DOG AWARENESS WEEK 2014 : 30TH JUNE TO 4TH JULY 2014

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Letter to Branches




No. 413/14
Ref P18/14
Date: 27 June 2014

To:  All Branches


Dear Colleagues,

ROYAL MAIL/CWU – DOG AWARENESS WEEK 2014 – 30TH JUNE TO 4TH JULY 2014

Further to my communication dated 13 May, here is the final full, detailed update and information prior to next week's Dog Awareness Week Launch.

Introduction – What is the Idea Behind the Dog Awareness Week Campaign?

The 2014 Royal Mail/CWU “Dog Awareness Week” takes place 30th June to 4th July. 

The 2014 Royal Mail/CWU Dog Awareness Week will be launched on Monday 30th June and will be a high profile awareness raising campaign aimed at Royal Mail customers who are dog owners and our own delivery staff members.  The annual Dog Awareness campaign’s aim is to raise understanding of the issue of dog attacks on postmen and women with a purpose of avoiding and reducing the high number of serious injuries sustained by postal workers across the UK.

Royal Mail and CWU will be working in partnership to encourage responsible dog ownership and to appeal to dog owners to keep their animals under control when the postman or woman calls to deliver letters, packets and parcels or ‘signed for’ items.

Royal Mail Dog Attack Statistics

The official statistics are that since April 2012 there have been over 6,300 dog attacks on postmen and women, some leading to permanent disabling injury. On average currently around 9 postmen and women a day are attacked by dogs across the UK with over 3,300 attacks taking place between April 2013 and April 2014.

Joint Efforts by Royal Mail safety teams and CWU Safety Reps have driven dog attack numbers down, since the 2007/8 peak of 6,500 attacks, through the implementation of the new “Walk Risk Assessment Platform (WRAP) Dog Attack Policy” and concerted local efforts to control risks and suspend deliveries where necessary.

While the number of attacks has fallen since the 2007-2008 peak, it still remains unacceptably high and the nature and seriousness of the injuries being received by Postal workers is a growing concern.

Why This Week?

The number of dog attacks peaks during the summer school holidays and we annually see a sharp increase in dog attacks on delivery Postal workers because more dogs are allowed out unsupervised in the better weather as families are out and about around their properties with doors and windows open, side and back doors are open and dogs are allowed to roam in and out on the property and in the locality. A third of all dog attacks on Postal Workers occur during the months of June, July and August.

Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union will be appealing to dog owners to work with them to help keep their animals under control when the postman/woman calls to deliver mail, packets, parcels and signed-for items, during the school holidays this summer.

Organisations Supporting the Campaign

The campaign is being supported by a wide range of organisations and animal charities including Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Dogs Trust, Blue Cross, National Animal Welfare Trust, RSPCA, The Association of Chief Police Officers, The National Dog Warden’s Association and other Trade Unions and organisations.

Dog Awareness Week Activities and Initiatives

A number of activities are being organised during Dog Awareness Week including the following:

A national media plan
A regional media plan
Working with external organisations
Royal Mail internal communications
Royal Mail public affairs
Posters
Postcards
Courier newsflashes
Courier articles
Press releases
Special Postmark
A new “Re-Direction" Label/Sticker
A new "Unable To Deliver" Label/Sticker
CWU TV, website, Voice articles and LTBs
There will also be national and regional TV, radio and newspaper coverage

Dog Awareness Week - Messages and Staff Communications

Royal Mail has planned a number of activities for the week. Please see listed below together with relevant attachments:

Monday 30th June - Press and Media Day - Press Conference

Tuesday 1st July - Tuesday’s Message:
(a) Staff to watch the dog awareness film.
(b) WTL Managers Briefing Document circulated plus
(c) A Delivery Staff Hand Out/Information Sheet to be distributed.

Wednesday 2nd July - Wednesday’s Message:
Delivery Managers to complete a WTL Briefing/Huddle to go through completing WPQs/WRAP, Walk Logs, Hazard Cards, marking 'D' on mail items to dog hazard addresses plus using the 'Posting Peg'.

Thursday 3rd July - Thursday’s Message:
Delivery Managers to review the WRAP/Dog Risk Assessment Control Matrix so that they know what to do when faced with a reported dog hazard.

Friday 4th July - Friday’s Message:
Thank you message to delivery staff for raising hazards and remind staff of key top tips for avoiding dog attacks.

Special Postmark

A nationwide Dog Awareness Week Postmark is to be applied to letters from Monday 30th June 2014.

Key Messages and Top Tips

Top Tips for Dog Owners

Keep your dog indoors around the time the postman/woman calls to deliver the mail.
Before you open the door to collect a parcel or sign for an item – put your dog in another room.
Make sure children don’t open the door, as dogs can push past them and attack the postman or woman.
If you have a back garden, close off the access so your dog can’t get round to the front of the house when the postman or woman calls.
If your dog attacks the mail and could bite the postman or woman’s fingers as he/she puts mail through the letterbox, please fit a letterbox cage to protect your mail and the postman/woman’s fingers.
If it is not practical for you to keep your dog away from the postman or woman delivering your mail, consider fitting an outside secure mail box on the edge of your property.
REMEMBER – It is now a criminal offence if your dog attacks the postman or woman on your private property (Dangerous Dogs Act Law changed in May
2014).

Top Tips for Postmen and Women to Keep Safe

Never put your fingers through any letterbox – use a posting peg – if you can’t deliver the mail safely then don’t deliver it!  -  Take it back to the Delivery
Office and report it to your manager.
Before entering gardens, look for signs of a dog’s presence (dog signs, dog bowls, dog blankets, dog toys, dog bones etc.,) – rattle the gate to make some noise to see if a dog is around that you can’t see.
Never accept a dog owner’s assurance that their dog won’t harm you – ask them to restrain it and take a step away.
Never enter a property where there is a potential or perceived risk or a dog is running loose – report it immediately to your manager and CWU Safety Representative.
If you can - use your pouch or trolley as a barrier between you and the dog if confronted.
Write a letter ‘D’ in the top right-hand corner of the first letter for a property, or use warning cards or stickers where you know there is a dog hazard to remind you on the round where extra vigilance may be required.

Royal Mail and CWU’s main aim is to always prevent attacks. Where there’s an address with an identified risk from a dog, Royal Mail are committed to working with the customer to agree simple steps to ensure the mail can be delivered safely. Where that is not possible and deliveries are assessed as unsafe the deliveries will be suspended until such time as the risk is brought under control.

With regard to internal measures to improve the safety of our delivery workers, Royal Mail is committed to regularly communicating with the workforce about the dangers of dog attacks and providing advice to postmen and women on techniques to minimise the risk of attacks or harm in the event of an attack.

Letter Box Post Guard Cages - Stops Dog Attacks and Stops Dogs Chewing the Mail

Part of the Dog Awareness week campaign is to encourage customers/dog owners to fit Letter Box Guard Cages and this features in the campaign materials. These are available from a number of sources and are sold by major retailers, DIY stores and by mail-order (e.g. Argos and Amazon for example). See attached images for local campaign use.

Royal Mail/CWU Dog Awareness Posters

Three Dog Awareness Campaign Posters have been produced as follows:-

External poster for callers offices in England and Wales
External poster for callers offices in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Internal posters for staff in all units

See attached A4 copies of the Posters.

Dog Awareness Week - Joint "Newsflash"

A Special Courier Newsflash jointly endorsed by Royal Mail, Parcelforce, CWU, Dogs Trust, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, Blue Cross and the National Dog Wardens Association will be distributed during the campaign week. This will cover the statistics; 3,300 dog attacks on Postal Workers last year, the new Legal protection for Postal Workers extending the law to private property and messages to staff on how to minimise the risk of dog bites; being vigilant, using a posting peg, never accepting the word of a dog owner, getting distance or a barrier between you and the dog, report all dogs via WRAP and Walk Logs. See copy of the 'Newsflash' attached.

Posting Peg Poster

To encourage the use of 'Posting Pegs' wherever possible and practical a new poster has been developed and agreed, conveying the message - "a posting peg or your finger - what would you rather lose?" These posters are now available via Regional Safety Teams. It should be remembered that whilst we want members to use the Posting Peg and fully support its use because of the number of serious finger injuries and finger amputations received by members, the Posting Peg is just one tool in the drive to reduce dog attack incidents and is not a one-size-fits-all solution and is not always appropriate. See copy of the 'Posting Peg Poster' attached.

Royal Mail/CWU Dog Awareness Postcards

Following feedback from last year's 'Dog Awareness Week' a Dog Awareness postcard has been developed which can be sent to customers in areas where dog attacks are a regular problem. This postcard has been on trial across the country and proved to be successful in raising awareness amongst dog owners of the risks faced by postal staff. Supplies can be ordered through the Regional Safety Teams who will need to raise a local purchase order. The dog awareness postcards were initially being trialled by offices in high impacting postcode areas in the regions. The aim of the postcards is to try and proactively influence the customers’ behaviour and help to reduce dog attacks. The units who were involved in the trial were asked to deliver a postcard to every residential address in their respective areas. However, where delivery staff are 100% sure there is no dog at an address they can choose not to deliver the postcard to that address. The postcards were jointly developed by Royal Mail, Parcelforce, CWU and the Dog Trust and have been produced to help protect the frontline staff and as a proactive communication. Royal Mail HQ have informed us that the Regions have successfully bid for funding for the postcards and around 2 Million will be available for delivery during Dog Awareness Week and beyond if necessary. The aim will be to target high impact areas and
Delivery Offices with higher numbers of Dog Attacks. A pdf copy of the RM/CWU Dog Awareness postcard and copy of the ordering process are attached.

CWU 'Bite-Back' Campaign

After seven years of hard campaigning by the CWU through our 'Bite-Back' campaign, on the 13th May 2014 the UK Government finally introduced the amended Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and extended the law, making it a criminal offence to have a dog that is dangerously out of control on private property.  This was a major success for the union providing protection for our members and will go a long way to encourage responsible dog ownership or hold to account those irresponsible dog owners who allow their dogs to attack postal workers on private property and who were previously immune from prosecution.  70% of dog attacks on postal workers occur on private land and this long awaited change had been the central objective of the CWU’s “Bite-Back” campaign. 
The extended law now covers the whole of the UK with the law for England and Wales following the changes previously made in Scotland and Northern Ireland as a result of our campaign.  Other changes introduced include substantially increased sentences, extended Police powers, new control orders and compulsory micro-chipping.  Whilst recognising that most dog owners are responsible and most dogs do not present our members with a problem, part of this year’s Dog Awareness Week will be about raising awareness amongst Royal Mail Customers who are dog owners that the new extended Dog Control Law is now in force which is an added and strong incentive for all dog owners to be responsible and to control their animals at all times. See Attached CWU Press Statement & News Bulletin dated 13 May.

Micro-chipping and National Micro-chipping Month "Chip It and Check It" Campaign

As part of the successful 'Bite-Back' campaign, the CWU along with around forty other organisations including all the major Dog Welfare Charities (Dogs Trust, RSPCA, Blue Cross, PDSA, Battersea Dogs Home, Police, Vets, Dog Wardens) formed the Micro-chipping Alliance (MA) and as a result the Compulsory micro-chipping of all dogs will be introduced across the country. Micro-chipping will not only help get a dog back should it be lost or stolen, it will importantly link dog to owner in dog attack situations where ownership is denied as a defence against prosecution. The "Chip It and Check It" campaign has been launched as part of this year's National Micro-chipping Month, which coincides with the Royal Mail/CWU Dog Awareness Week campaign. We are therefore pleased to link and support both campaigns which complement each other. The aim of the "Chip It and Check It" campaign is twofold; firstly; to inform dog owners via a simple message that the law has changed and from 2015-2016 depending on what part of the UK you live, it will become compulsory for your dog to be micro-chipped.
(Note: It is already a legal requirement in Northern Ireland. It becomes a requirement in Wales in March 2015 and in England in April 2016. Scotland is currently considering regulations and is expected to introduce similar regulations to go live by 2015-16). Secondly; if a dog owner already has their dog micro-chipped, they need to make sure that the details held on the Micro-chipping Database is up to date, so their dog can easily be identified and returned to the rightful owner.
See attached A4 version of the Micro-chipping Alliance "Chip It and Check It" Poster.

Free Micro-chipping

As mentioned above micro-chipping will soon be compulsory for all dog owners in England, following a welcomed announcement made by the Westminster Government. The Welsh Government has also announced that micro-chipping will be compulsory for all dogs in Wales by 1st March 2015. To ensure that micro-chipping is accessible to all, Dogs Trust is offering "free micro-chipping" at all their Dog Rehoming Centres on a drop in basis, simply call the nearest centre to make an appointment. The 19 Centres are located at:- Ballymena, Bridgend, Canterbury, Darlington, Basildon, Evesham, Glasgow, Ilfracombe, Kenilworth, Leeds, Harefield, Loughborough, Merseyside, Newbury, Salisbury, Shoreham, Shrewsbury, Snetterton and West Calder. Alternatively dog owners can get their dog micro-chipped free of charge at a participating local Vet. For your nearest vet offering FREE micro-chipping from Dogs Trust go to http://www.chipmydog.org.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; or telephone 0330 1230334.
 
Royal Mail Re-Direction Forms and Home Movers Packs - Reminder to Update Dog Micro-chip Information

Following discussions with Royal Mail it has been agreed that as from 2015/16 the new 'Home Movers Packs' and 'Re-Direction' Application Form Letters will carry a reminder to dog owners to update their animal’s micro-chip information with the company maintaining the database. In the meantime Royal Mail have agreed to (a) include a reminder leaflet in the Home Movers Pack (b) include a reminder in the customer's confirmation letter which is sent back to the customer to confirm that the details of their redirection has been received and recorded and (c) include a reminder on the Royal Mail Website and on-line re-direction application process.

New "Re-Direction" Label/Sticker

A new Re-Direction" Label/Sticker has been agreed and is currently being introduced across the UK. The idea of the new design is to alert Postmen and Women that the new occupants of an address will have a dog present. The design and funding have now been agreed and the new design Label/Sticker is being rolled out nationally and should prove to be beneficial to both our delivery staff members and customers.  This is another dog-related initiative that we have been working on and which will hopefully protect our members on delivery further. It relates to dog information being visible on the redirection label - so the visual warning is there to see when an animal moves address as sometimes WRAP/Walk Log updates aren't always as immediate and sometimes staff will not know the dog is there until confronted or an incident occurs. Royal Mail has enhanced the redirection label with a ‘dog’ indicator. In short – applicants for redirections are being asked if they have or intend to have a dog at their new property.  If they say yes, then a ‘paw print’ is printed onto the official redirection stickers/labels.  This should highlight to our delivery staff members that there is a dog at the property and to take care.  It’s not a process change – just an improvement idea. See attached copy of the Label/Sticker.

New 'Unable to Deliver' endorsement Label/Sticker

A new "Unable To Deliver" Label/Sticker has been agreed and is currently being introduced across the UK. There were a number of unofficial and unbranded labels being used for this purpose, and as such, discussions with Royal Mail Delivery and Service
Improvement teams have taken place to agree a standard process and Label/Sticker. The design and funding have now been agreed and the new design Label/Sticker is being rolled out nationally and should prove to be beneficial to both our delivery staff members and customers.  It was realised that we could widen the scope of this Label/Sticker and not only use it for ‘Dogs at large’, but to also include other ‘risks’ that delivery staff may encounter whilst out on delivery. Christian Kerr CWU Area Safety Rep (Durham) has been instrumental in helping with this design and development work to a great degree and our thanks go to him for his support and efforts. Other Business experts were involved in the design of the process and label from the Royal Mail Branding Team and the USO Compliance Manager to ensure USO compliance was maintained.  The final label design was approved, process agreed and the necessary authority gained to run a trial in a number of Delivery Offices through the Operational Change Control process.  Full training material and posters were developed with input from the stakeholder group, and Managers, CWU Reps and staff briefed prior to commencement of the trial. The trial also aimed at improved walk log entries, reducing dog attack incidents and employee satisfaction. By using the ‘Unable to Deliver’ risk label, this empowers the front line delivery staff to make a considered dynamic risk assessment of any incident/condition when out on delivery.  It will inform Customers as to why we may not have been able to deliver their items at the given time and also raises awareness in the delivery unit of risk addresses where vicious dogs are, to avoid potential instances of dog attacks. The trial was concluded and deemed a success and the new Labels/Stickers are being rolled out currently. It was agreed that the ideal time to launch the new Labels/Stickers was during the 2014 Royal Mail/CWU Dog Awareness Week, between 30th June and 4th July.
Royal Mail have stated that we need to be mindful of the tendering process and the lead time required for both printing of the labels which can be up to 10 weeks from a preferred supplier once selected. Communications will be sent to delivery units once stocks are in place to “go-live”. See attached copy of the Label/Sticker.

Conclusion

CWU Area and Workplace Safety Representatives are encouraged to fully support and be involved in the Dog Awareness Week campaign and should be engaging in discussions locally with Royal Mail Delivery Management and Royal Mail Regional Safety Teams to discuss what’s planned and what can be developed locally in addition to the national plans in order to maximise the impact of the campaign with the aim of promoting “Top Tips” messages.

Yours sincerely


Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety and Environment Officer


Attachments

Please note: the attachments listed below are too large to embed within this LTB document (22MB in total). Please follow the link below to the CWU website Events Page where you can download copies of all the documents:

http://www.cwu.org/59247/dog-awareness-week.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dog Awareness Week - Tuesday’s Message Managers Briefing Document
Dog Awareness Week - Tuesday’s Message Delivery Staff Hand Out
Dog Awareness Week - Wednesday’s Message
Dog Awareness Week - Thursday’s Message
Dog Awareness Week - Friday’s Message
Letter Box Post Guard Cages - Images
Dog Awareness Campaign External poster for callers offices in England and Wales
Dog Awareness Campaign External poster for callers offices in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Dog Awareness Campaign Internal posters for staff in all units
Dog Awareness Week - Joint "Newsflash"
'Posting Peg' Poster'
Dog Awareness Postcard
Dog Awareness Postcard ordering process
CWU 'Bite-Back' Campaign Press Statement & News Bulletin 13 May 2014
Micro-chipping Alliance "Chip It and Check It" Poster
Copies of New 'Unable to Deliver' Sticker & New "Re-Direction" Sticker