Union Office, British Telecom, Becket House, New Dover Road,

Canterbury, Kent, CT1 3BB

Tel: 01227 760311 Fax: 01227 815929 e-mail: cwumeridian@btconnect.com

Future Provision of Facilities Management Services to Royal Mail

Joint Statement: Royal Mail/Unite/CWU

The Joint Working Group talks are continuing about the future provision of Facilities Management services to Royal Mail. We are aware that there is a desire for more information but, as the talks involve the sharing of commercially sensitive information and need to be conducted in an open manner, they remain confidential.

However we believe it would be helpful to share the following points:

 The talks have made, and continue to make, progress. They have been conducted in a positive atmosphere with all parties committed to sharing and understanding each others’ points of view.  The aim remains as indicated in the February Joint Statement to reach a common mind on the best way forward. We are not there yet but are all going the extra mile in an effort to reach agreement.

 The time the Joint Working Group is taking is longer than we envisaged at the outset. This is because the issues involved are complex and because the talks are part of a broader framework of decision making involving Royal Mail and Cofely as the two separate shareholder organisations.

 The case for each of the options under consideration can be summarised as follows:

o External FM service provision is the norm in the industry, leaving the company to focus on its core business and allowing an expert provider in the FM field to concentrate on doing what it does best, managing this through a contract for services at a set price.

o A wholly owned model would give Royal Mail greater control of the service, avoid paying a margin to an external provider and allow the company to continue to enjoy the VAT advantage that it enjoys with Romec at the moment.

The Joint Working Group has been considering the potential implications of each option for current and future employees of Romec, in the context of maintaining and improving the service and the cost of providing it.

 It is important to reiterate that what is being reviewed is the future organisation and control of the services that are provided to Royal Mail. Whatever happens, Romec’s current engineers, cleaners and managers will continue to provide these services, and ensure they are delivered to the standards expected by Royal Mail as customer.  

We remain committed to bring these talks to a conclusion as soon as possible and immediately there is any further information to share we will do so.