LTB 271/14 RESPONDING TO THE THREAT OF END TO END COMP

[TrueBlueTerrier]

LTB 271/14 RESPONDING TO THE THREAT OF END TO END COMPETITION

No: 271/14


24th April 2014

To: All Branches with Postal Members

Dear Colleague

RESPONDING TO THE THREAT OF END TO END COMPETITION

In recent weeks the Postal Executive has been discussing, in detail, the growing threat of direct delivery competition and the CWU response to this.

These issues are also the subject of continuing high-level discussions with Royal Mail through the Growth Forum and other structures contained within the new National Agreement.

Although the threat of competition is not new, the extent and intensity of cherry picking competition in both the letters and parcels market is growing and this is becoming increasingly clear to CWU members on the ground.

TNT has a strategy, well underway and much publicised, to deliver by 2017 to 42.3% of total UK addresses in only 8.3% of the total UK geography. Furthermore, since Christmas Amazon has stepped up their direct delivery approach targeting pretty much the same high density areas. These developments are likely to impact on Royal Mail's forecast for growth and will increasingly feature in future discussions with the company.

Although turning back the tide of competition is virtually impossible, we can minimise the impact of it by developing more focused industrial and political strategies to protect CWU members' jobs, terms and conditions and safeguard the future of the USO.

Industrially, it will be the successful deployment of the Agenda for Growth Agreement, in the way envisaged by both parties, which will help fight back against competition and also deliver future growth. Sustaining the legal protections, achieving industrial stability, CWU influencing the strategic direction of the company and dealing with difficult issues such as efficiency and flexibility, are interdependent on each other and represent our collective responsibility to deploy the agreement.

Politically, the union will want to stop the remaining 30% of Royal Mail being privatised, whilst pushing renationalisation with the Labour Party. These Conference policies will continue to be pursued. However, when it comes to the immediate and main threat to the future of UK postal services we must now significantly raise the profile of regulation and competition issues. To achieve this CWU will develop a fresh campaign with the following objectives:-

· To persuade the Regulator and senior politicians that to maintain the Universal Service early intervention by the Regulator on End to End competition is essential.


· To bring to the attention of politicians the low level of employment standards being utilised by competitors within the postal sector (letters and parcels).


· To lift employment standards across the sector through our organising agenda and by pursuing appropriate legislation.

These are broad themes for the campaign and they will need to be supported by a greater understanding across the whole of the union of the threat posed by unfair competition.

At this stage, we are still in the process of developing the approach to the campaign and the role that we want CWU Branches to play in it. This will be discussed further during the Wednesday afternoon session of Postal Group Conference. Following Annual Conference, the union will then begin preparation for a National Briefing and a series of Regional events to continue to raise awareness and develop campaign initiatives.

Any enquiries on the content of the above LTB should be addressed to the Deputy General Secretary (P).

Yours sincerely


Dave Ward
Deputy General Secretary (P)

[chickenwittle]

to little to late, tnt have been delivering in london for over 2 years while royal mail ant the cwu sat by.