LTB 464/17 – BT HR Services – CWU Relationship
No. 464/2017 Ref: DJ/LEL Date: 22 August 2017
TO ALL BRANCHES WITH MEMBERS EMPLOYED BY BT PLC
Dear Colleague,
BT HR Services – CWU Relationship
The Personnel Team has been pursuing the issues identified in Conference Motion 15 (2016) for some time now. The motion is reproduced below for clarity.
Conference acknowledges the well-established CWU Executive and BT’s HR/IR structures that exists at a National level.
Unfortunately, at Branch and Regional level, there is no relationship or interface between CWU activists and HR. This has drastically contributed to the lack of trust and respect between HR, CWU activists and our members.
The intrinsic trust and confidence in HR to act in good faith when dealing with disciplines has completely disappeared and the reputation and integrity (in particular the discipline strand) of HR has sunk to a very low level.
HR is now perceived by members and activists as a dictatorship that has evolved into a faceless, heartless organisation that is unaccountable to BT employees including its Managers.
Conference seeks that the Executive address with BT, the sour relationship that exists at a Branch/Regional level and seek to introduce some sort of mechanism where the CWU can address the serious concerns Branches have when they encounter bad practice within HR.
-Great Western
There have been several meetings at CWU Headquarters with the company particularly around performance management, but also a presentation by BT HR Services on how they work and how they are structured. Helpfully the contact details for the policy owners were given which I know some Branches have utilised. The attached letter from the company is a continuation of building a better understanding of HR Services and giving Branches greater insight into their role, particularly in relation to formal processes.
Within the letter there is an invite to the BT Committee Chairs and Secretaries to visit the HR Services team in Newcastle in September and a commitment to further dialogue.
There is an explanation of the role of HR Services and how each BT policy has an owner and how/why changes may need to take place. There is a helpful confirmation of the role of the manager as the decision maker in any formal case.
There is a rationale explaining when the presence of a HR case handler may be in attendance at a formal interview.
The Personnel Team see this as an ongoing process to influence the company in how it applies its formal policies and procedures.
Any enquiries regarding this LTB should be referred to my office in the first instance.
Yours sincerely,
Dave Jukes
Assistant Secretary
22.8.17 – LTB 464 – BT HR Services – CWU Relationship