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.
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
Together we make a difference!
Enrico Tortolano
