LTB 553/18 – CWU/RMG Joint Statement – Shorter Working Week
No. 553/18
28th September 2018
Dear Colleagues,
CWU/RMG Joint Statement – Shorter Working Week
Please find attached a Joint Statement between the CWU and RMG which sets out how the shorter working week is being implemented and how the revised pay arrangements (i.e. increased hourly rate and subsequent flow through to other pay elements) will take effect.
The Four Pillars Agreement is a progressive response to the challenges of our time in regard to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Gig economy, unfair competition and unprecedented insecurity for working people. Yes it is about protecting our members’ employment, standard of living and retirement security, but it is also about protecting this great public service and it is essential that we keep our eye on the prize and keep moving forward as we modernise and adapt our working time, benefits, product offerings and operations with mutual interest.
The Agreement made clear that we were targeting October 2018 for the first one hour reduction (or equivalent benefit) and CWU Representatives at all levels have been working hard to achieve this. It was a monumental aspiration to get every unit, function and grade in position to deploy the hour reduction given the sheer scale of our operations and taking account of the many differing relationships, unique functional and local problems and start points.
However, you will see from the Joint Statement that there has been an excellent response and a massive effort by all involved and we thank everyone for their hard work. Unfortunately, not everyone has got over the line yet but we are offering as much support as possible to ensure our Agreement is deployed in those units at the earliest opportunity.
Whilst it was anticipated that some units would deploy sooner than others, we did not know how the PSP system would respond. The Statement therefore confirms that:
- The vast majority of units, functions and grade Agreements are now in place to deploy the first hour (or equivalent benefit) from 1st October 2018. This will benefit 119,500 employees.
- Those sites that completed all the necessary paperwork by 12th September will ‘go live’ with the first hour reduction on 1st October, with all pay rate changes reflected in PSP immediately.
- Those units and functions that were able to complete their Agreements by 21st September will also ‘go live’ on 1st October 2018 but payroll changes via PSP will not catch up until 29th October and will therefore be backdated to the implementation date.
- We have also secured protections for those who reach Agreement but cannot deploy for operational reasons.
Although implementation of the first hour reduction is clearly a positive message, we also recognise that there are still many reported problems out in the field around resourcing and culture and we are determined to work just as hard to resolve these issues and fully deploy the spirit and intent of our Agreements.
Any further enquiries in relation to the content of this LTB should be addressed to the DGS(P) Department.
Yours sincerely,
Terry Pullinger
Deputy General Secretary (Postal)