LTB 185/17 - POST OFFICE: PAY CLAIM 1ST APRIL 2017 – ALL CWU GRADES WORKING FOR THE POST OFFICE

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LTB 185/17 - POST OFFICE: PAY CLAIM 1ST APRIL 2017 – ALL CWU GRADES WORKING FOR THE POST OFFICE

No. 185/2017

31st March 2017



Dear Colleague



POST OFFICE: PAY CLAIM 1ST APRIL 2017 – ALL CWU GRADES WORKING FOR THE POST OFFICE



We have today submitted our pay claim for a one year, no strings attached, pay agreement via a formal letter to Paula Vennells which is attached to this LTB for your information. We are seeking improvements to many different areas of pay, terms & conditions. The Post Office needs to consider our reasonable claim in conjunction with the question on the recent members’ survey in which 85% of respondents answered “No” to the question “Do you feel fairly rewarded by your overall pay, pension and benefits package for the job you do?” (refer to LTB 184/2017 for the full survey results).

The details of the pay claim are as follows:

4% Consolidated Pay Increase Flowing Through to all Allowances.
Inflation (RPI) stood at 3.2% in February and is forecast to rise again during the spring and early summer. As a consequence, we believe a 4% pay increase is fair and reasonable in order to maintain living standards. The 4% increase should be unconditional (no strings attached).
Improvements to the Defined Contribution Pension Scheme
Despite strong representations from the Union and significant objections from members during the so-called “consultation”, the Post Office is pressing ahead with its plans to close the Defined Benefit (DB) scheme on 31st March. Our objective (and part of the ongoing trade dispute) has always been to improve the current Defined Contribution (DC) scheme and this therefore forms part of our pay claim.
Joint Reviews of all Incentive Schemes
Feedback tells us the Customer and Sales Incentive Scheme, which has been in operation in Crown Offices since 1st April 2015 is not fit for purpose; hence the inclusion of a review of the scheme in our pay claim. Improvements are also required to the bonus scheme for Admin & Supply Chain members.
Improvements to Scheduled Attendance rates for Crew members
Our Crew members have felt the impact of reduced earnings due to the Post Office ceasing the external contracts and the consequential loss of Scheduled Attendance payments and regular overtime earnings. In view of this position, we are seeking to raise Scheduled Attendance rates considerably.
Annual Leave Entitlement – Equality for all (6 weeks annual leave)
Our claim seeks parity for all members, irrespective of service, for 6 weeks annual leave. The last improvement to annual leave entitlements was 16 years ago and as it currently stands, it takes 15 years service to achieve maximum annual leave.
We have offered 6th April for our negotiating team to commence pay negotiations with the Post Office. Further developments will be reported once pay negotiations are underway and meaningful progress has been made.

Any queries in relation to this LTB should be directed to Lea Sheridan on 020 8971 7361 or lsheridan@cwu.org.



Yours sincerely





Andy Furey

Assistant Secretary