Interested in going for FREE to Glastonbury or other festivals? Take a look at the "Workers Beer Company" section of this site for details.
Friday 28 June 2013
Thursday 27 June 2013
Wednesday 26 June 2013
Osbourne spends £50bn on chocolate fire guard
In today's spending review Osbourne committed to spending £50bn of capital investment on roads, railways, bridges and broadband.
In the same spending review he announced 144,000 public sector job cuts, budget cuts for most government departments, a pay cut in real terms for thousands of civil servants, and cuts to benefits.
If people don't have any money to use his roads, railways, bridges and broadband, then they are about as much use as a chocolate fire guard.
Overtime Ban - starts Monday
Back the overtime ban to fight the cuts
A national overtime ban starts on Monday in support of our campaign against the cuts.
The ban, which runs until 31 August, is an essential part of ongoing industrial action to keep up pressure on ministers to agree to national talks on vital issues, including pay, terms and conditions and job security.
This is an essential part of the campaign of industrial action aimed at causing the maximum problems for the employer unless they agree to negotiations with us. It is lawful industrial action and was covered by the recent ballot.
We have asked for talks on pay, pensions and terms and conditions, but ministers are imposing cuts and refusing to negotiate.
Over the four years of a pay freeze and cap, public sector workers stand to lose almost 20% of their income. Ministers are also now trying to rip up your basic working conditions, with hours, holidays, flexible working and sick pay all up for grabs.
Thousands are threatened by redundancy and privatisation.
Overtime is usually voluntary and we are asking you to refuse to do any voluntary overtime from 1 July to 31 August. If you are required to carry out compulsory or conditioned overtime which is counted as contractual pensionable pay then this is not covered by the overtime ban.
Sowing seeds of doubt
PCS reps work hard to ensure that overtime bans are well supported by helping members with questions about what they should and shouldn’t do, ensuring that pickets turn out when overtime is requested at the weekend, and giving support and advice where there is any threat of harassment by managers.
Mark Page, a rep at Station Street Jobcentre in Nottingham, told us how he and his branch have helped support members and upheld previous overtime bans, including the last one which ended on 20 June.
He said: “Our good, solid members alert us when they hear that a request has gone out for people to do overtime. We’ve had two picket lines on Saturdays now. We’ve been out there at 7.30am in the morning with our banner.
“Although we don’t often stop people from going in, I think they are very surprised to see a picket there and it sows a seed of doubt in their minds. It means that the next time they will definitely think twice about coming in to do overtime.
“Our picket lines are very good spirited. We had a chance to engage with claimants turning up, who were a bit annoyed about having to travel five miles to come to that office as they used to go to one nearer their homes. In turn, we told them about our concerns and there was a lot of mutual sympathy.”
2013 Spending Review - Key Points
PAY AND JOBS
- 1% cap on public sector pay rises
- Automatic progression pay to be ended in civil service, schools, hospitals, prisons and the police but not the armed forces
WELFARE
- New cap on elements of welfare spending from April 2015
- Cap to be set in cash terms every four years
- Housing benefit, tax credits, disability living allowance and state pension to be included
- Pensioners living abroad to lose winter fuel allowance under new "temperature test"
- Work and pensions budget cut by 9.5%
- Seven-day wait before jobseekers can claim benefits
- Claimants will have to attend language schools or benefits will be cut
- So a 9.5% budget cut, another staff pay cut in real terms, increased workload, staff having to give out more distressing decisions to customers, customers being forced toward food banks and loan sharks and the government having more excuses to stop customers money.
SHOW THE GOVERNMENT WE'LL NOT ACCEPT THESE ATTACKS ON THE WORKING CLASS - SUPPORT THE PCS NATIONAL CAMPAIGN.
Via twitter
“Today we’re introducing Upfront Work Search. We’re going to give people more time with jobcentre advisors” #SR2013
And it begins...
Chancellor: We will end automatic progression pay in the Civil Service by 2015-16 #SR2013
Like Festivals?
(Sunset - Glastonbury 2013)
Would you like to help raise funds for the Branch Hardship fund.? The fund allows us to make small payments to members suffering financially as a result of strike action.
Do you like festivals? Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds?
Are you reliable and can you be vouched for?
Then you could be part of the bar teams working at festivals this year!
All your earnings go to the hardship fund, but you do get free entry to the festival, meals and access to showers. You work between 6 - 8 hours per day but the rest of the festival is yours.
So far we have raised over £1200 for the hardship fund using the Workers Beer Company. Check out www.workersbeer.co.uk for general information and email pcswigan@gmail.co.uk to register your interest.
Tuesday 25 June 2013
Want to find out your pension options?
Your PCS Wigan learning reps have arrange a number of pension courses for members designed to tell you everything you need to know about your pension options when you retire. Feedback from those who have attended so far as been extremely positive. The course is usually over 3 days (weekdays) at Wigan College and its free to attend.
If you want to know more or would like to put your name down for the next available course then speak to your local rep or email pcswigan@gmail.com
TUC Young Workers Conference - 2013
It’s an exciting time for the Young Workers Forum. The Forum met last week, for the first time under its new name, and chose the issues that it will address in its three priority campaigns for 2013/14: pay and employment, housing and promoting unions.
Our campaign focus on Pay and Employment will see the Young Workers Forum play its part in the national TUC campaign to spread the Living Wage and expose pay exploitation of young workers. We’ll also be stepping up the youth unemployment campaign and in particular increasing support for the Charter for a Future That Works.
On Housing, we’re going to highlight and call for action to address the issues that many young workers face in finding somewhere to live. We’re starting this off with a survey of union young members on housing, which will be followed by a special report and conference to raise awareness of the issues.
Promoting Unions will be a standing campaign that will be run every year. Its aim will be to raise the profile of trade unions amongst young workers and encourage existing young members to get more involved in their union. Key parts of this campaign will be ensuring use and delivery of the TUC’s excellent Unions into Schools materials and a Young Workers Month, which will hopefully be held in the autumn.
We are also changing the way the Forum meets, to make it more inclusive and more relevant to young workers. From July as well the more formal delegate based meetings we’ll be holding Open Forums in TUC regions to which all young workers, regardless of whether they are members of a union or not, will be invited. These Open Forums will feature speakers from unions and partner organisations, include training on campaigning and will be a chance for a broader group of young workers to engage with the unions and the TUC.
We’ll be starting the Open Forums in July in London and then will go to Manchester in October and Newcastle in early 2014.
I’d like to thank the Forum delegates for the courage and imagination they’ve shown in trying to make the Forum more effective and relevant to young workers. I’ll be posting regular updates here on how our priority campaigns are progressing and of course what we’ve heard and learnt from the young workers who come along to our Open Forums – I hope we’ll see you at one of them!
Monday 24 June 2013
PRIZE DRAW - Join in today
Join the PCS Prize Draw!
WIN A CASH PRIZE
All PCS Wigan Branch members could win a cash prize each month in our monthly prize draw.For a monthly donation of at least a £1.00 YOU CAN WIN A CASH PRIZE !
The amount of prize money depends on how many members make a monthly donation and how much is donated.
e.g 900 members = £450!
Winning members will be notified and the result of the draw published on this page.
Please note. Members may make more than one donation per month, however a member will only be allowed to have one entry in each monthly draw.
WIN A CASH PRIZE
All PCS Wigan Branch members could win a cash prize each month in our monthly prize draw.For a monthly donation of at least a £1.00 YOU CAN WIN A CASH PRIZE !
The amount of prize money depends on how many members make a monthly donation and how much is donated.
e.g 900 members = £450!
Winning members will be notified and the result of the draw published on this page.
Please note. Members may make more than one donation per month, however a member will only be allowed to have one entry in each monthly draw.
Monday 3 June 2013
Support the strike - Join picket lines and rallies!
Today members will have seen information about the derisory 1% pay award presented by DWP. Shockingly they will also see that management have skewed the performance bonuses in favour of the 'achieved' - a marking rarely given out to those below SEO. Those in the Must Improve category will get no non-consolidated payment (bonus) at all, this affects up to 10% of staff likely to be in the lower grades, part time and/or with health problems. This is a slap in the face for staff working under pressure to deliver massive benefit reform in a time of high unemployment.
Four years of pay restraint and increased pension contributions have seen the value of our members take home pay fall by 20%.
Members in both DWP and HMRC taking action in the North West tomorrow have also seen s concerted attack by the Government on long held Terms and Conditions. Further attacks are inevitable unless we act.
We ask all members to support the strike on 4th June. We also ask that you join your picket line. Due to school holidays some of our reps are away, but picketing isn't just for reps, it's for you too. It's a vital chance to persuade members not to break the strike and also to show strength to management!
Rallies are being held in the North West at the following locations:
Preston - The Stanley Arms, Lancaster Road, 11.30am
Manchester - Cross Street Chapel (nr back entrance of Boots), 11.30am
Liverpool - Victoria Monument, Derby Square, 1pm
Please approach your local rep with any queries.
SUPPORT THE STRIKE - THEY WON'T TALK SO WE MUST WALK!
Four years of pay restraint and increased pension contributions have seen the value of our members take home pay fall by 20%.
Members in both DWP and HMRC taking action in the North West tomorrow have also seen s concerted attack by the Government on long held Terms and Conditions. Further attacks are inevitable unless we act.
We ask all members to support the strike on 4th June. We also ask that you join your picket line. Due to school holidays some of our reps are away, but picketing isn't just for reps, it's for you too. It's a vital chance to persuade members not to break the strike and also to show strength to management!
Rallies are being held in the North West at the following locations:
Preston - The Stanley Arms, Lancaster Road, 11.30am
Manchester - Cross Street Chapel (nr back entrance of Boots), 11.30am
Liverpool - Victoria Monument, Derby Square, 1pm
Please approach your local rep with any queries.
SUPPORT THE STRIKE - THEY WON'T TALK SO WE MUST WALK!
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