UPDATE SUMMER 2008
UDW Restructure.
We are very pleased to advise UDW members that we have recently undergone something of a restructure. The UDW’s representatives are now acting together as a collective decision making body who possess good experience on how we can best service our members.
The UDW is 3 years old now and have gained an extremely positive reputation among members, their families and friends on being an organisation that responds quickly to any request for representation support and general advice on the many different problems that employees encounter in the workplace.
We do not and will not tolerate nasty politics, threats & intimidation particularly those that give any employer advantages in getting rid of employees, picking their pockets or making their lives miserable for the sake of promotion, a bonus or a pat on the head.
The UDW has absolutely no interest whatsoever in partnership agreements, sweetheart arrangements, coffee mornings or any other rubbish that could potentially allow an employer to plunder workers salary's or benefits or dispose of them when they feel like it. We are completely free to represent our members properly without apology, excuse or hindrance in the very spirit for which a Trade Union was intended. And we are very proud to do so.
Stopping the Workplace Bullies.
Over the last year we have dealt with many cases across a wide range of workplaces, ranging from unfair dismissal to unlawful deductions. In a breakdown of these cases we found that over 38% involved some form of bullying in the workplace. What is startling is that many people at all ranks and levels have suffered in one form or another from this kind of behaviour and invariably they are unsure how to handle it. Some find the experience very intimidating and this causes stress, depression and illness. The workplace bully is usually a cowardly sycophantic type who sets unreasonable tasks, belittles, threatens, micro manages and who like to surround themselves with equally cowardly sycophants. There is little difference between the workplace bully and the school bully. How they actually bully others, especially at work is very different indeed.
The task of challenging workplace bullies is daunting and very worrying to many employees, but there are many ways to stop this conduct and we are only too pleased to get actively involved in challenging and exposing workplace bullies for what they are. Remember that your employer has a legal responsibility and a duty of care to ensure your Health & Safety in the workplace and whether they like it or not workplace bullying falls very firmly within this category. The UDW's representatives have an excellent track record on confronting bullies and relish the challenge of stopping their behaviour. If you suspect you might be suffering from bullying at work, please contact us without delay.
The Cold Wind of Recession.
Mervyn King (Governor of the Bank of England) recently announced that the 'good times' are over and that recession in the UK was increasingly likely As the credit crunch and the high cost of living begins to take its toll, millions of people are struggling to meet the extortionate costs of rising fuel food energy council tax and mortgage bills not to mention the tax hungry shower running our country! At this time in particular anyone should give very serious consideration to ensuring that they have good representation in place should they find their job at risk. View membership in the same way that you would take out house insurance to protect your home and contents.
There are many (but not all) unscrupulous employers who will use literally any excuse, including an economic downturn to shed jobs, seize or diminish what benefits an employee may have or generally get rid of anyone they don’t particularly like under the guise of 'natural wastage'. As a UDW member you can always be sure that you will have the very best representation and support in challenging any attempt to dismiss you, change your contract of employment or cut your wages..
DL Group Employees.
The UDW is very pleased to represent employees of DL Group, a number of whom have recently approached the UDW for advice about their terms & conditions, Health & Safety and discipline/grievance procedures. We have recently represented on appeal,an employee who was unfairly dismissed. The case will now be heard at a forthcoming Employment Tribunal. We wish to assure those members from DL Group that they can contact us at for support at any time and that their membership will remain confident at all times.
UDW calls for Bonus Scheme for Night Workers & Admin Staff in DHL UK.
The UDW have written to the Head of DHL Uk to request that serious consideration be given to the implementation of a scheme that rewards the efforts of the many hundreds of night workers and administration staff employed across many depots in the UK. These people work tirelessly to ensure that millions of parcels are processed and ready to be delivered to customers yet there is still no prospect of any proposal for even the most basic scheme that truly recognises the effort and work that these people do. Traditionally there has always been the insistence that any such scheme must be 'self financing' and that it's administration would be a logistical nightmare. On consulting with many administration staff and nightshift workers they expressed that DHL should at the very least show some willingness to provide them with the same opportunities as driving staff and should employ the services of an outside organisation to survey the operation and devise a scheme that would reward their effort and inspire staff who all to often feel that they have been forgotten in the drive to maximise profit. This is a fair and reasonable request that DHL must consider has a good foundation and would surely have a positive impact on staff morale and service centre performance. We will update you on all their response and follow up correspondence.
The PRS Scheme Problems?.
Any driver incurring losses or having difficulty with this scheme should contact the UDW if they need advice or representation. Some drivers have contacted us to strongly express that they have been unfairly treated or that 'expectations' (benchmarks) have been set far too high or that routes are being rigged in favour of Self Employed Contractors. If you are in any doubt, please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time. We can advise you exactly how this scheme works and of your rights should you wish to challenge, with the UDW's support, any decision that has affected your earnings or workload.
Pay Increase.
With the last 3 year pay deal almost at an end, the UDW believe that forthcoming pay negotiations should be carried out on an annual basis. With the rocketing cost of living and with the Government only sanctioning miserly pay rises in the public sector, future DHL pay rises should only be negotiated on a monetary value for an hourly rate.
This would give a far better bargaining position in negotiating a rise that is better relflective of living costs. This method would allow workers to actually see what any rise is worth in real terms.We suspect that DHL will probably plead poverty and cite the economic slump, global markets fierce competition etc etc & they will not be able to offer good pay increases.
We’ve all seen the TV adverts, the poster campaigns, the endless unnecessary and meaningless projects that cost many hundreds of thousands of pounds which are even ridiculed by their own senior management. We believe that there must be an end to this pointless waste especially during such a fierce economic downturn and that a substantial proportion of revenues should be invested in employees’ salaries.DHL should consider reorganisation at director level. There seems to be a constant drive to decrease direct labour and cost while there never seems to be a reduction in the numbers of directors they employ. And does their business really need a 'Chief of Staff'?
We believe that DHL certainly have the means of funding a decent and substantial pay rise for grass roots employees, and no employee or trade union should overlook this.
Sickness procedure.
We have seen a number of documents that endorse changes to the sickness management, monitoring and data protection procedures. We have no copy of any agreement to these changes or any minutes of negotiation and have written to the company requesting clarification. As of the 18th of June the UDW filed a collective grievance as we consider these changes to be detrimental to many employees. DHL to date have not consulted any proposed changes to their employees working practices and conditions. By law, proper notification of any change must be communicated to all employees, and the UDW will challenge DHL if this procedure is pushed through without doing so.
Use of Biofuels.
Tackling hunger is a moral challenge to each of us and is also a threat to the political and economic stability of nations. The world health organisation now views hunger as the number one threat to public health across the world, responsible for a third of child deaths and 10% of all diseases. This is what World Health Organisation wrote recently regarding the impact biofuels is having on the worlds poorest countries. Across the world, Land is being uprooted to make room for either biofuel crops like palm oil or food crops which are being diverted into biofuel production instead of feeding people, and millions of pounds are being made by multi national companies whilst thousands die of starvation.
What has this got to do with DHL?
Like so many other large companies, DHL claim green and eco-friendly credentials and leased a fleet of biodiesel vehicles, and why? On the mistaken belief that they are saving the planet?. We don’t share this view. Biodiesel is not a cost saver, nor has it been proven to be environmental friendly, but what is almost certain is that biodiesel production is now causing widespread poverty & hunger. While big companies continue to use this product global food prices will remain extremely high and even more of the world’s poor will suffer. The UDW have recently written to DHL asking for their stance on the continued use of biofuels given that there is now little doubt that its use is causing such hardship.
Please contact the UDW for advice & support 0845 417 2140 or any of the regional representatives here.
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