To ALL Travelling on the Preston NUT charter train on October 20th

The following has been provided by Pete Middleman, PCS NW Regional Secretary:

It is with great regret that I have to inform you that the 20^th October “A future that works” train chartered by the NUT from Preston (calling at Wigan and Warrington) has been cancelled at short notice.

This is entirely the fault of the locomotive supplier, DB Schenker, who have been unable to secure sufficient drivers.  The Train Chartering Co Ltd, advised the NUT of this problem yesterday afternoon which prompted a round of in-depth and high level negotiations about alternative arrangements, sadly without success.

These matters are beyond the control of PCS but I feel I must apologise sincerely for the inconvenience it will no doubt cause.

At this stage it is impossible to do anything other than to advise those who were registered with us to travel on those services that they may wish to consider making alternative arrangements.

Members can purchase their own tickets on scheduled train services operated by Virgin Trains or examine the possibility of travelling by coach. Details of coach transport from the region can be found here.

We will reimburse such claims in the normal manner on the condition that you reply to this email to confirm your intention to do so and provide the names of those you are to purchase tickets for*.

Members who chose to do this should be warned however that Saturday morning train services from the north west to London are likely to be extremely busy and we can not be responsible for a lack of seat reservations or for passengers being refused travel by Virgin staff owing to overcrowded trains.

Once again, please accept our apologies for this unsatisfactory turn of events.  We hope as many of you as possible are still able to join us.

*Individual claims will only be met for members and/or family members who were registered with us for travel on the affected NUT Charter trains at the date of this message and the usual PCS Travel and Subsistence rules apply

NW TUC Charter for Young People

Sign the North West TUC's Charter for young people!

A future that works for young people.

A North West TUC Charter to tackle youth unemployment in the region

Young people face a crisis.Austerity and recession are destroying employment opportunities all over the region.

More than 64,000 young people, aged 18-24, are now out of work in the North West.

With one in five young people jobless, many are being forced to take unskilled, parttime, temporary work, unpaid internships or work experience. Others simply become detached from society.

Meanwhile, the abolition of the Educational Maintenance Allowance and increases in tuition fees are preventing thousands from gaining qualifications and new skills for the job market.

Urgent action must be taken to give the young people of the North West a future that works.

Taking positive action to help our young people will demand commitment,determination and real resources from Government, employers and trade unions.

The North West TUC pledges to play its part. We urge MPs, local councillors, employers and others to sign this Charter – and pledge to take practical and immediate action to give young people a future that works.

You can find and print the petition/charter here. Please return printed and signed sheets to:

Katya Lawder
 Room C122A, Lobby D
Warbreck House.

Alternatively, you can sign the online form here.

European H&S Week Stalls

The Branch have organised H&S stalls with various pieces of workplace health, safety and welfare information for members in line with European Health and Safety week.

They will be as follows:

Norcross

Block 5 Canteen,

Monday 22nd October 2012

11.45 am to 13.30 pm

Tomlinson House (Tommy’s) Canteen

Thursday 25th October 2012

11.45 am to 13.30 pm

Warbreck House

Inside Warbreck Canteen

Tuesday 23rd October 2012

11.45 am to 13:30 pm

Peel Park

Deli Bar - Phase 2

Thursday 25th October 2012

Government wants workers to give up their rights

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

Unions have angrily attacked government plans to use employee ownership schemes to encourage workers to give up hard won employment rights. Chancellor George Osborne told this week's Conservative Party conference businesses will be allowed to remove 'gold-plated employment rights' in exchange for handing out shares to employees. The £100m 'employee-owner' scheme will allow employees to received tax-exempt shares worth £2,000 to £50,000 if they give up their rights to claim unfair dismissal and redundancy. They would also have to sacrifice the right to request flexible working and time off for training, and would be required to provide 16 weeks' notice of a firm date of return from maternity leave, instead of the usual eight. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said the measure 'looks more to be said for effect, than because it will make much difference', but added: 'We deplore any attack on maternity provision or protection against unfair dismissal, but these complex proposals do not look as if they will have very much impact as few small businesses will want to tie themselves up in the tangle of red tape necessary to trigger these exemptions.' Paul Kenny, GMB general secretary, said: 'Slashing people's employment rights under the guise of ownership schemes won't create jobs and it won't create growth,' adding: 'George Osborne has as much knowledge about economics as a stick of rhubarb.' In conference and fringe meeting speeches, ministers including Eric Pickles and Francis Maude also said they would cut dramatically the facilities time available to civil servants. Unions said the move 'makes no sense', as unions have been shown to deliver a massive cost saving by providing a well-organised negotiating structure for employers, reducing costly legal proceedings and by dramatically reducing lost time related to work-related injuries and illnesses by delivering safer workplaces. The prime minister, in a throw away sound bite in his conference speech, said he wanted he wanted 'less nonsense about health and safety.' Bereaved relatives group FACK responded: 'As the families of people who went to work hard to provide for their families, but never came home, we know that treating health and safety as 'nonsense' is deadly.'

Unions condemn unfair dismissal changes

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

Government plans to reduce payouts for unfair dismissals will do nothing to boost economic growth and make it easier for bad employers to mistreat their staff, unions have warned. Under the changes announced this week by business secretary Vince Cable the cap on payouts for unfair dismissal will fall from £72,300 to a year's pay. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber responded that 'reducing payouts for unfair dismissals will let bad employers off lightly and deter victims from pursuing genuine cases. This will feel like another slap in the face following the government's decision to bring in fees for employment tribunals.' STUC general secretary Grahame Smith said: 'These moves by Vince Cable, the business secretary, would tend to suggest he has abandoned his principles and previously held views on there being no need for further deregulation of our labour market.' He added: 'His department is presiding over the most savage cuts in employment protection we have witnessed since the previous Conservative government while, at the same time, the Department of Work and Pensions is slashing health and safety regulation and attacking the effectiveness of HSE [the Health and Safety Executive] to enforce the legislation and protect workers.' The government changed the law earlier this year to increase to two years the service requirement to claim unfair dismissal. In April 2013 the government will introduce charges for access to tribunals, which unions believe will further discourage safety whistleblowers. Workers claiming victimisation after raising safety concerns fall into the top £1,200 fee bracket for taking an unfair dismissal claim.

IOSH tells parties to end safety 'distortion'

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

Politicians have been urged to quit 'distorting perceptions' of workplace health and safety - or risk lives. At the start of the political party conference season last week, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) called for a shift in the way the 'political elite' talk about protecting people at work. The safety professionals' body said the toll of deaths, diseases and injuries related to work was 'too high', and 'government should do more to drive them down.' Prime Minister David Cameron and business secretary Vince Cable are among Conservative and LibDem ministers that have railed against safety 'burdens' this year, and responded with deregulatory measures. IOSH head of policy and public affairs Richard Jones said: 'Government should champion the benefits of good health and safety regulation, instead of dismissing it as a 'burden' on business. IOSH supports streamlining and simplification, but not the lowering of standards. Good health and safety saves lives, supports business and sustains the economy.' He added: 'We hope people will get the message. Playing to the gallery and distorting the perception of health and safety may score political points for some, but it could end up costing lives and damaging the economy.' Signs that the political capital from attacking safety might be wearing thin came this week when the previously safety-cynical London Evening Standard carried a lengthy article noting: 'Safer businesses are more productive, not least because of the management time taken up when some poor sod has to be scraped off the floor. And let's not forget inspections focus on occupational health as well, meaning employees have more chance of working without developing illnesses.' It concluded: 'Brutal economics has already seen a real-terms hit to wages for most of us. Now the coalition is coming after life and limb as well.'

Assessor 'forced to judge disabled fit for work'

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

A former nurse who was employed by the Department for Work and Pensions' outsourced capability assessor Atos has claimed she was forced to manipulate tests so that disabled people were deemed fit for work. Glasgow's Daily Record reports that Joyce Drummond alleged she was warned by the French-owned firm she was being "too nice" to claimants. She said candidates were considered more able to work if they arrived for their interview with brushed hair, had a toddler with them, or wore make-up. Ms Drummond, a former staff nurse at Glasgow's Southern General Hospital, said bosses ignored her 20 years of medical experience. She told the paper: 'People trusted me and they confided in me. I felt I was having to stab them in the back.' Anyone who claims the successor to incapacity benefit, employment and support allowance (ESA), because they are too sick or disabled to work must pass a work capability test, designed by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) but conducted by one of Atos' 1,400 staff. The company has £3.1bn of government contracts. Ms Drummond, who resigned from the company three-and-a-half years ago, said: 'If a woman was wearing make-up and was nicely dressed, she was deemed as functioning and capable. If someone came in with a toddler in tow, if they could manage a child, they could surely work. If someone had a pet, they were able to function and if they smiled while talking about a pet, I had to mark down that they smiled spontaneously and were therefore not depressed.' A recent investigation by The Independent revealed that more than 40 doctors and nurses working for Atos have been reported to medical regulators for professional misconduct.

Health at risk as watchdogs are neutered

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

The effective enforcement of workplace health standards is being undermined by government cost-cutting measures packaged as recession-busting cost-benefit calculations, a new independent report has concluded. Regulating Scotland, a detailed Stirling University analysis of environmental and workplace health and safety enforcement trends, warns that ideology rather than evidence is behind cuts in enforcement agencies including the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). It says this has led to a dramatic decrease in official inspections and enforcement of both environmental and workplace safety standards. The report warns that workplace health and safety inspections across the UK are now so infrequent it is unlikely most workers will ever encounter an inspector in a working lifetime. It is also critical of 'better regulation' policies, which it says have pulled the teeth of the watchdogs charged with protecting workers, communities and the environment. The report notes that the 'burdens on business' case used to justify the hands-off deregulatory approach is based on 'skewed' cost-benefit calculations that fail to factor in the much greater financial benefits of proper enforcement of regulations. Report author Professor Andrew Watterson said: 'Failure to act now to improve poor regulation and enforcement elevates a spurious business costs argument above a real and substantial cost to human health, society and the public purse.' The report warns that a lack of official oversight of safety and environmental standards could lead to a process of 'regulatory capture', where largely absent and resource-starved enforcing agencies are reliant on self-regulation by companies, trusted to monitor and report on their own performance. It says this process was implicated in the Piper Alpha and Deepwater Horizon disasters.

Tories back dangerous boss

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

An employer whose criminal neglect left his workers at risk of serious occupational disease is being presented by the Conservatives as a champion of their safety deregulation plans. At prime minister's questions on 12 September, Tory MP Chris Kelly asked the prime minister if he agreed 'with Kevin O'Toole, the managing director of Eurocraft Enclosures Ltd in Dudley, who contacted me about the government's plans to sweep away unnecessary health and safety red tape to say: 'At last years and years of regulation are being replaced by a simple concept called common sense'?' Chris Kelly added: 'Is it not common sense to remove the headache of inspections for low-risk businesses?' Prime minister David Cameron said the MP was 'absolutely right' to highlight the issue. UNISON, though, was unimpressed. The public sector union points out that less than a year before the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) had served Eurocraft Enclosures Ltd with an improvement notice for three criminal breaches of safety law. The employer had failed to eliminate or control the risk to employees from hand-arm vibration. Vibration exposure of this type can cause serious and permanent occupational disease. According to UNISON: 'As demonstrated by Eurocraft Enclosures Ltd, we cannot rely on common sense to ensure that employees are kept healthy and safe at work. If you believe that everyone should be able to work without having their health damaged by their job, join UNISON in defending against the government's attack on health and safety inspections and legislation.'

 

Click here for all you need to know about the 20 October marches.

DWP Norcross Closure - Members Meetings #2

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:

Thursday 27th September 2012

Norcross Canteen - 10.00am

Norcross Canteen - 2.00pm

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

Friday 28th September 2012

Norcross Canteen - 10.00am

Government 'will have blood on its hands'

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

Government plans to leave most workplaces exempt from unannounced, preventive safety inspections have been condemned by unions. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: 'It is simply absurd to describe the health and welfare of people at work as a burden. Instead of giving a green light to employers to make their workplaces more dangerous, ministers should be investing to ensure people are not put at risk when they go to work.' RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: 'This isn't about cutting red tape, it's about cutting the throat of safety regulations and the trade unions will mobilise a massive campaign of resistance.' Urging the government to rethink its plans, CWU general secretary Billy Hayes said: 'The government will have blood on its hands if these dangerous cuts go through.' He added: 'Cutting pro-active inspections could be disastrous. Moving to a reactive system would mean that people would have to be injured, become ill or die before any inspection took place, rather than preventing these incidents happening in the first place.' GMB national safety officer John McClean said the announcement was 'a regurgitation' of a government policy that 'will not promote growth and could well lead to an increase in accidents at work.' He added: 'Current laws in this area were not enforced very strongly anyway. The burdens will now fall on individuals and society in suffering and cost.' NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said: 'No case has been made for the attack the coalition government has launched on health and safety provisions.' She said it was 'another ideologically driven policy... where hard fact and evidence are, quite frankly, ignored. The drive to deregulate health and safety is a return to the dark ages when the lives of working people had no value.' UNISON said supposedly low risk workplaces could have high levels of work-related health problems. UNISON's James Randall said: 'The government does not take into consideration occupational ill-health such as musculoskeletal disorders and work-related stress, which are the most common types of ill-health in so-called low risk workplaces, and account for more than threequarters of all work-related injuries and illness currently suffered in the UK.'

TUC Warns Cable His Deregulation Plans Will Kill

This information has been supplied by the TUC:

A renewed government drive to abolish official safety inspections in hundreds of thousands of businesses and to force regulators to take a hands-off approach will put the health of millions of workers at risk, the TUC has warned. The union body was responding to plans outlined by Vince Cable. The business secretary said: 'Removing unnecessary red tape and putting common sense back into areas like health and safety will reduce fears and costs for businesses. We want to help give British business the confidence it needs to create more jobs and support the wider economy to grow.' In future, businesses will only be inspected if they are operating in high risk areas, such as construction, or if they have a poor record. The plan to end safety inspections in 'lower risk' workplaces repeats changes already implemented under the government's March 2011 health and safety blueprint. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has already gone further, and included some known higher risk workplaces, like agriculture and quarries, in its no-go categories for unannounced inspections. But the government now intends to introduce a legally binding statutory code in April 2013 outlawing proactive inspections of in all but 'high risk areas'. HSE will also be required to ensure local authority regulators abide by the non-inspection rules. TUC general secretary Brendan Barber condemned the government action, warning the 'UK is facing an occupational health epidemic.' He added: 'Some of the 'low risk' workplaces identified by the government, such as shops, actually experience high levels of workplace injuries. This will only get worse if employers find it easier to ignore safety risks. This epidemic will only be stopped by ensuring that employers obey the law, and when every employer knows their workplace can be visited at any time. Health and safety regulation is not a burden on business, it is a basic protection for workers. Cutting back on regulation and inspections will lead to more injuries and deaths as result of poor safety at work.' Business lobby groups the CBI, EEF, the Institute of Directors, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and the Federation of Private Businesses (FPB) all welcomed the government plan to remove safety oversight at work.

Equality Matters

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and other Trade Unions represent their members at work regardless of their race, religion or ethnic origin; Trade Unions have also been tireless campaigners for women’s rights both in and out of the workplace.

Equality

Equality is about reaching and maintaining a fair society, where everyone can participate and has an equal opportunity to fulfil their potential. PCS helps work towards this by trying to eliminate prejudice and discrimination.

Diversity

Diversity can be defined as difference when used as a contrast or addition to equality; within the workplace it is about recognising individual as well as group differences and recognising these place positive values into our workforce. PCS campaigns against any form of discrimination. The local Branch has been involved in many equality events including but not limited to the subjects of: Anti-Bullying and Harassment, Stress Awareness, Black History Month, World Aids Day and Mental Health Awareness.

Proud

PCS Proud is the equality group representing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) members. The aim of PCS Proud is to support LGBT members in the workplace and offer support, guidance and training for any issues they may encounter.

Further Information

A stand containing information on many aspects of equality in the workplace is being arranged by Fylde Central Benefits Branch and Services Branch as follows:

Tuesday 18th September 2012

Warbreck House Restaurant

11.45am – 1.30pm

PCS backs fit-for-work protests

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

The union representing staff in benefits offices and job centres has backed a national protest against Atos, the private firm undertaking the controversial government fit-for-work tests. Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) organised the five days of action against Atos, which ran from 27-31 August. According to DPAC, the impact of the Atos tests has been devastating on claimants. 'Many have committed suicide because of its testing programme, and over 1,000 people have died of their illnesses soon after being found 'fit for work',' it said. A statement from PCS said the union 'wholeheartedly supports the campaign's aim, which is to fight back against the unfair workplace capability assessments. The 'fit-for-work' tests have led to severely ill and disabled people being forced off the benefits system.' It added: 'This system, which comes as part of the government's brutal cuts agenda, has led to real stress and hardship for many disabled people and their families, with some extreme cases even leading to suicides.' The union, which has members in Atos, added: 'The members we represent in Atos offices are not responsible for the failings of the government's unfair welfare policy which victimises people who are not able to work through no fault of their own. They deserve your support, consideration and respect during what is a difficult time for any worker trying to deliver public services.'

Quotes against austerity

Many people are speaking out against austerity, warning of the huge dangers posed by the government’s massive and unnecessary spending cuts and the need to protest against them:

“We are the real opposition to what the government is doing, and we want to build that opposition to their austerity programme,” Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary.

“We seem to be reverting to an older past in which a mega-rich minority pre-empts much of the profit of any growth in the economy while the rest of the population has to scramble for whatever they can get,” John Gray, formerly professor of European thought at the London School of Economics.

“We invented the banks to lend to the real economy, yet the austerity measures demand that we lend huge sums from the real economy to prop up insolvent banks. We need to be talking to people about macroeconomics, not allowing the government to present this as a crisis of the public sector,” Ann Pettifor, distinguished academic.

“Austerity as the solution is just wrong. There won’t be a return to confidence – quite the contrary. So the direction Europe is going is I think the wrong direction,” Joseph Stiglitz, economics Nobel prize winner.

“It’s becoming clear that Britain’s unnecessary turn to premature austerity is becoming a historic policy and political disaster that will haunt the country for years,” Paul Krugman US economist and Nobel prize winner.

Sick to face big fines for breaching work plan

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

The government has drawn up plans to withdraw £71 a week from sick and disabled benefit claimants if they fail to take steps to get back into the workplace, according to the Guardian. The paper says a leaked draft of a Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) template letter warns sick and disabled claimants they will lose 70 per cent of their weekly employment support allowance (ESA) if they refuse to take part in work-related activities, more than doubling the current penalty. The DWP has also told the Guardian that it is finalising plans which could make unpaid and unlimited work experience placements part of work-related activity. The draft letter, which the Guardian says is expected to be sent to all those in the ESA work-related activity group (Wrag), informs claimants that from 3 December the penalty will jump to £71 a week out of a maximum allowance award of £99.15. Latest figures show that there are just over 340,000 people in the Wrag category and that between 1 June 2011 and 31 May 2012, 11,130 of them have been sanctioned for an average duration of seven weeks. Charities have warned that stripping Wrag claimants of 70 per cent of their allowance risked 'devastating' consequences for people's health, especially since a good number of those currently being sanctioned have little understanding of why they are being punished.

DWP Norcross Closure Announcement of 6th September 2012

To all members and potential members of the PCS Fylde Central Benefits and Services Branch at Norcross:

Dear Colleagues 

Members at DWP Norcross may/ should have seen the communications form the employer regarding the next stages of the closure of the DWP Norcross site, and that the Formal Notice of site closure has now been given.

We are extremely disappointed that the final decision has now been made to close the DWP Norcross site, and that 31st August 2013 is the final date of closure.

We will continue our campaign to reverse this decision and will continue to raise with MPs and other political leaders the need to promote the economy of the area, to defend jobs and employment prospects. The decision to close the DWP Norcross site will undoubtedly result in job losses/ redundancies for members who work for the DWP contractors, and job losses in the DWP as well as undermining future employment in the DWP in the locale.

Location strategy
Members should now know which teams are moving to which site. Please note that this does not necessarily mean that all the people on the team may move to that site (see later on).

Excess Fares
We welcome the announcement that excess fares will be paid to people in the DWP, moving from the site as a result of this announcement, for a period of 5 years rather than 3 years.

Transport solution for Peel Park
We believe that the option of seeking a permanent solution to the problem of public transport to the Peel Park site is the correct decision. We believe that this solution is far preferable to the potential solution of shuttle buses. (The problems of shuttle buses were highlighted in a circular in August with the problems surrounding the closure of the DWP Moorland Road site and the shuttle bus that ran for three years and then stopped when the excess fares period ended).

However it will be extremely important to see what bus routes are extended to Peel Park and the frequency of service. Only when this is known will members be able to actually calculate their real travelling time for that element of the Mobility Policy.

Mobility Policy 
Unfortunately there have been some questions about Mobility Policy as some people misunderstand/ confuse this as being just the travelling times.

Here we go starting with the actual policy:

“Mobility Policy:
 The mobility policy describes how compulsory moves will be managed within the Department. Prior to making a decision to impose a compulsory permanent transfer full consideration will be given to an employee’s personal circumstances, including caring responsibilities and any disability or domestic difficulties.” I have bolded the last section.

Now the headline Conditions of Service for the travelling times:
These were and remain: 1 hour for employees with “limited mobility” status (AAs/ AOs/ Part time staff) and 1.5 hours for those with “mobile” status, by public transport for those employed prior to 15 January 2007 and, by reasonable mode of transport offering the greatest radius of travel for those staff joining the Department on or after 15 January 2007.

Then explaining what this means in practise:
The following is an extract from mobility; “Questions about an employee’s home to office journey time cannot reasonably consider just their time sitting on the bus or train, but must look at the end-to-end process from the point of leaving home to the point of arrival at work (and the return journey).” Please note therefore that walking and waiting times are important and that the return journey must also be taken into account.

And what to do when the employer says that the details are calculated on the computer:
The following is an extract from mobility “There is a common perception that public transport services (and timetables) can be, or are unreliable. In grievance cases it may therefore be necessary for journey times to be accurately measured, for example by arranging for an independent person to make the same journey on a number of occasions, in both directions and at the same times as the employee who has raised the grievance normally makes the journey.”

Further One to Ones 
There may later in the year be further one to ones, particularly once the permanent solution bus timetables are known. This may lead to people, who may remain outside of mobility, having discussions about options which may be available such as:

• being transferred to a site that is within their conditions of service
• and/ or consideration of accepting a post which involves breaking their conditions of service provided that the employer pays compensation under the Workforce Management Redeployment Package policy (see the link here 
• and/ or consideration of an exit package

Support from the Branch
If you require representation at any meetings please contact Jon Colgan who is the personal case allocator for Norcross, or CharlesHancock who is the Deputy.

I hope that the above is useful.

Remember that it is important that members at Norcross actively support the Campaigns that the Branch/ PCS take forward.

Yours Sincerely

Duncan Griffiths

Branch Secretary

Government Policy is Promoting Suicides

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

The UK recession has led to a sharp rise in suicides, a new study has found. The researchers warn that the government's austerity programme is not worth the human cost and efforts should instead centre on job creation. Their paper, published this week on the bmj.com website, says suicides began to rise in 2008 following 20 years of decline. It estimates 846 more male suicides and 155 more female suicides took place between 2008 to 2010 than would have been expected if previous trends had continued. Each annual 10 per cent increase in the number of unemployed was associated with a 1.4 per cent increase in the number of male suicides. There was a small reduction in suicides in 2010, following a slight recovery in male employment, although numbers were still above the 2007 figure. The researchers from Liverpool and Cambridge universities and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine took data on suicides from the National Clinical and Health Outcomes Database (NCHOD) covering the years 2000-2010, and unemployment statistics were taken from Office of National Statistics figures on the number of people claiming benefits. The researchers say 'although the initial economic shock of the recession does increase suicide risk, policies that promote re-employment may reverse this trend'. They warn 'the human cost of continued high levels of unemployment will outweigh the purported benefits of budget cuts'.

Assessment Company Criticised by TUC

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

A report from the National Audit Office has said that the Department for Work and Pensions has failed to penalise private provider Atos for 'under-performance' on the contract to manage the Work Capability Assessment for Employment and Support Allowance. In addition, the DWP had not set 'sufficiently challenging targets'. In response to the report Labour MP Tom Greatrex asked the NAO to review the contract, and there was widespread media reporting of the reply he received from the Comptroller and Auditor General. Mr Greatrex pointed out that the contract, which is for 738,000 assessments, is worth £112 million a year, but that appeals against the test results are costing £60 million a year. He said 'People who are genuinely sick and disabled need to be helped, not hounded'. Journalists from the BBC, who had seen the letter from the Auditor General, reported that it said that it was difficult to assess whether the quality of the test or its design was responsible for the fact that nearly 40 per cent of appeals against ESA decisions were successful. TUC Senior welfare expert Richard Exell said 'With appeals adding more than fifty per cent to the bill from Atos, this episode illustrates the risks of privatisation and contracting-out. The Work Capability Assessment is a terrible example of how not to design and implement welfare reform - re-testing is an embarrassment for the government, a headache for the DWP and a nightmare for claimants.' The DWP had previously admitted that Atos had not carried out some fitness testing within the agreed time limits, and performance had been "below the standard" since mid-2011.

Preston Guild Trades Procession

Preston Trades Council has supplied us with the following information:

Preston Guild Trades Procession
Saturday 1st Sept 2012
11:00 from Adelphi Street, Preston.

Union members affilliated to Preston and South Ribble Trade Unions Council are invited to join the procession for Preston Guild 2012. This is a once-in-20-years opportunity to promote the work that the trade unions do by taking part in a tradition which dates back to 1762.

If your Union Branch is affiliated to the Preston and South Ribble Trades Council you are invited to bring your own banners and join us with your family and friends behind the Trade Council banner and float. This is likely to be one of the most photographed events in Preston for years to come. Lets make it an event for trade union members to remember for many years.

Our Muster point is station 48 Harrington Street (off Adelphi Street) PR1 7BN, between 9.45 and 10.15. Adelphi Street will close to traffic from 9.00am.

Jobcentre Strike over Oppressive Targets

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

Jobcentre staff took strike action this week over oppressive working conditions and unrealistic targets. On 13 August, more than 6,000 PCS members in 32 call centres in England, Scotland and Wales reignited industrial action first taken last year against 'draconian conditions' they say prevent them from providing the kind of service callers require and deserve. PCS says despite negotiations and a review of services designed to ease the excessive target-driven culture, jobcentre management is still refusing to give staff the flexibility they need to deal with enquiries fully and professionally. A shortage of staff is also adding to problems, with hard-pressed staff encouraged to keep calls short to deal with the volume of queries. PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said: 'With unemployment remaining high and our economy in the grip of recession, it is shameful that jobcentre bosses are still refusing to let their staff provide the kind of help and advice that people need. These call centres provide a vital lifeline. Enquiries are often complicated, and people struggling to find their way around the benefits system are often understandably desperate and upset, but staff are being forced to end calls as quickly as possible just to meet an artificial target.' He added: 'Our members care about the services they provide and they want to be able to help people properly, not have to fob them off.'

The Redundancy Process Begins at Norcross...

...Your Help is Needed.

Dear Colleagues,

We are asking that all members write to the leaderships of the councils regarding the closure of the DWP Norcross site, and the fact that the redundancy process has now commenced for some members who are employed by the DWP’s contractors.

When the DWP Norcross site was announced to be closed on 27^th June 2012 PCS warned about the dangers of job losses and redundancies in the DWP and particularly in the DWP’s contractors areas. We doubted that all the jobs will be maintained in the Fylde if one very large site closes.

We asked the employer for assurances about all the DWP jobs and those of the contractors including, IT support, Catering, Messengerial, Security, and cleaners. We could not get a “no job losses assurance” for the DWP’s contractors.

When we met with the leadership of the Wyre Council on 28th May 2012 they were adamant that the guarantee of no job losses included the DWP’s contractors (catering, messengers, van drivers, security, cleaners etc). We explained to them who the contractors were and the type of work that they did and asked if they were absolutely sure that what they had was a “no job losses guarantee” in the DWP and including the DWP’s contractors. They indicated that they were but would check with the DWP.

As soon as the announcement was made the DWP’s official position in their manager’s brief and as reported in the media was “we will work with our suppliers and service partners to help seek redeployment opportunities for the individuals affected.” This is nowhere near to being a “no job losses guarantee” that the Councils Leadership publicly announced.  

The DWP’s contractors employing privatised former Civil Servants in some areas, such as MITIE cleaning have commenced the redundancy process and have started pre redundancy meetings with their staff.

 A model letter on the subject to send to your council leader (which is likely to be Wyre, Blackpool or Fylde for the majority of members) asking that they ensure that the commitment that they believe that they had secured is honoured can be found here along with contact details. Members in the support areas need your help.

Victimised over safety? That will be £1,200 please

Workers victimised for raising safety concerns will soon have to pay £1,200 if they want to seek justice at an employment tribunal. Unions have branded the move, announced last week by the government, 'a disgrace'. National union body TUC said the plans to introduce fees for tribunals covering the gamut of employer safety and employment law abuses will price low-paid workers out of justice and will mean workers will feel less able to raise safety problems at work. Changes scheduled to take effect in summer 2013 include measures that mean anyone who believes they 'suffer a detriment, dismissal or redundancy for health and safety reasons' may be required to pay an initial fee of £250 and a further £950 if the case goes to a tribunal, the maximum 'level 2' charges under the new system. A safety rep complaining of an employer 'failure to pay for or allow time off to carry out safety rep duties or undertake training' - denial of the legal right to safety rep training makes up the lion's share of safety-related tribunal cases - will have to stump up £160 to kick off a case and a further £250 to take it to tribunal. The same 'level 1' charges apply to workers complaining about an employer's 'failure to pay remuneration whilst suspended from work for health and safety reasons whilst pregnant or on maternity leave.' TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: 'It is vital that working people have fair access to justice, but introducing fees for tribunals will deter many - particularly those on low wages - from taking valid claims to court. Many of the UK's most vulnerable workers will simply be priced out of justice.' He added the government move means 'workers will be more likely to be mistreated at work as rogue bosses will be able to flout the law without fear of sanction.' UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said it was a 'disgraceful move that tips the scales of justice heavily towards employers, and denies legal redress to those who do not have the cash to pay for it.'

HSE pulls the plug on rock show lies

A claim by a rock show promoter that stars Bruce Springsteen and Sir Paul McCartney had the plug pulled on them at a Hyde Park concert for 'health and safety' reasons has been rubbished by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Kevin Myers, HSE's deputy chief executive and a self-confessed 'longstanding Bruce Springsteen fan', attended last week's Hard Rock Calling gig. In a statement critical of gig promoter Live Nation, he said he 'was doubly disappointed to hear Live Nation give 'health and safety' as the reason for cutting short Saturday's gig. The fans deserve the truth: there are no health and safety issues involved here. While public events may have licensing conditions dictating when they should end, this is not health and safety and it is disingenuous of Live Nation to say so.' HSE's top rock fan added: 'It's ironic that this excuse has been used in relation to Bruce Springsteen, who certainly knows what real health and safety is all about - look at the words of 'Factory' from Darkness on the Edge of Town referring to the toll that factory work can take on the health of blue collar workers. People will now only be able to speculate what the final number should have been. Given that he'd already played Wrecking Ball and that Paul McCartney was on stage, how about Don't let me down?' Westminster Council said the three hour show, which had over-run, was brought to a close by the organisers, not the authorities. In an email to the Wall Street Journal, Live Nation Europe chief operating officer Paul Latham subsequently shifted the blame for cutting The Boss short from health and safety to the well-heeled residents of some of London's most expensive neighbourhoods. 'Suffice to say the residents of Park Lane and Mayfair may not be numerous but they wield inordinate power over the Gogs and Magogs of City Hall and Parliament,' he wrote.

DWP Norcross Closure – Important Advice for the one to one interviews

The following has been provided by the Branch Chair, Martin Jones:

The "capture document" is not fit for purpose, so you will need to ensure that any points you want considering are raised afresh. They will not be picked up by the standard questions you may be asked; you will need to alter the "agenda" of the meeting (as will everyone else).

I would make the following points at your interview:

1. Travel time to Peel Park is infinity. Do not deviate from this wording. (It is infinity because you can only get to a certain point and then you would have to sit and wait for a bridge to be built. Whether or not you drive is irrelevant as unless you began work after 15.1.07 you mobility conditions of service are by public transport.) The Department has accepted that there is no safe route to Peel Park. This has been reconfirmed, so ignore any attempts at an alternative presentation and just keep repeating the points.

2. You are not willing to breach your mobility conditions of service. Or

3. You may be willing to breach your mobility conditions of service when you receive confirmation in writing of the level of compensation to be paid under Workforce Management policies.

4. If you have individual circumstances that apply, and there is an Equality aspect to these, add the following : When you have read the EIA, advise that that the EIA is not fit for purpose as it does not deal with your situation (or anybody else's for that matter.) Ask for this to be reviewed to take account of your circumstances. Raise any other individual issues, e.g. Health issues and ensure these are noted down.

5. Be aware that unless the campaign is successful, Norcross will close, so consider your alternative options, which are basically redeployment or an exit package. Be ready to deploy these in your interview unless you are prepared to go to Peel park and accept compensation under Workforce Management policies. The fact that they are not on the table currently is not relevant. The issue is to oblige these options to be considered. Redeployment may require what is known as a "doughnut" or vicinity exit package in order to create vacancies. The Department will want to avoid this for fear of a stampede at Warbreck, so it is in their interests to resolve particular cases. If you need representation, contact Jon Colgan.

6. Ignore any question asking you what your normal mode of transport is. This is a trick question and is not relevant unless you began work after 15.1.07. Just respond that travel time to Peel Park is infinity.

7. In short, members have rights, but only if they exercise them.

London Olympics 2012

Fylde Central Benefits and Services Branch Support London Olympics 2012.

I am sure we are all looking to some aspect of the London Olympics 2012 that is billed as the ‘The Most Ethical Yet’.

We must be aware of the millions of workers in third world countries that are employed in the global supply chains of multi-million-pound industries making the goods with the Olympics Logo for the games. These people are not getting their fair share from the vast share from the vast profits generated by the Olympics.

The War on Want Campaign is staging a campaign fighting to ensure that the Games Organisers and Committee follow ethical practices in producing Olympic branded goods - namely Adidas and Nike.

Researchers investigated working conditions in Chinese factories producing goods bearing the Olympic Logo found children as young as 12 years old who should be at school, adults earning 14p per hour and other employees being made to work up to 15 hours per day. China appears to ignore any Human Rights and Health and Safety Regulations.

We should be appalled by this recent modern day slavery which is nothing less than shameful.

PCS support War on Want and we ask you to be aware of the products that are bought bearing the Olympic Logo. Their is a need to regulate and promote decent work (in supply chains) and workers must be able to seek justice in the UK when they suffer explotive practices.

Please visit our stand where we have a display of information.

Venue Warbreck House Canteen

Date Tuesday 24th July 2012

Time 11.30am – 2.00pm

Norcross Closure – Members Information Meetings

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

The details of the meetings are as follows:

Thursday 12th July 2012

Norcross Canteen - 10.00am

Norcross Canteen - 2.00pm

Forty five minutes facility time has been requested (and agreed by DWP and BBW) for you to attend a meeting, please make every effort to attend.

The meetings will be to feed back from recent meetings with the employer and to discuss members’ issues.

If you have not yet joined PCS then there is still time to join (click here) and attend the meeting.

Only members will be able to attend the meetings.

Ben Wallace MP speaks to the Minister, Chris Grayling...about Norcross

Ben Wallace MP has provided the Branch with a short letter detailing that the closure of the Norcross site is a provisional decision based on suitable transport links being put in place for Peel Park access, a plan needing to be signed off by the Minister prior to DWP giving notice on their contract with Telereal Trillium to lease Norcross.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

Protest at government attack on safety rules

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

Protesters demanding the government 'Stop it, you're killing us' gathered outside the London HQ of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) on 3 July. The event, attended by over 50 placard and banner waving union and safety campaigners who want the government to stop eroding legal safety protection, came a day before the end of a government consultation on 14 measures that could see some safety rules, including the cranes register, axed. The event, which was organised by the Construction Safety Campaign with the support of unions and bereaved relatives group Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK), heard a succession of calls on the government to reverse its deregulatory policy. Commenting on the proposal to scrap the two-years-old Notification of Conventional Tower Crane Regulations, GMB national health and safety officer John McClean said: 'In the ten years before the tower crane regulations were introduced nine people were killed and there were 25 serious injuries in more than 60 accidents involving cranes in the UK. There are around 1,500 tower cranes in the UK and around 1,000 in use at any one time. These lifesaving regulations only came into force in 2010 and there has been insufficient time to evaluate the effect of the regulations on public safety.' He added: 'GMB is demanding that the register must remain in place. The regulations play a real part in saving lives and reassuring the public that the construction industry is taking the safety of workers and the public seriously.' FACK's Hilda Palmer said it was 'lunacy' to replace, or axe regulation, as companies will stop taking safety seriously. She added that cuts to the Health and Safety Executive's budget meant the safety watchdog is now 'reactive rather than proactive in dealing with unsafe work practices'. A request by protesters to meet a minister received no response.

Norcross Closure Announcement

To all members and potential members of the PCS Fylde Central Benefits and Services Branch

The purpose of this post is to inform members who may not already be aware but today, 27th June 2012, the employer has announced that the DWP Norcross site is to close.

The employer in an earlier meeting, and elsewhere has indicated that there will not be any DWP job losses or job losses in any of the contractors for the DWP as a result of today’s announcement. You may also be aware of the amount of work that has been undertaken by the Branch in raising the issue of job cuts and the potential of a site closing with the local MPs and local council leadership. There has been a fair degree of coverage in the media about these meetings and our campaign to defend jobs and promote the economy of the Fylde.

We do not believe that the decision announced today defends jobs nor does it promote the economy of the Fylde. It merely cements in the two thousand five hundred job losses that there have been in the over the last few years and means that it is highly unlikely/ impossible for there to be any return of those numbers of jobs.

What happens now? 

The Branch has today written to the employer setting out a series of questions regarding the closure. The topics include; confirmation that there will not be any job losses in the DWP (including FLSMs etc) or the contractors (including catering, cleaning, messengerial, security etc), that no work will move away from the Fylde, details about the units that may be going to other sites, and the question of members potentially being posted outside of the mobility conditions of service. This is merely the tip of the iceberg.

I will keep members informed of any updates.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Again if you require copies of the five circulars that have been issued over the last couple of months, which include details about your conditions of service and potential options then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Remember that it is important that members at Norcross actively support the Campaigns that the Branch/ PCS take forward.

Yours sincerely

Duncan Griffiths

Branch Secretary

Government can't leave safety to business

The following has been supplied by the TUC:
The government's insistence that workplace safety laws hold back the economy and that safety enforcement is a diversion business could and should do without is 'a cynical - and ultimately deadly - lie,' a new report has charged. The new issue of the safety journal Hazards magazine examining the government's safety strategy notes: 'Your life just got a little bit cheaper. Safety regulations and enforcement are out of favour, and for more and more workers, this could mean they are out of luck.' It adds 'this immoral government strategy will exact a high human and economic cost.' The report is critical of ministers for giving business the inside track on policy making. It says this privileged access comes both in face-to-face meetings and increasingly in policy initiatives like its Focus on Enforcement, where only a business viewpoint is sought. Hazards says while safety minister Chris Grayling is happy to hold regular sessions with business lobby groups to hear their safety wish list, relatives group Families Against Corporate Killers is still waiting a year after requesting an audience. The journal notes: 'The government would prefer to limit the business of consultation to business,' and points to the May 2012 Focus on Enforcement consultation which asked just those British chemical firms covered by the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations (COMAH) - those with the potential to cause the worst devastation if they go bang - how they'd like their safety enforced. 'No-one else - certainly not the workers or local residents who would be blown to smithereens - gets a look in,' it concludes.

Whistleblowing law undermined by the 'back door'

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

'The government is bringing in an amendment which will undermine the law on whistleblowing 'by the back door', an employment law expert has warned - and the protection of safety reps and whistleblowers is in the firing line. David Lewis, professor of employment law at Middlesex University and convenor of the International Whistleblowing Research Network, has written an open letter to business secretary Vince Cable attacking the lack of consultation over an amendment to whistleblowing provisions in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, which was presented to parliament on 23 May. The section 12 one-line amendment introduced in the Bill would mean disclosures made by whistleblowers would have to be 'in the public interest' in order to protect the individual if they are made redundant or suffer detriment as a result of doing so. Professor Lewis warns in his letter to the business secretary this will inhibit potential whistleblowers from making important disclosures about wrongdoing. Lewis told human resources magazine Personnel Today: 'My prime concern with this amendment is that most people have a choice whether to blow the whistle or not and they will keep quiet if they think it is the safest and most sensible option.' He added: 'What the bill is going to do is drop a bomb on the whistleblowing provisions by simply saying there is now going to be a public interest test for all cases in all circumstances, which completely sabotages the legislation.' He said that while a review of the legislation was needed, this change has been brought in 'by the back door' without consultation. The amendments would apply to the section 43B whistleblowing provisions in the Employment Rights Act 1996. Section 44 of this Act covers protection for safety reps raising concerns about workplace safety. It is believed the legal changes if introduced would have a dramatic impact on safety rights at work, leaving safety reps and whistleblowers without essential protection. Whistleblowers' charity Public Concern at Work says the 'public interest' qualifier would apply to any whistleblowing, including where 'the health or safety of any individual has been, is being or is likely to be endangered.'

Fit-for-work checks should be scrapped, say GPs

The following has been supplied by the TUC:
'Family doctors have called for an end to the work capability assessment introduced by the government in a bid to get more people off benefits and back to work. The British Medical Association's conference last week called for the fit-for-work checks to be scrapped because of the harm they do to vulnerable patients. The doctors, who represent GPs from across the UK, called instead for a more vigorous and safe process which takes into account the needs of long term sick and disabled patients. Dr Laurence Buckman, chair of the BMA's GPs Committee, said: 'When 40 per cent of appeals against the assessments are successful at tribunal hearings something is clearly very wrong with the system. Being in work is good for people's overall health and well-being, but GPs are seeing too many patients who genuinely need to be on incapacity benefit coming in very concerned and confused by the system.' He added: 'It's not fair on these patients but it could also have a wider impact as well - having a lower income may lead to people having a poorer quality of health and could therefore increase health inequalities for our nation as a whole. The government needs to look again at the whole assessment process and replace it with one that is fit for purpose.'

HSE health expertise 'destroyed by stealth'

The following has been supplied by the TUC:

The retirement in May 2012 of the chief medical adviser for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has left its Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS) close to collapse, a top HSE trade union rep has warned. Simon Hester, a frontline HSE field inspector and chair of the union Prospect's HSE branch, made the warning in a 22nd May letter to The Guardian. 'Twenty years ago EMAS was an internationally respected source of occupational health expertise employing 60 occupational health doctors and 62 nurses. It is now down to 2.2 doctors, only one of whom is full-time,' he wrote. 'Successive years of cuts and 'reviews' (three in the past five years) have effectively destroyed by stealth an organisation committed to the well-being of the nation's workforce.' Citing official HSE figures, he warned well over a million people are currently suffering from ill- health caused by or made worse by their work, 'all relying on medical help from an ever-stretched NHS, the vast majority suffering from preventable illnesses. If the government truly believes prevention is better than cure it must reverse the cuts to HSE and rebuild a service that can help protect the UK workforce.' HSE's ability to respond effectively to workplace health and cancer problems has been damaged by the demise of its medical wing, campaigners have warned.

PCS HQ Email Distribution

Email gathering
A growing number of PCS activists and members now receive information about PCS campaigns from HQ by personal email. This enables PCS to communicate quickly and efficiently and is increasingly important given the restrictions placed by some employers on workplace communications. 

Members can now give us personal email and mobile phone details through our quick sign up form which can be found here.