and any revisions will be railroaded in , and all in r/m favour , so to honest nothing will ever change , so its a massive NO from me.

[hans solo]

Local solutions split us up national guidelines for everyone or gtf it's a no from me

[renrag40]

I take it that we will be seeing Ward and Pullinger out on a delivery on a Sunday soon then will we? Meeting the challenge head on and leading by example? Or will they be too tired from celebrating their outstanding achievement of beating RM down from 6% over 3years to 3.7% over 2 years? The pay deal was not part of this dispute. The fact that they allowed it to be drawn into this dispute I see as an abject failure by the above named 2 clowns.

[clashcityrocker]

I take it that we will be seeing Ward and Pullinger out on a delivery on a Sunday soon then will we?

I think you misunderstand Mr Ward's vision.
You will be delivering a parcel, cutting someone's lawn, getting their paper and then sitting down with a brew and listening to them telling you how they want to end it all.
Smart meters have ended his other dream.

[toonshola]

The more I look into this deal and the more I see the union self congratulating themselves on an amazing job the more I dislike it. I’ll be voting no, there’s no detail or solid guarantees on anything. And the whole local solutions thing...well we all know how that ends. The handful of offices with strong Cwu representation might get a few hours added, the rest of us will be absolutely screwed.
Can’t believe it took them all year to negotiate this, what a pile of crap.

[toonshola]

I take it that we will be seeing Ward and Pullinger out on a delivery on a Sunday soon then will we?

I think you misunderstand Mr Ward's vision.
You will be delivering a parcel, cutting someone's lawn, getting their paper and then sitting down with a brew and listening to them telling you how they want to end it all.
Smart meters have ended his other dream.

Made me laugh out loud this one your dead on. Thank you

[Cucumber]

Local agreements CAUSE Local issues.
They should be consigned to the 80's

[Woody Guthrie]

Day 2....

RMG & CWU 8/1/21
KEY PRINCIPLES FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT

Jane Loftus opened the Briefing made all aware this was the third of five and was to discuss delivery, distribution & processing.

Jane handed the meeting over to DR (Davie Robertson).
DR opened by mentioning yesterday’s briefing and gave an overview (see yesterdays report) on what had been discussed with the GS & DGS(P).
He went onto say this agreement is a rollback on the previous CEO plan for RMG.
What he wouldn’t take on board was, he refused to listen to the experts in the field, the CWU & its reps & members. He was in most opinions, was hellbent in the destruction of RMG, the break-up of the business.
Things have moved on & we are where we are.
COVID has brought many changes to all, staff, and customers alike.
Shopping online is the norm at present and how long this will last, nobody knows.

The agreement is a change agreement, the change is we have secured an agreement where change is negotiated & agreed.
We have re-established the change to all parts of the 4 Pillars agreement, including the network review (section 14/15 of the 4 Pillars) and that must consider the parcel situation.
The level of parcels we are seeing at present were not predicted at this level and the parcel hubs won’t be online, up and running until 22/23.
We have commitments in this deal to keep the current estate, all MC’s & RDC’s. This is a string position we have put ourselves in bearing in mind, tied into this is the jib security review in 2023.
In the long-term we must maximise our pipeline & network. We need to maximise our priorities and reduce the necessity of agency from the business.
In the short-term, we must do all we can to capture the growth of parcels.
We note that letter traffic increased over the peak (Christmas) period & RML were in a position that their predicted volumes levels changed daily over the period.
We cannot wait for the parcel hubs to open. We cannot wait and lose the opportunities that are out there; we must act now.
COVID has been a real pressure on all of us & some of the relaxations put in must be re-introduced to keep us as safe as possible.

Processing. We have pinned RML into using our agreement(s). we agree that RR (resource realignment) revisions will need to be done (in line with the agreed 13 step process) in Q4.
We must challenge agency use in these revisions. We need a fundamental resource structure & our LTFT (less than full-time) members should have their contractual hours reviewed to remove the need for agency.

Logistics. We need a network review & we need PAD revisions. We also need to consider what is possible to be done during the pandemic. When any revision is deployed, so will the SWW or a *beneficial equivalent for the second hour. These needs to be deployed in or around April this year. All resistance in the SWW has been removed so the decision on what can or is agreed will be done locally.

Processing & Distribution. RML wanted 4 revisions a year. This was the ludicrous position they wanted. We have agreed annual revisions. We must also remember we should be looking at quarterly reviews on staffing & hours and WRM’s are mandatory. We now need a shared language on productivity. There is no place for league tables mentality. One cap does not fit all.
We will look at the outputs from the JWG (Joint Working Group) and any recommendations they make. We must take on board forward forecasting to deal with growth & we need to get back to 19.1 (Processing & Logistics excluding Fleet & MDEC).

Logistics. Again, they wanted 4 revisions a year. We were never going to agree this. We are back where we need to be, the 4 Pillars agreement. Training (possibly joint training) may be the way forward o we get the best and most effective decisions for both sides.

Collections. The Collections working group are attempting to get things moving. They have agreed a way froward in trying to get things done.

On Collections & other groups not mentioned by name or function in the agreement, all are covered under this agreement. This is a group wide RMG agreement.

Resource scheduler. No real thoughts on this. We don’t believe it’ll work but RMG are going to preserve with it more in hope than anything else. We are back in trials and are using the current ToR (terms of reference).

AHDC (now scan in/scan out) is as we see it, the most expensive sign in/out system in the world. We have mitigated all the uses they wanted to use it for. They wanted to track members all over the site & wanted it linked to pay. All it will be used for is entering & leaving the building. All other issues such as OT, if its been agreed the level of OT & if the work is completed quicker (example given, 2 hours OT agreed, workload completed in 1 hr 50 mins, 2 hrs paid) the money will be paid on the agreed OT.

Mark Baulch. MB opened by saying he understood the frustration the members had over this agreement. Those involved in the negotiations felt the same. The resolve and the steel of the members in the ballot & its result led us & gave us strength to get this deal. It helped that the efforts shown by the members during the pandemic showed we are a force to be dealt with.
The pandemic confirmed our position in the community & the public can see our value to all. We have won the contracts not only for collecting COVID kits but also delivering them. We have also been entrusted into delivering circa 80 million vaccine letters.
The trend in letter decline & the increase in parcel traffic meant this deal is done in a time where it needed to be done.
RMG 2024 strategy has had to be brought forward due to the massive number of packets now in the system. We needed an agreement to deal with this and we feel dedicated parcel duties can only help.
The direction of change was needed, it has changed, and it was down to our perseverance. We have never hidden from changed or backed away from it. We only want a say in the change and agree how it is done.
We now have job security, a pay rise & the SWW. A deal like this was never going to be easy to crack but to crack during these times is truly remarkable.
Some have said and I must agree with it, there is still a lot of work to be done on this deal and the details need to be worked through & agreed.
We do have a lot of work to do but what must be seen is, the reward is upfront, pay rise and agreed path to the SWW.
There is no blueprint for DO closures or mergers in the agreement.
All agreements in revision activity will be agreed locally.

2.3 The approach to capturing growth in the parcels market is a must.

• Revisions. 1250 DO’s
• 850 rebalancing activity (still need the agreed guidelines)
• Need to develop a plan for a drive on efficiency.
• Base lines in DO’s, there is a lot of work to be done here.
• TM1 & AWD. Key pre-revision activity (guidelines need to be given to deal with the unagreed ATT, achieving the task)
• Structural change 400 units
• 100 upfront units
• Selected pilot units 30 1 X SDL; 5 X RMG; 5 X CWU

We must move forward on 19.3.1 New Delivery Agreement. we must & can move away from the standard 1 in 6 Sat off duties & RML plan on 5 hr delivery spans, that’s gone too.
All tasks now have PV’s (planning values) and they must be used, both for indoor & outdoor tasks. We need to relook at how model weeks are generated and how we forecast traffic.
Also later starts are not compulsory & that is also in the agreement. we have tried to think of everything and safeguard against their previous model on the delivery side of the business.
We have agreed training is required as is release for local & area reps. *REMEMBER IF MANAGEMENT DOES NOT AGREE RELEASE, NO MOVEMENT ON ANY REVISION ACTIVITY.
Again, we have tried to enshrine everything we could into this agreement.
PBS3 – We have held off on this, some areas are playing catch up.
CC (consumer collection) something we want to grow, and something we can use to maintain a collection function.

On Section 14 of the 4 Pillars, RMG has committed to a strategic review of the operational pipeline by April 2021.
Scan in/scan out. We need a ToR and guidelines for this in delivery. They have been on about it for a couple of years, but no plan has been developed yet.
All this, all this content is within this document and is backed and protected by the IRF (Industrial Relations Framework).

Efficiency. The key to this is having an agreed measure. We do recognise this, and we know that this will drive a different but informed discussion.
We have PV’s
• Indoor IE (Industrial Engineer)
• Outdoor Observed
We do know and agree there is a massive need for training and understanding required for this to work.

MB closed by saying he couldn’t answer every question, but we need to work through this and the only way of doing this is agreeing the deal.

Contributions

• Rev Pro – Alien to RR but would fall under MC remit.
• AHDC – No hurry due to COVID situation. TPC would be constant.
• Date share – Section 17 of the 4 Pillars deals with this concern.

• TM1, ATT has been used – The new revision activity will supersede this. Before any revision activity we jointly need to establish TM1 & AWD. We also have the Welsh statement to deal with this.

• Lapsing – We need to look at the model weeks we have been using and need to overhaul them. We possibly need two model weeks, one for letter traffic & one for packets. We may need to address shopping habits, some doing a lot of shopping at the end of the moth when they are paid.

• Command & control – OM’s must have confidence in their managers. If they don’t, what’s their purpose?

• Cleaners – They haven’t been left behind. We are looking at a cleaning review and the spec expected of their workload. Hours upon hours ripped out to meets budget & savings. These times show how important our cleaners are.

• Local to Local business – We must look at this. We could be looking at a whole new workload on LAT’s. Some local businesses may want to post local (same postcode) and that’s work we could do with out network.

• Resource Realignment – RML seem to have an unagreed 3 step strategy for revision activity in MC. The agreed 13 step process holds the field.

• 85% of pkts through core business – RML will still look to use parcel hubs, we are aware of this. But with the volume increase of circa 30,40% the 85% of traffic will still be a higher volume than we are dealing with at present.

• WIPWH (weighted items per work hour) – It is recognised and agreed that training is needed for this to be successful. Work is beginning this week and the Div Reps will be first in line.

• BASE + 6 DBF’S – One cap does not fit all, and solutions need to be found locally to many of the problems that are out there.

• Establish Base Line – Incredibly difficult for this to be done with any level of accuracy. We have had the pandemic to deal with, we have had massive sick absence, we have had massive USO & workplan failures as well as those who had had to shield. We may need to look at pre-COVID figures, but we agree that this will be challenging.

• Menu of duty options – This is already available in the revision pack (LTB 426a/10; I think). Many may have other ideas so the document may need to be refreshed. We could have members looking to work longer but less attendances. Before getting excited about this, we must make sure there is available workload there.

• SWW – It shouldn’t matter where we get the hour from. We are a strange band of people sometimes, we are losing time (not money, PT hourly rate will increase by default) & still find something to worry about. In reading the agreement, it states revisions in line with current arrival times so that can be your starting point.

• Doc on structural revisions – This should be done as circulated as early as Monday.

• DGP – If hours are required & investment needed, hours should be put into the AWD to deal with growth & workload.

• Dedicated Parcel routes/delivery spans – Already dealt with in previous comments but again, no intention on losing work from the core. Delivery spans, again, to be agreed locally.

• October ’21 plan B – We never put a plan B in place. COVID is driving the business community at present. We did want to put a signal in the agreement stating there may be slippage. We want this done and the SWW in place. No need for a plan B but we accept we are working towards the agreed date.

• Rebalancing workload 2.3 – We are looking to capture further work. We agree that some of the kit (OMV’s size) may not be fit for purpose. We can’t be seen to look to deliver as much as we can when we can’t carry the products we have fought for.

• Revisions should be based on tools we have at present – Some may think this, but we want to be at the forefront of growth. We want bigger vans to deal with parcel increase, we want more CSS machines to deal with new letter (economy mail) traffic. We must think big if we are to grow.

• What constitutes a parcel – Dimensions as scribed by RML 250x355x25mm with a weight of 750g.

• PT members moving to FT opportunities – The doc mentions justified. This is above the March/September review dates. If the workload is there as a constant, the VoC (variation of contract; 4 Pillars) must be used.

• Predetermined targets used by planners – We do not go into the revision process with predetermined targets. All revision activity must be done as new.

• RMSS (Royal Mail Specialist Services) – As previously mentioned, although not mentioned by function name in this agreement, this agreement covers the group.

DR closing statement. This whole forum, both days has been a real eye-opener. Numbers taking part proves that forums like these can and do work. I think this agreement is more than worthy of your support. We get frustrated as you do. Hopefully, all see the reward & hard work put in to get a deal, a pay rise, and an hour off the working week. We are now able to make & shape change with this agreement. RMG, Charter for change under the previous regime was a disaster. It now sits in history thanks to your hard work and endeavour during the dispute. We now have an agreement that will allow us to drive our initiatives. Let’s get the ballot endorsed and move our position forward.
MB closing statement. Thanks for your time and hard work over the past 9 months or so during this pandemic. We know it’s been difficult as has been the dispute which has been ongoing for the past 2 years. It is a good agreement and it recognises and deals with what we need to do to get RM back on track. We have tried to capture as much as we possibly could in this agreement but there is still work to be done. We exist to force management into doing the right thing. We must take the agenda forward. A job of work needs to be done. Together we can do this.