LTB 246/21 - Royal Mail/CWU Joint Statement & Communication on Return To Shared Van Working Arrangements : No return to shared vans until 19 July

[POSTMAN]

https://www.cwu.org/ltb/ltb-246-21-roya ... angements/

LTB 246/21 – Royal Mail/CWU Joint Statement & Communication on Return To Shared Van Working Arrangements:
No. 246/21

17th June 2021

Dear Colleagues,

Royal Mail/CWU Joint Statement & Communication on Return To Shared Van Working Arrangements:

This is an important update for Branches, Area Safety Reps and Area Delivery Reps further to the RM/CWU Joint Statement and Communication issued with LTB 237/21 on 11 June 2021.

The Joint Statement made clear that it would be subject to the further Government advice and announcements due on the 14th June as well as the relevant advice from the respective UK Devolved Authorities.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement on Monday that there will be a delay to the lifting of all legal restrictions on social contact until at least 19 July 2021, further discussions took place with Royal Mail Group on the company’s plans to reintroduce van sharing. Those discussions concluded yesterday evening with agreement that there will be no return to shared vans until 19 July 2021 and that RMG/HQ and CWU/HQ will jointly monitor and review the situation in two weeks’ time.

It has been further agreed that Unit Managers and CWU Area Safety Reps and Area Delivery Reps should utilise the time over the Next four weeks to engage and discuss plans regarding the implementation of shared vans working arrangements in order that a smooth, practical and safe transition back to these arrangements is ready when the time comes.

A new joint communication has been signed confirming the above and reaffirming the contents of the important and detailed joint statement signed and issued on 11 June. Copies of both are attached for your information and attention.

Finally, and also importantly is the added ‘footnote’ to the joint communication being issued this morning making reference to the Royal Mail Group/CWU agreed Workforce Lateral Flow Device Testing Scheme of which both the Employer and Union are urging all Units and all Members to participate in. We would ask all Area and Workplace Reps to support the take up of testing by members whereby the Test Kits are supplied to units for distribution to members in the workplace in order that they can test themselves in the privacy and comfort of their own homes, twice a week and in so doing protect themselves and their work colleagues. To date a number of members with no symptoms have tested positive for Covid-19, so enabling them to self-isolate and seek appropriate treatment whilst helping prevent the Virus spread and potential outbreaks in units amongst their colleague members. A number of Units are not yet participating in the scheme and we would ask that as many Units and members joint in. Please support this.

Yours Sincerely

Dave Joyce

National Health Safety & Environment Officer

Mark Baulch

Assistant Secretary Outdoor Postal Department

National Joint Communication Update Van sharing_16 June 2021

Van Sharing Joint Communication.doc 11.06.21

Joint Statement Return to Van Sharing

[iHateD2Ds]

You are Joking by asking people to do Lateral Flow Test twice weekly when majority of people can not be bothered to wear a mask!

It just isn’t going to happen unless it’s mandatory and administered.
I’m all for Later Testing but others really think they are invincible after two jabs.
RM need to educate employees how complacency may make you severely ill or die.

Going back to van sharing while numbers are climbing just doesn’t make sense.

[Woody Guthrie]

Going back to van sharing while numbers are climbing just doesn’t make sense.

Then what you're asking for is a permanent scrapping of van sharing because numbers will continue to rise and fall seasonally probably forever. Vaccination can only do so much and those vaccinated early might in fact not be far off needing another one soon so where do we go from here?

I'm no covid denier, conspiracy theorist or one of these idiots who complains about their "freedom" being curtailed because they can't get to Benidorm for two weeks but we have to have a genuine conversation now about how we learn to live with this disease and what an acceptable annual death toll is because covid19 is now covid21 and will probably be covid51.

How much is van sharing a risk if safety measures are followed compared to working in a supermarket or a pub or a barbers or a restaurant or a million other jobs that bring you into close contact with other people?

[postiepete2]

You come in to more contact from the public - like when they open the door when they see you - idiots

[IloveMYredTROLLEY!]

You come in to more contact from the public - like when they open the door when they see you - idiots

We all should be aiming to keep people not in our household/bubble over 2 metres away from ourselves when not wearing a mask.

If wearing a mask, you should be keeping over 1 metre away from others.

When delivering items to addresses which require a knock on the door, you are supposed to be getting two metres away from that door after knocking, having placed the item by the door.

Walking past people on the street without masks, even at one metre, would ordinarily be a fleeting pass of lets say one second.

Walking past others in shops, you should be wearing masks and it should be a fleeting pass.

Sharing a van with the windows open, you will be sitting ~50cm from your duty partner (head to head distance). Unless there's a strong crosswind at ~90 degrees to the direction of travel, air flow through the van will be tiny. Chances are you will be sitting next to your partner for approx 5-15 minutes leaving and returning to the depot. You will then be typically sitting next to your duty partner moving between the other ~7 loops for 2-5 minutes between parking points.

The increase in risk is huge.

Delta is ~60% more transmittable than the Alpha strain that began spreading in the UK around September '20, which was more transmittable than the strains around in March '20.

Delta's symptoms are easy to mistake for hayfever symptoms.

If dedicated van pairings aren't formed and we return to pre-Covid normal rotas, each pair of van sharing duties exposes at least four people to a chain of infection, if both duties have dedicated day off duties. That will increase with annual leave and having holiday reserves, who will move from duty to duty each week, vastly increasing that chain. Day off covers will cover a number of van sharing duties each week, acting as a chain of infection link between each of their regular duties.

OPGs are currently at different points at where they are with getting vaccinated and having had two weeks minimum after their second jab for as good proptection as they will get for now. People are catching Covid for the second time, even having had one or two jabs.

Now is absolutely not the time to risk the health and safety of yourselves, your friends, your family or complete strangers by agreeing to van share, especially if it's not an exclusive pairing where you only van share with one other colleague. Sitting ~50cm from a colleague ~45 minutes a day.