Improving our CWU recruitment in Royal Mail

Postal April 19 2021

 

Lynn Browne, the union’s senior postal organiser, explains the new ways we’re welcoming people into our ranks… 

For some months, the CWU has been working with Royal Mail to improve the experience of new entrants during the Day One Welcome to Royal Mail (WtRM) sessions.

Coupled with the constraints of the pandemic, it was agreed an innovative solution was the way forward and, with companies using the medium of virtual meetings to keep things moving, we looked at how this could benefit new employees.

And the result is the new online Day 1 WtRM session that was launched earlier this month, in which the new entrant can now access the Day 1 WtRM session from the comfort of their home. There has been no loss to the quality or the content of the event and, in addition, they are paid for that day.

As a union, we present an extensive and informative session outlining the role of the CWU in the workplace and wider society. There are a number of leaflets and videos online as well as an opportunity to join us via a link to the join online section of the CWU website. And the new entrant needs to complete the CWU session before they can move on to the next section.

Clearly as this is a new initiative it will be reviewed at timely intervals and Royal Mail has committed to sharing the feedback from the new employees with us. One of the questions asked on the follow up is: “Have you been introduced to a CWU rep since you began your role in the workplace?” This information is valuable to us in our continued move to push CWU membership within Royal Mail Group further upwards.

Information from Royal Mail in terms of the names and workplaces for new entrants will allow us to constantly check how successful we are at picking up new entrants on ‘Day One’ and beyond.

Terry Pullinger, deputy general secretary postal, said: “This is an excellent opportunity to get more CWU members and will assist with the postal department’s delivery of the existing organising and recruitment strategy within Royal Mail – thereby building on the excellent membership penetration we currently enjoy.”