News from the TUC

Young Review is a 'grave disappointment'

The TUC has branded as a 'grave disappointment' a government-backed report calling for a relaxed system of accident reporting, measures to address a compensation culture the government itself accepts does not exist and changes to the risk assessment process that do already exist. A 10 Downing Street news release welcoming Lord Young's 15 October David Cameron-commissioned report, 'Common sense, common safety', said the prime minister and the Cabinet 'have accepted all of the recommendations put forward by Lord Young, who will continue to work across departments to ensure his recommendations are carried through.' The prime minister said: 'Good health and safety is vitally important.' But, embracing Lord Young's call for safety deregulation, he added: 'We simply cannot go on like this. That's why I asked Lord Young to do this review and put some common sense back into health and safety. And that's exactly what he has done.' He said he hoped the review would prove to be a 'turning point', with a new system being introduced to replace 'unnecessary bureaucracy'. Under the proposals, all accepted by government, the current personal injury compensation system would be dismantled and risk assessment requirements on 'low risk' industries would be revised - although the proposals for immediate action go no further than those provided already in Health and Safety Executive (HSE) risk assessment tools. The government-backed report calls for ministers to 'go back to the European Commission and negotiate a reduction of burdens for low hazard environments.'

Don't base policy on myths and preconceptions

Safety standards at work could be sacrificed if the government implements Lord Young's recommendations on reform of the UK health and safety system, the TUC has warned. Commenting on the David Cameron-commissioned review of health and safety, TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'The review's recommendations are predictable but a grave disappointment all the same. The report contains not a single proposal that will reduce the high levels of workplace death, injuries and illness. Every year in the UK over 20,000 people die prematurely as a result of their work and at any one time over two million people are suffering ill-health because of their jobs.' He added: 'Yet instead of looking for ways of preventing people being killed and injured, the report uncritically accepts the myths and preconceptions surrounding health and safety, and focuses on dealing with a compensation culture which the government accepts does not exist. Health and safety is not a throwback to a previous century, or an issue that only affects heavy industry. It is just as much an issue for offices and shops - workplaces that Lord Young dismisses as 'low risk', despite the evidence of high levels of work-related ill-health in these sectors.' Mr Barber said the report 'is a missed opportunity to improve the UK's workplace safety record and by failing to challenge the myths around health and safety it could actually make things much worse.' The call for accidents to be reportable after more than seven days rather than the current three days plus 'does not meet the minimum legal requirements accepted across the European Union', commented TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson.

A bad seven days for health and safety

Cuts to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and to local authority budgets announced in the spending review will make it easier for rogue employers to take unacceptable risks with the health and safety of their workforce, the TUC has warned. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'In the last seven days health and safety has been hit by a triple whammy. The Young Review, which last week seemed to rule out any commitment from the government to the occupational health agenda, was followed this week by deep cuts to spending which will make it much easier for employers to avoid their obligations under the law to keep their staff safe and well at work. This week the HSE saw its budget cut by 35 per cent and that, combined with a 28 per cent cut in local government funding, will have a damaging impact on safety in workplaces up and down the UK.' Mr Barber added: 'Workers need their safety and health protecting now more than ever. More than a million workers are currently suffering from an illness or injury caused by their work, and last year over 30 million days were lost due to work-related sickness absence. This time off work cost employers £3.7 billion last year, yet much of this could have been prevented if they took better care of their staff. Cuts of this magnitude cannot be achieved through 'efficiency savings' but will mean job losses for large numbers of frontline staff. That will mean fewer visits to workplaces, less enforcement of safety law, and reduced health and safety guidance for employers. As a result, more people are likely to be made ill by their jobs, and killed or injured at work. All in all it's been a bad seven days for health and safety.'

Business glee at the safety reforms

While the unions representing the workers on the rough end of Lord Young's safety reforms have been dismayed by the new government-approved plan, the business lobby by contrast has been united in its praise for the measures to pare back safety protections. Alexander Ehmann, head of regulatory affairs at the Institute of Directors (IoD), said: 'Lord Young's sensible recommendations are long overdue. Low risk businesses have been over-regulated on health and safety for too long.' He added the proposals 'go a long way to lightening the load on offices and businesses across the country. The IoD is encouraged by Lord Young's approach and calls on the government to look at deregulation in that other critical area of over-regulation - general employment law.' John Cridland, CBI deputy director-general, said: 'Lord Young is right. We need a can-do, not a can-sue culture.' He added: 'Lord Young's report should put common sense back into the system, reduce bureaucracy, and improve our approach to managing risk.' Steve Pointer, from the manufacturers' organisation EEF, said: 'Manufacturers will welcome this report. Practical action to protect employees from harm is important but, health and safety has become too focussed on completing paperwork and protecting the public from every possible risk.' Dr Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: 'Lord Young's recommendations are both sensible and overdue. Businesses have long said that health and safety rules cannot be applied to hazardous environments and offices in the same way - and that there are too many burdens involved in allowing employees to work from home. These recommendations have the potential to reduce business costs and time-consuming bureaucratic burdens by managing risk in a far more sensible way. They will also give companies greater confidence to create jobs.' He added: 'Lord Young's recommendations must be implemented swiftly and in full so that businesses, and the UK economy as a whole, can begin to benefit.' And Tom Ironside, director of business and regulation with the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said the 'review is a win for common sense. Not all workplaces are the same and this report recognises that the precautions needed in an industrial setting are different from those in a low-risk environment like a shop.'

Dangerous double standard for 'low risk' work

The government risks introducing a dangerous double standard on safety if it implements reforms proposed by Lord Young, unions and campaigners have warned. Hope Daley, UNISON's head of health and safety, said: 'Despite the review, Lord Young shows no awareness of the problems caused by occupational ill-health and no real understanding of the level of injury or ill-health in schools, classrooms or offices. Schools and offices have very high levels of stress-related illness, and many people suffer from arm, back and neck injuries. Between them these are responsible for around threequarters of work related sickness absence.' She added: 'This report is really only interested in freeing business from bureaucratic burdens and disregards the value of workers' health and safety.' John Hannett, general secretary of retail union Usdaw, said: 'Shops are not the most dangerous of workplaces but there are over a million shopworkers who can tell Lord Young they are certainly not 'non-hazardous'.' Preliminary findings of an Usdaw survey show over 1m shopworkers were victims of violence or abuse last year. Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) facilitator Hilda Palmer accused Lord Young of 'aiming to divide workers by some arbitrary hazardous/non-hazardous line and so destroy the universality of health, safety and welfare law which protects all workers in all workplaces from injury and ill-health.' She also rubbished Lord Young's figures on the numbers affected by work-related injuries and ill-health, pointing out that every year up to 1,500 workers are killed in work-related incidents and up to 50,000 die every year due to illnesses they had developed because of their work.

NW TUC Day of Action

Saturday 23rd of October 2010

The TUC have liaised with police and local authorities to agree the details of a mass leafleting in central Chester, Liverpool, Manchester and Preston from 10am to 2pm this Saturday. We aim to have teams of 25+ in each location over two shifts of two hours.

Locations are as follows:

• Manchester, Albert Square
• Liverpool, Lord Street
• Chester, Northgate Street, outside Town Hall
• Preston, Fishergate Street

Please bring this to the urgent attention of all activists and members encouraging as many as possible to volunteer an hour or two of their time to help spread the message that "there is an alternative" to the ConDem cuts.

Could all volunteers let us know when and where they are willing to leaflet by calling 0151 231 6120 or by emailing NWRC@pcs.org.uk?

PCS opposes the cuts in DWP

The Chancellor, George Osborne, stood up in Parliament at lunchtime today and unveiled the biggest programme of cuts in the UK for decades, in his long awaited and feared comprehensive spending review.

There is an alternative to cuts
In parliament today, The Prime Minister, David Cameron said, “We are not doing this because we want to, we are doing this because we have to.” PCS believes that there is a clear alternative to the cuts – starting with collecting the £123 billion of uncollected and avoided taxes, cutting out the real waste in public services such as the use of overpaid private consultants or from the outsourcing of our work to the private sector who profit from delivering public services. Investing in jobs is also an important part of that alternative to the cuts. In DWP we took on extra staff to deal with the recession. In March of this year the then Chancellor was forced to acknowledge in his budget statement that by getting people back into work quicker than anticipated, DWP staff had saved an additional £4 billion.Much has been made today of the huge benefit bill we administer - £192 billion. More DWP staff will be required to pay benefit correctly and on time and protect that public money and prevent unnecessary expenditure through fraud and error.

Unnecessary cuts threatened in DWP
PCS members were shocked to hear today of the threatened cuts of £6 billion in administration costs across Whitehall. As yet we do not know exactly what cut this means for DWP. This is despite the fact that unemployment is still substantial and likely to increase because of the cuts. At the same time massive changes to the benefit system are planned. The Chancellor announced his intention to replace all working age benefits and tax credits with one single simple universal credit. The intention being that this would be introduced over two parliaments with an investment of £2 billion. PCS members in DWP have delivered our much needed services fantastically well during the recession and quite rightly we have been highly praised. PCS will fight to maintain the resources and the staffing levels we need to continue to deliver our services well.

PCS will protect your job in DWP
Despite the threatened cuts, PCS believes that there will be no need for any compulsory redundancies in DWP and we will work hard to ensure that is the case. We have already met with senior management who have agreed to the earliest possible consultation with us on this issue in particular and to meet regularly with us to discuss members concerns over the cuts and to discuss the new DWP Business plan before it is published next month.

Making the alternative heard
PCS joined the TUC lobby of parliament this week to tell MPs about our alternative to the cuts. Today there will be rallies in many towns and cities and on Saturday, 23 October large demonstrations in every region are planned by the TUC, bringing all trade unions together along with charities and ordinary members of the public who fear these cuts. Please see your local rep for details of these events and make your voice heard by going along and supporting them.

The government is weak. It may have felt encouraged to make cuts when 35 business leaders wrote supporting these cuts this week. Many MPs however are feeling very uneasy now as opposition mounts and fear is replaced by anger at these unnecessary cuts. We must show that we are not prepared to accept these cuts. Over the next few weeks the determination of the government and the voices of a few self interested business people will be severely challenged by big protests and widespread public opposition to the cuts as the reality of half a million threatened job cuts, the state pension age increase to 66 by 2020 and massive and real cuts to the services we all rely on hits home.

What next?
PCS are adamant that DWP staff should not have to pay for this economic crisis – either in the pay packet or by having to work ever harder for less reward as jobs are cut.Members at pay meetings up and down the country are already voting in large numbers to reject the pay freeze and the DWP offer – the first part of the government’s cuts strategy. DWP management could make a start by improving the pay offer to help improve morale in these difficult times. The next few months will be difficult but PCS reps locally and nationally will be doing their best to protect your jobs, pay and conditions and the services you deliver.
You can do your bit by attending workplace meetings and local rallies and campaigning activities PCS organises to fight the cuts, keep yourself informed and encourage any non-members in your workplace to join PCS now.

There has never been a more important time to be part of our union.

Together we will win.

CMEC – Back to the Future

PCS DWP Group have supplied the following informtion:

It has been announced this morning that The Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission is no longer to be a Non Departmental Public Body and will transfer back into the Department for Work and Pensions.

What about the staff?
Staff were advised of the transfer at 9:30am this morning (Thursday, 14 October 2010) and will transfer with the work. As a result staff will retain their civil service status which was up for review in 2011. There will be no immediate job losses as a result of the transfer. PCS members will rightly welcome this. However, the announcement comes as part of the government’s cuts strategy and therefore PCS is reacting cautiously to it.

PCS view
PCS members had long argued since the Henshaw Review of CSA that the agency should remain within DWP and had called at both the 2009 and 2010 PCS annual conferences that CMEC should be transferred back into the DWP.

What about the future?
PCS believes that CMEC staff have provided an excellent service to children and families, meeting all its targets. We will do everything we can to ensure that staffing levels and resources remain intact so that they can continue to provide excellent customer service.

PCS were informed of the transfer prior to the public announcement. PCS will be meeting with management at both commission and DWP level to negotiate the mechanics of the transfer.

PCS will be seeking members meetings to update members as further information becomes available. At the time of this transfer, the Comprehensive Spending Review and the government’s cuts agenda, never has it been more important that we stand together.

Together we can win.

DWP Pay 2010 - Members Meetings

Dear Colleagues

DWP PAY 2010

MEMBERS INFORMATION MEETINGS

The purpose of this post is to advise members of a forthcoming round of information meetings to discuss the DWP pay offer.

The details of the meetings are as follows:

Wednesday 20th October 2010

Warbreck Canteen - 2:15 pm

Thursday 21st October 2010

Norcross Canteen - 10:00 am

Warbreck Canteen - 10:00 am

Thirty minutes facility time plus reasonable travelling has been agreed at Departmental level for you to attend a meeting, please make every effort to attend. Members are encouraged to attend a meeting in order that they can discuss and debate the offer and make an informed decision as to whether or not the offer is acceptable.

NW TUC Womens Conference 2010

North West TUC Women Tutors Group cordially invites Women Activists from the North West to a one day Conference.

Following last year’s extremely successful event, our Third Annual Conference is designed to examine how (in times of recession) women have to balance their work and daily lives.

The event is being held on Friday 19th November 2010 from 10.00am to 3.00pm at The Mechanics Centre in Manchester.

Further information and an application form can be found here.

Fight continues to protect decent redundancy payouts

The following details have been supplied by the PCS HQ:
Anger towards the government was shown in a demonstration against the superannuation bill, which seeks to cap redundancy payments for civil and public servants.

There has been wide criticism of the way the government has introduced the bill, the most important for PCS members in the past decade, which had its second reading on 7 September.

More than 60 PCS reps and members from the Ministry of Defence, Land Registry, communities and local government descended on parliament to protest against the changes.

The demonstration expressed anger about how the government has sought to undermine the High Court ruling and negotiations on a new scheme. It is rushing through new legislation to coerce the unions into agreeing a new deal which is worse for members.

MPs from our parliamentary group supported the protest, including Katy Clark MP for North Ayrshire and Arran, John McDonnell, group chair and MP for Hayes and Harlington, and Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion.

Members and Reps should be proud
PCS members should be proud of their achievements throughout the summer as every MP was contacted about the bill regardless of whether they supported us. This happened through the e-action on the PCS website and by members lobbying locally.

Almost every MP mentioned PCS members’ lobbying in their contribution and many held the evidence up as they spoke. Most MPs also commended the hard work and commitment of civil and public servants.

Labour
Deputy General secretary Hugh Lanning led discussions with the opposition front bench throughout the summer on opposing the bill when it reached parliament. These discussions were also held with the other Council of Civil Service unions and all parties agreed to table a reasoned amendment which would block the bill’s second reading.

To ensure the amendment gained enough support we wrote to MPs from Labour, the minority parties and also Liberal Democrats. We also changed the e-action to focus on opposing the second reading of the bill and encouraged reps and members to send this extra action to their MPs.

Sadly the reasoned amendment was defeated by 89 votes – 329 MPs did not agree with it while 240 MPs supported it. The bill was then put to the house and MPs voted on whether they agreed that it should be read a second time, again we lost by 85 votes – 326 MPs voted the bill had been read a second time while 244 MPs disagreed.

The following week the bill entered its committee stage when PCS witnesses were called along with some union members who will be disadvantaged by the proposals. This month the bill returns to the full chamber of the Commons for its report stage and third reading. This allows us to further amend the bill and we are in discussions with our parliamentary group.

John McDonnell has been confirmed as a member of the bill committee and other supportive MPs may assist in opposing the government’s draconian proposals.

PCS economic alternative

PCS launched its alternative economic strategy on the eve of the TUC congress in Manchester.

At the launch on 12 September the union stated the coalition government does not need to cut a single job in the civil and public services and should be creating jobs, not cutting them.

It outlined the need to invest in the public sector to help the economy to grow and ensure against a double-dip recession.

At TUC, PCS urged other unions to agree to unite and co-ordinate campaigns and industrial action where necessary. How to organise community campaigns against the government’s spending cuts plans was also discussed. The strategy also calls for investment in areas such as housing, renewable energy and public transport, highlights the £120 billion tax gap of evaded, avoided and uncollected tax, argues for the non-renewal of Trident and ending the use of consultants in the civil and public services.

Cuts are political choice of cabinet millionaires
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “We are constantly told by a cabinet of millionaires that cuts are inevitable. Far from being unavoidable, their plans to cut government departments’ budgets by up to 40% are a political choice driven by ideology, not necessity.”

Coalition attacks 'the right to be safe'

Details supplied by the TUC:
The coalition government is attacking the most fundamental of workers' rights - the right to be safe at work, retail union Usdaw has warned.

Moving a rights at work motion at this week's Labour Party annual conference in Manchester, Usdaw general secretary John Hannett said the government was intent on diluting workplace safety protections.

'The Tories claim that shops and offices are safe workplaces, that they don't need health and safety inspections,' Hannett said. But drawing attention to the violence risks facing workers in the public service frontline, he added: 'It's true that they don't have the obvious hazards of a chemical factory, or an oil rig, but there are hidden dangers. Like so many other public facing workers, those dangers tend to come from other people. As soon as the Tories and Lib Dems got into power, they attacked the most fundamental workplace right - the right to be safe. The Tories, because they are ideologically committed to putting profit before people and the Lib Dems, because they are ideologically committed to clinging to their ministerial limos. They justify their attacks by peddling myths and misinformation.'

The union leader concluded: 'We must keep independent workplace inspections, we must resource rigorous enforcement of the law and we must protect all public facing workers. Protect them from the dangers of the workplace and from the dangers of the coalition government.'

A September report from the TUC challenged the safety myths behind the government's attack on safety, and concluded health and safety regulations and enforcement were a benefit and not a burden to business.

Public Protest against the spending review cuts

The Preston and South Ribble Trades Council is organising a public protest on the day the spending review details are released on:

20th October 2010

12-00 to 13-00

Preston Flag Market

This is part of the defending public services campaing. The theme for the event will be the grim reaper coming to destroy public services and the devastation that follows. We would need as many people as possible to come dressed as grim reapers with key messages eg cuts costs lives save our health service.

A planning meeting for the event has been organised upstairs of the Stanley Arms 7.30 pm on Tuesday 12th October. Please try and attend we need speakers from across the public services and people to speak on the knock on effects of high unemployment in the private sector.

In addition to speakers there will be an opportunity to leaflet the public and raise awareness on the alternative tax justice campaign.

Please forward on this message to as many activists as possible

TUC pans Tory attack on safety

Details supplied by the TUC:

The TUC has warned that a David Cameron-commissioned report into workplace safety is likely to be 'seriously unbalanced'. The overdue report has been trailed repeatedly by its author, former Tory cabinet minister Lord Young, who gave his latest preview to last week's Conservative Party conference. He told delegates the review 'deals with non-hazardous activities where the risks are very low but the bureaucracy unbelievably high.'

He revealed a major bugbear was advertising by 'no-win, no-fee' lawyers. He said: 'What a temptation this provides to someone watching afternoon television. This is not access to justice; this is incitement to litigate - and it must stop!'

Also attracting Lord Young's ire was risk assessments, with the Tory peer commenting: 'How did we manage before we had all these Risk Assessment forms?' He said: 'This is really about getting the economy going. This is about getting rid of unnecessary restrictions - the red tape that harms enterprise and protects no one. It is about restoring an enterprise economy so we can pay our way in the world again.'

He added that the report's recommendations would become government policy. TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson warned: 'The signs are that Lord Young's report will be seriously unbalanced. For sure silly things are sometimes done in the name of health and safety and the behaviour of some claims firms can be reprehensible. But the real health and safety scandal in the UK is the 20,000 people who die each year due to injury or diseases linked to their work.'

Robertson added: 'A serious review of health and safety would put far more emphasis on dealing with this avoidable death and suffering. Losing a loved one to an occupational disease is rather more serious than losing out on the chance to join a pancake race.' Critics say Lord Young is more interested in soundbites than facts. Workplace personal injury claims have fallen dramatically in recent years, as have workplace fatalities, something credited to the current regulatory system. And stopping risk assessments required by UK and European law is not within the peer's gift.

The TUC has called upon Trades Councils and union branches to lobby their MPs in defence of health and safety during European Health and Safety Week (25th-29th October).

Chancellor hits injury and disease victims

The following details were supplied by the TUC:

A 'benefits cap' announced by the Chancellor will target workers suffering work-related ill-health and injuries.

The benefits limit will include consideration of Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) payment, a Treasury news release confirmed this week, despite the benefit being created as a non-means tested payment intended to compensate workers for industrial diseases and injuries.

According to TUC's Richard Exell, who sits on the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council, 'it seems likely that significant numbers will be affected. There were 324,000 people claiming under the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit scheme in December 2009 and the current maximum weekly rate is £145.80.' He said 'it is easy to see' how claimants in receipt of other benefits could exceed the £26,000 cap and lose out. 'By definition, the people who would be affected would be people who had had a serious injury or disease caused by their work and who were suffering serious hardship,' he said. IIDB 'is a no-fault compensation scheme. It provides some measure of justice for workers who have suffered a disease or injury that is probably due to their job, but which is hard to prove on an individual basis,'.

Exell added, noting 'is about recognising that employees take risks when they work and the whole of society has a duty to compensate them when one of those risks comes through.' He warned that 'the principles that will be reversed are even more important. The Industrial Injuries Scheme is a way in which society says that we all have an interest in making sure that workers can look to recompense for loss as well as help when you're hard up and that is a concrete way of committing ourselves to the notion that 'we're all in this together.'

While the Chancellor has been hard on benefit claimants as he tries to drive down the deficit, he has been criticised for his failure to rein in excesses in the City. So while the £700 million plus IIDB budget is to be cut, bankers in the City will be allowed to reward themselves with an estimated £7 billion in bonuses this year.

Anti-fascist campaigner verdict ‘travesty of justice’

A ‘travesty of justice’ is how PCS described the guilty verdict against Martin Smith, of Unite Against Fascism (UAF) and Love Music Hate Racism (LMHR).


Martin, national coordinator of LMHR, was found guilty by magistrates in south London on 7 September of assaulting a police officer at the demonstration outside the BBC against Nick Griffin’s appearance on Question Time on 22 October last year, an allegation he strenuously denied.


There was a demonstration supporting UAF national organiser Martin and the right to protest against fascism, outside the court in Battersea before his appearance.


PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: “I am shocked at the verdict delivered in a magistrates’ court, in the absence of any evidence, that Martin Smith, was guilty of assault on a police officer.


“Martin was present at a perfectly legitimate protest against the BBC for giving airtime to a fascist and racist organisation and their repugnant views. The sentence of 80 hours’ community service that has been handed to Martin is a travesty of justice.


“There is a danger that verdicts such as these provide encouragement for the abhorrent views of racist and fascist organisations and therefore it is crucial that across the labour movement we stand united in our condemnation of it.


“At PCS we will redouble our efforts to campaign against the far right, including organisations such as the BNP and EDL, and continue to support Martin and other anti-fascist campaigners.


“PCS will work with UAF and LMHR to fight the far right wherever we can and also to highlight the unequal way in which anti-fascist campaigners and activists are treated.”


Find out more about the campaign at lovemusichateracism.com and uaf.org.uk

Lobby of Parliament

As the government’s comprehensive spending review (CSR) looms PCS reps across the country are taking to the streets to demonstrate there is an alternative to the coalition’s proposed vicious cuts.
The spending review on 20th October 2010 is forecast to set out a bleak future for public services with some departments asked to make 40% budget savings. It has never been so important to demonstrate there is another way, what the government is proposing is wrong and investment is vital in public services.

The week of 18 October will see activities across the country outlining this alternative to the cuts, involving other trade unions, community groups, charities and organisations with a stake in quality public services remaining in their communities.

On 19 October the TUC has organised a national rally and lobby where, working with other unions, we hope to target 150 Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs from constituencies across the country. A Branch Officer will be attending the lobby to try and put forward the concerns of the members on the Fylde Coast.

Detailed pay talks in DWP have now ended.

The DWP PCS Group Executive Committee has considered the offer management want to make and has unanimously agreed to reject the offer and seek much needed improvements to it.

Government pay freeze bites

The Government has imposed a pay freeze on anyone in the public sector earning over £21,000. This means that nearly half of DWP staff will receive no consolidated pay rise this year. This includes part time staff whose full time equivalent pay is above £21,000. Members’ reasonable expectation to get a pay rise in line with inflation, reasonable pay progression and some recompense for their tremendous hard work are not going to be satisfied this year because of the pay freeze.

PCS opposes the imposition of this unfair and divisive pay freeze. We oppose both the total pay freeze on members earning more than £21,000 and the proposed below inflation increases for those paid under £21,000. DWP members have already been the victims of severe pay restraint every year since 2006, including freezes on the max and below inflation cost of living increases.

National Pay Campaign

PCS has long argued for a new pay system for the civil service with rates of pay harmonised across departments and where there are transparent pay progression system from min to max within 5 years. PCS continues to pursue this goal of a fairer pay system with the employer to end the system that allows staff in other departments to earn significantly more that staff in DWP. PCS will continue to challenge the pay freeze, alongside other public sector unions, and pay will form a key part of the National campaign against the cuts in the public sector.

During the talks with DWP, PCS were adamant that, despite the difficulties the pay freeze created, DWP management should:

• make every penny available for pay
• make the available money go as far as possible
• distribute it as fairly as possible.

Consolidated pay rises - under £21,000

Under the terms of the government pay freeze, everyone earning under £21,000 is entitled to a consolidated pay rise of at least £250. PCS successfully sought to increase that figure for everyone – we believe very firmly that low pay must be eradicated from this department. We were also keen that when money was so tight, everyone should be treated as fairly as possible whether on the pay band minimum, maximum or in between.

Flat rate pay rises

As a result all staff paid under £21,000 will receive a flat rate increase, wherever they are on the pay scale. The same flat rate applies also to members on the Max and to members in the London pay zones and Special Location Pay Zones. These flat rate payments are consolidated pay rises and payment will be backdated to July 2010. The flat rate consolidated increases are:

• AA/Band As: £400
• AO/Band Bs (earning under £21,000): £465
• EO/Band Cs (earning under £21,000): £540

The only exceptions to these flat rate payments are members on or near to the Band A’s/AA’s minimum. This will increase by more, to £14,000, as a means of tackling the lowest rates of pay in DWP, leading to payments higher than £400 for some Band A/AA’s.

Pay cut in real terms

The flat rate payments fail to provide for any real pay progression this year in DWP and the consolidated increases are below the current rate of inflation (RPI stood at 4.8% in July 2010). This means that this pay award, even for staff earning less than £21,000, represents a pay cut in real terms. It is unacceptable that, as prices rise higher, wages stand still.

Performance bonuses – unfair to 97%

The money available to be used for performance bonuses amounts to an enormous £55 million this year. These payments are non-consolidated lump sum bonuses and are paid on the basis of grade and performance marking. They are not affected by the pay freeze:

Consistently Good
 
A/AA: £305
B/AO: £365
C/EO: £510
D/HEO: £630
E/SEO: £780
F/G7: £1,120
G/G6: £1,420

Wholly Exceptional

A/AA: £610
B/AO: £725
C/EO: £1,015
D/HEO: £1,255
E/SEO: £1,555
F/G7: £2,235
G/G6: £2,835

PCS argued that, because of the exceptional circumstances of the pay freeze, we should all receive as much as possible from the bonus pot and that, because, everyone had worked so hard in the last year, bonuses should be as equal as possible.

Higher grades get more

Additionally we discovered that those in the higher grades were much more likely to have received a wholly exceptional marking and therefore it would be unfair to pay significantly more to those getting a wholly exceptional. In the pay offer management recommended paying much higher bonuses to higher grades and double to those with a wholly exceptional mark – even though they know this is especially unfair to the lower grades.

£7 million missing

PCS argued hard that every single available penny must be used on pay this year. Management have £7 million earmarked for special bonuses and vouchers. We asked for that money to be brought into pay to give everyone an additional £65 on their bonus. Management have so far refused to use it for pay saying they like having the special bonuses. You may wonder why? PCS demanded a detailed breakdown of how the £7 million was spent last year – shockingly management say they didn’t have the statistics, or monitor them, so they have no idea if the money is spent fairly or in accordance with the laws on equality. This is disgraceful and shocking and an even stronger argument as to why the special bonus schemes and voucher schemes must be stopped and the money used transparently and fairly to improve everyone’s pay instead.

DWP management must improve the personal reward package. Many members felt angry during these talks about the personal reward statements they received. We asked management to improve what the very limited pay offer by improving terms and conditions which, although valuable to members – cost nothing in pay terms. We specifically asked for the right to full flexi-time working to be available for all and for the reinstatement of the annual Christmas flexi credit that was withdrawn last year. Management have not yet made any offer to improve these terms and conditions.

What next?

While this was never going to be an easy year to improve pay, overall it is extremely disappointing that DWP management have not done everything within their power to maximise the amount of money available, to distribute it more fairly and to compensate their hard working staff with additional terms and conditions improvements.

Ballot at members’ meetings

Management have allowed 30 minutes time and premises for all members meetings to discuss and vote on this offer. Because of the exceptional effect of the pay freeze we are not running a postal ballot on pay this year. It is therefore vital that you attend the pay meeting in your office to have your say. PCS is recommending that members vote to reject the pay freeze and to improve the offer and make it fairer.

PCS will continue to campaign for fair pay for all members in DWP and will continue to press DWP to improve the pay offer where they are able to do so. The next few months are likely to be difficult, DWP management should seek to motivate all of their staff, not divide them with an unfair pay offer.

Together we will win.

DWP and CMEC pay offer expected next week (and other issues).

DWP and CMEC pay talks concluded this week and PCS expects to have pay offers from management to discuss when the DWP Group Executive meet on 6 & 7 October. As soon as the Group Executive Committee has seen the offer, meetings with PCS members will be arranged to discuss the offer in detail. DWP management have agreed to allow time off for all members to attend these workplace meetings. 

Fair pay demanded
Because of the government’s pay freeze it is obvious that members’ legitimate aspirations on pay are not going to be satisfied with this offer. However, DWP management must do everything in their power to use all available money for pay and to distribute it as fairly as possible so that everyone gets as much as possible during these very difficult times. 

PCS pay negotiators ask for a meeting with Leigh Lewis 
The DWP pay negotiators do not feel satisfied that the money is going to be distributed as fairly as possible. We are also very disappointed that the money from the Special Bonus scheme has not been used to improve pay. Finally we feel that further improvements – that cost nothing – such as to terms and conditions could have been offered to make the Personal Reward Statements more meaningful. Awarding all DWP staff full access to flexi and a Christmas flexi credit would have been a good start. 

We have therefore asked to meet Leigh Lewis, DWP permanent secretary, to ask him to help us to ensure that the pay offer is as fair to everyone as it can be. We are keen to meet with him quickly because we want to see the pay award paid as quickly as possible. 

Together we will win
PCS continues to gain political support for our alternative to the cuts

PCS had a stand at Labour party conference this week and a very well supported fringe meeting where we invited Labour MPs to join us in defending our jobs and vital local services. Most people in this country firmly believe that public services need investment not drastic cuts. Many politicians take the opposite view. That is why we are taking our new national campaign – including a real economic alternative – to the party conferences. On Sunday PCS will join the demonstration against the proposed cuts outside the Conservative party conference as it begins in Birmingham. 

Flexi agreement retained in BFD
BFD management tried to negotiate a revised flexi-time agreement for members in BFD which originally included scheduling. PCS removed the threat of scheduling in talks. The one negative change management have insisted on is that smokers can only smoke in tea breaks or lunch breaks or flex off to smoke. Although this will not be welcomed by smokers, and PCS argued against this, PCS felt that it was very important to maintain a flexi agreement to protect all members’ rights on flexi. The new agreement will come in from October 1st. 

But no agreement on flexi in CCD
Unfortunately, CCD management has so far refused to budge over their unnecessarily draconian scheduling arrangements. The strong support shown by members in CCD for the "Blackburn Pilot" is clear evidence that better flexibility is possible and must be delivered by CCD management. Members in CCD are currently being consulted about how we can make CCD management see sense over this issue at workplace meetings - make sure you attend yours to have your say.