WEEKLY INFORMATION FROM THE COMMUNICATION WORKERS UNION
SUMMARY
Attachments or LTB's can be
emailed or downloaded from the National Site
Volume 10 Issue 28 Paragraphs 449-461 22 July 2005
SUMMARY
GENERAL
449 Headquarters Printing and Reprographic Services
450 Gloucestershire Amal Branch - Andrea Brusheen Appeal
451 CWU Retired Members' Summer School: 23 - 25
September 2005
452 CWU Data Protection Policy: Fake Registration Demands
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
No items this week
HEALTH AND SAFETY
453 Hatfield Rail Crash Bosses Acquittals Renews Call
for New Corporate Manslaughter Law
454 Ergonomic Review and Provision of Seating at
Sorting Frame Fittings in Mail Centres and Delivery Offices
TELECOMS
455 Accenture HR Services: Expenses Process Changes
456 Accenture HR Services: Discrimination and
Harassment Policy
457 Accenture HR Services - Grievance Policy
458 Accenture HR Services - Probation Policy
459 Accenture HR Services and Accenture Learning
Statement of Measures
460 Accenture HR Services: Transfers to Accenture Learning
461 BT Wholesale: NEJ Update
POSTAL
No items this week
LETTERS TO BRANCHES
331
14/07/05 Early Day Motion 548 - General Secretary
332
14/07/05 TUPE Transfer Form Hayes to Manpower UK Ltd. - Sally Bridge
333
14/07/05 Assistant Secretary Clerical - General Secretary
334
15/07/05 Romec Pay: Claim Industrial Action Ballot - Ray Ellis
335
15/07/05 Criminal Convictions Dismissals - Ray Ellis
336
15/07/05 The Scottish Executive Expert Group on Corporate
Manslaughter - Dave Joyce
337
15/07/05 BT Personnel Committee - Responsibilities - Jeannie Drake
338
18/07/05 Royal Mail Compulsory Cycle Helmets and High Visibility
Clothing - Dave Joyce
339
18/07/05 People and Organisational Development Services - Pay
Agreement 2005 - Andy Furey
340 18/07/05 Offensive 3G Imagery - Michèle Emerson
341
18/07/05 Election of Territorial Counter Representatives and
Territorial Counters Chairs - Steve Baguley
342
19/07/05 Change of Branch Details - Steve Baguley
343
20/07/05 Branch Consultation Exercise on the Use of Alternative
Dates and Venues for
Annual Conference - SDGS
Please note that Edinburgh & South East Scotland (26/825) and the
Dundee Engineering branches (26/106) have merged to form Edinburgh,
Dundee & Borders branch 26/825. Full details have been circulated
in the Branch Directory.
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GENERAL
449
Headquarters Printing and Reprographic Services
Branches and Representatives will wish to know that CWU Headquarters
have recently acquired new reprographics equipment. The purpose of
broadcasting this information is to inform you that we are now able
to offer a print service to branches that we believe will be within a
price range that you will find competitive. Amongst the services we
can provide are colour or black & white posters, leaflets,
booklets etc. It is not possible to produce a price list as prices
will vary dependent on each individual job based on quantity,
timescale, delivery requirements etc. If you would like more
information about this service or wish to receive a quote for a
particular piece of work then please ring or email Jacquie Winter,
Acting Head of Post & Reprographics. 020 8971 7218
jwinter@cwu.org
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450
Gloucestershire Amal Branch - Andrea Brusheen Appeal
Gloucestershire Amalgamated branch are trying to raise funds for a
Postwoman that had an accident.
Andrea Brushneen moved from Gloucester to Sleaford in Nottinghamshire
last October with her family, continuing her employment as a delivery
office driver within Royal Mail.
Unfortunately not long after her move, Andrea was involved in a road
accident whilst on duty which resulted in her suffering serious head
injuries. In order to be nearer to her relatives, she has returned to Gloucester.
Andrea's husband, also a postman/CWU member, and their two school
aged children are obviously suffering both emotionally and financially.
At present, the branch are trying to raise as much money as possible
to help this family at this distressful time. The family would like
to bring Andrea home but to make this possible they need a special
bed and wheelchair and other facilities.
Donations from branches for this member and her family would be much
appreciated by the branch.
Cheques should be made payable to Gloucestershire Amalgamated Branch
and the Branch will forward them on to the family.
Any enquiries on this BOB paragraph should be addressed to the
General Secretary's Department quoting the reference GS 18.9
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451
CWU Retired Members' Summer School: 23 - 25 September 2005
The CWU will be holding the first ever summer school for retired
members at Alvescot over the weekend of 23-25 September. Those
attending should be able to arrive at Alvescot by 5pm on Friday 23rd
and the school will conclude with lunch on Sunday 25th. Subjects to
be covered at the school include pensions - the role of pensions'
trustees and other matters relevant to older members.
Branches are invited to send details of any retired members who wish
to attend to Peter Dodd (SDGS Department,CWU HQ) by no later than 2
September 2005.
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452
CWU Data Protection Policy: Fake Registration Demands
A number of branches have reported the receipt of a reminder for
registration under the Data Protection Act 1998.
Fake agencies are sending notices to unsuspecting businesses
demanding money in order to register their business with the Data
Protection Act 1998. The letters these agencies send can often
request sums of between £95 and £135 to register under the
Act. The requests for money are often set out on official-looking
headed letters and can use threatening language in order to scare
businesses into paying them.
Over 200 businesses a month can fall victim to these bogus agencies.
Over the past two years, the Information Commissioner's Office has
reported that the scam has cost businesses many thousands of pounds.
Although the Union has reported these bogus agencies in the past, the
Information Commissioner's Office has no powers itself to take action
against them, but the Office of Fair Trading has had some success in
taking action under regulations preventing misleading advertisements.
The statutory fee for official notification with the Information
Commissioner's Office (ICO) under the Act is £35 per year which
the Union pays centrally. Branches are part of the Union's corporate
identity and, as such, are not required to register individually.
Branches should, therefore, ignore letters which are not from the
Information Commissioner's Office. Equally, if a Branch does receive
a letter purporting to be from the Information Commissioner's Office
advice should be sought from this Headquarters before any further
action is taken.
The Union's Data Protection policy is published on the website for
further information.
Any enquiries regarding this paragraph should be addressed to Phil
Bowerman, Head of IT (Data Protection) at pbowerman@cwu.org
or telephone 020 8971 7334.
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HEALTH AND SAFETY
453
Hatfield Rail Crash Bosses Acquittals Renews Call for New
Corporate Manslaughter Law
Yet another attempt to prosecute company bosses for corporate
manslaughter under the present law collapsed yesterday when the judge
in the Hatfield Rail Disaster case threw out the charges against the
six rail bosses from Railtrack and Balfour Beatty.
The prosecution case will never put to the jury probably because of
the present legal loop hole of the narrowly defined requirement of
establishing evidence that an individual Director was in law "the
directing mind and will of the company" and personally knew of
the danger. This is in spite of a two year police investigation into
the Hatfield crash which led to the two rail companies and six of
their executives and staff being charged with "gross negligence
manslaughter".The rail maintenance company Balfour Beatty Rail
Infrastructure Services and Network Rail, the legal successor to
Railtrack, which owns and manages the rail infrastructure and the six
bosses still face charges of Health and Safety Act offences and the
trial continues against the companies, the executives and six other
people, including the former Railtrack chief executive Gerald Corbett.
Four people died and more than a hundred passengers and staff were
injured when a high-speed GNER train travelling at 115mph from London
to Leeds was derailed by a broken rail near Hatfield, Hertfordshire,
in October 2000. The accident led to a network-wide track inspection
and speed restrictions while remedial work took place. Punctuality
has still not returned to pre-Hatfield levels.
National Health and Safety Officer Dave Joyce commented after the
announcement that "The fallout of the failure of cases like this
and all those going right back to the Zeebrugge Ferry disaster
continues to undermine public confidence in the ability of the law to
sanction businesses and negligent bosses who take unacceptable risks
with the safety of the public and their workforce.
"More than ever now we need a new Corporate Manslaughter Law to
regain and maintain public confidence in the law and to deter
organisations from exposing people to unnecessary dangers or from
failing to minimise such dangers.
"This will only be achieved if the Government ensures that
bosses understand that they can expect to account for their conduct,
where their actions or omissions result in death or serious
injury".
Any enquiries should be addressed to Dave Joyce, National Health,
Safety & Environment Officer
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454
Ergonomic Review and Provision of Seating at Sorting Frame
Fittings in Mail Centres and Delivery Offices
BOB No. 39, Paragraph 535 issued on 11 Oct 2002 reported on the
outcome of negotiations with Royal Mail which followed a long period
during which the Union has been raising concerns regarding the
non-provision of proper ergonomically designed workstation seating in
Mail Centres for members sorting Frame Fittings.
Royal Mail's originally refused to adopt a national policy of funding
the provision of seating under a national seating scheme or funding
the repair and maintenance of seating that had been provided locally
in many offices on an ad-hoc basis.
Subsequently the Health & Safety enforcing authorities became
involved and with their support Improvement Notices was served under
Regulation 11 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare)
Regulations 1992 and Regulation 6 of the Provision and Use of Work
Equipment Regulations 1992 in a sample number of Mail Centres.
Royal Mail then agreed to undertake an extensive survey of Mail
Centres was undertaken and evaluations of seating and footrests were
carried out at a number of Mail Centres. On completion the study
recommended appropriate, highly durable seating (draughtsman style,
fully adjustable, upholstered chairs) should be provided for all
Impact Fittings. Local fault reporting arrangements to be introduced
and damaged chairs taken out of service and a maintenance contract
put in place to keep the chairs in a serviceable condition. All heavy
selections should be directed to rows 2-5 of the frame (counting from
the bottom up). Rotation of staff between different mail centre tasks
during the shift should be encouraged to reduce the risk of the
development of musculo-skeletal disorders. Continuing the practice of
sorting staff collecting their own mail from a York container also
helps to vary the activity. Following further discussions with Royal
Mail Equipment Management the number of chairs required was
determined and a budget of £1.5 million was provided to purchase
the Chairs for every Mail Centre.
Following settlement of the above, further discussions took place
regarding the provision of seating at Letter Sorting Frames and at
Stamping and Cancelling Tables which Royal Mail agreed to investigate.
The issue of ergonomically designed Seating for Delivery Office Prep
Frames was also raised and has recently come into sharp focus
following the introduction of SDD.
The current situation as confirmed by Royal Mail is:
1. Impact Fitting Seating roll-out for mail centres was completed so
time ago from a central budget and all Mail Centre should therefore
have the seating and maintenance plan.
2. The seating for the box letter frames is still ongoing as there
has been a delay in the project to replace current seating. It was
planned to be completed by now because none of the tender responses
were good enough in respect of structural testing of the products
they were not purchased. Royal Mail say they have now solved the
specification and are attempting to secure the budget to place the order.
3. Seating for other Mail Centre Workstations is still under discussion.
4. Royal Mail are now investigating seating requirements in Delivery
Offices and undertaking ergonomic studies.
Any enquiries should be addressed to Dave Joyce, National Health,
Safety & Environment Officer CWU/HQ quoting reference No. C16.
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TELECOMS
455
Accenture HR Services: Expenses Process Changes
Accenture, as they are listed on the American Stock Exchange, are
required to comply with American law, in particular the Sarbanes
Oxley Regulations. This has forced Accenture HR Services to change
the way that expense claims are processed and signed off.
The attachment is self-explanatory in detailing the new changes.
Members affected are strongly urged to keep copies of the originals
to help resolve any issues of dispute with regards to lost claims.
Management have committed to deal with lost claims in a sympathetic
manner as members cannot be held to account for claims lost in transit.
Brian Healy
Assistant Secretary
Attachment
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456
Accenture HR Services: Discrimination and Harassment Policy
This policy has been accepted and agreed by the Union previously,
however confusion has arisen in its use with regards to progressing complaints.
It has been proposed, and by the Executive, that there should be one
uniform process for pursuing grievances within Accenture HR Services.
The Grievance Policy has been amended to taken on board such grievances.
Attached for the information of branches is a copy of the revised policy.
Brian Healy
Assistant Secretary
Attachment
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457
Accenture HR Services - Grievance Policy
The Policy has been revisited due to proposed changes in other
policies, in particular the Discrimination and Harassment Policy. The
documentation, as presented, now reflects:
1. That discrimination/harassment grievance complaints are pursued
using the Company Grievance Policy.
2. That the Policy statement that it applies to, Accenture, be
changed to Accenture HR Services (it was never meant to be extended
to Accenture who have an inferior policy) as this wording caused some
confusion by its attempted use in other parts of Accenture where the
Union has no recognition rights.
3. That it provides assistance and clarity to employees on grievances
with regard to complaints over the Annual Contribution Summary.
Attached, for information, is a copy of the agreed and revised Policy.
Brian Healy
Assistant Secretary
Attachment
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458
Accenture HR Services - Probation Policy
There was an absence of consistent policy procedures for the
treatment of new employees to Accenture HR Services and also how new
employees would not be disadvantaged through the timeframe of the
Salary Review Process.
This has been resolved through the new and agreed attached policy,
which documents how new recruits will be monitored and their salary
arrangements will apply.
Brian Healy
Assistant Secretary
Attachment
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459
Accenture HR Services and Accenture Learning Statement of Measures
Attached for the information of Branches are copies of documents
being sent to members' homes of the defined terms and conditions that
are TUPE terms and conditions that will transfer to Accenture
Learning. It should be noted that Accenture Learning has agreed to
maintain the Pension contribution levels which are overall higher.
Special attention is drawn to Accenture Learning PHI election form,
members should note that whilst the Accenture Learning levels of
benefit are higher, they are discretionary and non-contractual and
members should assess carefully which scheme they believe will
benefit them over a period of time.
Brian Healy
Assistant Secretary
Attachment
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460
Accenture HR Services: Transfers to Accenture Learning
Branches were advised in Branch Officials Bulletin No. 26, Paragraph
427, of the new contracts and intended timeframes.
Accenture HR Services and Accenture Learning have now concluded their
scoping discussions and I can confirm that the employees on the main
BT contract will transfer to Accenture Learning on 1 August 2005 and
the following groups of employees will transfer on 1 September 2005 -
those on the LMS contract, the MA programme, the Peopleline Training
Admin teams, the Accenture Learning Advisors and those on the NHS
contract. This amounts to circa 50 people.
Brian Healy
Assistant Secretary
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461
BT Wholesale: NEJ Update
Further to the report given in Branch Officials Bulletin No. 27,
Paragraph 446, I attach a copy of a written briefing being used to
brief managers and team members alike in the NEJ Business Pilot sites
Newcastle and Birmingham.
The brief explains the supplier data quality problems that have been
experienced recently, together with other concerns which have led to
a review of the approach being taken. The outcome has been a revised
timescale approach to training and deferring some elements of
implementation until such time as there has been a resolution of the
problems encountered.
Brian Healy
Assistant Secretary
Attachment