Recognition secured at Swiss Post Solutions for CBRE transferees

November 21 2019

A trade union recognition deal has been signed with Swiss Post Solutions on behalf of former BTFS mail room employees who are braced for their second TUPE transfer in six months in just over a week.

In April this year the 37 mail room workers were part of the disputed BT outsourcing which saw more than 1,700 loyal staff members transferred to either CBRE or ISS – but last month CBRE announced that those working in BT postrooms across the country will be changing employer again on December 1.

Earlier this month the CWU secured assurances on job security and the lifting and shifting  of terms and conditions across the piece, but today’s signing of a detailed recognition agreement represents an important next step in the longer-term defence of Ts&Cs that the CWU was keen to conclude before the transfer date itself.

The deal – which was signed on behalf of Swiss Post Solutions by company CEO Gary Harrold and People Office Director Michael Everett , and on the union’s side by CWU deputy general secretary Andy Kerr – awards the CWU full collective bargaining rights on the transferees’ behalf.

It is closely based on the agreement the union previously negotiated for those working for Swiss Post Solutions in Santander postrooms prior to that contract transferring to RR Donnelley – and represents a re-establishment of contact with a company with which the CWU previously enjoyed an excellent working relationship.

Assistant secretary Brendan O’Brien explains: “The discussions on the TUPE transfer have gone extremely smoothly, despite an unusually tight timeframe –  and the positivity of all our interactions with Swiss Post Solutions to date bode well for the future.

“I’m pleased to be able to say we’ve already agreed a consultative structure that includes the direct involvement of three workplace reps. We’re hoping to get one in Scotland, one in London and one covering the middle part of the country, so there’s a good geographical spread.

“All the feedback the CWU has received to dates suggests a widespread sense of relief amongst the CBRE transferees that they’re going to a specialist postroom services provider, and the fact that the contract runs for nearly four and a half years is reassuring because it will hopefully provide genuine stability for members who’ve had more than their fair share of upheaval over the past year.”