SATURDAY 18th JANUARY 2014
The PCS North West region has been asked to run the above seminar. This is a pilot seminar to ascertain the possibility of holding yearly regional equality seminars to encourage newer reps and members to become more active within the Union.
Although this is quite late notice you will have seen the date noted in previous correspondence that has been sent to our disabled members network. This is your formal invitation to attend the above seminar.
PCS Union is committed to making the workplace a better and fairer place for members. In order to do this, we have to ensure that we are representative of all our members and to ensure different equality and diversity needs are continually highlighted and changes in practices are made to address such needs. PCS has National Forums and Committees that regularly meet to discuss and plan for specific equality needs.
Expenses for attending this meeting will be paid in accordance with PCS expense rules (see attached). Forms will be available at the meeting for attendees to complete.
It is important that you complete the pro-forma here as this will assist us to make arrangements for any specific requirements you may have. Please return to this office by date specified above. If you have any trouble opening the pro-forma please contact the office on the number below.
Members of the network and branches are reminded that this is a pilot seminar and that it’s really important we get as many members covering a majority of our workplaces across the region Please do everything you can to ensure that members participate in this seminar. Network members should consider bring a PCS colleague with them.
The seminar will cover the following:
- DPAC speaker
- Campaigning for disabled rights
- Design leaflets/Poster designs
- How to write a motion
- Brian Noon (Chair of RDMN): The role of network
- National campaign update – Speaker to be confirmed
- Reasonable adjustment and your rights
- Code of practice (EHRC)
- What happens in your department i.e. passport
- PEP (H&S)
- Escalation routes: Complaints procedures.
We look forward to meeting you either for the first time, or once again.
Yours sincerely
Paula Wood - Organiser
0151 298 3904
M: 07879 617 553
Email: paula@pcs.org.uk
PCS is supporting the TUC survey on domestic violence. The survey closes on the 1 February 2014. Please encourage as many members as possible to fill in the survey here.
Domestic violence has far reaching consequences and a terrible impact on the lives of those living with an abusive partner.
The TUC is conducting a survey to find out more about how domestic violence affects working life and the role that employers, colleagues, and union reps can play in supporting those experiencing domestic abuse.
TUC would like to hear from anyone who has either experienced domestic violence themselves or has a friend or colleague who has experienced domestic violence.
The survey is entirely anonymous. You will not be asked for your name, contact details or any information which could be used to identify you or your employer.
The following details have been provided by the TUC:
The later retirement date announced by the Chancellor in last week’s Autumn statement might be of little significance to the wealthy, but it could see many others receive little or nothing of their state pension entitlement, the TUC has warned.
The union body was commenting on the plans announced in the Commons by George Osborne to push back the state pension age to 68 by the mid-2030s, with further increases after that. It is already scheduled to move to 66 between 2018 and 2020 and then to 67 between 2026 and 2028.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “There has been no new evidence to show that people are living any longer since the last time the Chancellor increased the state pension age, yet today’s young workers are being told they must work until they drop.” She added: “However many decades they work hard and contribute, tomorrow’s 69-year-olds will find themselves being sent for the future version of ATOS assessments if they can no longer work. Barely half of all men are able to work beyond the current state pension age. Raising it further will simply prolong an agonising limbo between their last job and their state pension.” She warned: “This has nothing to do with dealing with unexpected extra pension costs but is part of a long-term attack on the welfare state and the dismantling of our national insurance system.”
TUC research found there is already a £67,000 state pension divide due to a widening gap in life expectancies and a rising state pension age. And research published last year by TUC noted that disability and poor health are preventing nearly half a million people approaching retirement from working, a figure that will increase as the state pension age rises.
The following details have been supplied by the TUC:
Ministers are misusing an official government website to push the Conservative’s party political anti-workplace safety line, the TUC has charged.
The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) safety policy webpages “set out their policy on health and safety”, notes TUC head of safety Hugh Robertson, but he adds the content “is clear, concise and simple and is also absolute drivel.” The DWP webpage is prefaced with this statement: “We believe that good health and safety is important, but the burden of excessive health and safety rules and regulations on business has become too great and a damaging compensation culture is stifling innovation and growth.”
Dismissing each point, citing official statistics, government-sponsored research, government committees, independent studies and admissions from high ranking Tories, TUC’s Hugh Robertson said: “This government seems to see government websites as the property of the political parties rather than of the state. They are increasingly being used as tools of propaganda rather than being there to give information. But while you would expect a certain ideological spin on anything this government does, this goes further than that. The claim that there is a burden of excessive rules and a damaging compensation culture is, to put it simply, a complete lie.” He said instead of regurgitating unfounded myths, the government should be “trying to show that, as all the studies show, health and safety helps business… That way they would not only get rid of the misconceptions and myths, but also actually do some good by encouraging employers to protect their workers.”
The following has been supplied by PCS HQ:
To:
All BBW PCS Members on the DWP contract
Your Branch Executive Committee (BEC) has met to discuss proposed changes to telephony work and other issues in BBW. The DWP and BBW legal teams are now moving forward on their understanding that TUPE will not apply. The start date for the change of operation is now confirmed as 03 March 2014. As far as we know, the majority of the work will be undertaken by DWP call centres. In the absence of the transfer of staff we have real concerns around whether DWP can cope with this significant increase in the volume of work. We will of course keep members updated as events develop as openness, honesty and transparency are vital during workplace change.
The way forward: Together for Everyone
Dignity at work demands your union is involved in consultation processes long before a decision is reached. PCS have sought to engage management at every opportunity. With 2.5 million (approx) people currently unemployed in the UK and household costs rapidly rising we view this redundancy programme as unacceptable and ill-devised. The incantation is that you must get more from less – not easy from a workforce who faces a never-ending fall in their living standards, few promotion prospects and the risk of losing their job. Estimates from the Institute of Fiscal Studies suggests another 900,000 job losses are likely by 2017/18.
The increasing use of zero hours contracts where staff have no guaranteed wage and only get paid as and when work is available has been exposed recently in the media. PCS remains resolutely opposed to this race to the bottom for workers and will resist any attempt by GDF Cofely to increase their use on the DWP contract. Moreover, it is our understanding that BBW have over achieved against budget to date with sales up 6% and profits up a colossal 18%. By the end of the year they are projected to exceed their sales target in what the Finance Director described as an "outstanding year".
Therefore it seems wholly unreasonable that staff who are ex DWP and who had months of casual service with DWP before being given a fixed term or permanent contract are being told their redundancy payment is being calculated from their FTC/permanent date rather than causal one. This means their payments are being reduced. We will lobby BBW to include casual service in their calculations.
Further, calculation of redundancy pay is based on complete years service. Several cases have come to light of staff who started in March who are therefore losing almost an entire years service. It is clear payments need to be pro-rata. On the related subject of BBW assistance to those losing their jobs, whilst we will continue to argue against the cuts, we do recommend you read the BBW career transition booklets.
PCS will oppose the proposed cuts and any job losses whilst also insisting that any redundancies must be both voluntary and that redundancy payments are based upon members full service.
We have at our disposal the PCS press and media unit, campaigns department, parliamentary group and the specific resources of the Commercial Sector Association, all of which will be utilised in the fight for jobs justice.
We are a campaigning union. Our members are the union, and membership means being able to stand up collectively and be counted. We campaign on the issues our members decide are important, and negotiate with employers from a position of collective strength. That is why we will not hesitate to use legal representation, parliamentary activities or our industrial strength to protect you and defend your jobs.
Campaign Plan and Industrial Strategy
Following the recent confirmation that BBW and DWP now consider Tupe to not apply we are engaging with PCS members and senior officers in DWP as well as BBW members around strategy. An organising campaign and Industrial action strategy were advised during the recent members meetings at the service centres:
Organising Campaign
- PCS media team to activate unnecessary redundancies story in press and wider media. Especially local media.
- PCS campaigns team to bring their creativity and muscle on board to halt redundancies.
- PCS parliamentary group to be informed and specific MP’s are to be contacted about job losses in their constituency.
- PCS regional offices to be alerted with a view to working with local media/ trade unions/ community groups against cuts.
Industrial Action Strategy
If forced down the road of industrial action we would ballot members and options for industrial action could include :
- Strike action and/or
- Work to rule
- Overtime ban
The more staff we have in the union the stronger our campaign becomes. Ask your friends and colleagues who aren’t members to join PCS right NOW!
Together we make a difference!
Enrico Tortolano
DWP have today announced a second phase of large scale Voluntary Exit
Schemes for DWP Operations. As with the first phase of exit schemes that were announced in September, this next phase of exits is also targeted at specific groups of staff, in particular grades, in various parts of DWP Operations.
The full specifics can be found here.
PCS nationally are trying to ensure they have the most up-to-date contact details for members.
Sometimes information is not able to be sent via the DWP IT system and external contact details are useful in those situations.
PCS NW Regional Office has supplied us with a couple of documents to enable members to get added to a contact list for either (or both) SMS text or email.
The details for this can be found here.
They have also produced a simple aid to enable members to change their workplace details, ballot address, name, contact details etc on the PCS website's iMembership system. That aid can be found here.
The branch office has received the following extract from the Parliamentary debate that took place in the House of Commons on 27th November. It concerns the DWP Offices on the Fylde Coast.
The full debate of the day is published here (column 132WH onwards) and the relevant extract forwarded to us by the office of Paul Maynard (MP) can be found here.
