WEEKLY INFORMATION FROM THE COMMUNICATION WORKERS UNION
SUMMARY
Volume 8 Issue 12. Paragraphs 147 - 159 28 March 2003
SUMMARY
GENERAL
147 Branch Magazine and
Website Competition
148 Health & Safety at
Work Course - Stage II
149 Recruitment Week -
Spring 2003
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
No items this week
HEALTH AND SAFETY
150 Workers' Memorial Day
- April 28th
151 Stress Tool Assessment
Risk in BT
152 Acoustic Shocks -
Trials on New Filters Taking Place.
TELECOMS
153 BT Group - Taping of
Disciplinary Interviews
154 BT Wholesale Property Strategy
FINANCIAL SERVICES
No items this week
POSTAL
155 Reversion from Full
Time Contracts at Mount Pleasant
156 Performance Review of
LAs, Secretaries and Engineers
157 Royal Mail UK - MDEC
New Keying Task
158 Pay and Performance in
Mail Centres (Mail Centre Review)
159 Royal Mail Investment
in Special Delivery
ALL LETTERS TO BRANCHES ARE AVAILABLE IN ELECTRONIC VERSIONS UPON
REQUEST TO THE BRANCH OFFICE AT cwunea@cwunea.org
LETTERS TO BRANCHES
LTB/152 BT Supply Chain Business: Rationalisation (Simon Sapper)
LTB/153 Annual Conference 2003 (Tony Kearns, Senior DGS)
LTB/154 Labour Against the War: Emergency Committee (Billy
Hayes, G.S.)
LTB/155 Application of National Agreements (John Keggie, DGS{P})
LTB/156 Recruitment and Retention Pay Ranges (London) (John
Keggie, DGS{P})
LTB/157 General Council Statement on Iraq (Billy Hayes, G.S.)
LTB/158 Recruitment Week: Spring 2003 (Steve Baguley)
LTB/159 TDS Update (Dave Ward)
LTB/160 SMT Industrial Action Ballot (Ian Cuthbert)
LTB/161 Mail Services Preference Exercise (Simon Sapper)
LTB/162 BT Supply Chain Partners (Simon Sapper)
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GENERAL
147
Branch Magazine and Website Competition
Web wonders and branch hacks take note! The annual awards rewarding
the very best CWU branch magazines and websites are up for grabs once
again and as normal the competition will reach its climax at Annual
Conference in Bournemouth.
Nominations are now open, so it's time to think about getting
recognition for the branch editors and internet boffins who beaver
away to bring you the information you need at branch level.
Editors: All you have to do is decide which edition of the magazine
was your best of the last twelve months and send three copies to:
Marcia Murray, CWU Communications Department, 150 The Broadway,
Wimbledon, London, SW19 1RX.
Webmasters and mistresses: email your details, including the branch
URL (website address) to: mmurray@cwu.org
Deadline for entries is Thursday May 15 so don't delay, particularly
considering substantial prizes at stake thanks to Hamilton Bank which
is once again sponsoring the competition.
This year the winners of both the branch magazine and branch website
competitions will walk away with £250 in software vouchers,
enabling them to improve their publications still further.
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148
Health & Safety at Work Course - Stage II
Two Health and Safety at Work Stage II Courses have been organised to
be held at the Education and Training Centre at Alvescot Lodge. All
courses held at Alvescot Lodge are accredited with the National Open
College Network. This is a fully integrated course.
The courses will be held from 12-16 May & 19-23 May 2003
Applicants for this course will have already attended the Union's
Health & Safety Stage I course.
All courses at Alvescot are residential. The cost of tuition, food
and accommodation will be met from the General Fund. Branches are
expected to meet the cost of travelling and subsistence payments.
Branches requiring financial assistance from the General Fund to
enable them to send students to the course must submit the request
with the nomination, to enable the Trustees to consider the request
in time. Special leave with pay will apply.
The Education Centre can offer child-minding facilities for a maximum
of three under school age children at any one time. If any applicant
from your branch would like child-minding facilities, can you please
advise the age and sex of the child on the application form. Further
information on the child-minding arrangements will then be sent to
the successful applicants.
Nominations should be made on an 'application for Union courses' form
and returned to Alvescot Lodge as soon as possible.
If a member is refused a place, due to oversubscription, then
indicate this on a subsequent application for another date.
Application forms should be addressed to: Trish Lavelle, Head of
Education & Training, CWU Education & Training Centre,
Alvescot Lodge, Alvescot, Bampton, Oxon OX18 2PY. Telephone: 01993
843373; Fax: 01993 840960; e-mail: maxine-cwueducation@btinternet.com
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149
Recruitment Week - Spring 2003
Branches were informed in LTB 158 that the recruitment week for
Spring 2003 will take place week commencing 28th April.
We are currently discussing the production of materials for the week
and it would be useful if Branches could give us a realistic figure
of how many leaflets, posters etc. Branches envisage they will need
for this week.
Please could Branches forward this information to the National
Organising Department by no later than Friday 4th April.
Steve Baguley
National Organsing Secretary
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HEALTH AND SAFETY
150
Workers' Memorial Day - April 28th
Remember The Dead - Fight for The Living
The CWU website has a Workers' Memorial Day Page that you can access
by going to: www.cwu.org/about/health_safety/memorialday.html
The CWU poster for the day plus postcards for the postcard campaign
will be dispatched to CWU Branches and Safety Forums shortly.
The poster can however be downloaded from the site. We also encourage
CWU members to take part in the email postcard campaign now. Details
are on our site. An article will also appear in the CWU Voice.
Can I ask everyone to let the Health and Safety Department know of
any activities that are taking place on WMD in order that we can give
them publicity on our site.
Any enquiries on this matter should be referred to Kevin Shaw,
Assistant Secretary quoting reference NS 124
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151
Stress Tool Assessment Risk in BT
The CWU and Connect have been raising the issue of workplace stress
for many years and BT are to launch a stress risk assessment tool.
The tool is available on the BT intranet here http://stressassessment.nat.bt.com/
The unions have been closely involved in the design of the
questionnaire and the process. In particular USRs have fed back a lot
of information and comments. Most of these have been accepted but we
would ask that USRs continue to monitor and feedback all issues that
arise from this process. The aim of the tool is to identify if
someone is at risk from stress by assessing his or her responses
against known sources of stress. The individual and line manager are
then prompted with possible solutions/suggestions for issues to
discuss as part of a way of reducing potential stress levels.
As from Monday 24th March people returning from periods of
stress-related absence in Retail call centres will be provided with
the opportunity to use STAR. If this programme proves successful, BT
will be looking at developing models for use in other areas such as
engineering, sales and management.
Attached are the briefing documents that are being issued.
Any enquiries on this issue should be addressed to Kevin Shaw,
Assistant Secretary, quoting reference NS144.
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152
Acoustic Shocks - Trials on New Filters Taking Place.
CWU members who wear headsets as part of their job are liable to be
exposed to Acoustic Shocks or Noise Interference and unfortunately
hundreds are experiencing these incidents. These incidents have
resulted in significant effects, for example, deafness, dizziness,
ringing in the ears (Tinnitus) and sensitivity to loud noise.
The CWU is committed to work to eradicate Noise Interference and its
Health Safety and Environment Department has worked with employers to
achieve this.
In particular, the CWU has been working with BT for a number of years
to increase awareness and seek ways to protect our members from all
forms of Noise Interference incidents.
BT recognises that Noise Interference is a problem for our members
and is trialling a number of initiatives. These include:
A new online training package to replace the old CD-ROM
All noise incidents now have to be reported and a new Noise
Interference Reporting Procedure has been issued.
The trial that took place recently at a number of call centres using
a filter known as a Polaris Sound Shield and some other filters was
not totally satisfactory. A new filter developed by BT Exact called
'Defender' is being trialled in Call Centres in Leicester, Nottingham
and Dundee. BT informed the unions that the trials have proved very
successful so far, effectively dealing with Noise Interference with
no noticeable deterioration in the call quality. The CWU's Health and
Safety Department will update Branches as this trial continues.
Any enquiries on this issue should be addressed to Kevin Shaw,
Assistant Secretary, quoting reference NS38.
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TELECOMS
153
BT Group - Taping of Disciplinary Interviews
Please find attached self-explanatory terms of reference for a trial
involving taping of disciplinary interviews. This is consistent with
the TFSE's general policy objectives. You will note that the trial is
being conducted specifically in the Midlands area initially, and
comments and feedback from branches in that geography will be
particularly welcome. The trial will commence on 1st May for three months.
CWU will use these comments in the post-trial review and will
feedback the trial report to branches.
Any queries on this matter should be addressed to my office.
"Proposals for the Introduction of Audio Taping - Initially
covering a trial of all Serious Offence Disciplinary hearings
attended by a Specialist in a given geographic area.
Background
At the present time all the above hearings, attended by a Accenture
HR Services Specialist are formally noted in manuscript form and
subsequently produced in typed format.
Whilst the length of the notes varies considerably, the average
content tends to be in the region of 10 A4 manuscript pages. The Case
Specialist teams on the whole are not trained typists and hours are
therefore taken up in reproducing formal notes. Case time scales are
continually being reviewed and there is no doubt that the production
of typed notes is time consuming. We therefore recognise that this
needs to be addressed.
Our position and relationship with regards to BT as our customer is
obviously of concern to us and we are therefore continually reviewing
our service with a view to providing an effective, cost efficient
service. There is a prime concern with individuals who attend
hearings that anything they say is accurately and wholly noted.
Whilst there are few issues raised on individual cases, we accept
that accuracy is key to fair and reasonable considerations of a case.
Some time ago we looked at taping interviews and obtained an
agreement in principle from the CWU and Connect as well as BT Policy.
Proposed Procedure for Audio Taping of Serious Offence Formal
Disciplinary Hearings and Grievance Interviews
The Accenture HR Services Specialist support will own and be
responsible for the use of a tape recorder at meetings. Two tapes
will be produced at the interview. At the conclusion of the meeting
one will be given to individual and the other will remain the
property of the owning Manager
Proposals
It is proposed to run a short trial in a sample of Disciplinary
hearings in the Midlands area. Feedback will be invited from
individuals, their representatives and the owning Manager. This will
then form the basis for discussion and agreement by all relevant parties."
Simon Sapper
Assistant Secretary
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154
BT Wholesale Property Strategy
It was reported to Branches in BOB No.40, paragraph 552 of the
national consultative process for the BT Wholesale Property Strategy.
The first six-monthly review has taken place and the Executive can
report on the following issues that were covered.
As reported previously, Location Managers were to be appointed; to
date Location Managers have been appointed to the top 313 operational
buildings and all 107 TECs. All Location Managers have received
training on their role.
As part of the launch of the BT Wholesale Property Strategy and the
placement of Location Managers, a "clean up" inspection
regime was put in place. Over 60% of the buildings required
"clean ups", of which 50% have been completed and all
outstanding buildings are expected to be completed by the year end.
The original committed expenditure for the year was for £6m,
with £4m worth of the programme completed. This was mainly in
traditional areas or incidents which triggered expenditure namely,
Health and Safety matters and issues such as roof maintenance.
An additional £8m has been found from BT Property Partners, BT
Retail and BT Wholesale. This investment will be on environmental
issues. These will be in areas identified by the Operational Regional
Forums and will cover such typical headings of heating and
ventilation, toilets and welfare facilities.
For the coming financial year, the Executive has had discussions on
what is likely to be or should be in the Quality Plan and Budget.
Management reported that the priority will be to eliminate Health and
Safety issues where it is property related and to meet DSE
Regulations. Management recognise that with the continuous change of
staff locations it is often DSE regulations that are overlooked.
As a side spin off from the focus on addressing environmental issues,
management admitted that it was also partly intended to address CARE
results which had been poor.
There has been a change in approach and policy on dealing with
accommodation issues. It is intended to tackle the current long
outstanding issues in a number of buildings. It has been recognised
and accepted that not tackling issues when first identified does not
save costs in the long run, in fact the opposite actually occurs. The
objective will therefore be to introduce a sustainable process to
minimise whole life costs.
With regard to the presence of asbestos, Network Operations has a
proactive programme in place, however that which is found by accident
and needs urgent remedial attention will be funded centrally by
Property Partners.
A number of initiatives are under way to look at the use of certain
buildings and these will be shared with the Union when more
information becomes available as to future operational and network strategy.
Brian Healy
Assistant Secretary
Judy Griffiths
Assistant Secretary (Clerical)
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POSTAL
155
Reversion from Full Time Contracts at Mount Pleasant
This paragraph is to advise Branches/Representatives that since
November 2002 representatives from the Mount Pleasant Mail Centre
have been pursuing a case to prevent the removal of their members
from full time contracts to their previous substantive part time
contracts despite the fact that they have been filling these full
time duties for up to four years. The details of the issue are
outlined below:
The case centred around 171 members who were initially employed as
part time staff but had their hours varied to full time because of
the major changes that were due to take place at the Mount, which
would obviously affect the staffing levels considerably. Management
decided recently that they now had no requirement for the additional
hourage. In view of this they decided to write to the branch and
issued a communication to all 171 of these members advising them that
they were being given one month's notice at the end of which, they
would return to their original part time hours.
The branch who had been aware of the possibility of management's
actions since November 2002 sought legal advice as to the legitimacy
of any such action being taken by Royal Mail. Based on the legal
opinion provided to the local branch they informed management it
would be an anticipatory breach of contract if they made any attempt
to reduce their hours in this way.
Following a meeting at CWU Headquarters the branch then wrote to
management at Mount Pleasant formally advising them that they would
expect a review of their position or the matter would be progressed
legally due to the fact that:
a) Royal Mail's letters constituted an anticipatory breach of contract
b) The branch would challenge Royal Mail to provide the legal grounds
for its proposed actions
c) Should Royal Mail fail to respond, the branch would go to the High
Court if necessary to seek declaratory relief as to the contractual
position of those concerned and the legal basis for Royal Mail's
proposed actions.
A further meeting was held with management following receipt of the
branch's letter and the branch was told management would be seeking
advice before making a decision. I am pleased to be able to report
that the business has since written to the branch confirming that the
decision has now been taken to appoint 170 of the substantive part
time staff to permanent full time positions.
I think branches will agree that the achievement of the
representatives at Mount Pleasant should be commended and may set a
precedent that will prove beneficial to other CWU members who find
themselves in a similar position.
I would like to formally place on record my appreciation for the work
of the Mount Pleasant representatives in particular, Val Pegg and
Richard Bruce for bringing this matter to such a satisfactory
conclusion on behalf of their members.
All enquiries regarding the content of this paragraph should be
addressed to Martin Collins, Assistant Secretary Indoor Department,
quoting reference number L.670.50.
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156
Performance Review of LAs, Secretaries and Engineers
Reproduced below for the information of branches/representatives is a
letter from Royal Mail UK which was forwarded by the DGS(P) for the
attention of the Assistant Secretaries Indoor, T&S and C&CHD.
Having now discussed the issue amongst ourselves, it has been
identified that the matter is specific to the Assistant Secretaries,
Indoor and T&S only. Therefore Ray Ellis has replied to Royal
Mail on behalf of the two departments and a copy of his reply is
reproduced below, the content of which is self-explanatory:-
"5th March 2003
Mr J Keggie
Communication Workers Union
Dear John
I am writing to inform you of the changes which are planned to this
year's performance review for all LAs, Secretaries and Engineers, and
which form part of a review of our Group approach to performance
management. These changes apply to the format of the process but do
not change the agreed policy (e.g. that for LAs the process remains
voluntary whereas appraisals for Secretaries and Engineers have been
used on a regular basis).
The changes to the performance review are:
A common form to be introduced this year across the Group
In many cases, this year's performance review will be split into two
parts, to recognise the impact of changes brought about as a result
of the reorganisation. Individuals' performance over the past year
will be reviewed by their current (or most recent) line manager,
while their objectives for the year ahead will be set by their new
line manager. In some cases, of course, this will be the same person
and the two elements can be combined.
Line managers will be supported in these changes by the HR function,
and with guidelines clearly setting out the roles and
responsibilities of the people involved, and emphasising the need for
honest and accurate feedback given in a manner that supports further improvements.
Performance management is one of our key tools for delivery of the
business plan and we will continue to look at the effectiveness of
the approach that we undertake. We will also measure effectiveness at
a local level through 'have your say' results.
Yours sincerely
Keith Harris
National Head of Personnel"
"Dear Mr. Harris,
Thank you for your letter to Mr. John Keggie dated 5th March about
performance review for CWU represented grades.
In order to progress the matter could you please supply the following information:
1. A copy of current forms and procedure guidelines in use at present.
2. A copy of the proposed performance review and guidelines.
3. A copy of the Group capability framework.
4. A copy of HR guidelines for performance review.
We will require this information so that the CWU can fully evaluate
any changes or impact to the current procedures in place.
I would like to arrange an initial meeting to discuss the detail and
implication arising from any agreed changes to the current
performance review.
I look forward to your reply.
Yours sincerely,
Ray Ellis, Assistant Secretary"
Branches/Representatives will be advised of any progress on these
proposals as appropriate.
All enquiries regarding the content of this paragraph should be
addressed to Martin Collins, Assistant Secretary Indoor Department,
quoting reference L.400.10 or Ray Ellis, Assistant Secretary T&S Department
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157
Royal Mail UK - MDEC New Keying Task
Paragraph 9.16 of this year's Annual Report updated Branches on
developments associated with the introduction of Address
Interpretation and contained within the paragraph were the principal
issues discussed when we reviewed the AI National Agreement. One of
these being the keying task and the skill requirements attributed to
MDEC keying.
Subsequently, Royal Mail wrote to advise the CWU that new software
had been developed by the Address Interpretation suppliers, Lockheed
Martin, to change the keying task. The new task has been undergoing
initial trials at the Plymouth and Stockport MDECs and was the
subject of a meeting held on the 11th March to evaluate the activity
undertaken so far.
Steve Richards, NEC, on behalf of the Indoor Department, visited
Stockport MDEC to view the new keying task and proposed training
package. He identified that there was a significant change when
compared to the current keying task and there would be a reduction in
the number of key strokes per item required to process an image.
At that meeting management put forward a timetable to commence a
trial of a new training programme for all existing keyers at the MDEC
sites on the new task. This training module would last for four hours
and management are confident that the existing keyers will have
access to the retraining process within a period of one month.
Steve is now, via the Area Processing Representatives at Plymouth and
Stockport, compiling a report on the training trial, which will
enable the national union to further evaluate the new keying task and
associated elements, during this retraining period.
In evaluating the effectiveness of the new task, the national union
will be concentrating in particular on:
Confirming that the four hours scheduled training time is sufficient
to assimilate existing staff to the new keying task.
I would like to place on record my appreciation for the continued
co-operation and assistance provided by the representatives at the
MDEC sites. Further developments associated with the above will be
reported to branches via the publication of further BOB paragraphs as appropriate.
All enquiries regarding the content of this paragraph should be
addressed to Martin Collins, Assistant Secretary, quoting reference
number L.685.21(r).
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158
Pay and Performance in Mail Centres (Mail Centre Review)
Having received a number of telephone calls from Representatives I
felt it was essential to dispel a number of rumours that have been
circulating around the country regarding the Mail Centre Review. The
rumours, which have no substance whatsoever, are causing distress and
unnecessary concern for our members in Mail Centres. Examples of the
type of misinformation being circulated are:
Management have proposed that there will only be one Mail Centre in
the whole of Scotland.
I have no doubt that there are other rumours circulating in other
parts of the country that are similar in content, therefore I would
like to make the following quite clear.
The only activity that is being carried out currently in certain
parts of the country is a data gathering exercise, the details of
which were advised to Branches in BOBs 45 and 46, published in
November last year.
It was emphasised that the data gathering being carried out is not a
prerequisite to the Mail Centres involved being closed or having
traffic de-concentrated. This principle will also be applicable to
every Mail Centre in the country when similar exercises take place.
This policy has been published in paragraph 9.10 of this year's
Annual Report, which sets out specifically the position of the Postal
Executive and myself in regard of the issue. I have reproduced below
the salient points of the paragraph so there is no misunderstanding
of the Union's position.
The CWU's formula in respect of the share of the savings from this
project must be identified and agreed prior to any trial being introduced.
I hope that the above will enable Branches and Representatives to
counter any rumours that are circulating regarding Pay and
Performance in Mail Centres and in particular any rumours in respect
of any changes to the Mail Centre structure/network.
Branches should ensure that this information is circulated for the
attention of all appropriate Area/Unit Representatives.
All enquiries regarding the content of this paragraph should be
addressed to Martin Collins, Assistant Secretary, quoting reference
number L.530.05.
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159
Royal Mail Investment in Special Delivery
Further to Bob No.43, paragraph 588, published on 8th November last
year, the following information on the upgrading of scanning
equipment has been provided by Royal Mail, and is published for
information of branches:-
"17 March 2003
Priority Services Trial
The current position is that we are poised to begin the trial at
Doncaster. A trial at Birmingham will follow, using a new variant of
the equipment which is expected to be on the market soon. If these
are a success, we will begin deploying in selected Mail Centres in
the summer.
You may be pleased to learn that South London Mail Centre is due to
be equipped in good time for Christmas pressure, and we will be
contacting local staff and management in due course.
Please contact me if you need any more information.
Regards
Nigel Gooch
Project Manager, Royal Mail"
No responses were received from branches in connection with the
previous information but comments are, of course, welcome.
Any enquiries to Dave Ward's Department, Reference 535.