LTB 542/20 – Post Office: Pay Claim – Collective Dispute Resolution Procedure

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LTB 542/20 – Post Office: Pay Claim – Collective Dispute Resolution Procedure
No. 542/2020

12th November 2020

Dear Colleagues

POST OFFICE: PAY CLAIM – COLLECTIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE

Branches are advised I have written to the Post Office to formally instigate Stage 1 of the Collective Dispute Resolution Procedure (CDRP). This measure is necessary as we have unfortunately been unable to make sufficient progress during our recent discussions. We have a formal pay offer on the table (closed offer) however this offer is inadequate as it fails to materially address our pay claim in a meaningful way. The Postal Executive has therefore unanimously endorsed the rejection of the offer.

Our Post Office members as Key Workers are performing an amazing job and they warrant a decent pay agreement, which is currently being denied to them even though the Post Office will once again declare a healthy profit when they eventually publish their annual report and accounts, so there is no question of affordability.

Unprecedented managerial failings arising from the Horizon scandal which led to the Post Office reaching an out of court settlement last December of £57.75m is impacting on these pay negotiations. This is a significant amount of compensation (although Postmaster Claimants deserved more). Also legal fees amounted to tens of millions. The Post Office has incurred over £100m via a combination of compensation costs and legal fees and there is no doubt these costs will continue to rise. Our members are paying the price for the Horizon scandal which is unforgivable.

On a positive note, a further pay meeting has now been arranged for Monday 16th November and it is hoped tangible progress can be made towards an agreement. We are aiming to conclude an agreement with the uplift in pay and arrears to be made in December’s salaries; this requires movement by the Post Office. If an agreement is not possible due to an intransigent employer, we will escalate the dispute to the next stage with ultimately referral to Acas should this be necessary.

I would be grateful if Branches and Reps could share this communication with our Post Office members. Also I would wish to assure members we are determined to see a good outcome in terms of being able to secure a fair and reasonable pay settlement.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary

[POSTMAN]

https://www.cwu.org/ltb/ltb-549-20-post ... procedure/

LTB 549/20 – Post Office: Pay Claim – Stage 2 of the Collective Dispute Resolution Procedure
No. 549/2020

17th November 2020

Dear Colleagues

POST OFFICE: PAY CLAIM – STAGE 2 OF THE COLLECTIVE DISPUTE
RESOLUTION PROCEDURE

Further to LTB 542/20 dated 12th November 2020. Yesterday we met with Lee Kelly,
Employee Relations and Policy Director, in pursuit of our pay claim on behalf of our
members working for the Post Office. This meeting was held under the auspices of the
Collective Dispute Resolution Procedure (CDRP) and was effectively Stage 1 of this
process.

Whilst the meeting was cordial and constructive with a good exchange of views,
unfortunately no real progress was made with the Post Office simply reaffirming its
earlier offer which we have rejected as inadequate as it undervalues in any material
way the necessary recognition required for the exemplary role our members have
undertaken during the pandemic as Key Workers.

In relation to next steps, both parties acknowledge we now need to move to Stage 2 of
the CDRP in pursuit of an agreed way forward. Essentially the matter is now referred
to the Group Chief People Officer with a further meeting normally taking place within
ten working days. Consequently, we are awaiting an offer of a meeting date and would
expect to arrange this in the coming days.

The rejected pay offer remains “closed” at this stage so we are unable to provide further
details; suffice to say we are endeavouring to secure a more realistic offer that we
would be comfortable in recommending to our members.

We had hoped to make progress yesterday; however, despite being unable to do so
both parties remain committed to establishing an agreement. Accordingly, I am grateful
for the patience being shown by our members who no doubt understand that we are
seeking a settlement that is deserving of their efforts and commitment.

Further developments will be reported.

Yours sincerely,
Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary

[POSTMAN]

https://www.cwu.org/ltb/ltb-592-20-post ... statement/

LTB 592/20 – Post Office: Pay Negotiations – Joint Statement
No. 592/2020

10th December 2020

Dear Colleagues

POST OFFICE: PAY NEGOTIATIONS – JOINT STATEMENT

Further to LTB 576/20 dated 30th November, the following Joint Statement regarding Post Office pay negotiations has been published:

JOINT STATEMENT POST OFFICE AND CWU
Pay Negotiations

We are pleased to be able to advise you that a constructive meeting was held between the two negotiating teams earlier today.

We are conscious that everyone has been very patient and we are obviously in extraordinary times which has hindered progress. As a consequence, we have now agreed it makes sense to extend the negotiating process to include pay for 2021/22.

Our new focus means we will be seeking to conclude a two year agreement up to 31st March 2022. We hope you will acknowledge this new emphasis is designed to provide certainty for 2021/22 pay.

Neither party is underestimating the scale and complexity of the task we have set ourselves. To facilitate these negotiations, both parties have agreed to the principle of an intensive timetable of talks and we have also agreed a cut-off date of the end of February 2021 to conclude an agreement, although we would prefer to finalise this earlier if possible.

We remain hopeful we can jointly deliver a good solution and would wish to thank everyone for their efforts during these unprecedented times. Once again your patience is appreciated.

Lee Kelly Andy Furey
Employee Relations and Policy Director Assistant Secretary, CWU

It should be noted that the principle of seeking to conclude a two year agreement was instigated by the Union given that we would normally lodge our pay claim in February each year prior to the 1st April pay date. As the next pay review date is only a few months away, it made sense to incorporate next year’s pay into these negotiations, giving our members a degree of certainty and stability in terms of their pay, terms and conditions.

Earlier today a meeting was held with our Post Office Representatives and following an extremely positive conversation, all of them confirmed they are fully supportive of seeking a two year pay agreement.

Clearly the outcome of yesterday’s meeting was positive. Both parties will now be making pay a priority and a series of meetings will be scheduled over the course of the next few weeks.

Branches and Representatives are urged to bring this LTB and associated Joint Statement to the attention of our Post Office members.

Further developments will be reported.

Yours sincerely

Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary