Make sure you check that check-list for the One to Ones

Make sure you check the check-list compiled for your One to One meeting – This covers the majority of the DWP Norcross site closure second One to One meetings.

We are aware, unfortunately, that there may have been instances, once again where the actual details supplied to the line manager have been boiled down to a yes or no answer for some form of overall capture sheet; that the member hasn’t seen, for the purpose of aggregating the answers (and undoubtedly ensuring that the overall answer is the one that the employer wants to hear).

This surrounds the group of members who may have said that Peel Park is outside of their mobility conditions of service travelling time (potentially mobile and non mobile categories), It appears that in some instances the aggregates capture sheets have been pickled down to “Yes” or “No” answers for is the person prepared to move to Peel Park (or potentially Warbreck), when some people will fall into a “Yes” or “No” category but really many, many people will fall into the “Yes, but only if” category (i.e. that they will only be prepared to breach their real conditions of service, as set out on the employer’s intranet, provided that compensation is paid under the Workforce Management Redeployment Package (which could relate to travelling time or family care expenses etc) and that if/ when this is accepted that you would consider moving or to be redeployed to an office within your mobility and/ or to be considered for an exit package.

What you should now do
We would ask that all members now ask (unless this has already been done) to see the details that have been recorded about them on the aggregate sheet and ask that they are put in the correct category, rather than erroneously placed in the “Yes” box.

North West Region Winter/Spring 2013 Campaign

Pete Middleman (PCS North West Regional Secretary) has sent this leaflet detailing other aspects of the current campaign/dispute that people may not be aware of to assist in helping people focus on how important voting yes is.

Reply from the Employment Minister regarding the closure of the majority of the DWP Norcross Site

The Branch remains in correspondence with the local MPs regarding the closure of the majority of the DWP Norcross Site. We have also met one of the local MPs and one of the local Council Leaders in the last few weeks.

Members may have heard misinformation that the reason why DWP Shared Service are remaining at DWP Norcross beyond September 2013 is because they are moving to the Cabinet Office (when only one member of staff may be doing so from April 2013, and it is not clear which parts of DWP Shared Services may or may not be moving to the Cabinet Office in the long terms and which ones may be remaining in the DWP) and not because everyone couldn’t fit into Peel Park or Warbreck.

This is not the case, the actual reason is contained in the following is an extract from a letter from the Employment Minister Mark Hoban MP dated 13th January 2013;

“The recent change to the strategy is that c200 Shared Services staff from DWP will not relocate to Peel Park but will move into Tomlinson House with SPVA staff, based on the Norcross site. This change was in response to an increase in contractor staff working on Welfare Reform projects at Peel Park. It is recognised that delivery of the major Welfare Reform projects is a high priority and the strategy was amended to reflect that.”

If any members want to see the full details of the correspondence then please contact the Branch Office.

Teen death exposes government contempt

The following has been supplied by the TUC:
A teenage apprentice was killed in a horrific workplace incident just a week after David Cameron had claimed safety protection of young workers was 'very, very bad news'. On 10 January, Cameron Minshull was trapped in an industrial metal lathe at Zaffar Engineering UK in Bury, and suffered serious head injuries. Paramedics rushed to the factory and the 16-year-old was airlifted to hospital where doctors desperately tried to save his life, but was pronounced dead a short time later. Police and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have launched an investigation into the tragedy. Grieving mother Joanne Hill said: 'We have lost a very precious part of our lives and there are no words to describe how we are feeling.' A week earlier, in a 3 January speech at the Media Factory 'enterprise hub' at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, prime minister David Cameron had said health and safety regulations were one of the reasons behind a lower number of companies offering work experience placements, and told the audience this was 'very, very bad news'. A spokesperson for bereaved relatives group Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) commented: 'We suggest that before the prime minister mistakenly labels health and safety rules too burdensome, he looks at the facts: Over the last decade, at least five under 19s have been killed each year and up to 5,000 seriously injured at work. This is not due to too much, but too little health and safety.' She added: 'We must stop the government rolling back the laws and enforcement that prevents our children being killed at work. No-one should die simply for going to work to earn a living, and especially not a 16-year-old with his whole life ahead of him.'

PCS Policy - Norcross Closure

Some members have asked what PCS policy is in regard to the DWP Norcross partial closure and compulsory posting members.

PCS policy was set out in Emergency Motion 2 (EM2) and EM3 at the 2012 Group Conference. 

EM2 - Norcross Closure
Supported by the PCS DWP Group Executive Committee (GEC) and carried unanimously states at point 4 (GEC instructed to)… 4. Seek to ensure that no members are subject to compulsory transfers to sites outwith their mobility conditions of employment… 

EM3 - Group Action Plan
Moved by GEC and carried overwhelmingly reads Conference agrees there is now an urgent need to implement the Group Campaign Plan….. The Group campaign plan should be focussed on the following core demands….. No Office closures without Agreement. No Compulsory transfers or relocations.

Results of the DWP industrial action ballot.

The results of the DWP industrial action ballot are below:

PCS are in continuing discussions with the employer to seek a resolution to the dispute.

Question: Are you prepared to take part in strike action?

Number of ballot papers returned: 18,498
Number of papers found to be invalid: 527

Thus, total number of valid papers to be counted: 17,971

Number voting YES: 11,699 (65.1%)
Number voting NO: 6,272 (34.9%)

Question: Are you prepared to take part in industrial action short of a strike?

Number of ballot papers returned: 18,498
Number of papers found to be invalid: 1,891

Thus, total number of valid papers to be counted: 16,607

Number voting YES: 13,810 (83.2%)
Number voting NO: 2,797 (16.8%)

DWP NORCROSS CLOSURE – MEMBERS’ INFORMATION MEETINGS

Dear Colleagues

The purpose of this post is to advise members of forthcoming meetings to discuss the closure of the DWP Norcross site.

The meetings have been split into members on the teams that have been announced as going to Peel Park and members on the teams that have been announced as going to Warbreck.

The details of the meetings are as follows:

For members on the teams that have been announced as going to Peel Park:

Tuesday 15th January 2013

Norcross Canteen - 10.00am

Norcross Canteen - 2.00pm

For members on the teams that have been announced as going to Warbreck:

Wednesday 16th January 2013

Norcross Canteen - 2.00 pm

Forty five minutes facility time has been applied for, for you to attend a meeting, please make every effort to attend.

The meetings will be to update members in terms of the next round of one to one meetings, the transport solutions and to discuss other members’ issues.

If you have not yet joined PCS then there is still time to join and attend the meeting, please see the link on the right hand side of this blog.

Only members will be able to attend the meetings.

Yours sincerely

Duncan Griffiths, Branch Secretary.

DWP announce closure of two more offices

The following has been supplied by PCS DWP Group:

DWP have today announced the closure of two more large offices. One is the Lawnswood site in Leeds, the other is Newgate House in Rochdale.

Lawnswood is primarily a Disability Living Allowance site, with some Fraud staff. Newgate House is primarily a Fraud site but also has small teams working on a variety of different DWP areas of work. Management have also announced the start of a public consultation process for the move of the Medical Examination centre from Lawnswood to Quarry House.

248 staff work at Lawnswood and 119 work at Newgate House.

No Consultation

PCS were not consulted about these specific announcements in advance.

Management have told us that they are looking at rationalising the DWP estate in order to save money. But in this case they have proceeded to make an announcement prior to consulting with PCS about the rationale for closing these two sites. This is clearly unacceptable and PCS has already made this clear to senior management. In both cases management say that there is space to accommodate all the staff from these two offices.

This would mean transferring the staff from Lawnswood into Quarry House and moving the staff from Newgate House into neighbouring DWP offices. This may well be an acceptable arrangement for some of the members affected.

Members’ Concerns

However we are concerned that there will be other members for whom such a transfer would bring major difficulties and considerably longer journeys to work. It is unclear if a change in location would mean a change in duties. Some members may have specific individual circumstances that would make a transfer very difficult and for others management’s proposals will be outwith DWP mobility rules and therefore create redeployment problems. PCS is of course opposed to an office closure where such circumstances apply.

Wider threat to jobs

Members will be aware that in DWP there are members who are currently under notice of compulsory redundancy following the office closures that were announced back in 2010. Further office closures only serves to increase the risk of more redundancies and illustrates the importance of supporting PCS’ campaign against compulsory redundancies. This announcement followed one earlier this week of an offer of Voluntary Exits targeted at AA’s and HEO’s in certain locations, where restructuring and other changes has led to a likelihood of surpluses being declared in these grades. This again shows the threat to members’ jobs of management’s remorseless agenda of staff cuts and office closures. The staff and sites affected by this Voluntary Exit scheme have been informed.