Romec Archive

The future of Royal Mail and the impact of liberalisation post January 1st 2006. CWU involvement has been a key factor of this review. Click here for the select committee report

Royal Mail Pay - Efficiency, Reps Brief, March 2006

ROMEC Ballot Result

ROMEC pay claim industrial action

National Terms of Reference Royal Mail Way - Trial
1. Introduction/Background
It is widely recognised that Royal Mail needs investment to survive and thrive in a competitive market. This requirement for investment is not just capital for new equipment but also for investment in our people e.g. management capability and front line engagement/involvement. It is essential we embed improved capability, with a fresh mindset and approach within our management population to achieve this engagement.
At Chester Mail Centre with initial help from external consultants they introduced the improved management training to provide them with the skills in communication, production control and problem solving. This has proved very successful in establishing a motivated management team, a marked increase in employee satisfaction and greater operational efficiency in the unit. It has been agreed therefore that we should jointly trial the new approach in a further six mail centres.
2. Aims & Objectives
The purpose of the trial is to:
. Demonstrate that investment in our people is equally important if we are to respond to the challenge of competition.
. Improve the union/management relationship.
. Encourage employees to become involved and contribute towards improvements in the operation to enrich their own experience at work, provide a better service for the customer and business results.
. Make the Mail Centre a place where all employees feel their views/efforts are recognised and rewarded financially as appropriate.
3. Principles
The initial building blocks to achieve the cultural change and embed the new approach are based on the following principles:
. Management training in leadership and communication.
. A good IR relationship between the management and union representatives.
. The provision of processing tools/techniques that are fit for purpose.
. A good physical environment.
. Joint problem solving methods.
. Reward and recognition.
4. Trial Locations/Period
The Mail Centres selected for the trial are: Bristol, Swindon, Chelmsford, East London, Tyneside and Leeds. It will be a twelve month trial commencing in October 2005.
5. Implementation Arrangement/Support
. Each office will receive financial support to enable improved communication material is provided and a project manager to assist with the planning/deployment of the trial.
. Help from external consultants will be given where required.
. A learning centre will be available on site.
. A computer and access to the intranet and an email account will be provided for the CWU union representatives.
6. Key Strands
The three main strands to be developed are:
. Management, representatives and people development.
. Increased employee involvement, engagement and problem solving.
. Application of efficient processing tools/techniques.
External consultants will be available for initial managerial support but it was proved in Chester that it is very important that the local parties drive the initiative and do not rely on the Consultants to deploy the change. The aspects that form the basis of the Royal Mail initiative are outlined in the associated Appendix.
7. Deployment Process/Timetable
The trial will be for twelve months because it is recognised that it will be a considerable challenge and require detailed forward planning/preparation to deploy/embed the new approach. The following target timetable outlines the deployment process:
. Planning (months 1-2) - Assessment of current state, training and development, targets set and launch communications and involvement e.g. Work area Communication Cells on each shift.
. Engaging (months 3-4) - Involving people in problem solving, customer awareness and using visual displays.
. Implementing (months 5-6) - Applying efficient tools and techniques, eliminate waste, process mapping and review layout.
. Embedding (months 7-12) - Employee ownership of new approach to work in and introducing improvements, moving from programme to "this is how we do things here".
. The commencement of the deployment will be on a phased basis from September but all offices completed will have been deployed by November 2005.
8. Success Measures
. Improved union/management relationship. Source - Survey from the management team and local representatives.
. Better trained, motivated and engaged managers. Source - "Have your Say" results and local survey from frontline employees.
. Opportunity to suggest improvements for own work area. Source - As above.
. Opportunity to increase employees input into their ways of working. Source - As above.
. Good information share in an open and honest way. Source - As above.
. A more informed workforce regarding the business and the current competitive environment. Source - As above.
. Cleaner, safer working environment. Source - Joint inspection and local accident statistics.
. Improved customer satisfaction and maintenance of local contracts and employees earnings. Source - local customer surveys and statistics on traffic and staff hour costs.
9. CWU Involvement
There will be full involvement of the CWU at all levels in all aspects of the trial.
. At local/area level the CWU will be given the facility to attend all Communication Cells/Work Time Learning sessions to enable them to also improve their communication on Industrial Relation issues/proposals for change as appropriate.
. It is fully recognised that the new approach to employee communication should not include dealing with issues of a negotiable nature and that these will continue to be dealt with via the IR Framework in the normal way.
. The new approach should enhance the industrial relations and joint involvement within the unit and not be used as a substitute for management/union collective bargaining or to amend terms of national agreements e.g. The Way Forward, Weekly Resourcing Meetings, Work Time Learning sessions.
10. Chester Experience
It is recognised that the experience of the local management and CWU representatives at Chester on the approach should be used to the maximum. They will be given the facility to offer additional guidance and support to the trial offices on request from either party. It is hoped that this will reduce the need for any external consultants in the long-term.
11. Review
11.1 The trial will be jointly reviewed on a regular basis at local level to ensure the deployment programme is being introduced in line with the trial objectives.
11.2 In addition the national parties will meet monthly to share progress and evaluate whether the success criteria are being met.
11.3 At the conclusion of the trial a Formal Joint Review will be held to determine if the approach should be adopted and rolled-out to other Mail Centres.
11.4 The review will also assess if the same approach would be appropriate for other Royal Mail functions.
Kevin Green, Royal Mail
Martin Collins, CWU