91.5% CWU members vote in favour of Royal Mail agreement

Royal Mail  has announced it is pleased that members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the framework agreement on the strategy and future direction of Royal Mail, operational change, pay and job security. 91.5% of eligible CWU members voted in favour of the agreement.

On 22 December 2020 the Company announced details of the framework agreement reached with the CWU. The agreement covers:

Focus on swifter change

The agreement will allow Royal Mail to make more frequent revisions to the network and introduce the use of technology to improve both customer service and efficiency. Deployment of revisions and realignment activity is planned for all operational areas by the end of October 2021, with annual revisions thereafter. The introduction of technology will replace handwritten manual sign‐in / sign‐out and provide more meaningful data to enable a more efficient service to customers. There will also be a revised and quicker dispute resolution process to enable agreement on change to happen more quickly, and a process to trial and deploy new ways of working and technology more swiftly.

Strategy and future direction of Royal Mail

A review of the operational network will conclude by April 2021 to support and build on proposals for the parcel network, maintain an efficient letters operation and prioritise investment for further expansion. This will include how we operate our new parcel hubs and introduce dedicated van delivery duties for parcels, as well as exploring the opportunity for more frequent deliveries throughout the week.

Pay and job security

We are committed to remaining the best employer in our industry. The agreement includes the following two year pay deal for CWU colleagues:

• 2.7% pay increase effective from April 2020; and
• A further pay increase of 1% with effect from April 2021; and
• The second hour of the shorter working week to be implemented at the point that the 2021 programme of revision activity is deployed in a function/unit and no later than the end of October 2021.

 The union recommended that members vote in favour of the agreement during the ballot.

Royal Mail said: ” We are now working with CWU to implement the changes we need, in order to capitalise on the significant growth we have seen in parcels so far this year.”

CWU Tweeted the news: “Thank you to our Royal Mail Group members who have overwhelmingly endorsed the Pathway to Change National Agreement. Now the hard work starts to grow the industry, protect jobs and expand the role of postal workers in every community in the UK “