PEC REPORT APRIL 08

[lovejoy]

PEC maps out Campaign on Pensions/Government Review

April 2008 Executive Council Report

Pensions/Review on Liberalisation

Following complaints from branches, Field Officers and individual Pec members that the campaign around pensions seemed to have gone off the boil since the consultative ballot and the meeting in Northampton, a special Pec meeting on 23 April laid out a programme for action during May that will hopefully pull this back on track. This will involve the Union nationally writing to all MP’s and members of devolved bodies explaining the importance of the Government review of competition. A further letter will then be sent explaining why we are in dispute with Royal Mail over pensions, what our position is on this and why Government and RM policies are failing the company and its workforce. It will also include a copy of our submission to the review and ask for support for our campaign and for an Early Day Motion we will be promoting.

We will be asking branches to write to the local Labour Parties they are affiliated to explain why we have written to their MP and asking for the opportunity to attend a meeting and put our case and win their support. All Reps will receive a briefing pack setting out the objectives of the campaign and the key messages for members. Following this, a members letter will go out detailing the objectives of the campaign and why they need to support a ballot for industrial action when it’s called.

We have decided to re-activate the regional steering groups that worked so well during last year’s industrial action. Pec members have been allocated to each region – mine is the South East- and can be used as a resource for members’ or public meetings. We have continued to meet with Unite to discuss joint activity. At the moment, they are still on board with what we are planning to do. Whilst that’s good in that as a Union, they have more resources and muscle than us, you know what managers are like and we should always be prepared to have to fight on alone. The Pec will be meeting again on 7 May to consider the details of phase 2 of the campaign.

Pay & Conditions

Most Units, having concluded their phase 2 revisions, got the £400 last week. There have been some exceptions, where offices have been unable to reach agreements. In many cases this is not due to the agreement itself but to other issues such as outstanding conduct code cases. It has to be said that very few problems have been flagged up to us over the implementation of phase 2. The 30 minutes flexibility could have caused trouble but it doesn’t seem to have been used that much. No doubt someone will tell me otherwise! What could have an effect is the imposition of later despatch times to DO’s from mail centres. If an office has gone back to 05.00 starts on long days and no mail arrives till 06.30 then that arrangement isn’t going to last long. But when have management ever done joined up thinking?

The next payment due is the 50/50 bonus payment although not every office will get this and the payments will vary from unit to unit. This is due to be followed by the 1.5% increase in basic pay for implementing phase 3, backdated to the beginning of April. Workshops have been held in all areas but management don’t seem to want to know anything besides covering for absences. The phase 4 workshops are still going on at national level but as yet, little or nothing has come out of them.

Vehicle Services Pay

Following the rejection of their pay deal by the members in Vehicle Services, the Postal Executive considered a further, re-negotiated offer at our meeting on 23 April. The previous offer had been voted out for a number of reasons including the size of the pay increase, changes to the overtime multiplier at weekends, attendance pattern changes and the requirement for HGV licence holders to drive for Royal Mail in high pressure periods.

Although the new offer didn’t increase the total money available, it did remove the changes to the overtime multiplier with the pay increase flowing through to weekend overtime. The provision for 2 hours flexibility in the previous offer has now been reduced to one and management initiated change to attendance patterns has now been limited to workshops failing existing quality targets. At the moment there are only 11 in this position. The requirement for HGV drivers to drive for RM has been dropped. On the basis that the changes met most of the members’ objections, the Pec unanimously agreed the revised deal and it will now go out again to a vote of those affected.

Vehicle Telemetry

We have still not managed to get an agreement with the business on how telemetry will operate in practice. Although the equipment has now been fitted on about a third of the vehicles in the fleet and is sending out data, keys have yet to be issued to staff which would identify them as the driver. At the moment the only thing that should be going on is Area Transport Managers checking the data to see if it ties up with what actually happens on the ground. This should be done jointly with Reps but I doubt if this happens in many places. What does seem to be happening is that some managers are jumping the gun and trying to use the data either to take out vans or to speak to individual drivers about speeding or going off route. This should not be happening and any instances of this should be reported to CWU HQ. We have also been made aware that all the managers in offices where the equipment has been fitted have received a one-day training course to familiarise themselves with it. We are asking for Reps to be given the same course.

Burslem

The National Appeals Panel has started hearing the appeals against dismissal of the Reps at Burslem. It looks like being a long affair. At the end of the first week they still hadn’t finished dealing with the first case. What the appeals have thrown up, though, is some major issues that the Union will have to deal with at national level outside of the individual appeal process. The first one is about what happens or is said at union meetings. Many of the accusations at Burslem concern views allegedly expressed at CWU meetings in the office. Is it right that a member who doesn’t agree with those views should be allowed to level harassment claims on the basis of that, no matter how those views are put? This raises the issue of freedom of speech. We would also argue that if there are any allegations of improper conduct at meetings, this should be dealt with by the Union using our own disciplinary procedures.

Secondly, CWU Reps must be allowed to raise complaints made by one member or groups of members against another, either with that member or with management, without running the risk of facing harassment charges. In the meantime, the Midlands No. 7 Branch are still supporting their suspended members financially whilst the appeals carry on. This is putting a great strain on their finances. We are planning to do something nationally about this but no doubt all donations would be gratefully received. Remember, what happened at Burslem could happen at any time in your office.

Walk Sequencing

I attended a meeting with management concerning the purchase and installation of ILSM’s. This is tied up with the development of walk sequencing and runs alongside the compact sequencing machines. The plan is to buy 390 machines and deploy them in 54 sites. These would replace 390 existing MTT?V3/LSM machines. They confirmed that they have now placed an order for 76 machines with the option to buy the rest in 2010. This in itself is a worry as it doesn’t indicate that the business has much confidence in its future. The first machine is due to be installed in the Jubilee Mail Centre in September and trials will be run using this between then and July 2009. The main roll out of the machines is due to start in September 2009 with a completion date of November 2011. Management reckon it will take around 5 weeks to install and deploy each machine and they expect the bulk of the projected savings to come from reducing the numbers staffing the machines and from the reduction in volume of manual mail. Obviously we will have to watch developments at Jubilee closely as this will set the template for the rest of the country.

Labour Party

The last meeting of the Political Fund Management Committee was presented with a document asking for a £10,000 donation to be made to Ken Livingston’s election campaign. I moved an amendment adding the proviso that this money was also used to promote CWU campaigns on the review of competition and against the changes to the Royal Mail pension scheme. Unfortunately, I was outvoted and the amendment was not carried.

Pete Keenlyside
Postal Executive
1 May 2008

[BELIAL]

Thanks for that. Lots of info there ,said and unsaid.

[Stormproof]

Labour Party

The last meeting of the Political Fund Management Committee was presented with a document asking for a £10,000 donation to be made to Ken Livingston’s election campaign. I moved an amendment adding the proviso that this money was also used to promote CWU campaigns on the review of competition and against the changes to the Royal Mail pension scheme. Unfortunately, I was outvoted and the amendment was not carried.

Well that was a waste of £10k, perhaps the CWU will now wake up and realise the Liebour Party arn't worth pouring money into.

[dongash]

ten grand to labour!!! like a turkey voting for xmas!!! why are we aiding a party that is destroying our jobs/pensions etc????

[Carnoustie]

a £10,000 donation was made to Ken Livingston’s election campaign

Oooh, there's a surprise !

A blunder from the same leadership that threw away a position of strength, when we had RM on the back foot last year ?

Would have had more value for money putting the £10k in Premium Bonds. At least with those, if you don't get a favourable result, you can get all your money back

[dvbuk55]

a £10,000 donation was made to Ken Livingston’s election campaign

Oooh, there's a surprise !

A blunder from the same leadership that threw away a position of strength, when we had RM on the back foot last year ?

Would have had more value for money putting the £10k in Premium Bonds. At least with those, if you don't get a favourable result, you can get all your money back

Well really that would depend on what you call a favourable result - how about a nice little constituency for our fearless leaders, an MBE in the new years honours list for services to the pie industry, a nice little earner on some worthless quango or maybe something via the back door.

[Big Daz]

dongash


I must correct you, you should use the term Labour Government/Parlimentary party


You wont find much support outside of westminster amongst the rank and file labour party members for their policy towards postal services in this country.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

dongash


I must correct you, you should use the term Labour Government/Parlimentary party


You wont find much support outside of westminster amongst the rank and file labour party members for their policy towards postal services in this country.

Its strange the Parlimentary Labour Party says its in touch with the "people" and is listening to the message the voters gave them, yet in reality they are not even in touch with their own Party outside of Westminster.

They'd better start listening or the Conservative who don't appear to have any policies except full privatisation, and being against anything, may get into power in 2 years.

[dongash]

Why didn't the cwu give £10,000 to Alan and Adam? they seemed to be quite cosy with them!!!! :cfo :lfo