Equality resources for CWU members

My Department produces a number of equality related resources including factsheets, leaflets and posters. You can download them here http://www.cwu.org/factsheets.html CWU officals, reps and members can also request hard copies by sending your contact details to lroy@cwu.org.

Bridgwater victory

 CWU Bristol and District Branch Press release 11am Monday July 23rd 2012:

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... Friends,

The Bridgwater 48-hour wildcat strike ended successfully this morning at 6am, with an overwhelming vote by CWU members to endorse shop steward Dave Chapple's recommendation to return on the following terms:

1. The suspended postman would be returned to work immediately with any disciplinary investigations completed within 48 hours.
2. National talks would begin covering all major industrial relations problems at Bridgwater Delivery Office, including CWU concerns of heavy-handed management, breaking agreements with the CWU, un-agreed cuts in hours, and hospital appointments.

Sunday's talks, involving CWU acting Deputy General Secretary Ray Ellis and national officer Bob Gibson, finally broke through Royal Mail's previously aggressive stance, and paved the way to get the suspended postman back to work without the threat of recriminations against any CWU members for taking part in the walkout.

Dave Wilshire, Bristol CWU Branch Secretary, said:

"Royal Mail can say what it likes but the fact is they would not talk to us about lifting this suspension until the strike went into it's second day: that's a fact.

However, to be positive, It is good to hear from Dave Chapple at Bridgwater Delivery Office that the return to work today is proceeding smoothly without major problems. This is a major Royal Mail turnaround from last Friday, when it looked like we might be out on strike for a week or more.

Our suspended CWU member will return to work today with the threat of serious disciplinary action removed: the other issues members were on strike about should now be addressed.

The tremendous solidarity shown once again by 110 Bridgwater postal workers has, we believe, forced Royal Mail to show some common sense: we hope this approach continues!"

Dave Wilshire,
Branch Secretary
07909 525 740 

Report the bullies.

Bullying & Harassment

We are receiving anecdotal evidence of bullying and harassment of CWU members in their workplaces. Unfortunately this is not reflected in the number of complaints which have been received by the CWU national Bullying and Haraassment helpline.
  If you are experiencing bullying and harassment in the workplace the CWU offers assistance 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please contact the helpline on FREEPHONE 0800 107 1909.
Members and branch officials are also encouraged to report incidents of bullying and harassment so these can be recorded on the CWU national harassment complaints database and ensure victims receive the support and protection they need. Members are advised to seek the assistance of their branch or local rep in filling out the complaint form below and read the guidance notes before completing the form.
Downloads:
Harassment Complaints Database form HCD 1
Once complete please return to CWU HQ, 150 The Broadway, Wimbledon SW19 1RX.
Guidance notes: CWU Bullying & Harassment Factsheet
For more information contact the Equal Opportunities Department on 0208 971 7238 or Linda Roy,  Equality Officer

Bridgwater delivery office dispute

Bristol and District Branch Communication Workers Union Press release of July 20th 2012 at 8am


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"Friends,

... At 7.30am this morning 100 Royal Mail workers at Bridgwater Delivery Office in Somerset walked out in a lightning protest strike against Royal Mail managers' bullying and breaking agreements with their trade union the CWU.
  The postmen and women, many with 30 years service, are angry that a postman with 25 years service has been suspended from duty for an alleged swearing incident, when the other postman concerned has written to Royal Mail asking for the case to be dropped and the postman re-instated.
  CWU members believe a heavy-handed disciplinary policy, which currently includes Royal Mail posting eight managers to a workplace designed for four, has led to an increased managers' bullying and harassment culture.
  Royal Mail are also blatantly breaking agreements with the union on daily staffing levels-called 'lapsing' in Royal Mail, training, and annual leave.
  The final issue that must be addressed is Royal Mail changing their policy on staff hospital visits without negotiating this change with the CWU. Previously staff were allowed sufficient paid time off to attend hospital: now they are being forced to go to hospital in their own time which only serves to increase workers' worry and stress.
  Dave Wilshire, Bristol and District CWU Branch Secretary, said:
"The overwhelming support for today's walkout at Bridgwater Delivery Office only confirms our belief that there is something radically wrong with the way this workplace is managed. Whilst this strike is first and foremost a decisive protest against an unfair suspension, the underlying and fundamental issues of breaking national agreements with the CWU and heavy-handed bullying managers must be addressed sooner or later: we would like to resolve this today." "
  For further details contact Dave Wilshire on 07909 525 740
  or Dave Chapple, Branch Chair on 0777 6304 276

Standing orders and Youth Committees election results

Congratulations to all successful candidates. If you weren't successful don't give up. I've won and lost elections.

To:  The Branch Secretary

Dear Colleague
Election of National Representative Positions - 2012
·         Postal Standing Orders Committee
·         Telecoms & Financial Services Standing Orders Committee
·         CWU Youth Committee
Further to LTB 461/12 dated 15 June 2012 please find below the ballot results for the  National Representative Positions:
Postal SOC (7 Members)
Phil Callaghan                     79,147            (Elected)     
Des Carney                        85,084            (Elected)
John Gaby                         57,386            (Elected)
Scott Haslam                     34,134           
Brian Irvine                        74,124            (Elected)
Paddy Magill                      83,823            (Elected)
Neil Robinson                      87,396            (Elected)
Alan Smith                        45,032           
Tony Sneddon                             92,333            (Elected)
                          
Telecoms SOC (7 Members)
Rob Alldritt                        37,150            (Elected)     
Craig Anderson                   31,105            (Elected)
John Ballard                       19,718
Mick Houghton                   7,066
Lawrence Huston                40,537            (Elected)
Linda Kietz                        6,502             
Joanne Lawton                   34,748            (Elected)
Dave Mitchell                     42,195            (Elected)
Joyce Stevenson                40,011            (Elected)     
Phil Thomas                       39,449            (Elected)
Youth Committee
Scotland (1 Member)
David Crombie          43,349                  
Chantelle McNally                92,295            (Elected)
London (1 Member)
Dean Reason                     45,684                  
Charlotte Regan                 82,113            (Elected)

A copy of the branch analysis is attached to this LTB.

Any enquiries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed to the Senior Deputy General Secretary Department on telephone number 020 8971 7237 or email address sdgs@cwu.org.
Yours sincerely
Tony Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

School holiday rip off

If you've got school age children and are planning a holiday you may have noticed that the cost of taking a vacation appears to increase during school holidays. The cost of flying to your holiday destination is a case in point with some airlines being accused of inflating their prices deliberately to coincide with school holidays.Some parents understandably try to get away a little bit before the official break starts as this normally sees them make big savings on their air fares.
  Government has proposed that parents will be fined between £60 and £120 if they take their children out of school in term time - this is due to come out in September. Instead of the government tackling the airlines monopoly on pricing policies they choose to get a stealth tax in, which let's face only those who are from less privileged backgrounds will get hit with as they are trying to be prudent to save a few quid.
  PAGA (Parents Against Greedy Airlines) gives parents an opportunity to fight back and make their collective views known. We have already had a great reaction with nearly 900 people joining the group in 2 days and today PAGA made the front page of a newspaper in Cyprus. Join the fight for fair fares today.
 For more info see links below
https://twitter.com/#!/P_A_G_A
http://www.facebook.com/groups/9764319739/#!/groups/170234339777196/

Ministerial statement on Access to Work

Written Ministerial Statement
Wednesday 4 July 2012
THE DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS
Access to Work

The Minister for Disabled People (Mrs Maria Miller MP): This Government is committed to ensuring that the protected budget for disability employment helps more disabled people into work.

  Access to Work provides support for transport to work, support workers and specialist adaptations and equipment over and above that which is a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act. It can provide essential support not only for people with physical impairments but also for people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions.
  We know that Access to Work is a highly effective programme which currently helps around 35,000 disabled people in work each year. Liz Sayce’s review of specialist disability employment provision highlighted Access to Work’s effectiveness. However, she also called it the ‘best kept secret in Government’. We do not think it is right for Access to Work to be a hidden success and expanding, strengthening and modernising this programme will make work and choice of work possible for many more disabled people.
  We have already announced an extra £15 million for Access to Work and plans to launch a targeted marketing campaign. Today I am announcing more about the marketing campaign and other key changes to improve the programme so that it can support more disabled people into work.
  We are building awareness with individuals who could benefit from Access to Work and employers looking to recruit or retain a disabled person. We know that certain groups of disabled people, such as those with mental health conditions and those aged 16-24 do not benefit from the programme as much as they could. We have therefore launched a 12 month targeted marketing campaign to actively encourage more people from these under-represented groups to use Access to Work.
  We are focusing on regions where Access to Work is not widely used, such as in Wales. We will seek to use the Disabled People’s User-Led Organisation ambassador for Wales to increase awareness of the benefits of Access to Work. We will also work with key stakeholders and charities in Wales to understand why take up is lower and how they can increase the number of disabled people supported in Wales.
  We will use the most appropriate channels to reach these audiences, including HR departments of large employers to increase understanding amongst those with mental health conditions and User-Led Organisation ambassadors. We will also work with Small and Medium-sized Enterprises to promote Access to Work within organisations that may not be aware of how it can help them recruit or retain a disabled person.
  I am also announcing today some changes we are making to help young people through Access to Work.
  From the autumn Access to Work will be available to support young disabled people undertaking voluntary work experience under the Youth Contract. This change will help thousands of young disabled people take their first significant step towards employment by supporting them to benefit from a voluntary work experience placement over the next three years.
  We will also do more to raise awareness of Access to Work among young people in education. Our targeted marketing campaign will focus on this group by working with careers advisors to raise the programme’s profile, and working with charities and other organisations involved in supporting young people as they move out of secondary education.
  Looking more widely across government, from autumn we will support the Department for Education’s Supported Internships for 16-25 year olds with the most complex learning difficulties or disabilities. We will ensure that Access to Work provision is in place to support young people accessing the Supported Internship trials, enabling them to receive a seamless package of support as they move from education into employment where their internship results in the offer of a job.
  These changes are the first steps in our programme to ensure that Access to Work is expanded to help more people, including young people.
  On 7 March I confirmed that we would be accepting all of Liz Sayce’s recommendations on Access to Work, subject to further co-production with disabled people and employers to ensure that we get these right. We have already started work to implement some of the more straightforward changes such as strengthening the pre-employment eligibility letter and introducing a stronger triage system of Access to Work applicants. Today I am announcing that we have established an expert advisory panel to consider Liz Sayce’s other recommendations and advise the Department on the best way to take them forward.
  But we want to go further than this. We want considerable modernisation of Access to Work. So we will also be asking the panel to make its own recommendations on how to significantly improve the programme. It will consider fundamental questions such as alternative delivery options and how to improve the programme on an operational level to make it more efficient. The panel will report on these fundamental questions in the New Year.
  I have asked Mike Adams OBE to lead the panel. Mike has a wealth of experience working for disability organisations and I look forward to working with him on this important task.
  This programme of work – from protected budget to dramatic expansion – represents the most radical review of Access to Work in the programme’s history and reflects the Government’s commitment to build on Liz Sayce’s work and deliver disability employment support fit for the 21st century.