WEEKLY INFORMATION FROM THE COMMUNICATION WORKERS UNION
SUMMARY
Attachments or LTB's can be
emailed or downloaded from the National Site
Volume 9 Issue 20 Paragraphs 324-340 21 May 2004
SUMMARY
GENERAL
324 Meetings with CWU
Supported MPs
325 CWU Annual Conference
Dates & Venues 2004 - 2006
326 Branch Magazine and
Website Competition
327 Legal Services
Department: Annual Conference - June 2004
328 New Delegates Meeting
- CWU Annual Conference 2004
329 Equality &
Diversity Mandatory Training for Branch Officials
330 Reminder - Union
Skills I Course
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
331 Equality Disco -
Annual Conference
HEALTH AND SAFETY
No items this week
TELECOMS
332 Resource Management
and Field Controls Transformation
333 Project Stockwell:
Hutchinson Network Services
334 ND&I - Changes to
Organisational Structure
335 NDI Organisational Changes
336 Project Goodwood -
Germany go Live
337 T-Mobile UK: Union
Companion Scheme
FINANCIAL SERVICES
No items this week
POSTAL
338 Annual Conferece 2004:
Appeals against Postal SOC
339 Interim Productivity
Scheme - Progress Report - Week 06
340 Parcelforce Worldwide
Final Spring Bank Holiday 2004 Operational Arrangements
LETTERS TO BRANCHES
218
13.05.04 Flexible Working - Grace Mitchell
219
13.05.04 Hays Update on Pay - Sally Bridge
220
13.05.04 Liaison Meeting with CWU Group of Constituency Supported
MPs - GS
221
13.05.04 Trade and Industry Select Committee - CWU Evidence - GS
222
13.05.04 Trade Union Delegation to Nicaragua - GS
223
13.05.04 Quadrant Tariff Increases - Ray Ellis
224 14.05.04 Eurest Pay Review 2004 - 02 - Sally Bridge
225
14.05.04 Les Searle - GS
226
14.05.04 O2 2004 Pay Ballot - Dave Johnson/Grace Mitchell
227
14.05.04 Lone Female Workers - Dave Joyce
228
17.05.04 BT Global Services - Restructuring Project Rainbow - Simon Sapper
229
17.05.04 BT Strategic Partnership with HP: Pension Arrangements -
Nigel Cotgrove
230
17.05.04 Deutsche Telecom European Works Council - Donald MacDonald
231
18.05.04 France Telecom European Works Council - Donald MacDonald
232
19.05.04 Restructuring of BT Global Services - Project Rainbow -
Simon Sapper
233
19.05.04 2003 Conference Proposition 55 - Sick Pay - Grace Mitchell
234
19.05.04 Ballots at Annual Conference - Steve Baguley
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GENERAL
324
Meetings with CWU Supported MPs
Bob Paragraph 558, 10 October 2003, gave details of the scheduled
meetings with CWU Group MPs up to July 2004.
Branches should note that the June meeting has been cancelled as it
coincides with our Annual Conference. Group MPs have been invited to
attend Annual Conference for the day on 15 June and delegates can
meet them there. The meeting scheduled to take place on 20 July has
now been moved to 13 July and representatives from Northern Ireland,
together with newly appointed PFMC members, will attend.
Billy Hayes
General Secretary
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325
CWU Annual Conference Dates & Venues 2004 - 2006
Conference 2004
Rules & Annual Conference this year will be held at Bournemouth
from
13 - 18 June 2004.
Conference 2005
We have received correspondence from the Bournemouth International
Centre advising us of a proposed BIC redevelopment scheme. The work
on the first phase commences in July 2004, the second will commence
in November 2004 and the target date for completion is October 2005.
On this basis BIC tell us it will be impossible to host our
conference in June 2005.
Given the current size of our conference and the requirements for
halls to accommodate all the industry/constituency conferences our
options for alternative venues are very limited. The Winter Gardens
at Blackpool has only one week available during the whole of May and
June, that date is 12 to 17 June 2005.
The NEC has therefore agreed to this date & venue for 2005, which
has been booked.
Conference 2006
We have a confirmed booking at Bournemouth for 21 to 26 May 2006 when
we will hopefully see the benefit of the refurbishment which includes
the addition of a fourth hall which will reduce the need to hire
extra hotel accommodation for the sectional conferences.
Any enquiries concerning this paragraph should be directed in the
first instance to Peter Dodd on 020 8971 7331
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326
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:
Dawn Jeffery, CWU Communications Department, 150 The Broadway,
Wimbledon, London, SW19 1RX.
Webmasters and mistresses: email your details, including the branch
URL (website address) to: djeffery@cwu.org
Deadline for entries is Friday May 21 so don't delay, particularly
considering the 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 a total of £300 in software
vouchers, enabling them to improve their publications still further.
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327
Legal Services Department : Annual Conference - June 2004
The normal arrangements for interviews will be made at Annual
Conference 2004. Due to the ever increasing number of requests for
interviews, Branches who wish to avail themselves of this facility
should write to the Department, quoting the case reference number and
the member's name, marking the envelope "Conference
Interviews". This will enable the Legal Services Department to
have the necessary file of papers available at the Conference venue.
The interview facility is for personal injury cases and employment
law issues. In addition, there will be a Legal Services stall and
various forms and information will be available. Messrs. Simpson
Millar will also provide free legal advice and I trust this facility
will be of assistance to all branches.
Any enquiries on the above paragraph should be referred to Mr Tony
Rupa, Legal Services Officer, 150 The Broadway, Wimbledon, London,
SW19 1RX.
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328
New Delegates Meeting - CWU Annual Conference 2004
There will be a meeting to brief those delegates who are new to
Conference on Saturday, 12th June at 5pm in Windsor Hall at the BIC.
Delegates will learn about conference procedures, get helpful hints
about speaking at the rostrum and will get the opportunity to ask questions.
All are welcome. Any queries on this paragraph should be directed to
the office of Simon Sapper, Assistant Secretary, CWU Head Office.
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329
Equality & Diversity Mandatory Training for Branch Officials
In line with Conference policy, we now require branches to submit
applications for the following mandatory Equality & Diversity courses.
These courses are being held in Wales:
Tuesday 6th July 2004 - Newport
Tuesday 7th September 2004 - Shrewsbury
Further dates and venues for other regions will be published in due course.
Nominations should be made on an application form for Union courses
and returned as soon as possible to Trish Lavelle, Head of Education
& Training, CWU Education & Training Centre, Alvescot Lodge,
Alvescot, Bampton, Oxon OX18 2PY. Telephone: 01993 843373; Fax: 01993
840960; email: mtodd@cwu.org
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330
Reminder - Union Skills I Course
The Communication Workers Union has organised a Union Skills I
Course, to be held at the Union's Education & 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 course will be held from 5 - 9 July 2004
Please submit application form ASAP.
The Linked Education Programme is designed to encourage members to
become more active in the union. It is open to all members of the
CWU, but is particularly aimed at Branch Committee Members. We
particularly encourage branches to nominate women, ethnic minorities,
people with disabilities and young members who are often
under-represented on the CWU Education and Training Programme. All
members of the Union who wish to have a working knowledge of the
wider Trade Union and Labour Movement would benefit from attending
the Linked Education Programme. The courses are called 'Linked
Education' because the programme comprises three distinct but
connected courses, each of one week duration. It begins with the
Union Skills I, followed by the Union Skills II and concludes with
Union Skills III. The three parts of the course are completely
self-contained, but there are real educational benefits in completing
all three parts of the programme in a year or eighteen months. Union
Skills courses attract special leave with pay.
All courses at Alvescot are residential. The cost of tuition, food
and accommodation will be met from the General Fund. Ex-NCU Branches
are required 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. 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 successful applicants.
Those nominees who are Committee Members, Branch Representatives or
Branch Officers are entitled to leave with pay. Please indicate
whether the applicant is employed in BT, Posts or Girobank.
Nominations should be made on the form for Education Courses, and
returned to Alvescot Lodge by the closing date shown. If you nominate
more than one member (a maximum of two please), indicate the order of
preference if necessary and please apply for only one course at a
time. If a member is refused a place, due to over-subscription, 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; email mtodd@cwu.org
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EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
331
Equality Disco - Annual Conference
As in previous years, the Equality Disco will be held on Saturday
12th June, venue to be advised. The price for the tickets will be £5.
In time honoured fashion, we would ask Branches to show their usual
generosity and donate raffle prizes for this event. All proceeds will
go to worthy causes.
Please contact Katrina Quirke on 020 8971 7312 if you are able to assist.
Any enquiries on the above should be addressed to Michèle
Emerson, Equality Officer, quoting reference No.1.10.1
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TELECOMS
332
Resource Management and Field Controls Transformation
Network Operations have given a general indication of their plans
with regards to the next financial year for the Resource Management
and Operational Control within Network Operations.
The Resource Management and Control team has a key role to play in
positively influencing operational issues and as a result they have
developed a transformation plan that they intend to introduce, with
better volume planning and control, by the introduction of a diary
appointment book, better control of job fluidity, and better handling
of upstream suppliers.
These objectives will reduce the volume of jobs requiring
intervention from the controls and increase job fluidity which in
turn create a more certain environment in the Field. Peaks in demand
will be managed proactively and non-fluid jobs will be intercepted
before engineers are sent on site. In general the purpose is to
manage the engineering resource more intelligently.
The impact on the Field Force should be less stress, and a more
meaningful and predictable working environment. To customers it is
designed to give better quality of service.
The objectives will have an impact on the National Control team.
Currently the team is spending a lot of its energy managing poor job
quality and unplanned events. For the Field the need is to improve on
both accounts, and thereby remove the necessity of such a large Job
Control function. They therefore realistically expect that their plan
will involve a reduction in headcount. The plan was presented to
Senior Management going into the next level of detail. This is one of
the reasons approval was given to Newstart in this unit and the
attached internal briefing was designed to make members aware, so
that they could make informed decisions with regard to Newstart.
Discussions are due to take place shortly with management and these
will be reported to Branches.
Brian Healy, Assistant Secretary
Attachment
333
Project Stockwell: Hutchinson Network Services
The Union has been advised that for a number of months BT Wholesale
have been in negotiation with Hutchinson Network Services (HNS)
regarding a potential Operate & Maintenance (O&M) outsource
deal of their fibre network (the old 186k network) via the Facilities
Management Centre. The network is currently maintained by Global Crossing.
The Ventures Forum has now approved the business cases and both
parties have signed a 5 year contract. During April a verification
process was executed. Work Package managers will be meeting with HNS
and Global Crossing to clarify the state of the fibre network and to
confirm that the information shared to date regarding the network is
correct. BT will assume responsibility for the service from 1 May
2004 and there will be a phased 3 month handover with Global Crossing.
A total of seven employees have been identified as being proper to
the O&M of the network and hence will transfer into BT on 1 May
2004. Although BT has had visibility of the terms and conditions for
the individuals they have not yet finalised the mapping into BT
grades - particularly given the New Reward Framework. However it is
anticipated that two will transfer into team member grades, a B2 &
C3, and the other five at MPG4/PCGU.
BT Wholesale are still finalising the receiving units but it looks
likely that the C3 and two managers will go to Network Management -
Operational Engineering Solutions, B2 to ND&I - National
Streetworks National Notice Handling Centre and the other manager to
Operations - Customer Contract and Service Delivery. The other two
management grades will initially work on a remedials project back
into HNS, and transition into BT roles in approximately 8 months
time.
At present they have no collective representation and prior
arrangements are being made so that the Union can have access.
In addition five Global Crossing contractors will move over to BT
during the transition period. As part of the transition BT Wholesale
will look at the current 3rd party providers and consider bringing
this work in-house if appropriate. It has not been possible to do
this prior to the deal being signed as Global Crossing were not aware
of the discussions between BT and HNS.
Branches may be aware that some of this network utilises sewers.
Given the specialist nature of working in sewers it is BT's intention
to use a third party supplier, probably Subterra, to carry out any
major repairs, in line with the existing HNS arrangement.
Brian Healy, Assistant Secretary
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334
ND&I - Changes to Organisational Structure
Attached for the information of Branches is a briefing to all people
in ND&I outlining the changes to the organisational structure
with effect from 1 September 2004.
Brian Healy, Assistant Secretary
Attachment
1 Attachment
2
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335
NDI Organisational Changes
NDI management has undertaken yet another review of the
organisational structure which was put in place in the summer of
2002. Management has decided there would be benefits from integrating
the Access Network Policy Planning team in Business Management into
the planning teams within Narrowband and Wideband organisations.
Attached is a copy of a draft communication due to be released to the
affected community.
While details of new reporting arrangements are still to be
finalised, the alignment of individuals within the team to Narrowband/Wideband
is complete. This alignment is being based on the current work
activities, together with the skill profile of each person. Further
information is being sought with regard to other terms and
conditions, in particular attendance patterns.
Brian Healy, Assistant Secretary
Attachment
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336
Project Goodwood - Germany go Live
Branches may wish to note that following a successful joint readiness
testing exercise between BT Global Services and BT Wholesale -
"front office" operational responsibility for the BT Global
German Voice Platform and Services transferred into BT Wholesale at
12:00 CET/11:00 BST on Wednesday 28 April 2004, and will be managed
from the BT Wholesale Global Operations centre at Madley and
Cambridge NMC.
This is the second transfer of responsibility under Project Goodwood,
and will be followed by transfers of the Belgium "back
office", the Netherlands Voice front office and the Global
Manager Voice front office activities - planned for June.
Brian Healy, Assistant Secretary
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337
T-Mobile UK: Union Companion Scheme
I am pleased to advise you that there has been has been significant
progress in developing a "Union Companion" scheme at T-Mobile
UK.
As previously reported, the company has agreed the principle of joint
training for "Union Companions" to assist union members at
company disciplinary and grievance hearings. Common principles have
been established, and Unions in T-Mobile (CWU and Connect) are
presently working on the design of the joint training course with the
company. It is hoped that the pilot joint training course will take
place either on the final week of June, or the first week of July.
Both CWU and Connect, are working together on the project under the
banner of Unions in T-Mobile. In response to recent queries, I wish
to confirm that all matters are discussed and agreed by all three
bodies: T-Mobile UK, Connect and CWU.
A more detailed summary will be published around the end of May.
Any enquiries relating to this should be addressed to Donald MacDonald.
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POSTAL
338
Annual Conferece 2004: Appeals against Postal SOC
Branches/Field Officers are reminded that the closing date for
appeals against decisions of the Postal Standing Orders Committee is
first post Thursday 27th May 2004.
This information can also be found in the "Postal Conference
Guide" which was previously circulated to all Branches/Co-ordinating
Committees.
Phil Duffy, Chair
Postal Standing Orders Committee
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339
Interim Productivity Scheme - Progress Report - Week 06
We are monitoring the introduction of the new productivity schemes
nationally and within that process we have requested progress
reports. Please find attached the latest progress report I have
received on the deployment of the Mail Centre/Distribution schemes
for your information.
It should be noted that all of the Business' planned headcount
reduction figures are subject to agreements being concluded locally
on how the financial savings should be achieved. In addition, actual
headcount reductions stated include members who have resigned, etc.
All enquiries regarding the content of this paragraph should be
addressed to Martin Collins, Assistant Secretary Indoor Department,
quoting reference number L.300.42(a).
Att:
PE22
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340
Parcelforce Worldwide Final Spring Bank Holiday 2004 Operational Arrangements
For the information of Branches please find attached the Final
Operational Arrangements received from Parcelforce Worldwide.
Branches will no doubt be aware that the proposed arrangements were
circulated in BOB No.16, paragraph 270. To date I have received no
adverse comments and in the circumstances I have written to the
business in agreement.
Any enquiries regarding this matter should be addressed to Terry
Pullinger, Assistant Secretary, quoting the reference 106.
Att:
PE23