LTB602/20 Royal Mail Withdrawal of Shared Vans - Following Covid-19 Tier 4/Lockdown Announcements in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland:

[POSTMAN]

https://www.cwu.org/ltb/ltb602-20-royal ... n-ireland/

LTB602/20 Royal Mail Withdrawal of Shared Vans – Following Covid-19 Tier 4/Lockdown Announcements in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland:
No. 602/2020

21 December 2020

Our Ref: E1/20

To: All Branches



Dear Colleagues,

Royal Mail Withdrawal of Shared Vans – Following Covid-19 Tier 4/Lockdown Announcements in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland:

Background

Branches and Reps will be aware that over the weekend a series of announcements were made in relation the introduction of new tougher Tier-4 Coronavirus/Covid-19 lockdown restrictions across the UK. Tier-4 is the toughest of the county’s five tiers of restrictions (0-4). For those affected, Tier-4 will essentially be a return to the full lockdown.

The UK Government for England and devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have been prompted to take urgent action following rapidly increasing Covid-19 infection rates and concerns over a new strain of Coronavirus which is believed to spread more quickly, is significantly more infectious and is up to 70% more transmissible than the old variant, so affecting more people. This is judged to be the reason for the rapidly rising infection rates in the South East and elsewhere. COVID-19 cases have been nearly doubling in London over the past few weeks, while in the East and South East of England cases have continued to rise significantly.

The Government has urged people to continue to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as over the coming weeks and months, the number of vaccination clinics and centres will be set up and could see two million people a week being vaccinated.

Royal Mail Shared Van Policy Change

As a result of the weekend’s announcements from the UK Governments regarding the introduction of the ‘Tier-4 Lockdown’ arrangements to tackle the rapidly rising Covid-19 infection numbers and faster transmission rate of the newly detected Covid-19 Virus strain, the Royal Mail Executive Board have decided, as an ‘emergency measure’ to withdraw their current shared van arrangements which they state is on the basis of putting the safety of the workforce and communities Royal Mail operates in first. The Union certainly welcomes that prompt reaction to the Government announcements as the Union’s position has remained that shared vans should not have been reintroduced in the first place (See LTB No. 489/20 dated 6 October 2020).

Royal Mail state that that this is a ‘temporary cessation’ of the use of shared vans in Tier-4/Lockdown areas which will be kept under review.

This means shared vans should stop in the England listed Tier 4/Lockdown areas and all of Wales, with immediate effect. Shared vans should cease in mainland Scotland and Northern Ireland from 26 December.

Royal Mail add that they will be keeping this decision under close review as more information from Government and public health bodies becomes available.

Dr Shaun Davis Royal Mail Group Global Director Compliance & Sustainability concludes the communication on behalf of the Executive Board – Royal Mail emphasise in the meantime, please ensure that all safety measures are being followed in your units, and you and your teams continue to follow Government guidelines.

A copy of the communication is attached.

In summary:

England:

The following areas of England entered Tier-4/Lockdown from 20 December:

• Greater London (all 32 boroughs and the City of London)
  Kent
  Buckinghamshire (including Milton Keynes)
  Berkshire
  Surrey (excluding Waverley)
  Gosport, Havant, Portsmouth
  Rother and Hastings
  Bedfordshire
  Hertfordshire
  Essex (excluding Colchester, Uttlesford and Tendring)
  Peterborough
  Wales

The whole of Wales has entered Lockdown from 20 December.

Scotland.

The whole of mainland Scotland will enter Tier-4/Lockdown from Boxing Day, Saturday 26 December.

Northern Ireland.

The whole of Northern Ireland will enter Lockdown from Boxing Day, Saturday 26 December.

A separate LTB covering a summary of the changes being introduced in relation to the Tier-4 Lockdown Rules as they apply across the UK and where to obtain further information is being circulated in a separate LTB.

Yours sincerely

Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer

http://www.cwu.org/wp-content/uploads/2 ... policy.pdf

[POSTMAN]

https://www.cwu.org/ltb/ltb601-20-covid ... n-ireland/

LTB601/20 Covid-19: New Tiers and Lockdown Rules Announced in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
No. 601/2020

21 December 2020

Our Ref: E1/20

To: All Branches



Dear Colleagues,

Covid-19: New Tiers and Lockdown Rules Announced in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Branches and Reps will be aware that over the weekend a series of announcements were made in relation the introduction of new tougher Tier-4 Coronavirus/Covid-19 Lockdown restrictions across the UK. Tier-4 is the toughest of the county’s five tiers of restrictions (0-4). For those affected, Tier-4 will essentially be a return to the full Lockdown. The Government stated that “throughout the public health emergency, they have had to respond quickly to the rapid changes, which have been so typical of Coronavirus. New information has required an immediate response.”

In summary:

England

London and much of south-east England has been put into Lockdown (known as Level 4 or Tier-4) which came into force from Sunday 20 December. The measures will remain in place for at least two weeks, with a review at the end of that period to decide if it needs to be extended, with the prospect of a possible full National Lockdown to follow in the new year.

The areas affected are:

• Greater London (all 32 boroughs and the City of London)
  Kent
  Buckinghamshire (including Milton Keynes)
  Berkshire
  Surrey (excluding Waverley)
  Gosport, Havant, Portsmouth
  Rother and Hastings
  Bedfordshire
  Hertfordshire
  Essex (excluding Colchester, Uttlesford and Tendring)
  Peterborough

Wales

The whole of Wales has entered another lockdown from 20 December for 3 weeks.

Scotland

The whole of mainland Scotland will begin a new Tier-4 lockdown for three weeks from one minute after midnight on Boxing Day morning on Saturday 26 December.

Northern Ireland

The whole of Northern Ireland begins a six-week lockdown on Boxing Day Saturday 26 December.

Christmas

The planned relaxation of Covid-19 rules for Christmas have in the main been scrapped for large parts of south-east England (as listed) and cut to just Christmas Day for the rest of England, Scotland and Wales. In Northern Ireland, no changes have been made to Christmas restrictions, with three households allowed to meet from 23 to 27 December.

The Reason for the Changes and New Lockdowns

The action was prompted by Government concerns over a new strain of Coronavirus – known as VUI 2020/01 – which is believed to spread more quickly than the original strain and is judged to be the reason for rapidly rising infection rates in the south east of England and elsewhere.

The New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) suggests the new more aggressive strain is significantly more infectious and is up to 70% more transmissible than the old variant, spreading more quickly and affecting more people.

While the expert advisory group of scientists are fairly certain the variant is transmitted more quickly, there is no evidence to suggest that it is more lethal or causes more severe illness.

There is also no evidence to suggest the vaccine will be any less effective against the new variant.

COVID-19 cases have been nearly doubling in London over the past few weeks, while in the east and south east of England cases have continued to rise significantly.

Over 60% of infections in the capital have been the new variant, which is thought to have emerged in mid-September.

The Government has urged people to continue to get Covid-19 vaccinations. 350,000 people across the UK have already had their Covid-19 vaccine jab. In the coming weeks, the number of vaccination clinics should increase six-fold, following which the plan is for mass vaccination centres to be set up in sports stadiums and conference centres. That could see two million people a week being vaccinated.

Tier 4 Lockdown Rules Summary

• You must stay at home.
  Only allowed out for work, exercise, education, emergencies, childcare, hospital/GP appointments, vets, essential shopping.
  Travel Ban enforced by law.
  No Christmas bubbles.
  No entry to or exit from Tier-4 areas.
  No overnight stays outside home.
  Non-essential shops and hairdressers closed.
  One person can meet one other person outside.
  International travel banned unless for work.

The Full Tier-4 Government Guidance Rules can be found at:

England: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-local-restrictions

Scotland: https://www.gov.scot/check-local-covid-level/

Wales: https://gov.wales/covid-19-alert-levels

Northern Ireland: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/co ... s-mean-you

Yours sincerely



Dave Joyce
National Health, Safety & Environment Officer