Asbestos Petition

The Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group have launched an on-line petition here.

The petition reads as follows:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Support the aims of the Daily Mirror's Asbestos Timebomb campaign.

"We urge the Prime Minister to work towards implementing the five campaign demands.

These are:

• A £10 million National Centre for Asbestos Related Disease to find better treatment, alleviate suffering and find a cure for mesothelioma.
• Compensation reinstated for victims of “pleural plaques” (scars on lungs caused by asbestos) after it was scrapped two years ago.
• Fair and equal compensation for asbestos disease sufferers who can’t trace the insurers of the boses who exposed them, through a new Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau paid for by the insurance industry.
• A public register of all asbestos surveys carried out on public buildings.
• The Health and Safety Executive must be given the resources to meet its own targets for inspecting asbestos removal work."

Unite Against Facism - Regional Conference

Saturday 25th April
2pm-5pm (Doors open 1.30 pm)
Mechanics Institute,
103 Princess Street Manchester, M1 6DD
(Go to the Major Street entrance)

It is time for all of us to unite to stop the BNP. This Conference aims to bring together all those who wish to be part of the Campaign to stop the BNP in the European Elections on June the 4th.

“The world is a dangerous place to live in: not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” - Albert Einstein, Refugee to Britain from the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.

The Mechanics Institute is located here.

If you wish to attend, please complete email a registration form which can be found here.

Please email the form to Manchester UAF or contact them for more information and a list of speakers at the event.

PDCS Job Losses – Update

Following the recent announcement of 1100 jobs to go in PDCS (Pensions, Disability & Carers Service) senior PCS officials have now met with PDCS management. The main purpose of this meeting was to establish the future for our members transferring to Jobcentre Plus. However, we also wanted to seek assurances around workloads for those members remaining within the PDCS organisation.

PDCS Change Programme
Management appeared surprised at the reaction from PCS members and officials around their decision to axe 1100 jobs in PDCS. They stated that, under the PDCS Change Programme, it was always their intention to make a minimum of 1100 staff efficiency savings in this financial year. The offer from Jobcentre Plus, they said, to absorb the planned staff savings merely prevented them from going down the mass redundancy, wastage and early retirement route. Management made it clear that this would have been a possibility should Jobcentre Plus not have stepped in.

Sites Directly Impacted by Decision

Stockport & Wembley

Both Stockport Pension Centre and Wembley DBC will migrate to Jobcentre Plus. The migration of work will not commence until early summer. Staff will then be trained in Jobcentre Plus work, prior to any JC+ work coming in. Numbers released at any one time will be dependent on the ability of JC+ to deliver the relevant training.

Manchester DBC

The decision has been taken to close Manchester DBC by March 2010. The reason given by management was that the current estate is not fit for purpose and all staff can be redeployed to the Jobcentre Plus network, whilst still meeting the restrictions placed around mobility. PCS expressed concerns around the future for the AA members based there (36), however management have given an assurance that all AA’s will be relocated into the Benefit Delivery Centre network within the Manchester area. All AO’s and above will be expected to move to the Customer Services Directorate within the Jobcentre Plus network

Other Sites

There was good news for staff at National Pension Centre (NPC) who have now been given “Transformation” status and would appear to have their future secured. Similarly, whilst Winter Fuel Payments are moving to NPC, staff at Southgate House will transfer to Cardiff Disability Centre and be re-trained to carry out Disability Benefits work. Staff based at Glasgow DBC will be re-housed at the recently modernised Atlantic Quay, two minutes walk from their current location, and will expand in size to accommodate additional work.

Walsall

Management have confirmed that Walsall will remain open until Autumn 2010, at least, and retain its “Migration” status. PCS have made clear to management that it is totally unacceptable to continue treating members on the Walsall site in this cavalier fashion. With the current exodus off staff to Jobcentre Plus, PCS would have expected Walsall to be given “Transformation” status and allow the members there some certainty over their future.

Terms & Conditions

All members transferring across to Jobcentre Plus do so with their existing terms and conditions. This includes preferred working patterns, reasonable adjustments etc. Furthermore, PCS has been given an assurance from DWP management that those staff who do transfer will not be “locked-in” for any given period should they apply, and be successful, with any lateral transfer request to another Government department.

Conclusion

Whilst PCS accepts that there are huge pressures on our members within Jobcentre Plus which require immediate action, we cannot support the majority of the above decisions taken by PDCS management. In order to provide a lifeline to Jobcentre Plus, they have merely asset-stripped the PDCS network. We are already missing targets, shelving work and turning our back on the promise of improved accuracy. This helps neither our hard working members or the client groups which our members serve so well.

Representatives Meeting

PCS has called a meeting of representatives across the PDCS organisation, along with both TPS and DCS trade union sides. We would expect reps attending to come armed with statistical information which makes a mockery of managements’ claim that the current state of work across PDCS has never been lower and also how the announcement affects their sites.

Group Executive Elections 2009

The purpose of this post is to inform members that from Thursday 23rd April 2009 onwards you should receive your DWP Group Executive Committee Election ballot paper.

The DWP Group Executive is an important body within PCS negotiating and campaigning on items such as:

- Departmental Pay
- Conditions of Service, Annual Leave, etc
- Health and Safety matters such as screens, risk assessments across the Department.

The Branch Executive Committee and the Annual General Meeting support the following list of candidates:

Group President: Jane Aitchison
Vice Presidents (5): Alan Brown, Martin Cavanagh, John McInally, Laura Martin, Katrine Williams
Assistant Secretaries (7): Paul Barton, David Burke, Christine Cuthbert, Sam Hall, Tom Penn, Dave Richards, Rob Williams
Organiser: Fran Heathcote
Treasurer: Bashir Chilwan
Group Journal Editor: Alan Smith

Committee (21): Dave Alston, Ian Pope, Alison Carass, Carol Revell, Jason Ferraby, Sarah Robinson, Helen Flanagan, Sian Ruddick, Jimmy Gill, Lesley Salt, Janice Godrich, Jagdeep Sandhu, Sharon Green, Nigel Sheahan, Gavin Hartley, Derek Thomson, Martin Jones, Yvonne Washbourne, Adam Khalif, Steve West, Dave Owens

The above candidates, if elected, will campaign for:

Pay
A return to national pay bargaining, a minimum wage in line with the European Decency Threshold and all staff to reach their maximum within 5 years. Opposition to Performance Pay. All pay awards must be equality proofed to ensure that they are not discriminatory.

Health & Safety
Full support for members’ Health and Safety rights of work. The above candidates support the Branches in ensuring safety is a key issue- issues such as windows falling out at Preston, ensuring the employer conducts proper Risk Assessments across a range of working environment issues and procedures, lighting (the ability of members to have some control over their environment) and for proper local consultation our Health and Safety issues.

Conditions of Service
The harmonisation of pay, grading and all conditions of service for all DWP members on the basis of the best terms from each Agency. For improved policies on Equal Opportunities and Domestic Violence, improved procedures on promotion vacancy filling and transfers and improvements to sick absence procedures.

Although there is a long way still to go these candidates have already succeeded in preventing the Department’s sick absence procedures from becoming even worse and are seeking to curtail the procedure of semi automatic warnings after only 8 days absence. A degree of common sense is now expected. Successfully achieved the abolition of the despised PDS Appraisal system.

Staffing
Against casualisation and for more permanent staff.

Industrial Relations
For improved industrial relations, adequate time off for PCS representatives and an insistence that PCS must remain an independent Trade Union with the explicit right to actively campaign against and fully oppose any of the employer’s proposals. In favour of fully open negotiations.

Privatisation
A high profile campaign to oppose any further privatisation of work and for the return of work already privatised back into the public sector.

Wider Issues
For a better and fairer benefits system which alleviates rather than perpetuating poverty.

We would encourage members to vote in the forthcoming elections and we hope that you will consider voting for the above candidates.

National Elections 2009

Election of the National Executive Committee

From 16th April 2009 members should begin to receive their ballot papers for the forthcoming PCS National Elections, for the National Executive Committee.

The last few years have made a big difference at the top of the union, and we have no hesitation in calling on members to re-elect the current National Executive Committee majority.

A few years ago members from disparate points of view from the Left Unity Group and the PCS Democrats Group came together to form a broad ‘Democracy’ coalition in order to undo years of damage done by the Right Wing and misnamed ‘National Moderate Group’ whose control of the former CPSA, and for one year in PCS resulted in the unlawful attempt at a “coup” and the attempt to sack the Elected General Secretary Mark Serwotka. They also tried to frustrate both Conference decisions and Membership ballot decisions. To hide their shameful past they have changed their name to “4 the members”. Do not be fooled, they haven’t changed much and still have not put forward a single proposal to improve your pay and conditions.

The antics of Barry Reamsbottom’s acolytes should never be forgotten, but the Union must now look forward.

This is why the Branch Annual General Meeting and Branch Executive Committee recommend that you vote for the list of candidates for the following reasons:

Working Together For Members
The National Executive Committee has worked together for PCS Members. Thanks to this work, change has begun at all levels of the union:

Pay is being taken forward as a National issue by Mark Serwotka and Janice Godrich. We need to negotiate and campaign on pay with one National voice rather than 200 separate voices, to prevent decimation of our pay and pay progression – particularly in DWP. The NEC is leading this campaign. Negotiations were stalled as the Government dragged talks out. Due to this the leadership asked members to back up the negotiations with action, and this has secured fresh substantive negotiations for the first time in over 10 years.

The Pensions Campaign across the entire Public Sector was led by our President, General Secretary and NEC. The Victory on protecting members Pensions would not have been achieved without the leadership of these candidates. Millions of Public Sector workers have reason to be thankful.

Campaigns against privatisation and the Civil Service job cuts, have been launched, and despite setbacks, will continue.

The National Executive Committee in five years, has done far more than was done in predecessor Unions in the previous two decades.

Senior Officials Elections
Over the past period the President Janice Godrich, the Deputy General Secretary Hugh Lanning and Assistant General Secretary Chris Baugh, along with the General Secretary Mark Serwotka have worked together to re-establish PCS as a campaigning union and have:

• put a return to national civil service pay, and an end to low and unequal pay, at the top of the union’s work and forced the employer to concede talks Nationally


• led a real fight to defend jobs, pensions, pay, conditions and public services, protected the final salary pension scheme and the right to retire at 60 for existing staff. Negotiated a new Pensions scheme for new entrants with faster accrual rates


• united 14 major unions in a National campaign against privatisation


• stopped the cuts in civil service paid sick leave


• secured a commitment from the Government to end the Two Tier workforce (an outcome of privatisation)


• raised the profile of the union with Ministers, employers, the TUC, other unions, opinion formers, and within the membership and used television, radio and press to advance members’ interests

Let’s show our support and re-elect Janice and her team!

Building On The Progress Made
There is a need to continue to unite all those in the union who are committed to implementing the policies of the union and defend the union's democracy.

The Branches ask for support based on the record of the candidates on the list during the last year and on the following important basic principles:

• Implementation of PCS Policies as agreed by Conference and Membership ballots and concentration on delivering on members’ priority issues, particularly on Pay, Pensions and Privatisation.


• Implementing improvements to the way PCS is organised and run.

The recommended list is as follows:

Deputy General Secretary: Hugh Lanning
Asst Gen Secretary: Chris Baugh
President: Janice Godrich
Deputy/Vice Presidents (4): Dave Bean, John McInally, Sue Bond, Glenys Morris

National Executive Committee (30): Ian Albert, Cheryl Gedling, Dominic McFadden, Mark Baker, Kevin Greenway, Kevin McHugh, Alan Brown, Sam Hall, Chris Morrison, Paula Brown, Zita Holbourne, Andy Reid, Steve Comer, Jon Jamieson, Dave Richards, Tony Conway, Emily Kelly, Victoria Steeples, Alan Dennis, Adam Khalif, Hector Wesley, Mike Derbyshire, Neil License, Paul Williams, Joy Dunn, Marion Lloyd, Rob Williams, Mary Ferguson, Lorna Merry, Gary Winder.

The newly re-named ‘4 members’ i.e. the old National Moderate Group (Barry Reamsbottom's ex-followers) only want to look after one set of members, themselves! The former ultra left “Socialist Caucus” (who have newly re-named themselves the “Independent Left”) talk as if the revolution is tomorrow and what’s more all their policies are based upon this premise!

Vote Wisely.

Several leaflets have been distributed to branches by the Democracy Alliance, most of the information is contained in this post. However the originals can be viewed here:

Recommendation for Branches

National Poster

National Elections

Transfer of Work To Warbreck

More Work Less Staff

Members will by now have heard the announcement that Manchester and Wembley DBC’s are to be closed and that the Manchester DLA work is to be moved to Warbreck.

Members will be rightly annoyed about the worrying times ahead for their colleagues in Manchester and Wembley DBCs. This bad news has been dressed up as good news by the employer who have indicated that this measure somehow secures jobs. We did not create the current economic downturn and banking crisis however 1,100 PDCS staff are to be moved lock stock and barrel to Job Centre Plus to help out with the impact of the economic crisis.

More work and more uncertainty
Not only does this announcement mean more uncertainty in terms of the members directly affected, it also means that there will be more work and less staff for the members remaining in the PDCS. This is not about job security, its all about measures to try and cope with ever increasing problems following the job cuts. The employer claims that Lean and other “enablers” will mean the staff remaining can do the same (or actually increasing!) amount of work. We are hugely sceptical of this. The reality of the cuts is already here with the unpopular LEAN job cuts already beginning to bite and plans to cut further staff from the DCPU staffing budget by next year.

This announcement simply means that there will be more work and less staff. Whilst staff may seemingly have more “secure” jobs at the moment, and who really can trust our employer on that point, those who are left in PDCS will see their workloads soar with all the consequent pressures on their individual working life, restrictions on access to flexi and leave, being forced to work to targets.

Meetings with MPs
The Branch has a meeting arranged with two of the local MPs for Friday 17th April 2009, and has meetings in the pipeline with the other local MPs. The issue of the pressures on the members will be raised at those meetings and you may wish to contact your MP if you are concerned about them.

Hopefully the above is useful. If you require any further details about these or any other points then please do not hesitate to contact the Branch Office.

1,100 jobs to go in PDCS - PCS demands urgent talks

Sam Hall (Group Assistant Secretary) and Dave Wilklinson (Negotiations Officer) have provided the following information:

PCS has written to Pensions, Disability & Carers Service (PDCS) management demanding urgent talks following today’s announcement that 1100 staff are to be transferred, permanently, to Jobcentre Plus.

Background
PCS has learned that the PDCS staff at Wembley and Manchester Disability Benefit Centres, along with all staff at Stockport Pension Centre, are to be moved to Jobcentre Plus because of the economic downturn and their urgent need to recruit more staff. There are also changes planned for staff at the Winter Fuel Payments Centre in Cardiff, Glasgow Disability Benefit Centre and both Walsall and National Pension Centres. However, staff on those sites will remain within the PDCS organisation. These moves will be phased over a 12 month period.

Current Situation
PCS recognises the pressures facing our members in Jobcentre Plus due to the current recession, however PCS firmly believes that the decision by management, nationally, to remove 1100 PDCS staff from their current work to be an act of folly. Experienced PCS representatives across the PDCS network report a picture of failing accuracy, arrears of work, incorrect issues of award and easements, which allow overpayments and underpayments to go on indefinitely. Moving 1100 staff out of the PDCS organisation will only make the situation worse.

Undue Pressure
Staff across the PDCS network will feel cheated by this latest management move. Volumes of work will, inevitably, increase, putting hard-working members under even more pressure in their efforts to deliver a service to the most vulnerable client groups that DWP provides for.

Consultation
Members will not be surprised to learn that there was no proper consultation around these proposed moves. Management have chosen to announce this without discussing with PCS the implications for our PDCS members. Following our request, management have now informed PCS that they are willing to meet with us for one hour on 9th. April 2009 to discuss our concerns. Their view appears to be one of complacency, and have even stated that this is good news for PDCS staff.

Alliance Groups
PCS shall be making The National Pensioners Convention aware of the latest attack on the service provision for the disabled and retired community. We are also seeking to meet with The National Disability Network Group. PCS is committed to working with the above groups to ensure that the needs of their client groups are not ignored because of pressures elsewhere across the DWP organisation. We also need to ensure that The Minister for Pensions, Rosie Winterton, is fully aware of the consequences the enforced changes bring to the client group she is expected to look after and have requested an urgent meeting with her.

Conclusion
As stated, PCS will be meeting with management later this week. We have many questions around these changes which have already been communicated to the employer. Hopefully our next publication will clearly reflect the outcomes of those talks.

DWP People Performance Starts April 2009

Objectives, Competencies and Discussions

Start of the Year
People Performance replaces the Performance and Development System (PDS) for members in DWP from 1 April 2009.

People Performance Policy, Procedure and Advice are published on the DWP Intranet Human Resources site.

At the initial performance discussion, the manager and the employee should:

• Agree objectives and competencies
• Agree the personal development needs of the employee and update the development plan
• Agree the number and timing of performance discussions that will take place throughout the year, these must be quarterly as a minimum
• Record what has been agreed on appropriate forms.

Managers should also explain what the “Wholly Exceptional” criteria (Procedure 7.3) will mean in the employee’s own work context.

SSMART Objectives
The employee and their manager will agree who will be responsible for preparing the first draft of objectives. If employees choose not to, then managers should set appropriate objectives for the employee. The manager will be responsible for ensuring that the objectives are relevant to the job role, SSMART (Stretching, Specific, Measurable, Achievable & Agreed, Relevant, Timebound), and written using simple language about what is expected. A “SSMART Checklist” is provided for further help on this area. ( Procedure 2.1)

No more than six SSMART objectives (and a minimum of two) will be recorded at any one time, as these are to be reviewed at each performance discussion and updated whenever significant changes occur (Procedure 2.3).

Competencies
There are six competency areas in the DWP competency framework. One of these is Delivering a Professional Service which is broken down into different professional areas. The manager and employee will agree which competencies are most relevant to the employee’s job role. (Procedure 2.4 – 2.7)

Performance Discussions
Performance discussions are vital to ensure that employees are aware of how they are performing against their objectives and competencies. There is no laid down structure for the performance discussion, they can be as long or short as necessary. They may take the form of a conversation about work matters where new plans are made, objectives reviewed and feedback given on past work. (Procedure 3.3)

Generic Objectives
DWP targets or generic objectives should not be automatically set as work objectives. Individual factors such as experience, knowledge, any reasonable adjustments needed and working pattern must be taken into account ( Procedure 2.8 & 2.9).

Stretching but Achievable
Stretching objectives are qualified by the SSMART criteria expectation for all objectives to be achievable and agreed.

Numerical Targets
Numerical targets which are not within the employee’s personal control should be opposed. Objectives must be within the employee’s capability.

Attendance Objectives
DWP has accepted that numeric targets for attendance are not within the active control of the individual and are therefore not necessarily achievable. An attendance objective should, if used, only expect compliance with processes, application of policy and an understanding and commitment to overall business targets.

Team Work
Numerical targets should be qualified by the need for team work and recognise the individual is expected to make a contribution towards the achievement of a target. An example of an acceptable work objective would be: to accurately determine entitlement to new claims to benefit and to make an effective contribution towards the new claims clearance times of X days, as in the unit business plan.

Disability and Objectives
Disabled people must have objectives set which provide the same opportunity to meet or exceed objectives as any other employee. Reasonable adjustments must be made for their disability if that affects their performance (Procedure 2.11 & Advice 5).

Part Time Workers
Part time staff must have the time taken for learning, reading and keeping up to date etc. taken into account, for example, a member of staff working half the hours of a full time member of staff should expect to have objectives set at less than half that of the full timer to allow for these activitities (Procedure 2.12 & Advice 5).

Use Grievance Rights
Use the DWP Grievance Procedures to oppose unacceptable Objectives / People Performance problems or decisions which give cause for concern (Procedure 8.28).

Employees have a right to a grievance hearing and the right to be accompanied by a Trade Union Representative.

Further PCS guidance for People Performance will be issued first on the PCS HQ website.

PDS-CMEC Performance Plans 2009 - Oppose Unacceptable Work Objectives

Achievable and Agreed Requirements
The CMEC PDS procedures require at least three and no more than six work objectives to be set which conform to the “SSMART” model. Objectives should be achievable and agreed and relevant. They need to be reviewed when they have become unachievable or irrelevant.

Joint agreement between line managers and employees should be the aim. Where agreement cannot be reached line managers will set objectives. However, line managers decisions are subject to the decision making standards required under the HR Decision Makers Guide (para 2).

Fair And Reasonable Requirements
PDS decisions need to meet the principles of natural justice (PDS policy para 7). All PDS decisions need to be reasonable, fair, unbiased and properly explained. Employees have the right to use the Grievance Procedures for redress when unreasonable objectives are set.

Grievance Rights Apply
Unagreed work objectives which do not conform to the SSMART criteria and/or are unfair, unreasonable, biased or not properly explained should be resisted by using the grievance procedures. Line managers and employees should avoid disputes wherever
possible. The PDS policy for setting objectives puts an emphasis on agreement:

Work objectives should conform to the SSMART criteria: Stretching, Specific, Measurable, Achievable and Agreed, Relevant, Timely (PDS Procedure para 2.2)

Agreement of objectives between line manager and employee is emphasised under the PDS procedures. A = Achievable and Agreed.

Individual factors such as time in the job, experience, knowledge and part time hours must be taken into account (para 2.2).

Oppose Unacceptable Objectives
All PCS members should oppose unacceptable work objectives. CMEC targets or generic objectives should not be automatically set as work objectives. Adjustments must be made to ensure equality of opportunity to achieve all performance levels.

New or more stretching objectives should not be backdated when objective setting takes place later in the year. Line managers and employees should agree objectives which support team work, are consistent with the SSMART criteria, and are fair and reasonable, unbiased and properly explained.

Stretching But Achievable
Stretching objectives are also qualified by the need to be achievable and agreed.

Numerical Targets
Numerical targets which are not within the employee’s personal control should be opposed. Objectives must be within the employee’s capability.

Attendance Objectives
PCS has argued against Attendance Management objectives being used, especially the use of numeric attendance targets. PDS Advice recognises that numeric targets are not within the active control of the individual and are therefore not necessarily achievable.

The recommended approach is to set objectives which require compliance with processes, application of policy and an understanding and commitment to meeting the overall targets (PDS Advice paras 7 and 8).

Team Work
Numerical targets should be qualified by the need for team work and recognise the individual is expected to make a contribution towards the achievement of a target. An example of an acceptable work objective would be: to accurately determine entitlement to new claims to benefit and to make an effective contribution towards the new claims clearance times of X days, as in the unit business plan.

Disability And Objectives
Disabled people must have objectives set which provide the same opportunity to meet or exceed objectives as any other employee. Reasonable adjustments must be made for their disability if that affects their performance (PDS Advice para 6).

Part Time Workers
Part time staff must have the time taken for learning, reading and keeping up to date etc. taken into account, for example, a member of staff working half the hours of a full time member of staff should expect to have objectives set at less than half that of the full timer to allow for these activities (PDS Advice para 4).

Individual Circumstances
Objectives must take into account levels of experience and knowledge, the possible effect of a recent job change or return from a lengthy absence from work (PDS Advice para 5).

Use Grievance Rights
Use the CMEC Grievance Procedures to oppose unacceptable work objectives (PDS Procedure 7.28).

Employees have a right to a grievance hearing and the right to be accompanied by a Trade Union Representative.

Grievances may include problems with objectives which are unachievable, not relevant, unfair or unreasonable

Changes to DWP Reasonable Adjustments Procedures

Pilots
Following the evaluation of pilots in the Yorkshire and the Humber Region and the London Head Office Estate the procedures for managing the assessment and provision of reasonable adjustments for staff with disabilities have changed from 1 April 2009. This bulletin summarises the changes and detailed guidance can be found on the DWP intranet under HR, Diversity and Equality, Reasonable Adjustments.

Problems with RA provision
Disabled staff and PCS reps will be aware of the difficulties experienced over the years where the procedures and contracts have been an obstacle to providing staff with acceptable, appropriate assessment and adjustments in a timely manner. PCS has often resorted to using employment tribunals in order to enable the provision of reasonable adjustments and the tribunals have been critical of DWP policies as an employer. This has put pressure on DWP in particular as it is the public body changed with enabling employers to help keep and get disabled staff into work. Managers have also expressed concern at the amount of special leave with pay they have had to fund during these unacceptable delays.

Reasonable Adjustments Specialist Team (RAST) service
All reasonable adjustment requests will now be managed by a central DWP team based in Sheffield. Line managers will be responsible for identifying those staff with disabilities that require adjustments but will now pass these (except where simple adjustments can be made by the manager) onto the RAST service to manage the process. This is a significant and welcome change as it removes all the restrictive criteria used in the pilots where for example only “severe, chronic and progressive cases” were passed onto the RAST service.

No changes to contracts
PCS have been consulted on these changes and hope to see an improvement in the provision of reasonable adjustments. However there are no changes to the contracting out of assessments (ATOS) and provision of furniture/equipment (Trillium) and IT equipment following the pilot. PCS are concerned about reports that the changes made to the ATOS/Trillium contracts last year, on how and who conducts workplace assessments have increased assessment and delivery times leading to yet further delays in provision. We are firmly committed to pursuing a policy of provision either by, or as good as our own (in house) staff from the Access to Work Teams in line with conference 2007 motion A227.

The changes to the management of RA provision outlined above will allow the RAST teams to progress and monitor provision in order to give them a clear picture on a national scale and feed this back into contract management in order to achieve any contractual changes required.

Advice for reps
These changes will impact on how PCS represent members going through this process, at present local mangers know who representatives are and can easily verify they have the authority to access documents on the members’ behalf. As the process will be managed remotely reps may have to get written authority from members in order to obtain this information, in particular internal notes not automatically given to members.

Reps should feed back any problems and requests for advice through their PCS branch equality rep or branch H&S officer who will in turn pass this to regional or group officers as appropriate.

National Pay – Treasury Pay Guidance Finally Issued.

The PCS DWP Group Executive Committee (GEC) has supplied the following information:

National Pay – Treasury Pay Guidance Finally Issued.

There have been serious delays by the Government in issuing new guidance on pay for this year, and PCS exerted maximum pressure about this over several weeks. The guidance was issued on 31st March 2009, but is unacceptable in not taking account of cuts in living standards that our members experienced in recent years. However, the guidance does conform to the agreement reached with the Government last December, by including the use of efficiency savings to improve pay awards. We can now test whether this results in more money reaching our members pay packets.

MP’s Get 2.3% Rise

Members will also have noticed that MP’s have voted themselves a 2.3% pay rise this year. We believe that if a 2.3% pay rise, on top of their generous allowances, is good enough for highly paid MP’s then it is the very least that hard working low paid civil servants deserve.

Fair Pay for All
More evidence continues to emerge to show how badly members in DWP fare compared to pay rises in other organisations. Even staff in Lloyds bank are being awarded an inflation busting pay increase, despite being one of the banks bailed out by the taxpayer.

PCS don’t begrudge anyone an inflation proof rise – it’s what we are fighting for. We just believe this is further evidence of how justified we are in continuing to argue for decent pay rises for all DWP members.

GEC Secures Early Pay Talks
Immediately after the pay remit was published, The GEC met with DWP management and secured agreement from them to hold meetings at the earliest possible time to discuss how we apply the pay remit guidance in DWP.

We have pressed for full access to the information on potential and actual efficiency savings in DWP that can be used to improve members’ pay. We have made it clear to management that we expect them to move ahead rapidly with this work.

PCS are currently working on the detail of the guidance to ensure that we are best placed to secure every single additional penny we can to improve members pay. While in those talks yesterday the BBC revealed another 3,000 job losses in the economy – emphasising how crucial DWP staff are at present.

As we approach the third year of the imposed three year pay offer, DWP management will have to work hard with us to secure the maximum amount of extra money from efficiency savings in order to get members the pay we all deserve.

Together we will win.

CMEC/CSA – Contract Breakers

The following has been supplied by PCS DWP Group:

Members working in CMEC/CSA will by now have been informed of the plans to break up contracts and impose new working patterns on individuals. This, as always, is being dressed up as ‘improving client service’.

Working Day Project
We have kept members up to date on this issue with management claiming the benchmarking exercise confirmed they had insufficient staff to cover after 5pm weekdays and on Saturdays. Recruitment exercises have not been successful in filling the gaps, particularly in the evening.

Proposal
Under the title ‘Proposed Business Change’ management want to impose changes on those members who have contracts outwith the management’s definition of the working day. This equates to roughly 1400 staff. They state they will “review” the contracts of people who are currently contracted to work outwith 8am – 8pm (Monday – Friday) and 8.36am to 5pm (Saturday) and then following this ‘review’ they propose to change contracts by 14 December 2009.

The Process
If your contract falls outside the ‘working day’ you are being offered continuous employment but on new terms. When PCS asked what if members failed to comply would they be sacked? We were informed CMEC didn’t want to get into that space.

That statement is an absolute outrage and must be treated with the contempt it deserves.

You will be invited to a 1:1 consultation where potentially pressure will be applied to members to change their contracts. Under no circumstances agree to consultation without a trade union representative and under no circumstances agree to any changes until further advice is given.

To our members who are managers involved in this process the same advice applies and that is that you should not be pressured to force members to agree to changes.

PCS Response
PCS has urged management not to follow this path. There are implications for members who receive Extended Working Hours Allowance which could result in a loss of pay. There are potential pension implications if members lose some hours and this also extends to EWHA which is pensionable. Many members work their current hours due to management request and/or round their domestic circumstances and this could lead to extra care costs and again potential loss of hours/salary.

Our initial legal advice is that contract changes must be agreed, either by the employee and employer or through collective bargaining. PCS has not reached a collective agreement. Further legal advice is being sought.

Once again CMEC/CSA management are trying to change terms and conditions with little thought for the impact this has on our members.

It will also raise a concern for many other members that CMEC may look to change contracts whenever they dream up a new business requirement.

As stated earlier members are advised to agree nothing until further advice is produced. This affects members in Corporate Services and CSA.