RM ATTEMPT TO FORCE PENSIONS CHANGES

[lovejoy]

TO: ALL BRANCHES WITH POSTAL MEMBERS



Dear Colleague

Royal Mail Group Pension Decision

At a meeting of the pensions consultative forum this morning Royal Mail announced a decision to proceed with the implementation of its proposed changes to pension arrangements. The company is sending a letter to all staff today confirming its intentions. Royal Mail intend to take a proposal to the pension scheme trustees next week which does not differ in any significant respect to the key changes it proposed in the consultation period which ended on 16th January, i.e.:

Closure of the defined benefit scheme to new starters with effect from 1st April 2008 (the original date of 31st January was postponed to allow further consultation with the unions as previously reported).

Royal Mail Group intends to introduce a defined contribution scheme for new starters, based on a tiered employee / employer contribution rate. New employees will not be able to join this scheme until they have completed 12 months employment. Full details of the DC arrangements will be circulated shortly.

Closure of the existing final salary scheme with effect from 1st April 2008 and its replacement with a career salary defined benefit scheme (previously referred to as a Career Average Revalued Earnings scheme) from that date. This means that for existing scheme members pensionable service after 1st April 2008 will be calculated on the basis of actual pensionable earnings in each given year uprated by inflation (as measured by the RPI) capped at 5%. Accrual rates and employee contribution rates remain unchanged. For service up to 1st April 2008 pension will remain based on final salary at the time of retirement or leaving the business (one of the changes negotiated by the union prior to the consultation period).

Increase in retirement age from 60 to 65 with effect from 1st April 2010. From that date members taking pension before reaching the age of 65 would suffer an actuarial reduction in that portion of pension accrued after 1st April 2010. Pension accrued before that date could still be taken unreduced from the age of 60

Union response

Both CWU and Unite/CMA representatives expressed disappointment that Royal Mail had not been prepared to modify its proposals in light of feedback during the consultation exercise. The vast majority of the feedback received by the company (around 70%) was in the form of cards produced by CWU branches or coordinating bodies urging a rethink of the proposals and proposing alternatives. The company does not appear to have received any support for its proposals from any contributor to the consultation exercise.

CWU has made it clear that it does not accept Royal Mail proposals and will not accept change without agreement. It remains the union’s position that any change to pensions must be agreed with the union and voted on by our members in the same way as any other change to terms and conditions.

The PEC will be meeting on Monday to decide the union’s response and next steps.

Yours sincerely

[Stormproof]

how are the union going to fight this if RM are going to force it in no matter what? I don't want to have to work for another 5 years more than I have to

[johnnyp]

how are the union going to fight this if RM are going to force it in no matter what? I don't want to have to work for another 5 years more than I have to

The only way we can STRIKE

[Stormproof]

how are the union going to fight this if RM are going to force it in no matter what? I don't want to have to work for another 5 years more than I have to

The only way we can STRIKE

See you on the picket line again

[johnnyp]

how are the union going to fight this if RM are going to force it in no matter what? I don't want to have to work for another 5 years more than I have to

The only way we can STRIKE

See you on the picket line again

Will do,look forward to it

[lovejoy]

how are the union going to fight this if RM are going to force it in no matter what? I don't want to have to work for another 5 years more than I have to

The only way we can STRIKE

Agreed... if needed. I think the CWU will/need to be a bit cuter in this one.

I think the PEC will decide to put the proposals to ballot at Mondays meetings with a recommendation to reject. This will result in a massive no vote which will give us all the morale high ground and at the same time get the public and media behind us (as we are not rushing straight to strike action)

This will also give branches the time to do the work needed to run a strike ballot if needed. For a lot of reasons not every office is ready at this point in time and the campaign must be right!

At the same time the union must use the review of liberalisation to attack the Government, RM and POSTCOMM because Royal Mails financial issues lie with the regulatory rules.

All of this coupled with the fact that UNITE CMA have also rejected the proposals gives us a strong hand.

Now is not the time for infighting and saying - 'i'm not supporting the union because of what happened last year'

Now is the time for uniting and fighting!

Get into your WTL sessions and hold managers accountable. Their own union don't support these proposals so how can they push them onto us.

There is no bigger issue than our pensions. Lets not give them away because we are looking for excuses to back out. BRING IT ON

[Stormproof]

We'd better not spend the £400 we apparently get in April as it might come in handy.

[johnnyp]

how are the union going to fight this if RM are going to force it in no matter what? I don't want to have to work for another 5 years more than I have to

The only way we can STRIKE

Agreed... if needed. I think the CWU will/need to be a bit cuter in this one.

I think the PEC will decide to put the proposals to ballot at Mondays meetings with a recommendation to reject. This will result in a massive no vote which will give us all the morale high ground and at the same time get the public and media behind us (as we are not rushing straight to strike action)

This will also give branches the time to do the work needed to run a strike ballot if needed. For a lot of reasons not every office is ready at this point in time and the campaign must be right!

At the same time the union must use the review of liberalisation to attack the Government, RM and POSTCOMM because Royal Mails financial issues lie with the regulatory rules.

All of this coupled with the fact that UNITE CMA have also rejected the proposals gives us a strong hand.

Now is not the time for infighting and saying - 'i'm not supporting the union because of what happened last year'

Now is the time for uniting and fighting!

Get into your WTL sessions and hold managers accountable. Their own union don't support these proposals so how can they push them onto us.

There is no bigger issue than our pensions. Lets not give them away because we are looking for excuses to back out. BRING IT ON

HERE HERE lovejoy like youre good self im 100% up for it and will be behind our Union all the way.This was always gonna be THE BIG ONE and one i know we must and will win.

[F0zziebear]

Forgive me for being a party pooper, but something doesn't add up:

There simply isn't the money to pay everyone what they are owed through the pension.
Is it possible that the government underwrites these pensions?
If they can find £25bn for Northern Rock can they find £5bn for the RM pension fund?

I wish you all luck with this I truly do, but personally I don't know where the money will come from

F0zz

[lovejoy]

So glad Billy and Dave decoupled it from the 2007 dispute! Otherwise our pensions may have been in real TROUBLE. Many thanks BILL HAYES & DAVE WARD your sooooooooooooooooo good at your jobs. LOL

The fact that we will now hold a seperate campaign, ballot and possibly action shows that the issues were decoupled.

The fact that RM have chosen to move ahead is more to do with their own attitudes than our national officials.

Dave Ward is up for election this year. I guess you will be putting you're name forward then??.............

[lovejoy]

Forgive me for being a party pooper, but something doesn't add up:

There simply isn't the money to pay everyone what they are owed through the pension.
Is it possible that the government underwrites these pensions?
If they can find £25bn for Northern Rock can they find £5bn for the RM pension fund?

I wish you all luck with this I truly do, but personally I don't know where the money will come from

F0zz

I understand you're point but that theory would be based on the facts that Royal mail tell the truth, stock markets never fluctuate, investment returns never differ etc. These things have not been looked at closely enough yet so to make such drastic changes would be wrong.

On top of this we have not even been through the review of liberalisation yet so how can Royal Mail make concrete financial predictions when they do not even know what rules they will be operating under??

Another thing we cannot underestimate is the media/public. The fact that a Government will stand by and let us sink whilst paying out for Northern Rock will add massive pressure!

Like i said lets get behind both the pensions and review campaign now and have our debates later!!

[axeman]

bring it on :lfo :cfo let the battle commence with these two fcuks but this is one they are going to loose thats for sure

[lovejoy]

So glad Billy and Dave decoupled it from the 2007 dispute! Otherwise our pensions may have been in real TROUBLE. Many thanks BILL HAYES & DAVE WARD your sooooooooooooooooo good at your jobs. LOL

The fact that we will now hold a seperate campaign, ballot and possibly action shows that the issues were decoupled.

The fact that RM have chosen to move ahead is more to do with their own attitudes than our national officials.

Dave Ward is up for election this year. I guess you will be putting you're name forward then??.............

No my friend i am a simple Postie and i wont pretend to be able to represent the interests of the CWU members in any form including being an office rep let alone on a National level! Just a shame those two clowns cant be as honest!

Whether or not the issues have been resolved is a fair argument. The fact remained they were (rightly or wrongly) seperated! So you may feel upset but i don't think you've been lied to by the CWU

[dvbuk55]

Whether or not the issues have been resolved is a fair argument. The fact remained they were (rightly or wrongly) seperated! So you may feel upset but i don't think you've been lied to by the CWU

There are quite a few on here who predicted that RM would press on with the changes because they have no legal obligation to adhere to any recommendations or alternative solutions put forward by "consultation", in the same way that PO closures have been subject to "consultation" but closed anyway.

I would seriously doubt there will be any movement by the membership to strike on this issue and I do believe the leadership HAVE lied. In the aftermath of the action RM clearly stated that the CWU had agreed to the pension changes even though Ward & Hayes were saying no deal had been done - they immediately sent out a message that change was inevitable.

No doubt when the changes have been implemented there will be a great deal of back slapping at HQ and a statement about how a resounding victory has taken place over the pension.

There isn't going to be a strike over the pensions issue because the membership won't give the mandate no matter how much tub thumping goes on.

[Carnoustie]

The fact remained they (the Pension proposals) were (rightly or wrongly) seperated! So you may feel upset but i don't think you've been lied to by the CWU

Lovejoy, it would be more accurate to say that Royal Mail's pension proposals were only DELAYED by the strike action. What they plan to do with our pensions now is EXACTLY what they planned to do when the issues of pay and pension reform were tied together. They haven't changed one iota as a result of the sham 'consultation period'.
Quelle surprise