Royal Mail/Cwu Dog Awareness Week 30 June - 4 July 2014

With this week being Dog Awareness Week, Dave Joyce, CWU’s National Health, Safety and Environment Officer has issued LTB 428/14 containing a report on the latest Dog Attack statistics.

Dave says in his letter to branches:

“I would urge all ASRs and WSRs to become actively involved during the week and concentrate attention to the week's activities, messages and communications to staff, adding support.”

The LTB continues:

The 2014 Royal Mail/CWU Dog Awareness Week is launched today with a joint embargoed press release and will be a high profile awareness raising campaign aimed at Royal Mail customers who are dog owners and our own delivery staff members.

The annual Dog Awareness campaign's aim is to raise understanding of the issue of dog attacks on postmen and women with a purpose of avoiding and reducing the high number of serious injuries sustained by postal workers across the UK.

Royal Mail and CWU will be working in partnership to encourage responsible dog ownership and to appeal to dog owners to keep their animals under control when the postman or woman calls to deliver letters, packets and parcels or 'signed for' items.
Royal Mail Dog Attack Statistics

The official statistics are that since April 2012 there have been over 6,300 dog attacks on postmen and women, some leading to permanent disabling injury.

On average currently around 9 postmen and women a day are attacked by dogs across the UK with over 3,300 attacks taking place between April 2013 and April 2014.

Joint Efforts by Royal Mail safety teams and CWU Safety Reps have driven dog attack numbers down, since the 2007/8 peak of 6,500 attacks that year (including two nearly killed), through the implementation of the new "Walk Risk Assessment Platform (WRAP) Dog Attack Policy" and concerted local efforts to control risks and suspend deliveries where necessary.

While the number of attacks has fallen since the 2007-2008 peak, it still remains unacceptably high and the nature and seriousness of the injuries being received by Postal workers is a growing concern.

Why This Week?

The number of dog attacks peaks during the summer school holidays and we annually see a sharp increase in dog attacks on delivery A third of all dog attacks on Postal Workers occur during the months of June, July and August.

Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union will be appealing to dog owners to work with them to help keep their animals under control when the postman/woman calls to deliver mail, packets, parcels and signed-for items, during the school holidays this summer.

Source: CWU