Parcelforce 2012 Pay Claim Talks At Breakdown

[fishtank]

No. 572/2012

Ref: 101.06

Date: 26th July 2012

FOR THE URGENT ATTENTION OF:

All Postal Branches With Parcelforce Members
All Regional Organisers
All Parcelforce Representatives

Dear Colleague

Parcelforce 2012 Pay Claim Talks At Breakdown

Despite the Union and the Parcelforce Membership showing extreme patience in allowing management time to get their act together and make good their failure to adhere to their agreed commitment to have our members pay award for 2012 concluded and effective from April 2012, we were compelled to issue LTB 528/12 dated 16th July 2012.

That LTB made it quite clear that we would afford management one further week to improve on their verbal offer which we had made clear to them was unacceptable and for them to provide a professional formal offer to the union.

Incredibly but sadly consistent with the most amateurish and bizarre pay discussions we have ever been involved in during the past 11 years, management have still refused to provide a formal offer to the Union.

Management have even attempted to circumvent the negotiations by suggesting the intervention of third parties i.e. ACAS etc prior to any formal proposal being made.

Even the least experienced of Union representatives and managers know that prior to going to any disagreement you have to formally and professionally record your proposals and respective positions.

The Union formally tabled its claim in March of this year (copy attached) which was an agreed policy set at this year's Annual Conference. We have since been engaged in the most frustrating set of talks I can ever recall with the Parcelforce management team constantly claiming they could not negotiate because they had no remit and were waiting for the Royal Mail Group Board to tell them what they could offer. During the period of these talks they have also changed their position from originally wanting a one year deal and then moving to a proposal of a three year deal, then proposing a nine month deal and finally at the latest meeting going back to a twelve month deal.

It is now evident that the loss of the former senior managerial team in parcels to our competitors has left a wide void in focus and leadership far beyond what we imagined. The fact we have continued to deliver such a successful service is clearly down to the excellent local vocational culture embraced by employees, CWU representatives and local managers alike, which we have jointly worked to create over the years.

The new managerial leadership in Parcelforce have clearly undervalued the time and effort that it has taken to build such a culture, and have failed to realise that it is Parcelforce's most valuable asset.

The Royal Mail Group has for whatever reason, hidden the performance of Parcelforce in a less clear Group performance reporting method. However the last full statement of accounts reported the following:

"Parcelforce Worldwide, continue to increase profits. They show what we can do in an unregulated environment and with the same commercial freedom as other companies." (Donald Brydon, Royal Mail Group Chairman)

"Our clear success with GLS and Parcelforce Worldwide demonstrates, however, that Royal Mail Group has a successful track record of growing businesses."

(Moya Greene, Chief Executive)

Parcelforce Worldwide has had an exceptional year. In a market where competition is open and intense, it has increased both revenues and profits. In the UK market, where there are more than a dozen major parcel businesses, Parcelforce Worldwide's growth has outpaced all its rivals.

It achieved volume growth of 15%, partially offset by a changing customer mix and market price pressures, leading to another year of record profits. Its Business to Business volumes also grew in 2010-11 in what is the most competitive sector of the market. Its business strategy rests firmly on one of the highest quality of service records in the industry.

I can assure you that your performance has not dipped. In fact it has improved and yet what has been verbally offered as a pay reward is below inflation and below that enjoyed by other employees working in other parts of the Royal Mail Group.

This situation totally disrespects all your efforts and in the opinion of your negotiating team is totally unacceptable.

Parcelforce CWU Representatives and Branches set the following policy at this year's Annual Conference:

This Conference agrees that the current financial problems surrounding the Postal Industry should not be allowed to undermine the progress made by the National Officer for parcels on basic pay and the employee package.

The Postal Executive will seek the following:-

1. Increase in basic pay flowing to SA and all allowances.
2. Increase in London Weighting.
3. Shorter Working Week.
4. Continuing progress on the Welfare Package.
This list is not exhaustive.

If no agreement can be reached by September 1st 2012 then the Postal Executive will have the right to call for a Rule 13 Ballot of the members.

Furthermore the April 1st pay date in recent years has more often delayed talks on pay and hasn't achieved what the move to April 1st originally set out to do. We now call for the Postal Executive to review the date and if needed seek an alternative date for the start of the next pay claim.

The Postal Executive is instructed accordingly.

The Parcelforce negotiators made it clear at the meeting held on the 24th July 2012, that they had reached the limit on what they could propose. Therefore I can see no point in waiting until the 1st September as affectively these talks have concluded with no formal offer ever being made.

Against that backdrop I will now be proposing to the Postal Executive that they invoke our Conference Policy and authorise a Rule 13 Ballot of our Parcelforce members in support of the Unions position and to progress our claim.

Any enquiries in relation to this LTB should be addressed to Terry Pullinger, Assistant Secretary, e-mail: dwyatt@cwu.org or lwright@cwu.org quoting reference number:

Yours sincerely

Terry Pullinger

Assistant Secretary

[iainwilson]

Wh are Parcelforce management being nobs at the moment. While I was off arranging mums funeral they cut my pre scheduled OT by 30 mins and didn't notify me formally or in formally. Now this. Effectively I'm not going to get a pay rise anyways im going to get a pay cut!!!!

[tasape]

We Need to make a Stand on this, what next loss of allowences,more work less pay i hope we have to take a ballot,the sooner the better let then know how we at pfw actually feel about this continuing let down by senior managment,if they have reneged on this what next the loss of free dental treatment,loss of Beneden health care,take away your driving allowance, cut change the terms on our bonuse's you bet they will

[1969tonka]

without our hard bloody work and looking after our routes so well this company really would not be where it is at the moment and for the upper management to treat us like this is a disgrace.if we all stand up together and let them know we wont be s**t upon then maybe it might give them the slap across the face they so clearly need !!