CWU Postal Executive formally rejects Royal Mail Group surrender document

CWU Postal Executive formally rejects Royal Mail Group surrender document

The Postal Executive met today and unanimously rejected Royal Mail Group’s latest proposals and at the same time endorsed a CWU counter proposal, which also includes an alternative business strategy to secure the future of both our members jobs and the company.

The proposal Royal Mail Group sent to us yesterday were not in line with the discussions we have been having and were a deliberate move to harden their position following their unilateral preference exercise. The CWU counter proposal will be sent to Royal Mail Group tomorrow and will be shared with our representatives and members.

Unlike Royal Mail Group, who presented their proposal as a take it or leave it option, the CWU remain committed to reaching an agreement and will make clear to the company that we are willing to engage further in serious negotiations on all aspects of pay and change.

We will also use National Gate Meeting Day to ask CWU members, by a show of hands to support the rejection of the Royal Mail Group position and endorse the unions paper.

The documents sent by Royal Mail Group yesterday are bound by ACAS confidentiality rules so we will not share it today, but we will be doing so as soon as we are able to because as a union we believe in complete transparency. We also know when you see the document it will make support for strike action stronger than ever.

A summary of the rejected proposal and its impact on your futures is below. We need this everywhere and we need every CWU member to realise that backing the forthcoming strike action is not only the right thing to do but it is the only thing to do.

We will of course use every possible moment ahead of Thursday to reach agreement, but we need every branch, representative and member to create a huge wave of pressure from the ground up. Every single one of us must become the union.

Dave Ward General Secretary

Andy Furey Acting Deputy General Secretary (Postal)

SUMMARY OF ROYAL MAIL GROUP SURRENDER DOCUMENT

• It is clear they want to turn the Royal Mail Group into a gig economy style parcel courier, resourced over time through a self-employed model.

• Royal Mail Group have refused to put in place any commitments whatsoever on job security and we believe they will now move ahead with compulsory redundancies.

• The pay offer remains inadequate and the 3.5% is not backdated.

• Pay for Parcelforce – Nil.

• Pay for Fleet – 3% - not backdated, alongside a demand to outsource Fleet work, leading to compulsory redundancies.

• Royal Mail Group is demanding the CWU withdraws support for members who have submitted employment tribunals for unlawful pay deductions during recent periods of strike action.

• Royal Mail Group is demanding that local representatives and members must fully accept their revision proposals without any opportunity for these to be negotiated at local level.

• Royal Mail Group is demanding the CWU be removed from the workplace and will only recognise us in the future as a company union – there only to help introduce their plans.

• Ill health and sick pay slashed.

• Allowances slashed.

• Removal of Sunday premium payment.

• A combined proposal on flexibility and seasonal variations that means the company will be in total control of when you work and when you don’t.

• Later start and finishing times that will see the company abandoning the AM delivery period, forever denying growth opportunities and new products and services being developed.

• Technology being used to bare down on and monitor postal workers every minute of the day.