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National Briefing on RTD & The
New Drivers Grade Agreement
York 22nd February 2007.
The Branch Secretary and I attended the above briefing, which was basically for the National Officers, Dave Ward,
Terry Pullinger and Martin Collins to recommend the deal on The New Drivers Grade with the introduction of RTD, and also to
answer many outstanding questions in this regard.
Firstly, I will clarify some things many Area Distribution Reps were unclear about, and then I will report on some
aspects of the agreement the N.Ireland reps wanted clarified. I will also report
on the ballot arrangements.
As I have said previously, the Agreement should be read in its entirety so as to get a complete picture. The first few pages of the Agreement signed by the three National Officers are pertinent to both Logistics
and the Area Distribution members and are the generics of the Agreement. This clarifies that, paragraphs 1 – 12, and
appendices 3 and 4, apply both to Network and Area Distribution Drivers. Appendix
1 only applies to Network and appendix 2 and 5 are only applicable to Area Distribution.
I have reproduced a booklet for the Distribution Reps and members that gives further clarification on the Agreement.
Questions Clarified
- With regard to Annual Leave entitlements that was discussed at the Distribution
Reps meeting on Tuesday 20th February 2007, it is right to say, that if someone is in 15 years, and has a leave
entitlement of 5 weeks and 1 day, but moves on to a 4 day week, the single day leave entitlement in hours would equate to
10 hours, but likewise, their weekly leave moves from 5 days to 4.
- The emphasis on the loss of driving licence for things other than illness
is already contained within the Conduct Code under Section 12 in regard to criminal acts.
The CWU nationally have said, dismissal should not be automatic, all cases should be taken on its merits, and things
should not be dealt with any differently than they are now, i.e. seeking alternative work rather than dismissal. There is no reason why a driver couldn’t revert to an OPG grade and pick up those terms & conditions. Merits of the case should always be considered.
- So who receives the new terms & conditions? Those who hold a duty that drives a tachograph vehicle. Also,
those who drive these types of vehicles from time to time, either daily or weekly, will pick up the allowance on a substitution
basis. In general terms, you only get it if you drive it.
- As the Agreement states, because this is considered as a major change, there
will be a duty re-sign. The Distribution reps are continuing to discuss this
matter to determine the best way to progress, and will report to the members in due course.
It must also be noted that, in August 2007, the incoming flight arrangements will change and this will have a further
impact on our Distribution duties. National negotiations are due to commence
very shortly on this operational change, and within those discussions the Managing The Surplus Framework Agreement will be addressed in regard to pay protection in the event that any of our members should be unfortunate
enough to lose their duty through this initiative.
The above is some of the issues the N.Ireland Distribution reps wanted clarity on, but there were many other questions
asked that were straightforward enough, and some that were a duplication of questions already asked. Dave Ward had no hesitation in recommending the deal as “Industry Leading”, and claimed it
was second to none to the type of job we do. I would also add, from all those
who contributed to the debate, no one made a proposition for rejection of the deal, and some areas of the country were deafening
by their silence. I most definitely drew the impression, that although not the
best deal in the world, there was an atmosphere of acceptance throughout the hall as it was felt there was nowhere else to
go.
The bottom line is this; if we can’t agree a set of duties by April 2nd, Royal Mail will introduce
their own set of default duties that makes us compliant with the law, but we will not receive the terms & conditions within
the agreement. At the same time the deal is going to a ballot of those members
affected, and if we reject the deal I don’t believe Royal Mail will lose too much sleep over it. In other words, it’s either this deal, or nothing. Unfortunately,
that is the way it is.
In regard to the ballot itself, this will be done by the Branch on a local basis within the workplace, and those
affected by the agreement will receive a ballot with a return envelope. A ballot
will be distributed to all those who drive tachograph vehicles on a regular basis, and to those who drive them on an irregular
basis. i.e., on overtime or as a reserve, and also to those who hold a C1 on their licence who have been, or may be called
upon from time to time to drive such vehicles. This ballot will be held within
the next couple weeks.
Hopefully this report goes some way in clarifying some of our concerns. It
is my intention to arrange a further meeting of the Distribution reps early next week.
I also intend to meet with as many members as possible along with the local reps to outline and explain the deal and
its impact on drivers, and I look forward to meeting you all then.
Bobby Weatherall
Area Distribution Rep N.I
22ND February 2007
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