Moving in the right direction on scheduled attendance

Postal August 24 2018

Constructive discussions with Royal Mail have set the union on “a better path” to resolve the long-standing problems around scheduled attendance excesses, reports deputy general secretary Terry Pullinger.

“Although we’ve still got a long way to go, both parties have committed to the principle of mutual interest negotiation,” he says, adding that an estimated 22,000 of the CWU’s members perform scheduled attendance (SA), with some 2,000 working in excess of the current 12-hour limit for a considerable amount of time.

Scheduled attendance (SA) dates back to the 1985 SFMB agreement, in which the union at the time aimed to prioritise Monday-to-Friday attendance patterns.

“But,” Terry explains: “Over the years, SA has evolved in respect of duty construction and the reward value for someone making a contractual obligation has been significantly reduced.

“And in the recent talks with the company, we pointed out the hypocrisy of the business accepting an employee working over 12 hours but only paying the 12 hours at SA and the rest as OT, whilst still allowing the person to work for that length of time.”

Although a full solution has not been reached at this time, the company has agreed to provide the union with a full breakdown of the locations where an excess of 12 hour SAs are being performed by individuals and the reasons for this.

“This detailed information will enable us to liaise with our field representatives to ensure that we can achieve a fair settlement of this long-standing issue,” said Terry.