Royal Mail Group Negotiations – Update for CWU Members  

It is encouraging that we can inform members that the negotiations with Royal Mail Group continue to progress with the support of EP Group representatives.

We understand members will be frustrated by the fact no full agreement has yet been reached and deadlines have been shifted for this on multiple occasions.

The truth is these are an extremely complex set of negotiations where we are attempting to shift the whole ethos of the company, end workplace chaos, deliver a good settlement on pay, start to undo the damage done by the company during the 2022 dispute and agree a fresh USO that the company actually abides by on a day to day basis in every workplace. All of this is set against the background of a challenging financial reality for Royal Mail.

The first Board meeting of the EP Group ownership era is on Monday 9th June. All parties have agreed to work over this weekend so progress can be presented to this meeting. From there we would want to sign off a full agreement that can be put to the CWU Postal Executive and then voted on by our members.

Today we wanted to give you a fuller update on negotiations. We have to be clear that we are working on the principle that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. This is why we have not and cannot put individual elements of the negotiations (such as pay) out to members.

PAY

We have rejected multiple pay offers from the employer. The latest being around 4% from April this year. We believe we can achieve more than this. These negotiations continue.

We are also in negotiations over an incentive scheme that could deliver real and tangible financial benefits for members.

NEW ENTRANTS’ TERMS AND CONDITIONS

In line with our agreement with EP Group we have words drafted which would create a pathway to equalising new entrants’ terms and conditions with our legacy members. These are extremely complex and challenging talks and remain an outstanding issue. We will end two-tier working and reverse the damage done by the previous Board and management team.

VOLUNTARY REDUNDANCY TERMS

In line with our agreement with EP Group we have been discussing an enhancement to the current VR terms which were unilaterally imposed by Royal Mail during the last

dispute. We are confident we can improve these – whilst balancing this against the claim we are making on pay and other benefits.

USO NEGOTIATIONS

As part of our agreement with EP Group we are committed to reaching a settlement on USO reform as part of an overall national agreement. Just this week, OFCOM have publicly rebuked Royal Mail for publishing start dates for USO change on their website. OFCOM are making it clear that any decision on the USO will be made in the Summer of 2025 and Royal Mail have no remit to move ahead of this. Equally, we have made it clear that the current USO pilots must be completed, assessed and any fixes put in place before we reach a wider agreement.

We have words on the USO drafted and will be engaging the employer and EP Group on this over the weekend.

A COMPLETE RE-SET

Our agreement with EP Group commits to rebuilding Royal Mail. The only way this can happen is through re-setting relations in every workplace in the UK. Everything we have seen – daily breaches of the USO, the continued prioritisation of parcels and the general chaos culture must end.

This is a major first test of EP Group and the way they want to run Royal Mail.

IMPROVING SICK PAY / REDUCING AGENCY WORKERS / IMPROVING SA AND OVERTIME RATES

Our agreement with EP Group gave clear timelines on the above issues and we are putting in place processes to ensure these are abided by and that fresh settlements are delivered in all these areas.

WHO WOULD BE COVERED BY THE AGREEMENT IF AND WHEN REACHED?

All Royal Mail Group grades.

SUMMARY

The weekend and early part of next week is crucial. We will do everything possible to reach a full national agreement that can be voted on by the membership.

We hope the detail contained within this update gives you a greater understanding of the situation and the moment we have more news we will share it with you.

There is an urgent need to deliver an agreement. There is an even more urgent need to deliver the right agreement.

Martin Walsh
Deputy General Secretary Postal

Dave Ward
General Secretary