Letter to Branches No: 671/13 PENSIONS

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Letter to Branches




No: 671/13
67000
9th October 2013

To: All Branches with Postal Members


Dear Colleague

PENSIONS

The purpose of this LTB is to update CWU Branches, Representatives and members on further pension developments with Post Office Limited, the Royal Mail Group and the Trustee Board.

As explained in LTB 645/13 both companies were due to place their final proposals in front of the Trustee Board on the 26th September. In advance of that meeting the CWU wrote to the Trustee Board setting out our views in line with the content of LTB 645/13 and CWU policy.

The Trustee Board duly met on the 26th September and agreed the Royal Mail Group proposal, but significantly the Board rejected the POL proposal pending a further meeting on the 7th October, at which POL were due to provide stronger evidence of their consultation process with employees and the Union.

In the intervening period CWU took the opportunity to meet again with POL and as a result we can confirm that POL has now changed their position in two key areas. Firstly, they agreed to amend their proposal by making the same concession as Royal Mail, effectively restoring the final salary link for movement within CWU represented grades. Secondly, POL has now confirmed, in writing, that they are willing to engage in further negotiations with CWU to reach an overall pensions agreement.

The following will now set out the up to date position of the Trustee Board and the current situation between CWU, Post Office Limited and the Royal Mail Group.

Trustee Board - Latest Position

The Trustee Board met again on the 7th October 2013 and has now agreed both the RMG and POL proposal. The CWU Member Nominated Trustees did not support either proposal, given the status of continuing negotiations. We understand the Trustee Board will send out a communication to Scheme Members within the next week or so confirming their decisions and the reasons for this.


CWU/RMG - Latest Position

A further meeting took place on Friday 4th October 2013 and the company presented a new Draft intended to form the basis of a legally binding agreement. Whilst recognising that progress continues to be made, we advised Royal Mail that their draft was not acceptable and that we would respond later this week with proposed changes.

Irrespective of the Trustee Board decision, the Union remains in a Trade Dispute with the Royal Mail Group until such time as a separate legally binding agreement has been achieved.

We understand that the RMG will soon confirm to employees that the Trustee Board has agreed their proposal and that this change will be introduced for Scheme members with effect from the 1st April 2014.

CWU/POL - Latest Position

CWU intervention helped shape the Trustee Board decision at their meeting on the 26th September 2013 and this in turn provided the opportunity for further CWU/POL discussions. We recognise that POL has made a significant concession, but reaching an overall pensions agreement with POL remains a difficult proposition. It is the intention of CWU negotiators to seek exactly the same agreement with POL, as that which we are negotiating with the RMG. We will not accept POL’s argument that because they are owned by Government, they are not in a position to offer future guarantees, improvements to the DC Scheme and overall governance arrangements.

We understand that POL will communicate to employees this week that their position has changed and that their amended proposal has now been agreed by the Trustee Board. Similarly, we expect them to confirm that the change will take effect for Scheme members from the 1st April 2014.

Conclusion

The current situation is that the Trust Deed of the Scheme has now been changed, although the effects of these changes will not be introduced for scheme members until the 1st April 2014.

The CWU recognises that both companies have now made significant amendments to their original proposals and the Union will continue to negotiate further on legally binding guarantees, improvements to the DC Scheme and overall pension governance arrangements. It is the outcome of these negotiations that will determine our final view of the pension change. The key debate is to keep the Defined Benefit Scheme open for future accrual with proper guarantees, whilst also significantly improving the Defined Contribution Scheme, which will increasingly account for a larger proportion of CWU members in the future.

Please ensure that the content of this LTB is communicated to all Representatives and that the attached Members Communication is distributed in all workplaces.
Any enquires on the content of this LTB should be addressed to the DGS (P) Department.

Yours sincerely




Dave Ward Ray Ellis
Deputy General Secretary (Postal) Assistant Secretary




To All Royal Mail Group CWU Members


Dear Colleague

Pension Update – Royal Mail Group

In recent weeks you have seen the company make a concession by amending their pension proposal to restore the final salary link for movement within CWU represented grade groups.

The amended proposal was agreed by the Trustee Board on 26th September 2013 and the company state the change will take effect for scheme members from 1st April 2014.

Given the status of ongoing negotiations, the CWU member nominated trustees did not support the company proposal.

The current situation is that negotiations continue with Royal Mail to secure a legally binding pensions agreement that protects the Defined Benefit Scheme with proper guarantees over the future, whilst improving the Defined Contribution Scheme and overall governance arrangements.

It is the outcome of these negotiations that will shape our final view of pension changes.

We continue to be in dispute with the Royal Mail Group over pensions until an agreement has been reached and endorsed in a separate ballot of CWU members.

Yours sincerely



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


To All Post Office Limited CWU Members


Dear Colleague

Pension Update – Post Office Limited

In the last week there have been a number of important pension developments.

The POL pension proposal was rejected by the Trustee Board on 26th September 2013.

Following a further meeting with CWU, POL then confirmed that they were prepared to change their position in two key areas.

Firstly, POL amended their proposal and conceded that the final salary link would be restored for movement within CWU represented grades. This effectively mirrored the concession made by Royal Mail.

Secondly, POL has now confirmed in writing that they are prepared to negotiate with the Union in order to reach an overall pensions agreement.

The amended POL proposal was agreed by the Trustee Board on 7th October 2013 and changes will take effect for scheme members on 1st April 2014. CWU nominated trustee members did not support the proposal.

The latest situation is that urgent talks will now take place and the Union is determined to secure a legally binding agreement that protects the future of the Defined Benefit Scheme, whilst seeking to improve the Defined Contribution Scheme and overall governance arrangements.

It is the outcome of these negotiations that will shape our final view of the pension changes.

Any final agreement would need to be endorsed by CWU members in a separate ballot.

Yours sincerely




Dave Ward Andy Furey
Deputy General Secretary (P) Assistant Secretary