Advanced AGM Notification

Don't worry, you will be told again.

Government sticks with 'dangerous' coastguard plans

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

Government ministers plan to press ahead with station closures, despite overwhelming opposition from coastguards and the public, the union PCS has said. The union believes proposals to close eight coastguard stations around the UK and cut more than 140 jobs will result in the loss of life-saving local knowledge around our coastline. Following initial opposition and severe criticism from a committee of MPs earlier this year, the original proposals were watered down. PCS says revised plans were tabled in July without any formal discussion with the union. There was no commitment to prevent compulsory redundancies and nothing about improving pay for coastguards who are the worst paid in the emergency services, it adds. PCS remains opposed to the planned closure of the stations - Clyde, Forth, Portland, Liverpool, Yarmouth, Brixham, Thames and Swansea - but has said that any new national network must be fully tested. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: 'Coastguards, the communities they serve and the wider public spoke with one voice in opposing these dangerous plans, but they have been shamefully ignored. We are seriously concerned that ministers want to press ahead with proposals that will mean the loss of vital local knowledge of our coastlines, and we are committed to keeping up the fight to defend our communities from these cuts.'

National Pensioners Convention - Dignity Code

PCS works alongside the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) promoting the issues pensioners face in the UK, raising awareness where possible.

The NPC has published a Dignity Code that they are hoping to get the government to sign up to honouring in the future. The code can be found here.

Workplace reps save lives and money

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

The prime minister's threat to remove funding for the time public sector union reps take to do their union work ignores the life- and cash-saving role these reps play, the TUC has said. David Cameron told the Commons last week: 'I do not think full-time trade unionists working in the public sector on trades union business, rather than serving the public, is right, and we will put that to an end.' Safety Practitioner, the magazine of safety professionals' organisation IOSH, reported: 'The prime minister's remarks came a week after he wrote a letter of support to Aidan Burley MP, who is spearheading the Trade Union Reform Campaign (TURC) in a bid to cut the facilities time funding. The prime minster wrote: 'Few would take issue with the unions working on behalf of their members in government departments and other public bodies in their own time, or with union funding.' TURC co-founder Mr Burley was asked in the Commons whether he had considered the benefit union reps provide in identifying and preventing health and safety problems in the workplace. He replied: 'My direct answer to the honourable gentleman is to ask what he thinks the human resources department, or the Health and Safety Executive are for. Public sector organisations have those people, so there is total duplication.' TUC national organiser Carl Roper commented: 'Those who highlight only the cost of facility time are telling half the story just to accommodate their ideologically motivated deep antipathy toward unions. The cost of facility time is more than justified by the benefits and savings that union reps, and health and safety reps in particular, bring to workplaces and society in general.' He added: 'Research by BERR (now BIS) in 2007 found that the work of union reps resulted in benefits to society of at least £136m as a result of reducing working days lost due to workplace injury and at least £45m as a result of reducing work related illness. This why the CBI and the HR professionals regard unions and their workplace reps as an essential resource and part of the modern workplace.'

TUC calls for action on safety .

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

The TUC is calling on unions and safety campaigners to challenge a government safety strategy that 'will lead to more work-related deaths, injuries and ill-health.' TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson has warned 'there has never been a more worrying time for health and safety,' adding four decades of political consensus around the importance of regulations that protect all workers 'has begun to fall apart.' Writing in Hazards magazine, Robertson calls for a nationwide day of action on 28 April, Workers' Memorial Day. 'Political interference, cuts and the overall deregulatory agenda mean the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will lose much of its effectiveness and will suffer long term damage, while unions will find it much more difficult to operate,' he writes. 'This is not necessarily a deliberate plan by the coalition government to destroy the health and safety system. It is instead a by-product of a more general anti-worker, pro-business, anti-public sector agenda which is seen just as clearly in their approach to employment rights, public spending, taxation and pensions. It also comes from a lack of understanding of the workplace and occupational disease. However, whatever the motive, the effect will be the same - unless we stop it.' The TUC safety specialist says unions and campaigners should build a campaign for a safer, healthier alternative. 'TUC wants to use 28 April 2012 as the day when workers up and down the country take action to protect our health and safety,' Robertson adds. As Workers' Memorial Day this year falls on a Saturday, the focus will be shared between workplace activities and a TUC call on 'unions, trades councils, and others to make 28 April 2012 a 'Day of activity to defend health and safety'.' To help build the campaign, TUC says it will organise meetings of activists in every region of England as well as in Wales. The Scottish TUC will also be organising support for the day. In the fortnight before 28 April, unions will be asked to lobby local MPs. Most MPs surgeries fall on a Friday so there should be a lot on 27 April.

Blackpool Against the Cuts Meeting

Just a reminder to all BAC supporters that the next meeting will be held on Tuesday 13th December at 6.30pm. The meeting will be discussing activities for the new year to keep the momentum going.

The venue will be as usual The Loco Club, Back Ribble Road, Blackpool.

Jeremy Clarkson

Many of you will have been quite rightly outraged by the flippant comments made by Jeremy Clarkson recently.

The Branch Chair addressed the issue with the BBC in writing.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

Thank you

Thanks for the great levels of Support
We wish to thank all the members who supported the action on 30th November 2011. The day was one of the best supported in the Fylde area of the Branch, ever.

For those who did not get chance to see the local Newspaper there was good coverage of the issues including the rally in Blackpool where approximately 700 people attended and made their views known. There was also coverage on the local radio stations (Radio Lancashire and Radio Wave) on the day and the day following.

Please keep updated on the Campaign by following the Branch, DWP Group and National PCS websites.

Unfortunately
Whilst the vast majority of members are positive about the campaign and its objectives (to defend our pensions, oppose the seven year pay freezes/ severe restraints in the DWP, and oppose the job cuts) there appears to be a small number of “excuses” doing the rounds. It is unclear exactly where this comes from and why it happens however there are schools of thought that they emanate from those opposed to the Union and from those members who have let themselves and their colleagues down by not supporting Campaigning Action.

As a means to try and live with their consciences due to their behaviour, they try and come out with reasons why they let themselves and their colleagues down, so badly.

It is vitally important that members do not allow themselves to be deflected from the objectives of the campaign and therefore do not take any credence to any unsubstantiated nonsense.

Together we can win.

Pensions Campaign - What Next?

A meeting has been organised by Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre against the Cuts and Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Trades Council.

Contributions are welcomed from the various Unions and their members and supporters involved.

The meeting details are as follows:

7.30pm on Friday 9th December 2011

St. Kentigerns Parish Centre

Newton Drive, Blackpool, FY3 8BT

Overtime Ban for December

Please Do Not Forget
Civil Service wide overtime ban throughout December 2011.

The purpose of this post is to thank members for supporting the strike action on the 30th November 2011 and to remind them to keep up the pressure by taking part in the Civil Service wide overtime ban throughout December where overtime is being worked.

PCS has done everything possible to negotiate a solution to the disputes over Pensions, the Civil Service Compensation Scheme and the Pay Freeze however to date there has not been an acceptable outcome from the Government.

We have already witnessed over two thousand job losses from the Fylde economy due to the job cuts in the area and even more are now in jeopardy and many members are facing being made redundant, we have seen our pay frozen (and unlike other areas of the Public Sector our Pay Progression isn’t separately funded meaning that we are treated even more unfairly than other public servants), our Pensions are under attack (we are being expected to pay more for our pensions, work longer and receive less) and our redundancy terms are being cut so that it is cheaper to get rid of us.

We are being asked to pay for the financial mess created by the bankers and the financial speculators and spivs, with our jobs, our pay, our pensions and our conditions of service. The financial mess was none of our making. It’s their financial mess make them pay for it.

It is time for members to show that they oppose the notion of being forced to pay for the excesses of the spivs.

Our reasonable demands are:
- No detrimental changes to our pensions and our redundancy payments
- Application and strengthening on the protocols to avoid redundancy
- An end to the pay freeze and a fair pay rise for all members

JOIN YOUR COLLEAGUES

SUPPORT THE CIVIL SERVICE WIDE OVERTIME BAN

THROUGHOUT DECEMBER 2011

Potential Members
If you have not yet joined your Union, please complete the form here to join.

ALL OUT ON 30th NOVEMBER 2011

Then a Civil Service wide overtime
ban throughout December 2011

The purpose of this post is to inform members of the strike action on the 30th November 2011 to be followed by a Civil Service wide overtime ban throughout December. PCS has done everything possible to negotiate a solution to the disputes over Pensions, the Civil Service Compensation Scheme and the Pay Freeze however to date there has not been an acceptable outcome from the Government.

We have already witnessed over two thousand job losses from the Fylde economy due to the job cuts in the area and even more are now in jeopardy and many members are facing being made redundant, we have seen our pay frozen (and unlike other areas of the Public Sector our Pay Progression isn’t separately funded meaning that we are treated even more unfairly than other public servants), our Pensions are under attack (we are being expected to pay more for our pensions, work longer and receive less) and our redundancy terms are being cut so that it is cheaper to get rid of us.

We are being asked to pay for the financial mess created by the bankers and the financial speculators and spivs, with our jobs, our pay, our pensions and our conditions of service. The financial mess was none of our making. It’s their financial mess make them pay for it. It is time for members to show that they oppose the notion of being forced to pay for the excesses of the spivs.

Our reasonable demands are:

• No detrimental changes to our pensions and our redundancy payments


• Application and strengthening on the protocols to avoid redundancy


• An end to the pay freeze and a fair pay rise for all members

Join your colleagues on strike on the 30th November 2011 and support the Civil Service wide overtime ban throughout December 2011.

Potential Members
If you have not yet joined your Union, please complete the form here to join.

PCS in the North West
More information on PCS in the North West can be found here. The PCS NW web page will be updated with information on rallies being held on November 30th locally. The TUC also have a dedicated web page for the rallies here with more information.

The Blackpool Rally details are below:

• Assemble from 12 noon at St John's square (outside the church by the bus shelter)


• Move off for the march at 12.15pm


• Return to St John's square by 1pm


• Rally at the Ruskin Hotel on Albert Road from 1.15pm (Several notable speakers have been lined up).

Sick Pay is good for everyone

The following information has been supplied by the TUC:

A week before the Government published a report on sick pay in the UK a research study in the US says that extending paid sick leave could save the country $1 billion in medical costs annually. On 21st November the UK Government will unveil a report by Dame Carol Black and David Frost into the workings of the present sickness absence and sick pay scheme. While it is not unlikely to propose a major overhaul of the system many unions and disability charities are worried that it might be used to force workers back too early. However according to a report released today by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR), paid sick leave is good for the economy, employers and the country. Currently, more than 44 million American workers do not have access to paid sick days, and more are unable to use time off to take care of sick children or other family members. "Taking time off work to see a primary care doctor is common sense, but over 40 million Americans cannot do so without losing pay or their job," said Kevin Miller, Senior Research Associate with IWPR and an author of the report." Americans are paying over $1 billion each year in preventable emergency department costs because hard-working people without paid sick days are unable to get the preventative and early treatment they and their children need." Employees with access to paid sick days have an easier time getting to a doctor during regular business hours to care for themselves or family members. In turn, access to paid sick days can help to decrease the likelihood that a worker will put off needed care and increases access to preventive care among workers and their children.

Pension dispute - Frequently Asked Questions

PCS HQ have added some answers to frequently asked questions that often pop up around times of dispute with the Employer.

Please take a moment to have a look here if you have any queries.

Scottish business lobby has concerns for HSE

Scotland's business lobby is facing a quandary about health and safety, torn between concern about the rapidly diminishing support provided by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and its more traditional opposition to regulatory controls. In evidence to the Scottish Affairs Select Committee, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) said it was concerned by the prospect of an 'increasing disconnect' between the HSE and businesses operating in lower or medium-risk sectors. Giving evidence to the Committee on 26 October, the SCC's head of policy and public affairs, Garry Clark, told MPs that larger companies often have good and long-standing relationships with the HSE, and are backed by teams of dedicated health and safety staff; by contrast, smaller firms rarely have such support. SHP Online, produced by safety professionals' body IOSH, reports Clark told the committee, which is conducting an inquiry into the health and safety system in Scotland, a reduced HSE profile 'will make businesses more likely to have false perceptions of the weight of health and safety legislation and what impact it could have on their business.' According to SHP Online: 'This suggestion that curbs on regulatory inspections could actually cloud the legislative landscape for lower-risk firms and smaller businesses, rather than freeing them to expand and take on staff, would seem to blow a big hole in the government's policy on reducing so-called health and safety red tape.' Both SCC and the Chemical Industries Association (CIA) had worries about HSE's new charging regime, due to take effect next year. CIA's Phil Scott told the committee: 'There will be less clarity about when an inspector will come, what they will be looking at, and whether or not there will be a charge at the end. Most small to medium-sized businesses will not have a budget for this, so they will be faced with charges at a month's notice, on a month's invoice. They could be paying quite significant sums of money.'

TUC warns that safety cuts will mean more injuries

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

The TUC has warned that cuts in enforcement could lead to an upturn in work-related deaths, sickness and injuries. The union body was commenting after official figures showed a fall last year in work-related ill-health and injuries. The statistics released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) this week show that in 2010/11, 24,726 major injuries were reported by employers, at a rate of 99 injuries per 100,000 workers, compared with 26,268 in 2009/10, at a rate of 104.8. An estimated 1.2 million people said they were suffering from an illness caused or made worse by their work - 500,000 new illnesses occurring in-year - down from 1.3 million in 2009/10, said the report. The statistics show 171 workers were fatally injured - up from 147 the previous year. Deaths from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma reached a record 2,321 in 2009 (the latest year for which statistics are available), according to the report, up from a then record 2,263 in 2008. The toll of injury and ill-health resulted in 26.4 million working days being lost, an average of 15 days per case - 22.1 million to ill-health and 4.4 million to injury. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber commented: 'These figures cover the period before government changes to the level of safety inspections were introduced. There is a very real danger that the long term downward trends in injury and illness rates that we have seen over recent years will start rising again, as has happened with fatalities.' He added: 'While any reduction is of course welcome, the cuts to the HSE budget, and the coalition government's retreat from inspection activity is very worrying for the future.'

Tory self-regulation threat re-emerges

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

Ideas for business self-regulation floated by the Conservatives prior to and immediately after they won the election have resurfaced. Top Tories had talked of introducing a system of 'earned autonomy', where firms with better safety records could opt-out of official health and safety inspections. Other ideas included more partnership systems, along the lines of the contentious US voluntary protection programmes scaled back when President Obama came to power. The ideas re-emerged in a 1 November speech by business and enterprise minister Mark Prisk to the Local and National Regulators annual conference. He told regulators 'when regulation becomes heavy-handed, inefficient, prescriptive and risk-averse it drags down the ability of businesses to grow, prosper and create jobs.' He added: 'The challenge is to transform the regulatory landscape so that the system delivers essential protections whilst avoiding unnecessary interference in the day to day work of hard-working business people seeking to innovate and grow and thereby delivering the jobs and wealth we need.' Proposals highlighted by the minister included more use of 'co-regulation, where business shares a degree of regulatory responsibility, for example through industry bodies setting professional and working standards.' Also on his deregulatory wishlist was 'earned recognition' - where regulators recognise business activities that support compliance and reduce intervention, creating a stronger incentive for private sector led compliance.' Conservative and government talk of business self-regulation took a backseat in the months following the banking crisis, where the self-policing approach was widely blamed for the economic catastrophic and persisting downturn that followed. On 25 October, Downing Street announced former Tory Cabinet minister Lord Young had been re-appointed as an adviser to the prime minister on enterprise, indicating he 'will work on reducing the burden on business from health and safety regulations, working across departments on the implementation of his recommendations.'

TUC warning on Clegg's call for inspection cuts

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

A new system of regulation which could cap the number of workplace inspections of small businesses has been criticised by the TUC as dangerous and unwanted. Commenting on an announcement by deputy prime minister Nick Clegg this week that the government is set to cap workplace inspections for small companies to just two a year to cut back on 'red tape', TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'This is another example of the government putting the right to make a fast buck before our health and safety and our lives - although at least the deputy prime minister acknowledges the dangers of the 'scrap it all' line peddled by the Tory diehards.' He added: 'Regulation is there to protect us all from businesses that rip us off, trash our environment, and risk our health - or even our lives. However, it is only of use if it is enforced. Enforcement should not be seen as a burden on business, but instead a way of ensuring that good businesses are not undercut by cowboys who disregard the law and cut corners, whether it is on paying VAT or not polluting our rivers. Cuts in enforcement will put even more of us at risk of damaged health or injury or death in our workplaces.' He added that the government was responding to the shrill calls of business lobby groups who were not representing the real concerns of small firms. 'A brand new survey of small and medium-sized enterprises published by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), shows that employment law and health and safety regulation do not even feature in their list of concerns,' he said. 'It would appear that employer organisations are pursuing a fanatical right wing agenda that does not actually reflect the concerns of their members.'

Public Meeting on Education - Blackpool

The following has been supplied by the NUT:

The Government wants to see more and more schools turned into academies. Should we be concerned about academies?

Speakers
Councillor Simon Blackburn, Leader of Blackpool Council
Ken Cridland, Secretary of Lancashire National Union of Teachers
Keith Bradley, Anti-Academy Alliance national speaker

Thursday November 3rd, 7.30pm
St Kentigern's Parish Centre
Newton Drive
Blackpool
FY3 8BT.

Meeting sponsored by Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde branches of the National Union of Teachers

Preparations continue

Please see the PCS HQ website here for information on the PCS response to the recent Government pension announcement.

Stress Awareness Day Roadshows

The Branch is holding stress awareness roadshows at Warbreck House and Peel Park on Thursday this week.

The details of the stalls are as follows:

Thursday 3rd November 2011
Deli Bar Phase II
Peel Park
11.45 am to 13.30 pm

Thursday 3rd November 2011
Inside Warbreck Canteen
11.45 am to 13.30 pm

Please come along and pick up handouts on Stress and other related matters.

If you haven't joined your union yet, please contact the Branch Office or print and fill in the form here.

If you require any further details then please do not hesitate contact Mick Daniels on Ext 62881.

Dismantling the Government’s ideological economic argument

The following has been supplied by PCS HQ:

Mehdi Hasan is a prolific tweeter, blogger and writer, and the senior political editor of the New Statesman. His latest the book is entitled The Debt Delusion.

This short book takes aim at 10 myths perpetuated by the coalition about the debt and the deficit – and what remedies are most effective to reduce the debt, close the deficit and get the economy growing again.

One of the most alluring arguments deployed by the prime minister and the chancellor has been their equating of the national debt with a credit card, accusing Labour of “maxing out the nation's credit card”. But, as Hasan points out: “Governments can increase their revenues by raising taxes; households cannot. Governments can print money and issue currency; households cannot.”

The book also puts its case with some indisputable facts and statistics: like how there are only two cases out of 15 studied by the International Monetary Fund when cuts preceded economic growth.

There is also an interesting international comparison demonstrating that in 2009 the UK took less as a proportion in tax than Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Germany – and yet George Osborne’s first move as chancellor was to cut business taxes but raise VAT.

The conclusion is straightforward: the government’s economic policy “is part of a political and ideological project to roll back the frontiers of the state”. As Hasan says: “The debt is just a distraction.”

Cameron makes safety his whipping boy again

The following information has been supplied by the TUC:

The prime minister's inclination to blame safety for the ills of the economy and society has surfaced yet again.

After first blaming health and safety for August's riots, David Cameron has now decided 'the shadow of health and safety' is holding back Britain. In his keynote address to this week's Conservative Party conference in Manchester, he said 'one of the biggest things holding people back is the shadow of health and safety.' This was followed by one of his more widely reported soundbites. 'This isn't how a great nation was built. Britannia didn't rule the waves with arm-bands on,' he said.

Safety professionals' organisation IOSH reacted with disappointment to the speech. IOSH head of policy and public affairs Richard Jones commented: 'We think it's a shame that the prime minister's speech mistakenly cites health and safety as 'holding people back' - the opposite is true! Good health and safety enables enterprise and volunteering to happen successfully and so helps ensure sustainability and growth. It's all about good sense and proportionality and we simply don't recognise the negative picture being painted here - it isn't real health and safety.'

The TUC found the whole tenor of David Cameron's speech and the Tory conference 'disappointing'. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'If the prime minister really felt the nation's pain, he would change course.' He added: 'If we judge people by what they do, rather than what they say, ministers believe that unemployment will be solved by getting tougher with the jobless and that they will restore economic growth by increasing the number of unfair dismissals."

Challenge the TaxPayers’ Alliance

The following information comes from one of the creators of the false economy website:

Clifford Singer helped create the False Economy website that will challenge the government’s case for cuts. Here he explains the need to challenge the TaxPayers’ Alliance’s media dominance.

During the summer of 2010, the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) released a report on speed cameras which appeared to show the introduction of cameras in the early 1990s had made roads more dangerous than they would have been otherwise. Leaving aside the mystery of why speed cameras have joined the TPA’s pantheon of villains, along with the more predictable ‘benefit scroungers’ and trade unionists, the report had several characteristics typical of a TPA publication. It came with a serious-looking appendix that explained its seemingly impartial methodology, it gained lots of media coverage and it had political influence – one month later many councils began switching off their speed cameras following road safety budget cuts.

It was typical in one other way too: it was complete nonsense. While the mainstream media was content to accept the report at face value, some less credulous bloggers pointed out that according to the TPA’s projections, in the absence of speed cameras accident deaths would have fallen to zero by 2013, and then continued into negative numbers after that. If it wasn’t for those automated yellow boxes of evil, we would be enjoying the spectacle of the dead being resurrected within the next three years.

On its website, the TPA states: “We’re not a think-tank. We’re a do-tank”.

Pseudo-analysis such as its speed camera report certainly bears out the first part of that statement. But that didn’t stop readers of the influential ConservativeHome website naming the TPA as their favourite think-tank. The TPA has also boasted – through ConservativeHome – of the large number of its policies now adopted by the coalition.

Softening up electorate for cuts
Before the 2010 General Election, the TPA played an important role in softening up public antipathy towards public spending cuts. In September 2009 the TPA drew up, with the Institute of Directors, plans for an annual £50 billion a year of public spending cuts.

The alliance, which launched seven years ago, describes itself as a ‘grassroots alliance’ of ‘ordinary taxpayers’ despite an academic advisory council of Thatcherite acolytes like Patrick Minford and Ruth Lea.

The most enthusiastic coverage comes from Tory tabloids such as the Daily Mail and Express. But it also gets airtime from the BBC and other broadcasters – who should know better.

It is important to challenge the TPA’s media dominance. The alliance is particularly successful at packaging stories for cash-strapped local and regional media. Of course it helps to have £1 million a year behind you – but the point is that we need to make the case for public services.

Need for transparency in all sectors
The TPA has successfully argued for transparency and accountability in the public sector. Rather than arguing against this, we should be arguing for the same rules to apply to the private sector.

The TPA’s concern with transparency deserts it when it comes to its own finances. Its last full accounts, for 2006, record an income of £130,000 – hardly enough to sustain its current 10 full-time staff and offices in London and Birmingham. Since then, it has published ‘abbreviated’ accounts, meaning income and expenditure are withheld, although the Guardian reported its income in 2009 was £1 million. Donors are kept secret.

One source of TPA funding has been the shadowy Midlands Industrial Council. The MIC was founded in 1946 as a pressure group to fight the Attlee government’s nationalisation plans and to champion free enterprise. It has donated about £3 million to the Conservative Party since 2001, much of it targeted at marginal parliamentary seats in the Midlands.

Why won’t the TPA open its books? As it told MPs who tried to prevent their expenses being published: “If you have nothing to hide then you’ve got nothing to fear.”

Women and Pension Reform

The following has been provided by the Equality, Health and Safety Department at PCS HQ:

There are around half a million civil servants in the UK. Just over half of all civil servants are women (53%). Almost a quarter of civil servants (21%) work part-time.

Increased cost – Everyone will be hit by higher contributions, particularly when there is a pay freeze and rising prices. However, with a gender pay gap in the civil service that shows men earning 15% more than women on average, this will hit women harder.

Work Longer - The pension proposals from the government talk about people working up to 48 years for a full pension, The actual length will be linked to state pension age that will keep increasing if life expectancy figures increase so people will never be sure when they can retire. This will make it difficult for people to plan. Women have short service now on average around 11 years when they leave, men tend to have longer service (14 years but weakens the gender argument). Women tend to have shorter service for a variety of reasons often domestic. They often take unpaid maternity leave and career breaks. Part-time service can drastically impact on service, 85% of part-timers are women. For a forty year career, 10 years of maternity leave (unpaid)/career break and part time working for a few years could easily halve the service and pension.

Older women hit by pension age increase - Many women now in their 50s have been already given longer pension ages, 3 changes for those 54 now. It is in this age group many women have to give up work. Just when they are been told by the government to work longer. Whilst we do not have exact figures PCS get a number of calls on a regular basis from women who are forced by caring responsibilities into taking their pension and lump sum early (reduced) to look after elderly relatives or partners with health problems. This can only increase as Tory cuts mean less help for carers in the community.

Young women hit by cuts in childcare - forcing them to reduce hours to enable them to fit in with drastically cut childcare services in the community.

Live longer in retirement - Women live longer than men they are reliant on pension longer often leading them into a poverty stricken old age.

Get less - Your new civil service pension will be based on an ‘adequacy level’ a technical term that means your occupational pension plus state pension only has to reach 60% of what your final pay is. This for many will mean a lower pension for paying more

Cuts hit mental health services

The following information has been supplied by the TUC:

The TUC has warned that the government's spending cuts risk reversing vital progress made in the recognition and treatment of mental health issues in the UK. Work-related mental health issues are responsible for around a third of all work-related sickness absence and many victims of stress or bullying need support to help them recover.

Earlier this month a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) survey found stress is now the number one cause of long-term absence in both manual and non-manual workers and confirmed a link between job insecurity and a marked increase in mental health problems. The website False Economy found that 17 NHS mental health trusts were facing significant staff redundancies, and many people who are off sick with mental health related issues are finding it more difficult to access support.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'The TUC fears that the government's spending cuts are undermining the increasing recognition of the extent of mental ill health problems we have seen in the workplace and beyond in recent years, and the measures that have been taken in response. Across the UK, local authority and NHS mental health services are falling victim to budget cuts, and people are losing vital support mechanisms which were helping them stay in or get back into work. On top of this, the stress arising for many workers from the massive job cuts in the public sector, and the uncertainty hanging over those who remain, is not conducive to healthy workplaces.'

Formal backing for 250,000 civil servants to join 30 November strike

Formal backing for more than a quarter of a million civil and public servants to join a public sector-wide strike on 30 November puts PCS on a "war footing".

Meeting yesterday the union's national executive committee endorsed the date as the next national strike following the successful action PCS took on 30 June alongside teachers and lecturers. It will be followed by a one-month overtime ban. At a previous meeting ahead of the TUC annual congress, PCS's NEC had agreed to co-ordinate strike action with other unions and said it was looking at dates in November.

The union is also considering the potential for taking more targeted and selective industrial action alongside any taken nationally, and each employer area of the union is drawing up campaign plans focusing on their specific issues. Following announcements at TUC congress earlier this month, the government now faces the prospect of a strike by up to three million public sector workers - the largest in UK history.

As well as having their pay frozen with inflation above 5%, public sector workers face their pensions being raided to help pay off the budget deficit caused by the recession and the bank bail-out.

The government continues to refuse to negotiate on its plans to force public servants to work longer and pay more for less in retirement.

Because of media scrutiny around the 30 June strike, ministers have had to ditch their misleading claims that public sector pensions are unaffordable, and they now cite the 'unfairness' of the divide between public and private sector pensions. Unions say this is a false distinction and are calling for 'fair pensions for all'. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: "Our union and others across the public sector are now on a war footing to prepare for what would be the biggest strike in UK history. "If ministers continue to dig their heels in they will face industrial action by three million civil servants, health workers, teachers and other public servants that will not just last one day, but will be sustained for weeks and months. "We believe we will continue to enjoy public support because we are not only fighting for the public sector, we are campaigning for fair pensions for all."

Unions will fight safety cuts

Unions have reaffirmed their commitment to fight cuts in the Health and Safety Executive and attacks on safety laws. Delegates to TUC's Congress last week supported unanimously a motion moved by construction union UCATT critical of the government's decision to lop 35 per cent off HSE's budget by 2015. The annual TUC conference was told longstanding financial pressures mean HSE's enforcement activities have already fallen to an all-time low. The unions are also concerned that dramatic cuts in inspections, which will see many sectors including the notoriously hazardous agriculture and quarrying industries, no longer receiving any unannounced inspections. The decision to axe HSE's telephone Infoline also concerned unions. The TUC's official policy making conference agreed to oppose any 'watering-down of health and safety.' Dennis Doody, a member of UCATT's executive council, told delegates: 'It is a fundamental right to be safe at work. This government is destroying that right. The vast majority of workplace accidents are easily preventable. Government policies will increase accidents.' Doody added: 'Now more than ever the trade union movement needs to defeat these policies. And show how this Tory-led government has blood on its hands. If we don't take action, more and more workers will be killed and maimed at work.' The motion says the TUC must 'continue to be actively involved in campaigning with all affiliates affected by any watering down of health and safety imposed through the government's health and safety reform.' It also calls for the legal groundwork to be done on a legal challenge to 'prevent harm' prior to any damaging policies being implemented.

Older Persons Day

Fylde and Central Benefits and Services Branch supports Older Persons Day. Older Persons Day is celebrated internationally on October the 1st.

This year, on Friday 30th September 2011, the Branch will be holding a PCS Information Stand at the Warbreck House Restaurant and also at the Peel Park Coffee Lounge from 11.45am to 1.30pm.

For further details please contact x67714

FAO Members in the Corporate Review

The unsustainable cuts in the Corporate Centre and the botched selection exercises are symptomatic of the real damage being done by the Tory led coalition spending cuts. As the promised economic recovery falters and global recession looms there is a growing realisation that far from offering protection against disaster the government’s policy is deepening and quickening the threat.

This is why PCS has led the way in opposing the cuts and co-ordinating campaigning activity through the TUC. Work to build alliances with other unions culminated at the TUC with the announcement of a public service strike on 30th November. Public opinion is also shifting. All along the government has struggled to claim a mandate for its reckless economic policy and the level of public opposition is now much clearer.

From just about any perspective cuts which undermine the capability of the Department for Work and Pensions at a time when mass unemployment is making a comeback is short sighted to the point of stupidity. The Department needs the people whose jobs are now on the line. It needs their knowledge and skills to develop and evaluate policy and to deliver vital services.

When Robert Devereux appeared before the Public Accounts Committee earlier in the year disbelief was expressed at the lack of a clear plan to deliver both savings and services. Its recent report was highly critical. We know why. The move to new structures is not driven by what is needed to improve or even find the “best fit”. It is purely driven by cuts. The reduction of staff in the DWP Corporate Centre from 11,800 to 8,400 in a single year is already a living nightmare. It means:

• Neglecting key policy areas
• Massively overloading posts
• Posting staff by compulsion
• Making compulsory redundancies.

Plenty of work to do
We need to be absolutely clear about the absurd arguments used in the Tory press in their rabid campaign in favour of making our members redundant. There are no “non-jobs”. There is plenty of work to be done which is why there is never any answer to the question the union raises with Ministers in relation to cuts – please tell us which functions will no longer be carried out.

There is an obligation on the employer which is more important, not less, when events are politically driven. PCS will spell this out. Far from being privileged or feather bedded the reality of life in the civil service is comparatively low pay and an unrelenting long hours culture with the continual pressure of political deadlines. There has also been reliance on a culture of duty and loyalty on which the current Ministers do not stint to call. In return it has always been claimed that staff could rely on job security and security in retirement. PCS is sending a clear message to the Permanent Secretary and Executive Team that they cannot expect business as usual if the terms around which important life choices are simply ripped up and thrown in people’s faces.

Prevention of compulsory redundancy
Recently the Department entered the Meaningful Consultation process over the first redundancy risk arising from the Corporate Transformation. When this happened four years ago PCS was successful in preventing job cuts leading to compulsory redundancy.

The threat of industrial action and detailed examination of the options available to all staff made surplus using the processes agreed under the Cabinet Office Protocols persuaded government and the employer to back off. The large number of applications for VES indicates that it is possible for DWP to discharge its obligation to the workforce and retain this approach. To ensure that the employer does this PCS will now:

• monitor closely the issue of non-release of VES applicants which will be key this time in avoiding compulsory redundancy
• challenge attempts to conceal compulsory redundancy using the threat of withdrawing the offer of better terms under VR
• Scrutinise proposals to offer transitional posts
• ensure members genuinely have access to redeployment support
• organise campaigning activities to make clear your views on the botched Corporate Review
• prepare for an industrial response to any compulsory redundancy.

What you can do

• Support PCS campaigning activities and prepare for action on 30th November
• Talk to colleagues and encourage them to get involved too
• Write personally to your MP now referencing the Public Accounts Committee report and making clear the scale of the job loss and redundancy threat.

Reply from local MP

The Branch has received a reply from the local MP Mark Menzies on the subject of public sector pensions.

Unfortunately the scan is not very good/sharp as the Branch scanner is broken (solution being worked on), but hopefully you will be able to make out the content once it is clicked:

March and Rally - Manchester for the Alternative

Sunday 2 October 12 noon
Liverpool Road (off Deansgate)

This year the Conservative Party are having their annual Conference in Manchester and the TUC is organising a march and rally to show opposition to the Coalition Government's disastrous policies of pay freezes, cuts and attacks on public services that are producing rising unemployment, cuts in living standards and stagnation. The march will also show the support for The Alternative. We need jobs, growth and justice for a sustainable future and this event will send that message loud and clear.

We call for the maximum support and are specifically asking unions and trades councils to:

- Encourage all your members to attend, a flier is available to download.

- Let us know if you are booking transport and we can give advice on drop off, parking and collection;

- To ensure that we have an effective and safe event we need a number of stewards and all affiliates are asked to nominate a number of stewards, please e mail contact details of potential stewards to NWMarch@tuc.org.uk

- Consider making a donation to help fund the campaign.

There will be provision for marchers with disabilities, including a short route.

Stonewall at the Conferences

Stonewall will once again be attending all three major party conferences this year!We’d be delighted if you could join us at any of the events taking place in your area:

• Monday 19 September for the Liberal Democrat conference in Birmingham


• Monday 26 September for the Labour Party conference in Liverpool


• Tuesday 4 October for the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester

At all events we’ll be asking how we can ensure LGBT representation in public life.

These free events are open to all Stonewall supporters and include speakers from all the parties, as well as complimentary drinks and nibbles. They are held outside of the party conference secure zones.

For any further details please contact Richard Lane.

Disabled people to protest across the UK

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

Disabled people, their families and friends will be taking to the streets in cities across the UK protesting against Government cuts to disability benefits and services. Protests are planned in cities including Edinburgh, Cardiff, Leeds, Nottingham, Brighton, Manchester, Newcastle and Bristol with more locations expected to follow.

The Hardest Hit campaign, organised jointly by the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC) and the UK Disabled People's Council, brings together individuals and organisations to send a clear message to the Government: stop these cuts.

Saturday 22 October 2011

2.00-3.00pm

A rally will take place in Albert Square, outside Manchester Town Hall. Speakers will include individuals affected by the proposals laid out in the Welfare Reform Bill and a petition will be presented to local elected representatives expressing opposition to the Welfare Reform Bill.

Manchester is one of many cities across the North West that have been severely affected by budget cuts. Across the region people are seeing deep cuts in services such as social care and transport, that they rely on to remain independent.

We call on the people of theNorth West to join us at this event to voice our concerns over these unfair proposals.

More details will be posted here soon.

To register your interest email: Northwest@hardesthit.org.uk

Please circulate these details as widely as possible and encourage all members to support this rally.

Abolition of DWP’s Executive Agencies

The Secretary of State on 12 September announced that Jobcentre Plus and Pension, Disability and Carers Service (PDCS) will cease to exist from 3rd October as executive agencies of DWP. From then both agencies will be brought under a single DWP Chief Operating Officer.

Part of the Cuts
This move is driven solely by the government’s cuts, and specifically the government’s insistence that DWP makes 26% savings in its running costs. Therefore for PCS this is not about the merits or otherwise of executive agencies or a strong centre. We are implacably opposed to using the end of executive agencies to introduce savage job cuts on staff, both in Jobcentre Plus and PDCS as well as within the Corporate Centre through the current Corporate Review.

The changes resulting from the move to a single Chief Operating Officer are projected to lead directly to 3,000 job cuts.

This greatly increases the risks of members facing compulsory redundancy.

The GEC is meeting next week to discuss how to ramp up the campaign to defend jobs in DWP and to oppose any use of compulsory redundancies.

Manchester for the Alternative

The TUC have organised a rally and march to demonstrate at the Tory Party Conference in Manchester.

More information can be found on the flyer here.

More information on the TUC campaign 'All Together for Public Services' can be found here.

Politicians not safety prompted the riots

The prime minister's attempt to link health and safety and human rights to the August riots have been dealt a blow - with politicians themselves put in the frame instead. Researchers at Essex University and Royal Holloway University of London found instead a major cause of the riots was the bad example set by politicians and bankers. In a 15 August speech, David Cameron twice targeted health and safety as a root cause of the riots. But the academic report, 'There will be burning and a-looting tonight,' concluded politicians are seen as 'a class apart' who abide by their own rules. The authors say political factors behind the riots could include 'middle class looting' by bankers in the financial crisis as well as the MPs' expenses scandal. They may have 'made it more acceptable for everyone else to 'take' what they wanted, when they wanted it.' The report concludes: 'People's disposition towards state institutions weigh more heavily in shaping their propensity to obey the law than their belief systems and personal values.' Sarah Birch, a reader in politics at Essex University, who carried out the research with Nicholas Allen, a senior politics lecturer at Royal Holloway University of London, said: 'Though it would be an over-simplification to say that lack of confidence in the political system caused the riots, the evidence we've examined suggests that there is something about the functioning of the political system and the behaviour of politicians that makes a significant minority of people potentially available for participation in acts of mass illegality.' Mr Cameron, who regards the riots as a symbol of Britain's 'broken society', this week began chairing a cabinet review of the government's social policies to see what changes were needed as a result of the riots. It will include state benefits, schools, parenting, family policy and will consider whether health and safety and human rights laws prevent 'common sense solution' to social problems.

Unacceptable customer behaviour

Following a long period of planning and design and several technical hitches the new Unacceptable Customer Behaviour database is finally being rolled out across DWP. PCS has been heavily involved in this process, working with DWP management to ensure that the database provides accurate and up to date information on those customers who do present a danger to our members. The database is electronic and uses an online reporting form, so the old IF1 will eventually cease to exist.

Early Problems
Despite all the hard work that went into designing the actual database it became clear from the familiarisation sessions that there were potentially significant difficulties in its practical application.

What do Members need to do?
The new approach to UCB means that claimants and customers will no longer be identified solely by a “PV” marker. Instead the database will display specific control measures that must be put in place when dealing with that claimant/customer. This makes it even more important that members are given, and take, the time to prepare for interviews/visits beforehand.

Although only a limited number of PCS reps will hold licences to access the full database, all members will be able to see the control measures applicable to individual customers.

Everyone has a vital role to play in ensuring that the database is populated and used effectively. The database will only be useful if it contains up to date, accurate information. It is absolutely critical therefore that members ensure that they report all incidents.

Sadly, we know that not all incidents in DWP are reported. This has often because members felt they were not afforded time to complete the reporting documentation; that they believe they should tolerate abusive behaviour as part of the job; that they feel it would show an inability to fulfil their job role; or simply did not think that the incident warranted reporting because the threat was to someone other than themselves or was just not serious enough to be reported. It is crucial that any incident is formally reported and DWP and JCP guidance is clear that anyone involved in an incident is given time to complete the report. The fact that you personally do not feel upset or threatened by inappropriate customer behaviour does not mean that you should not report it. The customer who shouts at you in a telephone call could potentially assault a colleague in a Jobcentre if your colleagues are not aware that the customer can react angrily.

Next Steps
The GEC will continue to work with DWP to monitor the rollout and press for improvements when we identify issues of concern.

Last chance to stop the NHS bill

The Guardian have posted a news article on the NHS bill. The full article can be found here.

Minister ignores work's 'inconvenient corpses'

An investigation by Hazards magazine has discovered the government minister responsible for workplace safety deliberately misled MPs on 'the terrible human and economic cost of health and safety failings at work'. The 'Firm Favourites' report says Chris Grayling was 'spoon-fed' a £20bn figure by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in a 'suggested reply' to a parliamentary question from Labour MP Ian Lavery. But HSE's briefing to the minister, obtained by Hazards using a freedom of information request, also advised the minister the estimate 'does not include the costs of long-latency disease,' adding: 'These costs could be considerable.' This advice, not included in HSE's model reply, was not made known to MPs. Hazards estimates the contribution from just one asbestos cancer, mesothelioma, would add at least £5 billion to the bill. The real costs figure, if mortality and morbidity from other occupational cancers, work-related heart disease and other conditions were accounted for, would be several times the total Grayling passed on to MPs. The magazine concludes: 'Grayling's creative accounting, aided by a compliant HSE and combined with an industry-blind spot on the substantial cash benefits to society of not killing or sickening workers, creates a regulation averse fiction to justify less health protection at work. It is an approach that experts are now warning can cause serious harm to real businesses and real-life workers.' The report also warns that the minister has exhibited a serious bias towards the industry lobby, while ignoring the concerns of those facing risks in the workplace. While the minister has had 'face time' with two insurance industry bodies and 10 business lobby groups in recent months, he is still refusing to meet with Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK), whose membership is composed entirely of individuals who have lost a family member in often horrific and always devastating workplace fatalities. Hazards suggests these 'inconvenient corpses' are something the deregulation focused minister would rather ignore.

Minister takes workers for a deadly ride

While safety minister Chris Grayling felt no need to comment on a sharp increase in workplace fatalities in his first year at the helm, or this month's £1 fine for criminal safety failings linked to a worker's death, or even the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) failure to investigate 95 per cent of all reported major injuries, one thing did compel him to take up the ministerial pen. And that was the decision by holiday firm Butlins to instruct staff to stop customers crashing into each other in dodgem cars. Jeremy Pardey, Butlins resort director at Bognor Regis, said the company made the decision because there have been injuries in the past, including broken bones, due to people bumping into each other. But in his letter chastising Butlins managing director Dermot King, Grayling called on the company to 'make it clear publicly that its decision to ban bumping in dodgems has no basis in health and safety rules and that it has absolutely no obligation to take what I suspect will prove to be an extremely controversial decision.' He added: 'Given the public interest in this issue I am releasing this letter to the media.' The April 2011 letter got a second airing this week, when HSE included the dodgems story in a list of the 'Top 10 bizarre health and safety 'bans'.' HSE also broke with its usual practice, after discussions with the DWP press office, and this week posted the minister's letter to its website. In a letter to Chris Grayling, campaign group Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) said the minister has got his priorities seriously - dangerously - out of kilter. Pointing to the failure of the minister to speak out on serious workplace safety issues, a FACK spokesperson said: 'He must stop his attacks on our legal framework, recognise the real cost of workplace health and safety failures to society and who is responsible.'

Overpayments of overtime made by RM recovery

Payroll system error
PCS has been has been informed that a fault has been identified in the RM system which has resulted in incorrect payments of overtime. This issue affects employees in both DWP and the Child Maintenance Commission (CMEC).

PCS guidance for overpayments of salary
PCS guidance on recovery of overpayments of pay is available on the PCS DWP Group Website under HR guidance.

DWP and CMEC Policy and Procedure
The DWP and CMEC guidance for recoveries from pay is published on the DWP Intranet under Pay and Reward/Salary. This includes:

• Recovery from Pay Policy


• Recoveries from Pay Procedure


• Recoveries from Pay Advice

Where an overpayment occurs in any one pay month, an automatic adjustment is made from the next month’s salary to recover the overpayment in full. (Policy paragraph 2).

If an overpayment occurs over several months or, occurs in one month but an automatic adjustment cannot be made, a letter is sent about when the overpayment will be recovered. (Policy paragraph 3)

Official error overpayments
Overpayments of salary are subject to the guidance provided by the Treasury in Government Accounting. This policy is separate from the rules governing overpayments of benefit and states that all overpayments of salary, which occur due to mistakes of fact, should be pursued. Generally, if employees have received public money to which they are not entitled, they will be asked to repay it.

Most overpayments of salary fall into the category of mistake of fact. Mistakes of fact, as stated in Government Accounting, include computer input errors. Departmental error alone is not grounds for appeal and therefore appeals received solely for this reason will not be accepted.

Hardship
Employees may claim hardship if repayment would be detrimental to either themselves or their family for financial, health or personal reasons. Hardship must not be confused with inconvenience and the test of hardship should be real. Employees may be asked to supply evidence to support their claim. If it is agreed that payment would cause the employee hardship payroll will consider the individual circumstances to agree an appropriate amount of repayment.

Workforce Management Redeployment Package (WMRP)

The WMRP was introduced in 2006 after pressure from PCS on DWP management to look at ways of giving incentives to members to move on a voluntary basis as part of the Departmental strategy to avoid compulsory redundancies. As a result the Department entered negotiations with the Treasury with the aim of being able to offer such a package. The result is the WMRP, the latest version of which is available on the intranet.

What Is The WMRP?
The WMRP is available to staff agreeing to voluntarily move beyond normal mobility distance when they are surplus, facing a surplus situation or vacating a post to accommodate a surplus member of staff. It must also avoid the payment of an exit package. It is currently being offered to members in offices threatened with closure that cannot be found a post within mobility. Standard WMRP awards last for a fixed period of three years.

The Standard WMRP can consist of up to four elements in addition to the excess fares normally paid. These are:

• Excess Travelling Time to compensate for the difference in travelling time between home to previous office and home to new office journey. This element is only available to staff in Band A/AA to Band E/SEO or equivalent.


• Excess car parking fees – as part of the excess fares allowance where the cost is greater at the new office (the difference is paid).


• Additional Family Care expenses – where additional child or dependants care expenses are incurred by the redeployment.


• A monthly Redeployment Allowance – up to a maximum of £125 per month if the employee can show there remains a financial disincentive to their family unit and the cost is not covered by existing policies. There is no list of items this might cover but they must not be ‘novel or contentious’. Management have confirmed that the London Congestion Charge, Mersey Tunnel fees and similar tolls could be paid.

All payments are taxable and subject to NI contributions. Further details on the conditions that apply are in the attached guidance.

WMRP – Limited Relocation Award
It is also possible to obtain an WMRP to contribute to the cost of moving home up to the lower of the average exit cost of your grade or £10,000. It is not possible to combine this with excess fares allowance and further details are in the guidance.

Advice To Members
Whether a member accepts a transfer beyond normal mobility and accepts a WMRP will be very much a personal decision based on their individual circumstances. It may be the right decision for some members. However PCS advice should be to weigh up the options carefully and consider all the possible consequences. Factors to consider might be:

• The value of the exit package that is on offer or would be offered if transfer beyond mobility is refused, together with a realistic consideration of employment prospects outside the civil service in the current economic climate.


• The time limited nature of WMRP.


• The monthly Redeployment Allowance would not increase after it has been awarded – even if costs do.


• Increased travel to work can have an adverse effect on work/life balance.


• The possibility of posts closer to home becoming available.

In addition the departmental workforce planning guidance reflects the legal position that suitable jobs offered in the same or a similar location as a redundancy avoidance measure cannot be refused on the basis of mobility restrictions alone. This means that members accepting a WMRP to go to a post they find attractive might later find themselves compulsorily transferred to a post they don’t want in the same place and not be able to use the mobility rules to refuse.

Conclusion
PCS has always welcomed WMRP as an additional redundancy avoidance measure based on ideas first put forward by the union. But restrictions mean it won’t be available to some members that would want it, and as explained above it is not always the best option for members.

Work Experience Placements in DWP

The following details have been supplied by the PCS DWP Group:

As part of the government’s ‘Get Britain Working’ initiative, Jobcentre Plus advisers can offer JSA claimants aged 18 to 24 a period of work experience with employers for between 25 and 30 hours per week.

PCS believes that while work experience clearly has a role in helping people back to work the government should be investing in real jobs, not cutting them as it is currently doing in DWP and all major government departments.

DWP, as an employer, is participating in its own flagship scheme and will therefore be offering work experience placements to JSA claimants in its offices. The intention is for DWP to offer around 1,500 work experience placements each year. The placements will last between 4 and 8 weeks. A JSA claimant can be offered a placement in any part of DWP apart from any Jobcentre Plus office that deals with any element of their JSA claim.

These work experience placements are not DWP employees and are not subject to DWP terms and conditions or HR policies. They are not paid by DWP while on work experience but continue to receive their benefits, plus any additional travel or childcare costs.

Safeguards in Place
The supposed aim of the work experience placements is to provide participants with the opportunity to gain some experience of work to improve their job prospects and real life experience of the workplace. Placements should be given real and meaningful activities but they cannot be used to replace employees who may be leaving DWP.

Strict rules which prevent them from having access to the Department’s main computer systems should mean they cannot replace paid staff. Placements should be given no expectation of a permanent or temporary job at the end of the placement. All placements will have to complete security checks prior to them starting their placement.

PCS Concerns
PCS has raised concerns over the use of placements in DWP offices. No extra resources have been made available to managers to support the use of placements. We believe it will be a further unwelcome burden on hard-pressed staff and managers to carry out inductions and ensure that meaningful activities are made available for people on placements while having to do their ‘day job’ at the same time.

The use of work experience placements on this scale in DWP is unprecedented. It is therefore quite probable that issues and concerns will arise over the coming period as the placements start to appear in offices.

Important Dates

Pete Middleman, North West Regional Secretary for PCS has supplied the following:

Please see below two important dates for your diary.

Building on the success of the 26th March, March for the Alternative, 30th June rallies and a good PCS presence at the summer festivals including the Durham Miners' Gala and Tolpuddle, it is important to maintain momentum through the Party conference season. Therefore, we are co-ordinating NW members' involvement in major TUC national demonstrations at:

• Liberal Democrat conference, Birmingham - Sunday 18th September


• Conservative party conference, Manchester - Sunday 2nd October

We expect the PCS North West Regional Banner to be present at both events and will require volunteers to march behind it.

Please ensure that these events are brought to the attention of your Branches, Networks and members to maximise attendance.

Transport to both will be provided by the regional office and we will subsequently issue a deadline to register for the same.

Given that the Tory conference takes place in our region, we expect the Manchester event to be particularly well supported.

PM's riot act exposes his anti-safety obsession

The extent of David Cameron's antipathy to rules protecting people from sometimes deadly injuries and diseases at work has been exposed this week. Campaigners have accused the prime minister of being 'crass and insulting' after he claimed 'health and safety' bore some of the responsibility for last week's riots. He used a 15 August speech to attack what he claimed was the 'obsession with health and safety that has eroded people's willingness to act according to common sense.' Cameron added that 'as we urgently review the work we're doing on the broken society, judging whether it's ambitious enough - I want to make it clear that there will be no holds barred... and that most definitely includes the human rights and health and safety culture.' Hazards Campaign spokesperson Hilda Palmer said the prime minister's attempt to link social unrest to health and safety rules 'is not only complete rubbish but completely crass and scraping the bottom of the daft ideas barrel.' Citing the case of a satellite dish firm Foxtel Ltd, which was fined £1 this week after the death of employee Noel Corbin, she said: 'Noel's employers went into liquidation therefore avoiding any accountability or paying the penalty for the crime. There's not a get-out clause available to rioters, so why should it be available to killer employers?' She said company safety failings cost society billions each year, adding: 'The government's answer to this is to let employers get away with even more killing, injuring and making workers ill, as well as looting our economy by attacking and cutting health and safety provisions.' Stirling University regulatory policy expert Professor Andy Watterson was also critical of the prime minister. 'It's the lack of a safety culture, as espoused by failing unfettered market principles, that does so much damage, year after year, to public health in the UK, not health and safety,' he wrote in a letter to The Guardian. 'This is particularly disturbing as evidence rolls in week by week about the health and safety failures of deregulated workplaces and the successes of regulated ones.'

Prospect slams 'irresponsible' government

Health and safety legislation is neither excessive nor damaging to innovation, Prospect has told an independent review ordered by the government. The review, headed by Professor Ragnar Löfstedt and due to report in the autumn, has been told by ministers to concentrate on 'easing' burdens on business. Prospect, which includes 1,500 Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors and specialists in its membership, is warning, however, that it is not regulation but non-compliance and poor interpretation of the rules that should be of greatest concern. The union is sceptical whether the review will carry any weight given the wider deregulatory agenda being pursued by government. Prospect deputy general secretary Mike Clancy said the government's 'Good Health and Safety, Good for Everyone' blueprint, launched in March 2011, 'provides further evidence of its deregulatory agenda given the removal, without consultation, of swathes of industry from HSE's preventive inspection regime. This is an irresponsible tactic that is designed solely to meet the cuts targets set by the comprehensive spending review.' Prospect says the safety system could be improved through measures to make health and safety simpler, with clear, concise, sensitive guidance, rather than being driven by the 'pejorative premise that health and safety is a burden to business.' According to Clancy: 'Shoddy interpretation and application of the law is at the heart of much of the negative media attention when, in fact, poor employer behaviour and management neglect are the main causes of the toll on the workforce.'

Union safety demands kill infections

Union members must 'act now' to protect workplace health and safety rights and standards from an unprecedented attack, public sector union UNISON has said. Its short guide on 'The threat to health and safety' says the system protecting workers 'is under greater threat now than at any other time.' In addition to cuts to the Health and Safety Executive's funding and a significant reduction in official workplace safety inspections, it warns 'hard-won health and safety legislation is on the chopping block and people are becoming more vulnerable to issues such as stress, bullying and violence.' With an estimated 500,000 public sector workers set to lose their jobs, UNISON adds, insecure workers will be less likely to raise safety concerns and will be reluctant to take sick leave. 'The impact of this is that workplaces become both more dangerous and unhealthier,' the guides notes. With many UNISON workplaces now classified as 'low risk' and exempt from preventive, 'proactive' HSE inspections, workers are losing essential protection. 'Studies show that over 90 per cent of employers improve their health and safety policies either immediately before or after an inspection,' the union points out. It says UNISON reps should encourage members to keep on reporting and recording health and safety incidents. It adds they should raise concerns about the cuts to health and safety with their local MP and should tell their story through the local media, highlighting how the cuts are affecting people in particular workplaces.

Pension Petition

PCS have been made aware of an e-petition on the government’s change to the uprating of pensions from RPI to CPI, which has recently been made available on the Directgov web-site:

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/1535

You may be aware that PCS are currently challenging this change by Judicial Review and the case is due to be heard in the High Court later this year. Should the site receive 100K responses it will result in the matter being debated by Parliament, which may assist our challenge.

This change to the uprating mechanism from Retail Price Index (RPI) to Consumer Price Index (CPI) would yet again see a significant reduction in the final value of pensions.

Please sign the petition.