Harrow and District CWU

CWU TV News | Ed Balls – CWU’s nominated Labour Party Leader

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 06:38:59 +0000

CWU is nominating Ed Balls to be the next leader of the Labour Party. Following a hustings event in Central London, the CWU National Executive decided he was the right candidate to lead the Labour Party with his commitment to universal broadband and his support to the trade union movement. CWU TV spoke to Billy Hayes, CWU General Secretary about this announcement.

CWU TV Uncovered | CWU Conference 2010 Round Up

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:17:51 +0000

Emma Thomas spent a sunny day in Bournemouth finding out what goes on at the annual CWU conference. Emma is in on the result of the BT Ballot vote, catches up with Billy Hayes, Andy Kerr, the CWU communications team and chats to a couple of new CWU Youth activists.

CWU TV News | July 2010

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:13:41 +0000

The latest stories from around the communications industry in July include CWUâ€™s Annual Conference in Bournemouth, Santander extend cheque processing contract in Bootle, new Royal Mail Chief Executive, the latest on O2 pay negotiations and Isle of Man Post Office 2010 Pay. To find out the latest on these stories, please visit www.cwu.org (Created July 2010)

CWU response to DEFRA Public consultation On Dangerous Dogs

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:05:38 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

Communication Workers Union (CWU) response to HM Government’s (DEFRA) Public consultation On Dangerous Dogs – June 2010 (CWU ‘Bite-Back’ Campaign):
As you will know from LTB 206/10, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) released a public consultation on 9 March 2010 to establish if the current dangerous dog legislation adequately protects the public, to consider proposals for changes to dog control legislation and how to encourage responsible dog ownership. Since then there has been a change of government and the Health, Safety and Environment Department is continuing efforts via a number of channels to ensure the present government carries forward plans to significanmtly amend the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and other associatyed legislation.
100,000 CWU members – including 70,000 Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide delivery workers and 30,000 BT Engineers are vulnerable and are exposed to the risk of Dog Attacks on a daily basis. Whilst at work 5000 – 6000 Postal workers and 300 – 400 BT workers are attacked by dogs every year.
The Law on dangerous Dogs as it currently stands and its enforcement by the Police, Dog Wardens and the Courts has proved to be totally ineffective in protecting CWU members as dog attack numbers have risen and injuries have worsened. Two Postmen (in Sheffield at Christmas 2007 and in Cambridge at Christmas 2008) were nearly killed in dog attacks and thousands of others have suffered horrific physical and psychological injuries.
The CWU welcomes the Government’s proposals to tackle the issue of Dangerous Dogs by changing the Dangerous Dogs Law in England and Wales and so follow the Law changes being introduced in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
It has been apparent for many years that the existing Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 doesn’t work effectively in controlling dangerous dogs and dealing with irresponsible owners and leaves many victims with no remedy in criminal law. The law urgently needs revising to help protect the general public, workers and children as well as dog welfare. The CWU has been lobbying the UK Governments of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for these changes through our “Bite-Back” Campaign, launched after the Sheffield attack.
The CWU welcomed the Defra proposal to run a Public Consultation as the first stage of the process and welcomes the opportunity to provide a response to the public consultation on dangerous dogs.
The CWU believes that changes to the current legislation are necessary and long overdue. The changes should enable all enforcement agencies to target the worst offenders and the most aggressive dogs. It is important to bear in mind that the vast majority of dog owners are law abiding and they should not be affected by a tightening of the Law.
With an estimated 10 million dogs in the UK there is an absolute and urgent need for effective dangerous dogs legislation to replace the current laws which are both complex, ineffective, outdated, unworkable and fail to deal with bad owners.
The key message is that any dog can show aggression, particularly if it is not owned responsibly plus handled and trained properly. Therefore legislation that provides the tools to target irresponsible, careless and reckless ownership both before an animal becomes a serious problem with new preventative measures as well as after an attack are very welcome.
The legislation needs to modernise the existing “piecemeal” rules and regulations on dogs and therefore this is a very worthwhile and necessary initiative. The proposals would give local authorities and the Police the legislative tools to deal with the growing problem of out-of-control dogs and for the first time attacks by dangerous dogs in private places would become a criminal offence.

The CWU is obviously delighted that the Scottish Parliament has already passed a new law earlier this year. The Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act which is due to come in to force in February 2011.
The CWU is also delighted that the Northern Ireland Assembly have introduced a new bill, the Dogs (Amendment) Bill which should also soon become an Act, later this year and come into force in mid 2011.
The CWU is calling on the Government to urgently push ahead with the introduction of new Dangerous Dogs Legislation for England and Wales, following the currently unacceptable number of dog attacks of Postal Workers, totalling around 6000 every year, where the Police are unable to prosecute in 70% of them under the current Dangerous Dogs Act because of the serious limitations of the Act which does not apply on private property. The existing Laws are ineffective and do not deal with the growing dangerous dogs problem of a significant number of aggressive dogs and irresponsible owners who need to be dealt with. The lack of protection for Postal Workers against attacks on private property where a dog is permitted to be is a “gaping hole” in the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Overview of changes needed to Dangerous Dogs Legislation
The CWU believes that any changes to the legislation should enable all enforcement agencies to effectively target the worst offenders and the most aggressive dogs in both public and private places with additional preventative powers that do not currently exist. It is vital that any changes take account of the fact that the vast majority of dog owners are law abiding and should be left to get on with being a good owner.
The Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA) has been in place since 1991. However, it has never been effective or effectively enforced which has resulted in the current situation. Changes must take account of the needs of the agencies that will be required to enforce the law and they must ensure the necessary mechanisms are in place to ensure the proposed changes can be implemented effectively.
CWU Bite-Back Campaign
Around 5000 to 6000 Royal Mail and Parcelforce, Postal workers are attacked by dogs every year in the UK whilst delivering the Mail, packets and parcels as well as 300 to 400 British Telecom Engineers. Many require hospital treatment and many receive serious disabling injuries and disfigurement. Some are forced to give up their job. Two Postal workers (one in 2007 and one in 2008) were nearly killed in savage attacks. As a result the CWU launched its “Bite-Back” Campaign in 2008 with the objective of modernising, updating and strengthening the Dangerous Dogs Laws in the UK, improving enforcement and calling for harsher penalties.
The scope of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 must be extended to cover private property where dogs are permitted to be. 70% of the 6000 Dog Attacks on Postal workers every year occur on private property (private land, roads, drives, lanes, paths, gardens, farms, commercial premises, unadopted land etc) amounting to over 4000 of those attacks in which the owners are immune from prosecution because the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 does not apply on private property. There is a very large gap in the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 where there is a lack of protection against attacks on private property. This means that Postmen and Women, or any worker visiting the dog’s home can be attacked, without criminal charges being brought against the owner. A new Law needs to visibly close that loophole with the result that if a Postal worker, Telecom worker or any worker is attacked by a dog on private property, the owner could in future be prosecuted and held legally responsible and so provide the victims with a remedy in criminal law.
The CWU firmly believes that the Government must take prompt action to tackle dangerous dogs, which includes making changes to the current dangerous dog legislation. The current legislation is outdated and ineffective in combating the growing problem of dangerous dogs. The CWU calls upon government to introduce tougher punishments for owning a dog which is dangerously out of control and causing injury and calls upon government to extend the Act to private land plus introduce new Dog Control Notices (DCNs), giving Police and Dog Wardens extended, proactive enforcement powers. The Minister of Justice also needs to issue new guidance to the Courts on handing down appropriate punishment to offenders.
The CWU calls upon the Government to Revise and consolidate existing Dangerous Dogs Laws, introducing changes that will:
- Extend the Criminal Law to include Private Property.
- Introduce Dog Control Notices (DCNs).
- Introduce compulsory Third Party Insurance cover.
- Introduce a ‘No fault Personal Injury Compensation Scheme’ for cases of uninsured and untraced owners.
- Repeal ‘Breed Specific Legislation (BSL)’ and move over to “Deed not the Breed” legislation.
- Introduce Compulsory Microchipping and Dog Licenses.
- Introduce tougher punishments and increased court Penalties.
- Ensure effective enforcement by the Police Powers and Dog Wardens.
- Introduce new more wide ranging powers of seizure to the Police.
New Guidance -v- New Legislation
The CWU has been actively engaged in discussions with all governments of the UK since 2008 and is keen to see England and Wales follow the Scottish and Northern Ireland lead by introducing new Dangerous Dogs Legislation.
A Dog’s behaviour is largely the result of the rearing and training provided by the owner. The problems caused by dangerous dogs will never be solved until dog owners are made fully accountable in law and appreciate that they are responsible for the actions of their animals. The existing legislation does not achieve this and it is crystal clear to the CWU that simply issuing new guidance on existing law and voluntary schemes alone will not succeed. The Defra guidance issued in April 2009 to assist police and local authorities in dealing with dangerous dog incidents and allegations concerning dogs prohibited under the Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA), mainly pit bull terrier ‘types’ whilst helpful in explaining the current laws did not improve its enforcement, moreover the guidance simply demonstrated the current laws deficiencies. The CWU will however, continue to support all efforts to promote responsible ownership and will continue to work with organisations promoting that aspiration such as Local Authorities, the Police, Dog Wardens Association, Dogs Trust, Kennel Club and RSPCA.
The Dangerous Dogs law needs to be revised primarily with the aim of placing more responsibility on the owners of badly behaved dogs. Importantly the onus needs to be placed on the owners, not the dogs, so as to ensure they are properly controlled. CWU also supports a consolidation of existing statutes into one new updated Act.
The new Dangerous Dogs Law also needs to place a sharper focus on the “deed and not the breed”. The existing breed specific legislation has completely failed to deal with the problem of growing numbers of dangerous dogs and increasing numbers of dog attacks including young children being killed, maimed and disfigured in the home. Six children under 5 have been killed in dog attacks in the home, on private property since 2006. We have told the government that in our firmly held opinion that new guidance will simply not resolve these serious problems in our society.

Please click the link below to download the full publication.

LTB 586/10 - Communication Workers Union (CWU) response to HM Government's (DEFRA) Public consultation On Dangerous Dogs (18)

Bob Gibson – Introduction of Door-to-Door

admin — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 03:14:34 +0000

CWU TV caught up with Bob Gibson, CWU Assistant Secretary outside Royal Mail’s West End Sorting Office in Central London, to find out more about the introduction of Door-to-Door into normal workload as agreed in the recent Business Transformation 2010 and Beyond Document earlier this year. (Created June 2010)

Hooper To Re-Visit His Report For ConDem Government

admin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 22:52:38 +0000

The BiS department today announced they were inviting Richard Hooper to “refresh” his report into the future of Royal Mail. Richard Hooper had initially written a report in December 2008 that made a series of recommendations on Royal Mail that included modernisation, the need to resolve the pension deficit and a proposal on privatisation. The report became the foundation of the Postal Services Bill that the union successfully campaigned against and was ultimately withdrawn.

Today, Business secretary Vince Cable has asked Mr Hooper to update the report on the maintenance of the universal postal service in the uk. Mr Hooper is scheduled to review his findings and present his initial views in the summer with publication of a full update by early autumn.

CWU has responded to the news by calling on Mr Hooper to acknowledge that the union and Royal Mail have made significant and successful progress on modernisation through the Business transformation agreement and to support the stability that this has brought to the company. Billy Hayes, CWU general secretary, has said that it is important for Mr Hooper to realise that “the company is in the process of successful transformation and the last thing the country needs is the stale idea of shareholders being concerned more about dividends than delivery”.

The union has again called for the government to withdraw plans for privatisation and work with Royal Mail and the union on maintaining the transformation of the company in the public sector and resolve the pensions deficit.

Questions to the accounts

admin — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 01:46:05 +0000

LTB 393/10 sought questions to the CWU Accounts.
The LTB stated that responses to the questions would be circulated to Branches on the site of Annual Conference. Arrangements are being made for this to happen, however we are able to send these as a pdf attachment to this LTB in advance in case this assists any Branch.
Any enquiries regarding this Letter to Branches should be addressed to the Senior Deputy General Secretary Department on telephone number 020 8971 7237 or email address sdgs@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

Tony Kearns
Senior Deputy General Secretary

You can download the Questions to the accounts (19)

CWU TV News | Conference 2010 – Royal Mail Part-Privatisation

admin — Sat, 29 May 2010 18:40:24 +0000

CWU General Sectary Billy Hayes, spoke to CWU TV at their Annual Conference about the recent news that the new coalition government have plans to part privatise Royal Mail outlined in the Queen’s Speech. Billy Hayes expressed concern over these plans but vowed to fight to keep the Royal Mail in public ownership. (Created May 2010)

Results show Royal Mail success in public sector

admin — Sat, 29 May 2010 18:04:27 +0000

Plans by the new coalition government to privatise Royal Mail have been slammed by the CWU as “regurgitated failed policies.”

Despite the company’s strong financial performance and newly agreed three-year modernisation strategy, the government has unveiled proposals to split Post Office Limited from Royal Mail Group and privatise the UK’s postal service.

Pointing out that the government’s announcement clearly contradicts its boasts of “new politics,” CWU general secretary Billy Hayes said: “This is old politics wrapped in new language.

“The British public has consistently rejected the privatisation of Royal Mail and the move to regurgitate failed policies will be deeply unpopular.”

When Richard Hooper recommended a part sell-off some 18 months ago, a key justification that he made at the time was that, in his opinion, private-sector involvement was the only way to improve industrial relations and modernise the business.

But the CWU argues that the recently concluded national agreement between the CWU and Royal Mail – Business Transformation: 2010 and Beyond – clearly proves Mr Hooper wrong on that score.

And Royal Mail’s annual financial results, which were released on the same day that the government unveiled its privatisation plans, provide strong evidence that modernisation by agreement within the public sector is a recipe for success.

CWU deputy general secretary Dave Ward said that the figures – profits up by 26 per cent from last year – showed that “Royal Mail has again proved is a strong leader in the mail industry.

“Postal workers have made a significant contribution through increased efficiency in all Royal Mail Group businesses, but the only way to sustain success, and deal with the real challenges that lie ahead, is for Royal Mail to remain wholly within the public sector.

“The three-year deal which we have agreed with the company for transformation will continue to provide stability and a framework for successful modernisation in the public sector,” Dave added.

CWU Welcomes Appointment of Royal Mail Chief Exec

admin — Sat, 29 May 2010 17:54:25 +0000

The Communication Workers Union today (Wednesday) welcomes news that Royal Mail is to appoint Canada Post’s Moya Greene as the new Chief Executive replacing Adam Crozier who left last month.

Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: “It’s good to see the appointment of a person with a public sector background to Royal Mail.

“It’s important that the new chief executive continues to move ahead with business transformation in partnership with the CWU. We look forward to meeting Moya Greene and establishing a productive working relationship.”