Joint Statement Between RMSS and CWU

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Letter to Branches




No. 331/2014
Ref: 211.01
Date: 19th May 2014



To All: Postal Branches
Parcelforce Regional Organisers
RMSS Representatives


Dear Colleague

Joint Statement Between Royal Mail Specialist Services (RMSS) and the Communication Workers Union.

Branches and representatives will be aware of the commitment in respect of greater strategic involvement contained in the recently ratified Agenda for Growth, Stability and Long Term Success Agreement.

In an effort to tangibly translate the joint commitments and the principles of the mutual interest collaborative working approach into RMSS Relay operations, the department have been pro-actively engaging with the Senior Management Team of Royal Mail Specialist Services with a view to further developing the positive working relationship which has proved beneficial to both the business and our members employed in this small but significant business unit.

A Joint Statement has now been concluded in respect of this activity and is attached for your information. We consider the Joint Statement as a positive start point and would ask you to note from the attached that the meetings were considered to have been positive and allowed discussion and consensus on a number of issues to be achieved going forward.

Branches and representatives are requested to ensure that our members working in RMSS are made aware of the content of this LTB and the attached Joint Statement.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Terry Pullinger, Assistant Secretary, email: dwyatt@cwu.org or shayman@cwu.org quoting reference number: 211.01.

Yours sincerely


Terry Pullinger
Assistant Secretary
Joint Statement between RMSS Relay and the Communication Workers Union
May 2014


Introduction

RMSS Relay and the CWU have held two strategic involvement meetings in recent months to review the results of a very successful 12 months, discuss progress against the action plan outlined six months ago at the Joint Strategy Briefing in September 2013, and to share the goals and priorities for the new financial year.

A number of issues important to the future success of RMSS Relay need to be jointly addressed, and both parties acknowledged that after a very busy last six months more focus was required to strengthen their relationship to embed the collaborative and mutual interest way of working described in the 2010 Business Transformation Agreement.

Progressive Agenda

The commitments from the 2010 agreement fully align with the principles outlined in the new “Agenda for Growth, Stability and Long Term Success Agreement”, which aims to create a mutual interest culture through working more closely together at a strategic level.

Agenda for Growth acknowledges that the future success of Royal Mail is dependent upon our ability to offer our customers an excellent, secure, reliable, competitively priced and high quality service, enabled through a product range that meets both current and future commercial demands. Equally it is recognised that this should be achieved in conjunction with rewarding employment for all employees consisting of more rewarding and secure employment which sets the benchmark for our competitors to follow.

RMSS Relay and the CWU have made much progress in working together over the past 3 years to establish RMSS Relay as a competitive and successful standalone business unit. However, both parties see the launch of the new Agenda for Growth as an ideal opportunity to reinvigorate their strategic partnership approach and stimulate an involvement culture at all levels of the business.

Against that backdrop the purpose of this joint statement is to set out our agreed strategic framework below, which confirms that these principles are still appropriate and provide the structure of our working arrangements.

Engagement, Development and Planning

“This agreement builds upon the foundations of a joint commitment to forge positive and constructive working relationships between Royal Mail Specialist Services (Relay) and the CWU which promotes strategic involvement at all levels. This foundation allows for genuine CWU input into the formulation of RMSS policy prior to decisions being finalised, in order to take account of both business and employee needs. This process should take into consideration the speed at which the business may have to operate in a changing environment and the need for all parties to respond speedily to each other’s legitimate interests.

Both parties have successfully deployed the use of strand and working group activity in the past as a prelude to formal negotiation.

Future research and development initiatives shall be driven by a National Specialist Services Steering Group (NSSSG). This strategic group will comprise of the RMSS Director and the CWU National Officer and their respective support teams. It shall meet as a minimum four times a year and as required depending on the need to meet.

The role of the group will be to:

ensure the on-going strategic involvement in RMSS
provide the opportunity for the union to influence plans from an informed position
ensure shared understanding of the overall RMSS strategy as it develops
discuss the forecast timetable for any proposed future RMSS hub/unit review/changes
guide these reviews/changes in line with agreed processes
clear any appropriate communications that need to be circulated from national level on the programme
sponsor the work of Specialised Services Working Groups (SSWGs) that can investigate and review specific issues or areas of concern as identified by RMSS or CWU as appropriate

Specialist Services Working Groups (SSWGs) will be used for the development of ideas and initiatives. The groups will be project driven from the National Specialist Services Steering Group (NSSSG) which will determine the number and size of each working group required.

The Specialist Services Working Groups are a key expression of joint business and CWU strategic involvement activity. They facilitate the notion of moving at pace with understanding and enable a more detailed analysis of project development. They work under the guidance of and report back to the National Specialist Services Steering Group, and are designed to engage many more people in reviewing and developing together business plans and projects along with employee aspirations.

The SSWGs are not negotiation forums and do not replace collective bargaining or the existing IR Framework, but they will serve to focus the key personnel in both organisations on the key challenges that the Specialist Services business faces. When any issues being discussed have reached the stage where they require formal negotiation they will then be forwarded to the respective leads for resolution.

Royal Mail Specialist Services commits to share with the groups all information which is influencing its thinking on potential projects and will involve the groups in all analysis, information gathering and project evolution activity. This will allow for a better understanding of the direction of the project which, in turn, will allow for a more informed exchange of views, consultation and, at the appropriate time, negotiation. The full value of CWU operational experience should be taken into account and Royal Mail Specialist Services will allow the CWU every opportunity to input and influence project development prior to the business finalising any decision and the start of negotiations. Commercially sensitive information given to the CWU representatives will not be shared with employees or third parties.”


Next Steps

The RMSS Relay senior management team have been carrying out a programme of engagement roadshows around the Depot sites to ensure that all RMSS employees have the opportunity to raise any concerns they might have or suggest ideas for improvements in the workplace, and to get commitment to address any resulting actions at the highest level. Going forward we will develop a structure to ensure that such activity will be a joint exercise in the future.

Both parties have committed to review the outputs from these roadshows at the Quarterly Strategic Meetings, which are being diarised to review performance, consider potential new products & services and agree the priority initiatives for the joint working groups to drive forward our agreed agendas.

We have also agreed to hold another Joint Strategy Briefing event towards the end of September 2014, which will give all of the Depot Managers and Unit CWU Representatives the opportunity to receive a mid-year progress update and to provide feedback from their sites to the senior team.

RMSS Relay and the CWU look forward to building on their positive track record of working together progressively, in what promises to be a challenging and successful year ahead.

Alex Warner Terry Pullinger
Managing Director Assistant Secretary
RMSS CWU

19 May 2014