LTB 255/09 - Severe Weather policy and Operating Manual

[TrueBlueTerrier]

LTB 255/09 - Severe Weather policy and Operating Manual for use in Royal Mail"- Pay & Modernisation

No. 255/09
Ref E4
Date: 19 March 2009


To: All Postal Branches

Dear Colleagues

Severe Weather policy and Operating Manual for use in Royal Mail"- Pay & Modernisation:

LTBs 76/09, 77/09 and 99/09 dated 3rd February - 6th February reported on the severe weather conditions in early February and heaviest UK snowfalls in 18 years and provided information to Branches and Safety Representatives on the measures being taken by Royal Mail Letters (RML) and Parcelforce Worldwide.

Branches and Safety Reps will recall that the Health Safety & Environment Department was in daily contact with Royal Mail Network Management Central Postal Control and Pacelforce Worldwide Operations. Both Royal Mail Letters and Parcelforce Worldwide confirmed to the CWU Health, Safety & Environment Department a commitment to a prudent "Safety First Approach" being adopted. Reports and feedback received from ASRs during that period was that in the vast majority of cases local Managers applied measures set out in the latest version of the 'RML Severe Weather Policy and Operating Manual' plus 'Opsflash' instructions sensibly and pragmatically, conducting Risk Assessments and adopting a Risk Control based approach in consultation with Safety Representatives. There were a small number of exceptions where local managers acted unreasonably and these cases were resolved by referring matters to a more senior management level.

Copies of the current RML Severe Weather Policy and Operating Manual plus the RML 'Opsflash [CPC (2009) 009]' entitled "Safety and Weather Conditions" was obtained from RML and circulated to CWU Branches for reference and use by Branch Reps and Area Safety Representatives.

However, problems arose following the bad weather when in certain Offices and in certain parts of the Country Management deducted Annual Leave or Pay from staff who were unable to get into work and claimed that the document was a document agreed by the CWU HQ or specifically by the Health, Safety and Environment Department. As pointed out in LTB 146/09 dated 20 February 2009, issued by the DGS(P), in [full agreement with the Health, Safety and Environment Department] the "Severe Weather Operating Manual for use in Royal Mail" document in circulation at the time is an unagreed management document. Royal Mail Letters in fact re-wrote the nationally agreed older version without consulting or involving CWU HQ and when doing so they inserted various (non health and safety clauses referring to the options e.g. deductions of annual leave for people not able to attend for work due to bad weather and transport emergencies).

To put the record straight - the CWU Health and Safety Department had previously complained and protested strongly to Royal Mail Letters about re-writing the Severe Weather Policy without consulting or involving the CWU Health and Safety Department and subsequent complaints were lodged to the RML Safety Director and RML Head of CSR, regarding actions by certain local managers who deducted annual leave or pay from people not attending work in bad weather where the weather was so bad the transport system shut down in London completely and other locations - and false claims by those managers that this action and the 'Severe Weather Policy and Operating Manual' had been agreed with the Health, Safety & Environment Department when it had not! Royal Mail Letters have apologised and agreed to jointly review the Severe Weather Policy and Operating Manual in order to seek an agreed way forward in future.

To make it crystal clear to those who may have misunderstood the situation - the Health, Safety & Environment Department does not deal with Pay and modernisation issues and Safety Representatives and Branches should not entertain wild, 'off the cuff' claims that the offending document has been agreed by the Health, Safety & Environment Department as we make no agreements in that respect. The DGS(P) and the Postal Department deal with those issues and as stated in LTB 146/09, each individual case should be looked at according to its merits and the local weather conditions. Any problems should be taken through the Industrial Relations Framework. During this time the status quo should remain. Any problems Branch Reps are unable to resolve should be processed via the Divisional Reps and CWU/HQ Postal Department subsequently.

In LTBs 76/09, 77/09 and 99/09 the Health, Safety & Environment Department invited any feedback from Postal Branches and/or Branch ASRs in relation to the Severe Weather Policy, and its implementation in their Areas as we intend to review the Policy at a later date to discuss the need for any amendments and improvements. To date no feedback has been received.

Finally, in closing - if Branches and Reps wish to identify the Managers that claim that this department agreed to the offending policy then we will take that matter up with RML HQ.


Yours Sincerely




Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

[brothermagrew]

Cmon then brothers and sisters name and shame the offending managers to Dave Joyce.

[dvbuk55]

In a nutshell then they are or are not getting the money back? Which is it?