Capita TVL pay dispute – CWU reps’ meeting called for next Monday

Postal, Capita June 9 2022

 

Activists will plan next steps in campaign after talks with independent arbitrator ACAS adjourn until the end of the month…

“We had a thorough conversation with the Capita TVL managing director and his senior team – but there isn’t any substantive progress as yet,” reported CWU assistant secretary Andy Furey yesterday, as he prepared to mail out communications and updates to hundreds of our members working for the company.

“The business offered our members a 4 per cent pay rise back in March – but we rejected it at the time as it was only half of the then retail price index,” he recalls. “But now, just three months on, RPI is almost three times that offer!

“With the economy in such a bad state at this time, it’s absolutely imperative that we get a pay settlement which does not equate to a real-terms reduction in terms of standard of living.”

Back in May, the dispute was referred to ACAS and, since then, there have been both formal and informal discussions and conversations between the two parties. The most recent set of talks took place on 1st June, after which Andy and his counterpart at Capita TVL Paul Johnston have released a joint statement thanking the conciliator and advising employees that the two sides had ‘an open exchange of views’, had been able to ‘explore options’ around ‘a number of issues’ and, at the end of the day, ‘agreed to go away and seriously consider these matters further’.

“It’s good to be talking seriously, and another positive in that we’ve both agreed to meet again in a couple of weeks,” reflects Andy. “But, at the same time, it’s also more than a little frustrating that no substantive progress has been made and that our members are still continuing to fall further behind the cost of living.

“That’s why next Monday’s meeting of our CWU Capita TVL reps will be extremely important. It will be good to hear the views and opinions of our frontline representatives and their perspectives on what the next steps in our pay campaign should be. I’ll be setting out my own proposed strategy for the period ahead, and I’m hoping for a robust and comprehensive discussion – after which we’ll all move forward in unity.

“Next Monday will also be an opportunity to present our interim Capita TVL workforce survey, which the CWU has undertaken with the assistance of our research department. Members were sent a range of questions on pay, working conditions and asking for some of their own views on what steps need to be taken to improve their working experience within the company,” Andy continued.

“The interim results indicate strong support for the position the union has been setting out, but they also point towards several areas where we need to give further attention such as pensions. Our hope is that the aspirations flagged up by this survey – which closes on 22nd June – will help to progress our agenda at the ACAS talks.”