LTB 065/24 - Joint Communication Covering Seasonal Variation and Joint Statement on Resolving Surplus and Displaced Employees in Processing

[POSTMAN]

https://www.cwu.org/ltb/ltb-065-24-join ... rocessing/

LTB 065/24 - Joint Communication Covering Seasonal Variation and Joint Statement on Resolving Surplus and Displaced Employees in Processing
No 065/24

13th February 2024

TO: ALL POSTAL BRANCHES

Dear Colleague,

BRT&G Agreement – Royal Mail/CWU Joint Communication Covering Seasonal Variation and Joint Statement on Resolving Surplus and Displaced Employees in Processing

Branches and members will be aware that the CWU is actively seeking to resolve a number of outstanding issues with the business to ensure we continue to rebuild trust with our Reps and Members in the workplace.

As reported at the National Briefing last week through the agenda updates, discussions have continued on a daily basis and we have now finalised two documents with the business as outlined below:

Seasonal Variation and Agreed Joint Communication with the Following Key Summary:

After examining the latest workload forecasts, Royal Mail and the CWU have agreed to extend this Low Season by four weeks, supporting better resourcing to workload outcomes and offering further opportunities to give employees back time owed from the High Season in 2023. To ensure employees’ seasonal variation hours are balanced out by December 2024, the Summer 2024 Low Season will be reduced by 4 weeks. In summary:

Winter Low Season 2024

Between weeks 49 – 52 (26th February 2024 until 24th March 2024 – 4 weeks) full-time employees will continue with reduced 35 hours per week attendance.
Full-time Delivery employees will start 14 minutes later and finish 10 minutes earlier during this period.
For part-time employees their attendances will reduce by 10 minutes.

Summer Low Season 2024

During the Summer 2024 period, during weeks 13 – 23 (24th June 2024 until 8th September 2024), full-time employees will typically work at 35 hours, in line with the agreement, for 10 weeks.
This will mean that full-time employees will start 14 minutes later and finish 10 minutes earlier and part-time employees will work 10 minutes less per day.
The peak period for 2024, where full-time employees will typically increase their hours to 39 hours, will remain for 5 weeks (18th November 2024 – 22nd December 2024).
The same principles as agreed in previous joint communications also flow through to the updated position above and allow changes to be made to the PSP/DDS systems.



Joint Statement on Resolving Surplus and Displaced Employees in Processing – Key Summary

This has been a longstanding issue between both parties and we have continually made it clear to the business that we need to resolve the matter and the current impasse was not conducive to improving industrial relations.

Furthermore, it has been subject to significant debate at CWU forums and briefings in respect of the mental wellbeing of CWU members affected across the Mail Centres impacted and that was further echoed at the National Briefing last week via CWU Branches and Reps outlining some outrageous examples within their areas.

As such we have now been able to agree the attached Joint Statement in order to progress the following key points:

The Joint Statement includes the following key points:

That no displaced staff have to leave the mail centre to attend the redeployment pool.
That displaced staff can sign for overtime and vacancies in the mail centre.
That bump VRS will take place to allow displaced staff to pick up their duty.
That they will be able to use their seniority to sign for other duties in any resign.
That we will review the redeployment moving forward.
We believe the above will be welcomed by the members in the affected Mail Centres and likewise for our Branches and Representatives this is a big step in the right direction to support them in addressing this longstanding issue. However whilst this will be welcomed, we acknowledge there is still more work to do in this area and will be doing this as part of the National review contained with the Joint Statement.

The full Joint Statement can be accessed via https://www.cwu.org/resolving-displaced ... rocessing/.

Both parties have today jointly launched the contents of the above Joint Statement/Joint Communication with the RM Regional Operations Directors and CWU Divisional Reps to ensure both parties have briefed the content jointly and that we further demonstrate the willingness on both parties to resolve issues between us and seek to work together going forwards.

We would like to thank the Branches, Representatives and the Members for their continued support and especially those impacted by the issues created in Mail Centres by being deemed surplus and we will continue to provide updates following the National reviews.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Patryk Haracz on pharacz@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary(Postal) Mark Baulch
Assistant Secretary Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

The full Joint Communication can be accessed via https://www.cwu.org/seasonal-variation.

[rogersh]

I have copied & pasted the link Resolving displaced employees




Royal Mail/CWU Joint Statement Resolving displaced employees in Processing
Royal Mail and CWU acknowledge that the number of displaced has reduced due to a combination of initiatives including the previous autumn preference exercise.

We have now agreed the following points to assist and reduce the number further, they are as follows:

1.Fully displaced colleagues will join the redeployment programme but will no longer be required to leave their parent Mail Centre to attend. The Redeployment programme will be hosted in the plants. Displaced colleagues will be supported to undertake the equivalent of two days of job search and in the remaining three days they will be deployed on meaningful work.

2.Displaced colleagues will be offered all vacancies within the Mail Centre and surrounding offices as they occur.

3.Bump VRs in line with MTSF will be offered to existing Mail Centre staff. This will then allow displaced employees to pick up the resulting vacancy.

4.Where agency/casual spend is constantly being used against workload, then discussions will take place within the Mail Centre to replace the agency/casuals with displaced/supernumerary staff.

5.National parties will continue to review opportunities to move workload between Plants or Hubs to reduce agency/casual resource on site and assist in reducing the displaced/supernumerary staff.


Royal Mail and CWU are committed to resolving the number of displaced staff in line with MTSF but recognise that there may be occasions where the support of the redeployment programme is required. Talks will take place where this isn’t possible especially regarding the impact from the Midlands Hub.

This will then include the opportunity of any vacancies for surplus staff to move to and the further use of the redeployment programme to reduce the level of displaced employees.

It is further agreed that where major change occurs (Midland Superhub transition, further realignment activity and Network window changes) a duty resign in line with national agreements may take place. All displaced colleagues from the parent unit will be able to take part in this activity using their overall seniority.

1.signatories will jointly review this Joint Statement every month to ensure that we are reducing the number of displaced staff, whilst improving staff morale. Reviews will take place every two weeks to ensure the above approach is happening in practice.

2.Both Parties will carry out a joint review of the programme in line with the principles of MTSF. This will include the ability to reskill and transfer internally within Royal Mails well as exploring the opportunity apply for jobs outside of Royal Mail.

Any issues or enquiries regarding this Joint Statement should be raised with the appropriate national signatories from both Royal Mail and the CWU.

Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary Postal
CWU

Alistair Cochrane
Chief Operations Officer
Royal Mail

Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary
CWU

[SpacePhoenix]

4.Where agency/casual spend is constantly being used against workload, then discussions will take place within the Mail Centre to replace the agency/casuals with displaced/supernumerary staff.

Supernumerary staff on shift yet casuals/agency used every night

[rogersh]

4.Where agency/casual spend is constantly being used against workload, then discussions will take place within the Mail Centre to replace the agency/casuals with displaced/supernumerary staff.

Supernumerary staff on shift yet casuals/agency used every night

Yes it's the same at our RDC, They constantly use agency across all shifts.
When workload on the early shift is lower they send the agency home on half day, which has been more of a regular occurrence since Christmas.
Although we have been told the workload will increase in future I expect that agency will continue to be used if this happens, but it will interesting to see if agency are replaced.

[teesdale]

Any resign will mean seniority people, who are supernummary, will push out exsisting duty holders. The duty holders experience and training will count for nothing as the new people move in. The senior people may not even want the job and will now have to be trained and learn what to do. Existing duty holders who may have had the job for decades will now be the new supernummary people. A resign in mail centres will mean more people doing a duty they dont want, possibly with a pay cut, and further declining quality of service as things take time to settle down. Not being very nice as a supernummary, but who is and who isn't looks like its about to undergo a shuffle.

[SpacePhoenix]

Any resign will mean seniority people, who are supernummary, will push out exsisting duty holders. The duty holders experience and training will count for nothing as the new people move in. The senior people may not even want the job and will now have to be trained and learn what to do. Existing duty holders who may have had the job for decades will now be the new supernummary people. A resign in mail centres will mean more people doing a duty they dont want, possibly with a pay cut, and further declining quality of service as things take time to settle down. Not being very nice as a supernummary, but who is and who isn't looks like its about to undergo a shuffle.

80-90% of duties on shift are packets/Tracked/SD Locker. The SD locker doesn't have it's own dedicated duties anymore. About 75-90% of the remaining duties are mech, which most don't want to do

[Clappedoutpostie]

Any resign will mean seniority people, who are supernummary, will push out exsisting duty holders. The duty holders experience and training will count for nothing as the new people move in. The senior people may not even want the job and will now have to be trained and learn what to do. Existing duty holders who may have had the job for decades will now be the new supernummary people. A resign in mail centres will mean more people doing a duty they dont want, possibly with a pay cut, and further declining quality of service as things take time to settle down. Not being very nice as a supernummary, but who is and who isn't looks like its about to undergo a shuffle.

That’s how seniority works

[wolfman]

They are only bumping Vr's with like for like hours. If you have a 37 hr duty, (most numeries have 35 or less) your not getting bumped to VR, regardless of seniority. Someone needs to have the same hours as the numery to get bumped. Say you have 22 hrs & they can't find someone with 22 hours or maybe less, who wants VR then I'm not sure what will happen to them. Talk about making it complicated

[CarryingMGMT]

They are only bumping Vr's with like for like hours. If you have a 37 hr duty, (most numeries have 35 or less) your not getting bumped to VR, regardless of seniority. Someone needs to have the same hours as the numery to get bumped. Say you have 22 hrs & they can't find someone with 22 hours or maybe less, who wants VR then I'm not sure what will happen to them. Talk about making it complicated

Easy enough to offer them a duty in a nearby delivery office I would imagine. Plenty of vacancies