DWP Agree Increases in Canteen Costs

PCS has been advised by DWP management that:

“A review of the catering tariff with Land Securities Trillium (LST) has now been concluded and DWP has agreed that a tariff increase of 4.63% will be implemented across PRIME sites from 17th November 2008.”

National Action Suspended for Talks

The NEC agreed to suspend the national strike planned for 10 November and the overtime ban proposed to follow to enter into formal talks with the employer.

The decision was made after receiving a letter from Sir Gus O’Donnell, head of the civil service, which agreed that discussions should take place to address the concerns that form the basis of the national pay dispute and that the period during which the union could legally take industrial action would be extended by 28 days.

The programme of action which members voted for in the national ballot has been suspended while talks are taking place to find a solution to the dispute.

The NEC will meet again on 27 November to review progress in these talks.

Pay Campaign: Next steps & Suspension of 10th Nov. 2008 event.

Next steps.
The last minute offer of talks by the Cabinet Secretary Sir Augustine O’Donnell is welcome news; a vindication of the efforts members have made to secure justice on Pay. It is possible of course that this is just a ruse to secure suspension of the 10th November event. Since this would achieve nothing but a delay, this would seem rather pointless. We are cautiously optimistic therefore that there will be meaningful discussions.

However, the ongoing support of members for our Pay Campaign is now more vital than ever. Inflation stands at 5%. In DWP this year, the Pay Rise has been Zero. In MOD too, there have been Zero per cent pay rises in recent years, whilst there have been billions for the banks and senior bank executives.

Those who have received Pay Progression must not confuse this with a Pay Rise. All parts of the public sector have been hit by the pay cap, but only in the civil service does this cap have to fund Progression as well. In all other parts of the public sector, Pay Progression is funded separately. For those below max, until the mid-nineties, Progression jumps were around £1,000 a year, quite separate from the Annual Pay Rise. It is this money that was looted from us in 1995, and never put back.

In DWP this year, because there has been Progression, there has been no money for a Pay Rise. Remember too, that whether you are on max or progressing towards it, the current Pay Imposition means the max will devalue by 10% or more over the 3 years of the Imposition.

If government changes hands in 2010, its worth remembering that in the mid-nineties the (then) DSS budget was frozen for 4 years on the run. DSS still made pay offers, but how would DWP or MOD cope with a frozen budget, with staff cuts already factored in? Whatever the government, we have to alter the zero percent pay rise or it will be the tip of the iceberg. None of us can afford to have our Pay driven down by 10% in real terms every 3 years. Remember the bankers enjoyed “boom” years. We did not.

We call on all members to stand firm, Support the campaign, back the NEC-and write to your MP. Campaigning works. If you are not already a member, please fill in the application form on the reverse.

Suspension of 10th November event.
This occurred at the 11th hour, leaving the Branches in a tricky position as regards getting the news out. We did tannoy announcements at Norcross and Warbreck. At Peel Park the employer did the announcement, but left out most of the message resulting in numerous queries. Some management groups picked up on this and circulated the full tannoy message. Peel Park representatives also issued a quick circular. At Warbreck the employer e-cascaded the full message, and at Norcross we issued a not-entirely-related desk drop that was ready to go, so we were available to answer questions in some blocks.

The FCB&S Branch Secretary issued a press release. Unfortunately, the Gazette chose not to run this, but some information was covered on radio stations.

If any member inadvertently took Industrial Action on 10th November, please contact your Branch Office as a matter of urgency.

NATIONAL STRIKE SUSPENDED

The action on Monday and the overtime ban commencing Tuesday have both been postponed to allow time for more discussions.

There will be more information on the PCS website, however please be aware that this facility is being hit hard currently with users looking for info.

The PCS national executive committee met this morning and following their receipt of a letter from the Cabinet Office have decided to suspend the industrial action for 28 days as further talks have been have been offered to address the concerns that form the basis of the current dispute.

The Branch will update members with more information as we receive it.

Thank you all for supporting PCS, the campaign and your colleagues so far.

Unite - Blackpool Rally - Saturday 15 November 2008, 12.00 noon

The North West Unite against Facism (website here) organisation, teamed with the Blackpool Trades Council are holding a rally in Blackpool.

Once again the BNP are unfortunately holding their "party" conference in the New Kimberley Hotel on Blackpool Promenade.

The Protest will assemble in the square at the top of Victoria Street, Blackpool (near side entrance to Winter Gardens) and then march to protest outside New Kimberley Hotel, 585-589 New South Promenade, Blackpool, FY4 1NQ.

The promotional flyer can be found here.

DCPU Turrets Members Meeting (Units 2 & 3)

DCPU members will be aware that on Monday 24th November 2008 a “new ways of working” has taken place in your unit on the staffing of the Turrets.

We keep members informed as to the latest position from meetings with the employer in a series of circulars, however as the new way of scheduling the Turrets has rolled out into your unit we thought that a members’ meeting was needed to gauge feedback.

We have arranged a members’ meeting as follows for units 2 & 3:

Wednesday 26th November 2008
Warbreck Canteen

2:15 pm

45 minutes has been agreed for you to attend the meeting.

If you have read this post and are not a member; then please complete the application on the form found at the link on the top right hand side of this page.

Turret Pilot Update - Result of Members Ballot - Unit 5

The purpose of this post is to provide an update from the desk top ballot of members’ who work on the Turrets in Unit 5 on Tuesday 4th November 2008. Thanks to all the members who participated and gave their views.

As there was a meeting with Senior DCPU Management in Unit 5 to formally discuss the roll out of the pilot we thought that it would be beneficial to obtain up to date feedback (we had previously undertaken two walk rounds and audits of the rooms and also held a members’ meeting and ballot during the early stages of the roll out).

The results of the questions put to the members on 4th November 2008 were as follows:

a) Do you think that the roll out of the pilot on the Turrets has delivered its stated aims set out in the joint statement about availability on starting/ finishing times?
Yes = 40 No = 11

b) Do you think that the roll out of the pilot on the Turrets has delivered its stated aims set out in the joint statement about being able to state your preference without coercion?
Yes = 35 No = 15

The next stage is for the above to be raised with Senior DCPU Management on Tuesday 4th November 2008. A feedback circular will hopefully be issued from the meeting.

PCS Health Advice for all Members using telephones

Acoustic Shock Definition
In lay terms, it is a sonic surge, or shock delivered via a telephone system.

It is caused by a sudden spike or surge of noise at a given frequency that will damage the ear.

The effects vary from a ringing in the ear for a short period of time, to permanent damage of the inner ear affecting the organic mechanisms of balance.

Key factors to record if an incident of acoustic shock occurs
The following information should be recorded:

• Date and time of the incident
• Details of the source of the exposure
• Description of the noise
• Duration of the exposure
• Details of the headset and telephone equipment used
• Whether the incident was electronically recorded (a copy should be kept for future reference)
• Symptoms experienced by the operator directly related to the acoustic shock incident

DWP Guidance
Guidance states that staff who are exposed to acoustic shock incidents should record these as near misses.

If however, the incident causes you an adverse response then the incident should be recorded as an accident/injury using the AR1 form currently (at time of post) found here.

To assist with this staff should follow the Guidance for the completion of Accident, Near Misses and Workshop Health Issues Report Form AR1 which at present can be found here.

In addition to completing the AR1 form any adverse effect should also be reported to your GP for advice.

Further information on Acoustic Shock and good practices for call centres can be found on the HSE website here.

SCAMPS Funding

The Branch has received a letter from Michael Jack MP's office enclosing a reply from DWP about the funding of the SCAMPS scheme at Lytham.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

PCS Industrial Action

It's on We're Out!

ALL OUT ON 10th NOVEMBER 2008
Then a Civil Service wide overtime ban

The purpose of this post is to inform members of the strike action on the 10th November 2008 to be followed by a Civil Service wide overtime ban.

PCS has done everything possible to negotiate a solution to the Pay problems and the lack of a Civil Service Pay structure and Civil Service pay Negotiation.

Talks have been held with the Government, who has failed to honour its commitments:

Tony Blair, Prime Minister, 5th May 2004, “The objective of this work (in partnership with Unions) is to improve the coherence of pay and conditions across the Civil Service within an overarching delegated framework”.

John Hutton, Cabinet Office Minister, 9th May 2005, “I agree with you that there is a need to make concrete progress in 2005 towards a more coherent pay system for all Civil Servants”

But the employer is not, so far, prepared to accept our fair and reasonable demands. The ballot of all union members in the Civil Service took place in early autumn and the members have decided to take strike action (and action short of a strike) to restore National Pay Bargaining and a National Pay structure.

The date above is the next stage of the action.

Your Pay and Conditions of Service Under Threat The Civil Service Pay levels including pay progression are deteriorating, and worse still pay cuts in real terms threaten further erosions to our pay.

We are not the cause of inflation we are the victims of inflation.

OVERALL OBJECTIVES OF THE CAMPAIGN
We are aiming for the widest possible support from members for our pay objectives based on gaining your agreement that;

• All members in the civil service should be paid the same "going rate" for the job (i.e. the higher pay rates now existing in some civil service organisations),
  
• The principle of "equal pay for work of equal value" applies across all parts of the civil service and related organisations, for all grades/pay bands, by raising the lower pay rates up to the same as the higher ones,
  
• Speedy pay progression to maximum rates for all i.e. no more than 5 years,
  
• Separately funded pay progression and pay rise elements
  
• There must be protection of pay values in "higher paying" organisations and improved pay progression for all members in all areas.

JOIN YOUR COLLEAGUES ON STRIKE ON THE 10th NOVEMBER 2008 SUPPORT THE FOLLOWING CIVIL SERVICE WIDE OVERTIME BAN

Potential Members; If you have not yet joined your Union, please consider doing so by completing the form found at the link on the top right hand side of this page.

PCS calls on Government to Avoid Damaging Strike

The national executive committee (NEC) has agreed the first stages of a programme of national industrial action across civil and public services over the government's public sector pay cap.

The union urged the government to come to the negotiating table to avoid damaging industrial action and review its public sector pay cap of 2%, which is resulting in pay cuts and pay freezes for some of the lowest paid in the public sector.

If there is no movement from the government then industrial action will begin with a one day UK civil service and public sector strike strike on 10 November, hitting passports, Jobcentres, Tax Credits, immigration and customs, as well as driving licences, coastguards, driving tests and museums.

The one day strike, which will be followed by an overtime ban throughout the civil service, comes as civil and public servants across the UK face mounting pressure on their finances as a result of the government’s public sector pay cap.

With one in five in the civil service earning less than £15,000 and thousands earning just above the minimum wage, the government’s policy of capping public sector pay has hit some of the lowest paid in the public sector the hardest.
In October, at least six government departments and agencies, including coastguards and the Office for National Statistics, had to give emergency pay rises to lift earnings above the new national minimum wage rate.

The NEC also agreed outline plans for sustained and targeted industrial action that would stretch into next year in the different sectors of the civil service.

The NEC will meet after the one day strike on 10 November to discuss dates for the sectoral action should there be no breakthrough with the government.

Unlike other parts of the public sector, civil servants are doubly disadvantaged because ‘progression’ (moving from the minimum to the maximum of the pay range) is included in the government’s pay cap along with cost of living increases. Hence there is less money available to fund basic pay awards.

This year has already seen pay strikes hit jobcentres, passports, immigration and coastguards across the UK, as well as strikes in the Scottish courts service, museums and sportscotland.

PCS members have also co-ordinated their industrial action over pay with other public sector unions, including NUT, UCU and Unison.

Commenting, Mark Serwotka, PCS general secretary, said: “The everyday things we take for granted from passports and getting back into work, through to tax credits, coastguards and securing our borders are delivered by hardworking civil and public servants. Giving these people pay rises that take their wages to just 13 or 25 pence above the national minimum wage is unsustainable when you face double digit rises in food, fuel and housing costs.

“There is a three week opportunity to avoid damaging industrial action, where the government can pay heed to the Bank of England’s warning on the economic consequences that the squeeze on wages is having. The government has the opportunity to recognise that its own workforce is doubly disadvantaged by a punitive pay system, that sees coastguards receiving special pay rises because the minimum wage has gone up and nearly half of jobcentre workers receiving no pay rise whatsoever this year.”

Campaigns for the Restoration of National Civil Service Pay Bargaining and Structure

The Branch has issued the following press release locally:

Civil Service National Pay Dispute The PCS Calls for Action.

PCS Industrial Action on 10th November 2008, followed by an Overtime Ban Throughout the Civil Service.

Background
to the dispute During the 1990’s Civil Service Pay Bargaining and a Civil Service Pay Structure was stolen from the members.

This has resulted in over 200 separate bargaining units and people being paid less than others for doing the same job.

The ending of a Civil Service Pay structure has in many areas resulted in the blending of Pay Progression and Pay rise elements to Inflate, or double sell, Pay offers.

Pay Rise and Pay Progression elements.
In the Civil Service there are two key elements to any pay offer to consider. First is the Pay Rise element. This is how much the pay scale increases by; it is sometimes also called the cost of living rise.

It is distinct from Pay Progression, which is the time that it takes to move from scale Minima to scale Maxima. This used to be as little as 4 to 8 years in the 1980’s. Pay Progression used to be a separate issue from Pay Rise and was something that members received annually. This was deliberately blended in the early 1990’s to try and confuse staff into believing that they were getting a higher pay increase than they were in actuality.

The Government agrees to Pay Talks but nothing is ever concluded
After years of talks about pay coherence the PCS National Executive Committee want to step up our campaigning on pay to apply more pressure on the government to take action to bring an end to the current chaos and unfairness of Civil Service pay.

The Ballot
The ballot on the Industrial Action took place between 24th September 2008 and 17th October 2008.

The Ballot Results
The results of the ballot are as follows:

Those in favour of strike action = 54% Those against = 46% Those in favour of action short of a strike = 80% Those against = 20%

OUR DEMANDS ARE REASONABLE
The following are the list of our demands:

• All members in the civil service should be paid the same "going rate" for the job (i.e. the higher pay rates now existing in some civil service Departments),
• The principle of "equal pay for work of equal value" applies across all parts of the civil service and related organisations, for all grades/pay bands, by raising the lower pay rates up to the same as the higher ones,
• Speedy pay progression to maximum rates for all i.e. no more than 5 years,
• Separately funded pay progression and pay rise elements, so giving the Civil Service parity with all other parts of the public sector.
• There must be protection of pay values in "higher paying" organisations and improved pay progression for all members in all areas.

The Next Steps
The PCS National Executive Committee met on 23rd October 2008 and discussed to next stages of the campaign. They have decided to call the following programme of action as the Government have failed to live up to their commitments (see below).

The programme of action includes:

• Industrial Action across the Civil Service on 10th November 2008; followed by an overtime ban throughout the civil service.
• The NEC also agreed outline plans for sustained and targeted industrial action that would stretch into next year in the different sectors of the civil service.
• The NEC will meet after the one day strike on 10 November to discuss dates for the sectoral action should there be no breakthrough with the government.

Quotes from the Government
Tony Blair, Prime Minister, 5th May 2004, “The objective of this work (in partnership with Unions) is to improve the coherence of pay and conditions across the Civil Service within an overarching delegated framework”

John Hutton, Cabinet Office Minister, 9th May 2005, “I agree with you that there is a need to make concrete progress in 2005 towards a more coherent pay system for all Civil Servants”

Unfortunately the Government has not to date honoured its commitments.
Quotes from the PCS Fylde Central Benefits and Services Branch The Secretary of the Fylde Central Benefits and Services Branch Duncan Griffiths said “we have little doubt that the members, who voted for strike action, and overwhelmingly for action short of a strike (e.g. an overtime ban) in the ballot will now back up the campaign to defend their pay and restore Civil Service pay bargaining.”

The Branch Organiser of the SPVA (Ministry of Defence) Branch Rachel Wallace-Dand said “the National Executive Committee met on 23rd October 2008 and discussed what the next stages will be.

The programme of action includes Industrial Action across the Civil Service on 10th November 2008; followed by an overtime ban throughout the civil service. The NEC also agreed outline plans for sustained and targeted industrial action that would stretch into next year in the different sectors of the civil service.

The NEC will meet after the one day strike on 10 November to discuss dates for the sectoral action should there be no breakthrough with the Government. Even though it is very late in the day there is still time for the Government to honour its commitments (please see quotes above from the Government). However it is now looking like Industrial action is inevitable, as members have little option than to stand up and say enough is enough we have seen through the smokescreen from the employer that has been in place since National Pay bargaining was snatched from us, and realise that it is totally unjustified that people should be working doing the same or similar jobs and being paid thousands of pounds less.

I have little doubt that the members will overwhelmingly support any call for Industrial action given the results of the ballot. No one takes Industrial action lightly, it is the last resort when all else has failed, but now is the time for the members to vote with their feet and demonstrate to the Government that they are not prepared to sit idly by and watch their pay be eroded by inflation. Civil Servants are not the cause of inflation we are the victims of inflation.”

For further details contact:
Duncan Griffiths Branch Secretary Room 7233 Norcross Telephone: (01253) 332881

Background details

• The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) is the largest trade union in the Civil Service with circa 300,000 members.
• The Fylde Central Benefits and Services Branch has over 3,300 members mainly in the Department for Work and Pensions in the Fylde (Norcross, Peel Park and Warbreck).
• SPVA Branch represents hundreds of members in the MOD at Norcross and other sites.

Turrets Working In The DCPU

The purpose of this post is to provide an update on the roll-out of the turret pilot in Unit 5, the processes to ensure in Units 1 and 4 that are continuing and the potential roll out of the processes into Units 2 & 3.

Units 5 (The first Unit to roll out the pilot)
On 15th October 2008 there was a members’ meeting in Unit 5, and the actual details of the outcome have been circulated to members in the area. On 16th October 2008 we presented the findings broken down room by room to the employer. A circular detailing the responses has been issued to members in the area. On Monday 20th October 2008 a small team of activists walk round all the rooms in Unit 5 to gauge the latest position and again the results were fed back to the employer at a meeting on Wednesday 22nd October 2008. There was an acceptance that there has not been the level of communications that were desirable, but the message that availability and preference are different things appears now to be resonating. Senior DCPU 5 Management are going to try a form of control sheet in their area that allows easier identification of availability (when you are available to cover the phones) and preference (when you would prefer to cover the phones, without feeling coercion).

The question of targets in terms of set number of hours on the phones has been withdrawn.

The room that had not started on the process (B215) have now started with effect from 20th October 2008.

Issues such as the length of shifts and flexibility are being progressed and further details will be issued to the members in Unit 5 after next week’s meeting.

We will continue to seek feedback and intend to look at means of doing so (room meetings etc).

Units 1 and 4 (The pilot area)
On 14th October 2008 a small team of PCS activists walked round Units 1 and 4 to gauge if there were still any problems. A comprehensive audit of the rooms was undertaken. This was broadly in line with the members ballot on 17th September 2008 (details of which have been previously circulated), however there had been some changes due to the time that had lapsed. On 16th October 2008 we presented the points from the walk round of Units 1 and 4 to the employer. The Senior Management were asked to respond to the points.

At the meeting on Wednesday 22nd October 2008 Unit 1 Management responded to the results of the walk round sheets, advising that they thought (in the main) that they were positive and that they had looked into all the areas of concern. They were satisfied that the message contained in the three agreed joint statements had been implemented and re-stated.

Unfortunately Unit 4 Management have yet to respond to their results of the walk round sheets, but they have been asked to and reminded particularly the “pockets” where it still does not appear to be working as it should.

Units 2 & 3
Units 2 and 3 were due to go live in terms of the rollout from week commencing 3rd November 2008, however it is now likely that this may be postponed by a short period of time due to the fact that half terms week is right in front of the roll out week and there needs to be an assurance process, so that things are done correctly.

Preference and Availability
Remember the Joint Statement that the pilot process is to work on both preference AND availability, as it states -

‘The terms of the Pilot were to take forward a process that would allow staff to state their availability (times staff will be in the office on any particular day) and preference (giving staff the opportunity to state the period they would prefer to undertake their turret cover without feeling they are being coerced) whilst recognising that cover has to be provided.’

Therefore, all staff should be asked to state their start and finish times and their preferred turret slot within their stated availability. However, with preference comes responsibility and members need to remember that we also have a responsibility from the Joint Statement to ensure that the slots are fully filled, but of course without coercion.

Staffing and processes in Helpline
The employer has indicated that the GAD upgrade has in their opinion gone well and also that the recruitment into Helpline of 24 staff (who are now taking calls) has meant a reduction recently in the amount of “Turreting”.

We will continue to press for additional staffing at the forthcoming meetings with the employer to ensure that the key aspect in the joint agreed statements is honoured i.e. the need to address the staffing issues in Helpline to reduce the dependency on excessive amounts of Turrets cover.

I would like to thank Emma Haslehurst, Clark Nuttall and Victor Carman for all their work over the past few weeks in walk rounds and meetings etc.

If anyone experiences any problems or has any concerns about the pilot, the roll out thus far and into the next stages, please contact Emma Haslehurst or Dean Rhodes. It is important that issues are raised now so that we can try and address them during the next stages of the pilot roll out.

International Briefing Launch Of Online Survey for PCS Members On International Issues

Consultation Process
I have initiated a project to consult the union's membership about its interest in international issues, and to invest in developing the capacity of union members to be involved in future international work. The work is being funded with a grant from the Department for International Development's 'Development Learning Fund', managed by the TUC's European Union and International Relations Department.

Online Survey
A new international Project Officer, Gary Willis, has been recruited on a temporary contract to handle the development of the project. One of his first tasks has been to develop an online survey, which can be found here.

The online survey went live on 9 October and will be on the site for one month. I appreciate that now is an extremely busy time, but if you are able to make members aware of the existence of the survey, then they have the option of choosing to participate.

Printed Version
Members who prefer to complete a paper copy of the survey can contact Gary at: gary@pcs.org.uk or write to him:

Gary Willis, International Project Officer,
PCS, Deputy General Secretary's Office,
160 Falcon Road,
London SW11 2LN

He will arrange for a copy to be sent to the member, together with a pre-paid envelope.

Random Sample
A printed version of the survey will also be sent out to a random sample of 1,000 members from each of PCS' groups.

Statutory Rights for Workplace Environmental Reps

Background
At our national green forum in December last year John McDonnell MP, chair of the PCS parliamentary group of MPs, proposed that we to table a parliamentary amendment which would seek to amend the ACAS code of practice on trade union duties and activities to provide for statutory rights for environmental reps.

As environmental reps do not at present have legal rights to time off to carry out the role or undertake training, extending the scope of union activities to cover environmental issues at work only happens through voluntary agreements with employers.

Pressure has been growing in parliament around this issue over the last couple of years. In 2006/7 John McDonnell tabled an early day motion (EDM) asking for workplace environmental reps to be given the same rights as other union reps. A further EDM was tabled by Martin Salter MP last year on the same issue.

We have been working with John McDonnell's office and have now drafted an amendment to the Employment Bill that is presently going through parliament to provide for time off for training and carrying out activities along similar lines to those accorded to union learning reps in 2002.

The amendment is in keeping with a motion on climate change that was carried at TUC Congress this year as well as the TUC Just Transition pamphlet A Green and Fair Future that was published earlier in the year. Both call upon the government to give statutory rights to environmental reps.

Why do we need green reps?
Last week the new Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband announced that the Government would amend the Climate Change Bill by increasing the target for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from 60 to 80 per cent by 2050.
Over half of carbon emissions are work­related so organisations have a vitally important role to play in tackling climate change.

Collective action in the workplace can lead to changes in policy and structures as well as individual behaviour and so is more effective in cutting carbon than actions taken by individual consumers. Staff at all levels need to be engaged in the task of helping to reduce emissions - union environmental reps play a key role in raising awareness and ensuring that environmental issues are included in the bargaining agenda with employers.

Employers have however been slow to implement carbon reduction and wider environmental measures.

Civil service employers were strongly criticised earlier in the year by the parliamentary Environment Audit Committee (EAC) which produced a report that described the government's performance in greening its own estate as "extremely poor" and "very disappointing".
We welcome the EAC's recommendation that the Office of Government Commerce works with civil service unions on greening government departments. I am now engaged in talks with the Cabinet Office, alongside other civil service unions, to take this recommendation forward.

Support for rights for workplace environmental reps
The campaign for rights for workplace environmental reps is supported by green organisations such as Friends of the Earth and the Campaign against Climate Change. Last month the Green Party carried a motion at its autumn conference calling for statutory rights for environmental reps.

The vital role union reps can play in tackling climate change has also been acknowledged by government ministers. In June, Secretary of State for the Environment Hilary Benn visited the British Museum where PCS led on one of the TUC's Greenworkplaces projects last year. Speaking afterwards at a TUC conference on climate change he said:

"Today I saw at first hand the valuable role that union reps are playing. I visited a 'Greening the workplace' project at the British Museum, where union reps have worked in partnership with management to raise awareness of climate change in the workplace and identify opportunities for carbon savings.

I was impressed with the work I saw and with the real commitment and enthusiasm. What is clear is that bottom­up union and employee led action can really make a difference."

What you can do Contact your MP and ask them to support the amendment and encourage members in your branch to do so too. A model letter can be found here in MS Word format and is also available on the PCS website here.

Please pass on any responses from your MP to campaigns officer Laura Cockram on 020 7801 2820 or laurac@pcs.org.uk so we can track which MPs support the amendment.

Members vote 'YES' for Action

A majority of members voting in the national ballot have voted in favour of a programme of industrial action:

Question 1: strike action

• Number of ballot papers returned 91,749
• Number voting ‘yes’ 48,946 (54%)
• Number voting ‘no’ 41,832 (46%)
• Spoilt ballot papers 971

Question 2: action short of a strike:

• Number of ballot papers returned 91,749
• Number voting 'yes' 72,662 (80%)
• Number voting 'no' 17,666 (20%)
• Spoilt ballot papers 1,421

The turnout was 35%.

We have had a democratic ballot. All relevant members had the opportunity to vote. A clear majority of members who cast their vote, voted in favour of the action.

The ballot result sends a clear message to the employer that members support their union’s policy and that we want:

• Each member to receive a consolidated basic pay increase at least equal to the retail price index;
• A level playing field between public sector workers by removing pay progression costs from budgets for increases;
• Reduction in the number of separate pay negotiations;
• An end to pressure for regional pay;
• Additional funding to remedy equal pay problems;
• An end to links between pay and performance appraisal.

With the ballot result, we will continue to press the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury to come to an agreement over our demands. As ever, PCS will do all it can to proceed by discussion and negotiation.

Next steps

The national executive committee will meet next week on 23 October to receive reports on responses from government to our demands and, in the continuing absence of a positive response, to decide on the timing of national strike action and to endorse plans for targeted sectoral action and national action short of a strike.

On behalf of the NEC we wish to thanks all reps for their hard work in achieving this ballot result. We must now go forward united and determined to secure a fair settlement for members.

Mark Serwotka, General Secretary
Janice Godrich, President

Further DCPU Turret Update

Meeting with Senior DCPU Unit 5 Management - Thurs 16th Oct 2008
The purpose of this circular is to provide an update from the meeting with Senior DCPU Unit 5 on Thursday 16th October 2008 to discuss the feedback from the members in Unit 5. Thanks to all the members who attended the meeting and gave their views.

We raised the details from the ballot including the results from the different rooms. Senior Management have taken these away and will be looking to improve communications to ensure that the situation on the ability to state availability and preference on times to work on the Turrets is as per the agreed joint statement. The issue of the length of shifts highlighted in some of the rooms was raised and the lack of flexibility.

We also re-emphasised the fact that it had been agreed that the two fifths of time to be spent on the Turrets had been withdrawn (this had been implemented in three of the above rooms). The employer advised that the clarification that the two fifths had been withdrawn had been e-mailed around all the Turrets AOs in the rooms concerned.

We also picked up some of the general issues picked up at the members’ meeting such as:

Were Helpline busy to the point that they need as much support? We were advised that Helpline are busy and that they deploy the Helpline support staff and other prior to utilising the Turreteers. (Frankly there just are not enough staff in the DCPU).

The GAD system is has not been functioning properly however they expect to get this resolved so that it does

They do keep statistics on how many hours people have worked on the Turrets for purposes of filling the slots however they indicated that this was not for PDS (Appraisal purposes) and they destroyed the details after use. We reiterated the point that if there wasn’t the availability to cover the slots then Helpline needed to be informed as there was not a treasure chest of staff to call upon.

The next step is that we will do a further walk round and obtain updated feedback and will then meet again with Senior DCPU Management.

DCPU Turret Pilot Roll Out Update

Meeting with Members of DCPU Unit 5.

The purpose of this post is to provide an update from the members’ meeting on Wednesday 15th October 2008 to discuss the rollout of the Turret pilot in Unit 5. Thanks to all the members who attended the meeting and gave their views.

There had been a walk round in Unit 5 on 8th October 2008 to gauge feedback and the details had been referred to Senior DCPU Management within 24 hours of the walk round. As a ballot of the members had taken place at the start of the Turret pilot it had been agreed that it would be best if one did so as the pilot rolled out to ascertain membership feedback.

The results of the questions put to the members at the meeting on 15th October 2008 were as follows:

a) Do you think that the pilot (roll out) on the Turrets has delivered its stated aims set out in the joint statement about preference on starting and finishing times?
Yes: 8 No: 13

b) Do you think that the pilot (roll out) on the Turrets has delivered its stated aims set out in the joint statement about being able to state your availability without coercion?
Yes: 5 No: 16

c) Do you agree that members should have the ability to state their availability without coercion?

Yes: 21 No: 0

d) Would you prefer to return to line managers issuing Turrets rotas?

Yes: 2 No: 18

The next stage is for the issues raised at the meeting on 15th October 2008 to be raised with Senior DCPU Management on Thursday 16th October 2008. (The results and comments varied dramatically dependant upon the room concerned).

A feedback circular will hopefully be issued from the meeting.

We also intend to do a further walk round of the rooms to ascertain an updated position on members’ views

Don't forget to vote in the National Pay Ballot

The government wants us to think there is no money for civil and public servants' pay. But pay in the private sector is increasing at 1 % higher than the public sector; senior civil servants can get as much as £40,000 in bonuses; and billions can be found to bail out the bankers.

Sir Gus O'Donnell, Head of the Civil Service, and permanent secretaries have urged you not to rock the boat at a time of economic difficulty by voting for industrial action.

Are we asking too much?
We simply want to protect the living standards of public servants with inflation level basic pay increases. We want a level playing field. Pay progression costs should be funded separately, as is the case elsewhere in the public sector, so that more money is available for basic pay increases.

This can easily be afforded. It is a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of bankrolling the bankers. The financial crisis is not of our making - we don't have to pay for it.

AGM Arrangements 2009

Dear Colleagues

Following the 2008 Branch Annual General Meeting, Members were asked to complete a feedback questionnaire.

Thanks to all members who did so.

The comments and responses from members were, with two exceptions, extremely positive, for which our thanks. Your representatives do welcome your appreciation of the hard work that goes into this key event.

There were two key areas that you identified that required addressing: The venue and the lack of food. It was also obvious that the two went together.

The Branch Committee has addressed these concerns.

The 2009 AGM will be at the Cliffs Hotel on Thursday, 26th February, commencing at 10.15 am. We have managed to ‘square the circle’ regarding certain logistical arrangements. Tables will be provided and there will be plenty of food.

I have also been asked to point out that the Department does not permit consumption of alcohol whilst on duty and the Branch cannot generate a position where members could leave themselves open to disciplinary action.

Preferences for morning or afternoon start are split fairly evenly. There are advantages and disadvantages either way. However, PCS is a Union that takes Equal Opportunities seriously. Many part-time members find afternoon meetings much more difficult to attend, hence next year we have gone for the morning start. However, this will be kept under review for subsequent years.

I am delighted to announce that the guest speaker will be Chris Baugh, the Union’s Assistant General Secretary, and who is in fact from Blackpool.

One issue raised by many of you is the need for more time for the meeting. This is under the employer’s control. Within the resources available, we have already used every conceivable device to maximise the time. And because we have staff on fixed hours, we are not simply able to extend the meeting into members’ own time.

Industrial relations is one of the strands featuring in the pay talks. We will ask for the time for AGM’s to be increased as part of these talks.

I hope members find the above information helpful.

Yours Sincerely

Martin Jones
Branch Chair