Conference 2018 : Day Two Postal Round-up Wednesday

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On Day Two, conference again gave detailed attention to the union’s minority grades, following up the previous day’s motions on RMPFS with key resolutions adopted in defence of members at Quadrant and Royal Mail Customer Experience.
Our C-Grade members working for catering servuces provided Quadrant are currently on the Government’s statutory minimum rate, but the union is determined to lift these rates to an “industry-leading” level.
Moving a motion to that effect, Kent Invicta delegate Dave Banbury urged conference to rally all members behind Quadrant members’ fight for better pay, saying: “They don’t feel they have the power to stand up to the employer.
“We need to put as much pressure as possible on the company.”
Supporting the motion on behalf of the Postal Executive, Industrial Assistant Secretary Davie Robertson explained to delegates that, in the pay talks, “we’ve told the company we won’t accept a pay deal that does not meet the cost of living for our members.”
Davie also urged the whole union to rally round our Quadrant members and added that members should make sure they use their on-site canteen facilities.
Plans by Royal Mail Customer Experience management to outsource some of our members’ work to another company were robustly opposed, on the basis of the risk this poses to members’ jobs.
Plymouth & East Cornwall’s Ralph Ferrett, moving the motion, gave an impassioned speech, in which he dismissed the company’s denial that this plan amounted to outsourcing and pointed out the ways in which it breaches existing national agreements.
And members working in Crown Post Offices won the full support and solidarity of conference for a motion condemning the “abuse of the conduct code” in the company and the “breach of the losses and gains procedure.”
The proposition called for an amnesty for any disciplinary penalties through any abuses of the code and for an updating of the procedures.
Assistant secretary Andy Furey welcomed the support that the motion received and said: “The approach of taking a stick to our members will never work.
“Post Office needs to value its workers as its greatest assets and give them the respect and dignity they deserve.”
Last month’s extreme weather conditions, which prevented many of our members from attending duty, and the inconsistency of the company’s response, sparked a successful call for the Postal Executive to seek agreement with Royal Mail Group on a new jointly agreed severe weather policy and guidelines.
Equality in the workplace was also high on the agenda, with John Petit call, on behalf of Greater Merseyside & South West Lancs Amal, urging Royal Mail to increase its efforts to employ people with disabilities winning conference’s full backing.
Eastern No4 Branch’s Andy Black also received support for his motion urging the union to work with the business to establish the principle of “equal emphasis on both physical and mental health” when applying reasonable workplace adjustments.
And two propositions – from Gloucestershire Amal and South East Wales Amal – were adopted instructing the Postal Executive to engage with both the CWU women’s advisory committee and Royal Mail to improve workplace facilities for female workers and the recruitment and retention of women.