Romec: Loss of POL work

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Letter to Branches




No. 347/2014
Ref: PTC/RE/dj/335
Date: 27 May 2014


TO ALL BRANCHES WITH ROMEC MEMBERS


Dear Colleague

Romec: Loss of POL work

Further to LTBS 213/14 and 104/14 we are now able to update branches on the implications of the loss of the Post Office Limited contract for our members in Romec.

Following the separation of POL and RMG, POL announced its intention to commence a retendering process of the contracts covering work carried out for POL by RMG. This included alarm receiving, installation and maintenance, building maintenance and cleaning services provided by Romec, for which RMG held the contracts.

As reported in LTB 213/14 Romec has been advised that its bid failed at the pre qualification stage. This means that Romec will cease to provide cleaning, engineering and alarm receiving services to POL in October 2014.

Romec has created a separate management structure to service the POL contract, under its own director (Paul Carr) including those managerial, admin and cleaning staff performing POL work. Where staff perform a mix of work including POL and other elements, Romec has sought to establish separate duties covering wholly or mainly POL work. This was relatively straight forward in cleaning services but not so among admin grades at the alarm receiving centre (ARC) and national service centre (NSC) or among engineers in Fire and Security and building services, nearly all of whom had mixed duties covering both Royal Mail and the Post Office Limited work.

Around 300 staff in CWU represented grades are affected, the majority in cleaning grades but with a significant number of admin and engineering full time equivalents.

Romec presented the creation of a dedicated unit serving POL as a means of retaining the contract – what was also clear from the outset was that Romec intended this to facilitate a TUPE transfer of staff performing POL work in the event the contract was lost. The effects are outlined below:

Cleaning Services:
Romec has badged those cleaners solely performing work on POL premises to the POL workforce. Where duties were split between POL and RMG, Romec has attempted to concentrate work on a single contract using voluntary means. Romec’s intention is to TUPE transfer those cleaners wholly or mainly performing POL work to the new provider in October. It should be noted that a significant number of the cleaners carrying out POL work TUPE’d into Romec fairly recently from a company called MAST which previously had the contract for cleaning work on a number of POL sites. On this specific point branches should seek to identify cleaners carrying out POL work and POL/RMG work. Particularly where a significant portion of their contract is RMG. We have also requested a list of cleaners carrying out POL work which will be circulated to branches ASAP.


Fire and Security (F&S):
F&S engineers performed a mixed workload consisting of RMG, POL and external corporate work. As reported in LTB 005/14 Romec terminated the external contracts last November and attempted to create an artificial TUPE situation, prompting an industrial action ballot. As reported in LTB 104/14 the dispute was resolved when Romec agreed to treat the loss of corporate work as a surplus situation and 45 voluntary redundancies associated with the loss of this work have been agreed. Romec had badged F&S engineers to POL work without agreement, but as part of the resolution to the dispute over loss of corporate work the company agreed to run a preference exercise to allocate jobs in fire and security, using seniority within skill set and location. Of the remaining jobs for F&S maintenance engineers 36 are on RMG work, 46 on POL work. 26 engineers have opted for POL work. Discussions are ongoing on the balance of jobs between RMG and POL. Discussions are also continuing on the position of fire and security install engineers.

Building Services Maintenance (BSM) & Building Fabric Maintenance (BFM):
Romec assessed the POL workload as amounting to around 24 FTEs, but this is spread thinly. Romec had badged some BSM engineers to the POL workforce but has now agreed that it will not include any BSM or BFM mobile staff in the POL workforce. However, three engineers working full time at 148 Old Street and Chesterfield remain badged to the POL contract.

National Service Centre (NSC):
Admin grades working at the NSC have a mixed workload but some have been badged to the POL contract. There are a significant number of staff on fixed event contracts.

Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC):
Loss of POL alarm receiving work poses a major threat to the continuing existence of Romec’s alarm receiving centre.

CWU Response:
The union has not resisted the creation of a POL Organisational structure but we have successfully challenged the unagreed allocation of engineers not previously performing mainly POL work to that structure. We have agreed a job selection process, but it is clear that there will be a shortfall of volunteers for POL work.
We have not sought to oppose a TUPE transfer in principle, nor could we, since in employment law TUPE is a right conferred on individuals wholly or mainly engaged in work which transfers from one employer to another. In some previous TUPE situations we have successfully insisted that any transfer to a new employer would be voluntary, but it is clear that this is not a realistic option for many of the staff involved in this exercise – there is no alternative work for them to transfer to – and a further complicating factor is that a significant proportion of those affected in cleaning grades are fairly recent TUPE transferees into Romec.
We have raised the issue of pension scheme membership with Romec, RMG and POL. When Romec was established as a separate joint venture company in 2002 CWU reached an agreement with Consignia that in the event of a retendering Consignia would ensure that comparable pension arrangements would be available to staff affected. We have taken advice from our lawyers on this issue and our view is that POL is a successor company to Consignia and therefore bound by the terms of the agreement, the implication of which is that any company tendering to take on work must have comparable pension schemes open for any RMPP members who transfer. POL is continuing to insist that it is an entirely separate company and not bound by the terms of the Consignia agreement. Correspondence is continuing with POL on this point.
In respect of job allocation for engineering grades a number of meetings have taken place following the conclusion of the preference exercise and the Union is awaiting a written response from Romec in the issues raised.

Branches will be kept advised of developments.

Any enquiries relating to cleaners should be addressed to Bob Gibson’s department quoting reference 120.12 on HNutley@cwu.org.

Any enquiries relating to engineers or administrative grades should be addressed to Ray Ellis’s department quoting reference PTC/RE/dj 335 on rellis@cwu.org.


Yours sincerely

Ray Ellis Bob Gibson
Assistant Secretary Assistant Secretary