Royal Mail Road Traffic Accident/Collision Procedure

No. 395/2021

27th September 2021

Dear Colleagues,

Branches will be aware we have been in negotiations with Royal Mail to introduce a new agreement for road traffic accidents / collisions which will replace the current agreement.

We have now concluded a negotiator’s agreement. For a number of reasons, the negotiations have taken longer than we expected, however we wanted to ensure we concluded the best agreement we could through negotiation and not allow frustrations to get in the way.

Our concerns over the current process have been well documented with our primary concern being Royal Mail moving to the Conduct Code too early in the accident investigation instead of the remedial/re-training approach.

This procedure is clearer and less ambiguous for those unfortunate occasions when our members are involved in an accident/collision.

The shared principles emphasise the joint commitment to:

Keeping drivers driving
Safety
A detailed investigation
Training
Improving driving standards

This is a very welcome move away from the blame and punishment approach Royal Mail have adopted through the current process.

We believe our Branches and Representatives will welcome this new agreement. The new agreement simplifies the process and includes:

The definition of a road traffic accident / collision
Acceptance accidents can and will happen
Full involvement of CWU Area Safety Representatives
Explaining precautionary removal from driving is not a standard or punitive approach
Ensuring vehicles involved in accidents / collisions will be presented to the Fleet workshop to be checked to see whether there was any contributing factor to the accident
Clarity of when and at what point in the agreement the conduct code can be used
A precise stepped approach to conclude the investigation into the road traffic accident / collision before moving to conduct, if appropriate
A number of supportive interventions
Our members being able to request temporary reassignment to non-driving duties after an accident

The agreement will now be the subject of a branch ballot. In advance of the ballot it will be our intention to hold a National Briefing on the agreement, further details of the briefings will be published to branches in due course.

Any enquiries regarding the content of this LTB should be addressed to:

PTCS department quoting ref 320 e-mail address khay@cwu.org or;
Outdoor department quoting ref 300 e-mail address outdoorsecretary@cwu.org
National & Area Distribution department quoting ref 202.11 email address dwyatt@cwu.org

Yours sincerely
Carl Maden
Assistant Secretary

Yours sincerely
Mark Baulch
Assistant Secretary

Yours sincerely
Davie Robertson
Assistant Secretary

LTB 395/21

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