CWU RESPONSE TO RM PLAN, CSHARE ANNOUNCEMENT AND PRIVAT....

[TrueBlueTerrier]

o: 465/11 Ref: 24209 Date: 13 May 2011

TO: ALL BRANCHES WITH POSTAL MEMBERS



Dear Colleague


CWU RESPONSE TO ROYAL MAIL BUSINESS PLAN, COLLEAGUESHARE ANNOUNCEMENT AND PRIVATISATION – EMERGENCY MOTION


Further to LTB 439/11 the PEC met on Wednesday 11th May to consider whether or not satisfactory progress had been made on the Union’s policy in response to the company’s new Business Plan and Colleagueshare announcements.

The detailed policy of the Union was communicated to Royal Mail on the 30th March and was subject to a National Briefing, LTB’s and a home mailing to explain the seriousness of the situation to all CWU members.

The Postal Executive were provided with a comprehensive report on meetings and exchanges of correspondence with the company.

A summary of the key points reported to the Postal Executive are as follows:-

Royal Mail Group’s New Business Plan – Whilst the company showed some signs of engaging and wanting to provide the Union with reassurances, the company has not been prepared to reach any agreement on our detailed policy. This includes the key issues of extending job security and maintaining the value of our members’ benefits package.

The company has explained that they are now in the process of once again revising their plan.

Colleagueshare – The company did share with the Union the details of valuation and the methodology that has been used. However, their explanation does not alter the fact that what has taken place is completely unacceptable. At the stroke of a pen, a new Business Plan was formulated, which has wiped out the value of Colleagueshare and in the process saved the company over £200 million.

Opening up the Books to Independent Valuation – After confirming that they were prepared to open up both the accounts and the formulation of the Business Plan to independent assessment, the company has subsequently been dragging its heels and is now putting obstacles in the way of this exercise.

Privatisation - The Postal Executive have also carefully considered the fact that it is virtually impossible not to draw a parallel between the company’s recent actions and the looming prospect of privatisation. We must all recognise that should the Postal Services Bill receive Royal assent before the end of June, the legitimate concerns of CWU members over the impact of privatisation on their job security, existing agreements and their terms and conditions will inevitably come to the fore. All the evidence is that Royal Mail Group’s recent actions are being driven by their support for privatisation and separation of Post Office Limited.

CWU Response

Having carefully considered all of the aforementioned the Postal Executive concluded that satisfactory progress in line with our policy had not been made and that we must also prepare to deal with the impact of privatisation.

In considering an appropriate response the Union’s Postal Executive has agreed that the attached Emergency Motion should be placed before our forthcoming Annual Conference.

The motion addresses all of our legitimate industrial concerns and also means the Union will continue to oppose privatisation beyond the end of the Parliamentary process. The policy contained in the Emergency Motion will be pursued by all means necessary up to and including a national industrial action ballot for CWU members in all Royal Mail Group businesses.

Consultation and Communications with all CWU Members

The Postal Executive has also agreed to embark on our biggest ever consultation exercise with all CWU members. This will utilise the full range of communication tools, be supported by our Communications Department alongside the engagement of an external communications company.

This will provide a genuine opportunity for two-way communications that will directly engage CWU members and gain support for our policy. We recognise there is work to do and we are determined to get underneath some of the problems CWU members are experiencing at local level due to unreasonable pressure from managers.

Conclusion

It is essential that Branches ensure the terms of the Emergency Motion are circulated to all CWU representatives and members in the workplace.

Please convey to the membership that in putting forward this policy this is not a position we wanted to be in – neither is it one of our making – but it is a situation that the Union must respond to.

We are confident that once we have had the opportunity to campaign around the policy we will gain the support of CWU members and deliver a better outcome for everybody.

Further information will be circulated in due course.

Yours sincerely




Dave Ward Billy Hayes
Deputy General Secretary (P) General Secretary

Phil Browne Ray Ellis
Acting Assistant Secretary Assistant Secretary

Bob Gibson Andy Furey
Assistant Secretary Assistant secretary

Terry Pullinger
Assistant Secretary

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Emergency Motion

This Postal Group Conference agrees that the recent actions of the Royal Mail Group and the prospect of privatisation and separation of Post Office Limited are not in the interests of CWU members, customers or the future of the UK postal industry.

There are clear parallels between the introduction of a new Business Plan that downgrades the future expectations of the company, announcements on Colleagueshare and the Governments privatisation and separation agenda. These developments are at odds with the agreed shared vision of modernisation, the agreed approach to Business Transformation and other existing National Agreements.

The Company’s actions threaten existing job security commitments and raise the very real prospect of compulsory redundancies.

The company’s actions and their open support for privatisation and separation has destroyed trust and confidence in the commitments to build a new relationship and develop a culture of mutual interest.

This conference recognises that the published PEC Policy which set out the Unions position in response to Royal Mail’s actions has not resolved the situation by the April deadline. The PEC received a full report on this situation at its meeting on the 11th May 2011. Furthermore given the imminent and likely Royal assent of the Postal Services Bill, tensions will be heightened and the legitimate industrial concerns that potential privatisation will have on CWU members jobs, terms and conditions will come to the fore. As the owner of the company we recognise the Government will have had a direct input into the new Business Plan and decisions on Colleagueshare.

Given the aforementioned developments the CWU will continue to oppose privatisation beyond the end of the parliamentary process and must now seek urgent negotiations and agreements with Royal Mail and where appropriate the Government covering the following:

• Agreements to secure the Unions policy as set out in PEC Doc 52/11 (response to Royal Mail’s Business Plan and Colleagueshare announcements) published to branches at the National Briefing.
• Agreements to extend and strengthen job security commitments with the absolute need to avoid compulsory redundancies in light of the new Business Plan and Governments privatisation agenda.
• An agreed joint action plan to get all Business Transformation revisions back on track. Central to this and in line with the agreement is the need to finally ensure a fair and manageable workload for all employees. This means an end to the unacceptable managerial pressures being placed on our members on a daily basis. Instead offices must be run on the basis of agreed local and nationally co-ordinated resourcing and manpower planning.
• Confirmation that our shared vision of modernisation is still at the core of all company and Government plans.
• Confirmation that Royal Mail will remain the sole provider of the USO within the UK and that Royal Mail will continue to operate as an end to end service provider with no further break up or sale of the individual Businesses or functions within the group.
• Agreement that there will be no casualisation of the workforce and that the delivery model set out in the National Agreement will continue to be supported throughout the duration of the new Business Plan.
• Agreement that in addition to the Government taking on the historical pension deficit, CWU members pension entitlements will be fully protected including the use of RPI as the measure of uprating pensions.
• In order to create a culture of mutual interest we need to reach agreement on a new form of governance including consideration of the principles of industrial democracy. This means ending the continuing command and control managerial culture that has been a constant obstacle to progress.

In order to pursue this policy the Union will take whatever steps are necessary up to and including National Industrial Action for all CWU members within the Postal Group.

Prior to any Industrial Action ballot the Union will immediately embark on a major consultation and communications exercise with all CWU members.

[fishtank]

Looks like war then....

[hubbahubba]

the more things change,the more they stay the same...............

[postdoom]

Oh look...more words!!!

[jacee]

"At the stroke of a pen, a new Business Plan was formulated, which has wiped out the value of Colleagueshare and in the process saved the company over £200 million"

Now forgive me if I am wrong, but "Saving the company over £200 million" and "Being so broke that they don't have over £200 million to pay us" are not quite the same - the Colleagueshare payment was supposed to have been allowed for and if we are being robbed on the whim of an accountant to make the bottom line look better then I think we should be thinking of ways to cost them "over £200 million" just out of sheer spite.

Pay up you mean bastards and encourage us to follow your misbegotten ideas for the future ......or risk not having one !!!

[Danelectro]

Consultation and Communications with all CWU Members

The Postal Executive has also agreed to embark on our biggest ever consultation exercise with all CWU members. This will utilise the full range of communication tools, be supported by our Communications Department alongside the engagement of an external communications company.

.

Satchi and Satchi? Cannon and Ball? Uri Gellar? Whoever it is i hope it dosnt result in another DVD with Dave Wards coupon
invading my living room via the TV.

As for the rest of the LTB its classic CWU..hopefully at conference somebody will able to put forward a plan that ticks
all the boxes? :dcfo

[Glenno]

I think this will liven up Conference a tad

[fishtank]

I'ne read it a few times now and to be honest...i'm actually impressed.
It is just words but at least they appear to be written in a language the members can relate to.
Branches now have a lot of work to do...i hope they are up to it.

[maninred]

I'ne read it a few times now and to be honest...i'm actually impressed.
It is just words but at least they appear to be written in a language the members can relate to.
Branches now have a lot of work to do...i hope they are up to it.

I won't hold my breath.

[spiderwoods]

.

[fishtank]

Have we not been here before? The CWU,Hayes and Ward have let us down so many times so why should we fall for all this again strike and then the CWU bottle it? What is so different now?

Nothing is different.
Royal Mail are still taking the piss...still pushing to see what they can take from us but...
What do you suggest we do?....i'm all ears.
Give it to them on a plate..roll over and play dead?
The union got BTA badly wrong,we asked that they listen to the members...this document proves nothing but there is more membership engagement in it than i have personally seen in at least 10 years.
With absolutely no fall back position i'm willing to give it a go.
I have nothing to lose because the business intends to rob me blind anyway.

[Martin Walsh]

Whilst its not as quick as we would like at least it will start the ball rolling. There will be an LTB out Monday updating everyone on the London issue.

However its easy for people to talk a good fight at conference its whether they go and explain that fight to the members in the workplaces. The other good thing about it is that the cwu are going to do a consulation exercise with the members including understanding the problems members are having in delivery and then making sure those issues are tackled.

[spiderwoods]

.

[fishtank]

Fishtank I totally accept your points but I really think that the cwu have got a nerve, as much as I blame Royal Mail for most of what has gone on, the cwu with guidance from Ward and Hayes have not helped!!

No clever answers i'm afraid...only that we have no choice.
The option of not supporting the union is more frightening.
Possibly dammed if you do...certainly dammed if you don't.

[wandle]

No clever answers i'm afraid...only that we have no choice.
The option of not supporting the union is more frightening.
Possibly dammed if you do...certainly dammed if you don't.

Whilst I fully agree, I can't escape the feeling that by the time we get the result of a national ballot, and assuming we get a Yes, serve the legal notice period for a strike, any strike will take place at just about the quietest time of the year.

Compared to having RM backed against a wall with Christmas 2009 looming, it'll now be somewhat like brandishing a water-pistol when we once had a gun to their heads So we'd better not get sold out before we get sold off