LTB 496/19 – Royal Mail/CWU National Joint Statement – A Refocus on New Entrant Standards and the Role of the Delivery Workplace Coach (WPC)

No. 496/2019

29th August 2019

 

Royal Mail/CWU National Joint Statement – A Refocus on New Entrant Standards and the Role of the Delivery Workplace Coach (WPC)

Branches will be aware that two motions, 95 and 100 of which the Postal Executive’s policy was to statement accept, were carried at this years’ Postal Constituency Conference; both of these motions related to the poor treatment of new entrants within Royal Mail. The widespread issue of the poor treatment of new entrants was also reported as a major issue within many of the units included in the culture joint site visits as part of the Four Pillars Agreement.

As a consequence of these factors above and as part of the RM/CWU Joint Working Group Activity related to section 19.3.1 of the Four Pillars Agreement, we have now agreed an updated New Entrant’s Guide in order to assist our Workplace Coaches (WPC) in aligning themselves to new entrants, along with assisting current employees.

As Branches will be only too aware, delivering strong customer service relies heavily on stable staffing and correct resourcing in Delivery units. Achieving this means that everyone is supported in order to learn and develop and enable them to carry out their job. This is particularly important for new entrants joining the business, how they are welcomed, involved, trained and supported is one of the major factors which play a significant part in them choosing to stay with Royal Mail or to quickly leave. It is also important for our representatives and the Union to ensure that new entrants are treated in the appropriate manner whilst also being recruited as members into the CWU.

The Joint RM/CWU Training and Communications Working Group, led by PE Member Bobby Weatherall on behalf of the Outdoor Department, have been working vigorously over the past number of months to bring about a more comprehensive, re-invigorated, refreshed and consistent approach in dealing with new entrants.

As a consequence, the JWG have jointly reviewed and revised all of the materials related to the treatment and training of new entrants, along with the supporting coaching and communications materials. The keys aspects are as follows:

  • All new entrants must complete welcome to Royal Mail training and have signed to confirm they have completed their mandatory training, e.g. Manual Lifting and Handling, Dog Safety, Delivering Safely, Mail Integrity/Security prior to them going out on delivery. The WPC can deliver this training, but a manager should confirm that this has taken place.
  • A WPC should accompany the new entrant for a full 5 days as part of their induction as a minimum and work through the New Entrant Induction guide with them.
  • Prior to the arrival of the new entrant, a walk should be identified between the DOM, WPC and CWU Rep for the new entrant and they should be kept on this walk/route for a minimum of 6 weeks.
  • The new entrant should work only in their parent unit for a period of 26 weeks and not loaned to other units within the locality.
  • The DOM should complete the trial review process with the new starter having taken input regarding their progress from the WPC at week 12 and then again to confirm their permanent contract at 26 weeks.
  • The senior operational teams should support their Delivery Office Managers to work with their Workplace Coaches to improve the experience of new entrants.
  • We will work with HR Services to communicate the standards to managers through the recruitment and appointments process.
  • We will undertake some joint activity in the units with the highest attrition to understand other action that needs to be taken.

The Joint Statement between Royal Mail and the CWU in our view takes account of everything that needs to be in place within the workplace so that any new entrant will be made welcome, and will take comfort in the knowledge there is always someone there to help, guide and assist them throughout their 26-week trial period. It should also be noted that besides re-emphasising the need to be placed on a delivery duty for a minimum period of 6 weeks, we have also agreed that the new entrant should not be moved to another delivery unit within the surrounding area for the 26-week trial period. This goes beyond the conference policy contained within the motion referenced as above, of 3 months.

All documentation, including the Joint Statement and WPC New Entrants Guide, along with the revised WPC National Agreement from 2014 is attached to this LTB for the attention of Branches and Representatives, so that no one can be in any doubt what will be expected of the WPC, Managers and CWU Representatives. WPCs are an important part of the local operations, and they must have the time and facilities to carry out their role. The importance of the role of the WPC is contained within the Joint Statement, and their daily and weekly tasks, along with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) lessons are contained in the New Entrant Guide.

Any queries to the content of the above, please contact the Outdoor Department reference 230, email address: outdoorsecretary@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely,

 

Mark Baulch

CWU Assistant Secretary

LTB 496.19 – RM_CWU National Joint Statement – A Refocus on New Entrant Standards and the Role of the Delivery Workplace Coach

RM_CWU National Joint Statement – A Refocus on New Entrant Standards and the Role of the Delivery WPC

Letter from SDLs to OMs and Div Reps

FINAL Aug 19 New Entrant Induction Guide

FINAL – AUG 19 – WPC Weekly Focus

WPC Agreement 2014