LTB 716/09 - National Dispute

[TrueBlueTerrier]

LTB 716/09 - National Dispute

Ref. 24005
Date: 19th August 2009



TO: ALL BRANCHES WITH POSTAL MEMBERS



Dear Colleague


National Dispute

Following a meeting with Mark Higson, the Managing Director of Royal Mail on Friday 14th August, the Union has written to Royal Mail making a number of points about our current dispute.

Firstly, we have welcomed the fact that Royal Mail has finally accepted that Phase 4 of the 2007 Pay and Modernisation Agreement, did explicitly commit the company to further national negotiations and further national agreements on a range of crucial issues that will shape how we take forward modernisation. It is important that we convey to our members that this was not Royal Mail's public position a few weeks ago.

However, given that we know, from past experience, that Royal Mail conduct meetings on the basis of lectures and not proper negotiations, we have made the company a fresh offer on how talks should proceed. The Union has proposed that both parties immediately commit to an intensive period of national negotiations based on meeting 3 days a week over the next month. In order to demonstrate that the company are now serious about resolving this dispute we have asked the Managing Director to confirm acceptance of our offer by close of play today.

Secondly, we have responded to an invitation from the Managing Director to formulate ground rules that would ensure local change is agreed and deployed fairly, in line with all national agreements, and not on the basis of managerial executive action. We have asked Royal Mail to cease all further planned executive action and immediately reach acceptable agreement in all offices where executive action has already taken place.

With regard to deployment of fair local change, we have identified a key problem as being that management are imposing unfair work rates to fit unrealistic budget demands, which means that many of our members simply cannot cope with the resulting workload. As a solution to this problem, the Union has offered Royal Mail the opportunity to engage external independent experts in the field of work study, to once and for all establish fair and objective measurement of employees' workloads.

Finally, we have raised again, our serious concerns over the appalling way that Royal Mail managers are treating postal workers in many offices. As a solution to this problem we have asked the Managing Director to intervene and stop some of the current management behaviour, which amounts to bullying and intimidation. We have also asked the Managing Director to agree to an external independent enquiry into the managerial bullying and harassment of postal workers.

On all of the aforementioned issues we will advise you of further developments in due course.

Given that Royal Mail continue to selectively display letters between the national parties on their intranet system we have enclosed a copy, of the letter that has been sent to the Managing Director and a copy of our latest press release for information purposes.


Yours sincerely


Dave Ward
Deputy General Secretary (P)

[dudleylicious]

Teebs here is the rest of the LTB

Dear Mark

During our meeting on Friday you confirmed that the company now accepted that Pay and Modernisation Phase 4 did require further national negotiations and national agreements to shape and take forward modernisation. Dale Haddon has also written to the Union setting out his view on a process for talks.

However, we explained that we are not convinced there is any genuine urgency or desire from the company to commit to an intense period of negotiations and resolve the differences between us. From past experience one of the fundamental problems that we must overcome is that Royal Mail continually uses meetings as a vehicle for external public relations and to lecture the Union on why you must selectively move your agenda forward - not ours.

Meetings where genuine negotiations take place would be very different to your current approach. We need to see a visible demonstration that this time around the company’s public statements are matched by your actions. To kick start this process the Union is proposing that we clear our diaries and commit our teams to a schedule of intense national negotiations based on 3 days a week over the next month.

I see no reason why our proposal cannot be agreed by tomorrow. Can you let me know.

We also spoke, at length, about local change and I raised, again, with you our very serious concerns over the appalling way that our members are being treated by Royal Mail. I explained that the bullying, managerial culture which exists within the company is now reaching very dangerous proportions and I genuinely fear for the wellbeing and safety of our members. Examples of this are increasing numbers of employees facing unfair conduct action when they simply cannot complete, in paid time, the work tasks demanded by your managers.






People are also being harassed and bullied at work, on a daily basis, through constant and unfair testing of their work rates by managers who are deliberately using this tactic to intimidate staff. People are also increasingly harassed when they are genuinely ill and managers are dismissing employees for issues that would only trigger informal counselling in most other companies. There is also the deliberate tactic of taking people off of pay if they dare question management on legitimate work related issues.

You responded by saying that you accepted that in an organisation as big as Royal Mail that some managers have been crossing the line – this is not good enough. If you accept that a problem exists - even though we may disagree on the scale of that problem – it is incumbent on both of us to take appropriate action.

I am now urging you to support our call for an independent national enquiry into the bullying managerial culture that is endemic within Royal Mail and the unacceptable treatment of employees.

In the meantime, I would like to see evidence that you are taking immediate action to stop this managerial behaviour.

Finally, we also discussed at length, the need to find an urgent solution that would ensure local change can be agreed and deployed fairly, in line with our agreements and ultimately what people can cope with. Central to these local problems are the issues of unrealistic budget demands combined with imposed work rates, and management ripping up local agreements covering earnings and attendance patterns, both of which were an integral part of the Pay and Modernisation Agreement.

You invited the Union to set out our ideas on how we could formulate ground rules for agreed local change. Crucial to resolving these issues is that both parties must agree that work rates are based on fair and objective measurement. This can best be achieved by engaging independent expert advice. Furthermore, we must clearly set out and separate, for the benefit of all managers and representatives, what is appropriate for national negotiations under Phase 4 and what is appropriate for local change utilising the IR Framework.

You also accepted imposed change by managerial executive action is not the right way to proceed. I am asking you to cease all planned executive action and immediately review, with the Union, offices where executive action has already taken place with the intention of reaching new local agreements.

The content of this letter addresses many of the problems that we must jointly overcome and offers a positive and pragmatic way forward.

I look forward to your response and my team and I are available to meet you as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely



Dave Ward
Deputy General Secretary (P)



For immediate release

Wednesday 19th August 2009


Strikes on as Postal Workers Overworked by Management-Rigged Systems


Thousands of postal workers are striking across the country today (Wednesday) as Royal Mail continues to disregard the concerns of CWU over cuts to jobs and services and a lack of willingness to negotiate on modernisation. The CWU has today accused Royal Mail of abusing work measurement systems to increase workloads to breaking point.  


Dave Ward, Communication Workers Union deputy general secretary, said: “Postal workers are more productive than ever handling more mail with a diminishing workforce. Stress is now reaching breaking point while morale is at an all-time low. 

“The company is rigging the work measurement systems to overload postal workers.  Budgets are cut year on year and delivery rounds are then overloaded to match that budget. These systems were introduced to accurately determine workloads but Royal Mail are rigging the systems to ensure they meet their panic-driven cost cuts.
 
“The company knows the workload is unacceptable but are bullying people to attempt to tackle impossible workloads" he added. 
 
The strikes have developed over Royal Mail’s attempts to impose budget cuts, reducing jobs and services.  The CWU continues to call for meaningful negotiations on modernisation, as previously agreed in 2007.  Only this week, as a result of the strikes to date, has Royal Mail finally offered the union talks. 
 
Dave Ward said: "The offer of talks is welcomed, but the company has to have real dialogue.  To this point, all they do is lecture us on their plans. In the meantime they continue to impose cuts and unacceptable workloads and so the strikes will continue.  We repeat our offer of a no strike deal if the company takes a step back on this round of cuts and negotiates on the bigger picture of the much needed modernisation of the company.  In 2007, both parties agreed to negotiate on all aspects of modernisation and Royal Mail must return to that approach.”
 
The CWU has repeatedly expressed serious concerns over the appalling way that postal workers are being treated by Royal Mail.  "The bullying, managerial culture in the company is now reaching very dangerous proportions and we fear for the wellbeing and safety of our members.   Examples of this are increasing numbers of employees facing unfair conduct action when they simply cannot complete the work tasks demanded by managers, within the allocated working time," added Mr Ward. 

The CWU has uncovered lots of examples where workers are increasingly harassed when they are genuinely ill and of managers dismissing employees for issues that would only trigger informal counselling in most other companies. There is also the deliberate tactic of taking people off of pay if they dare question management on legitimate work related issues.

Dave Ward said: “The simple way to resolve these issues and bring an end to strike action is for Royal Mail to agree to negotiations which agree an approach to modernisation taking into account job security fears and stop the unagreed imposed cuts.”


-Ends-

[axeman]

Royal fail have no intentions to back down the word is that they will not meaningfully negotiate as they intend to press forward with there plans by EA so i hope for everyones sake Mr Ward & the pie man take this onboard. Before they launch themselves and us in to a 3 month break before lil ad pushes forward with mandys master plan and we lose the initiative we after all at the moment have the upper hand

[BELIAL]

I'd guess from the tone that Mr Ward has has come a long way since 2007 ,or that the balance has shifted to give him more sway. Don't think he will fall for a third party input where the results are postponed for months so they can be rewritten to suit Mandy's agenda like hooper