NEC to discuss coordinated strikes after yes vote

Taking joint strike action with other unions on 10 July will be discussed by our NEC after a yes vote in our national ballot.

We held a consultative ballot asking members to back our 'We all need a pay rise campaign,' starting with a 1-day strike on 10 July. 

We have sought central talks on our claim. We must force the government to end the pay cap, to succeed with our claim.

We have an existing industrial action mandate but our annual delegate conference in Brighton agreed to ask our members to vote 'yes' in a consultative ballot on our national campaign running from 12-30 June.

In the ballot, which closed today, 73.7% of those who took part backed the campaign. The turnout was 24% of those eligible to vote.

The national executive meets tomorrow (1 July) to discuss next steps.

We all need a pay rise 

Across the UK pay cuts have damaged the economy and caused real hardship for millions of people.

If pay had kept pace with inflation, average civil service pay would be £2,300 higher than it is now. But the government has announced that the pay cap will continue in 2014 and 2015 and possibly beyond.

Our members are facing the tightest living standards squeeze for nearly a century.

We have submitted a pay claim to the Cabinet Office, which seeks a:

£1,200 or 5% pay increase. 

Find out more about the pay campaign...

http://www.pcs.org.uk/en/campaigns/national-campaigns/pay/index.cfm

https://twitter.com/hashtag/weallneedapayrise?src=hash

Makerfield Newsletter – Summer 2014

Makerfield Newsletter – Summer 2014

PCS Conference Update

Motions submitted by Makerfield members were debated at PCS Conference with mixed results .  Our motion (A138) seeking adherence to the Contact Centre Agreement (CCA)in respect of job security for AA members was opposed by the DWP Group Executive as it was '..anecdotal and too prescriptive..' The announcement on 12/06/14 to declare 140 AAs surplus vindicated our branch motion and showed that if anything our deadline was too lenient. 

Following the opposition to motion A138 Wigan Branch tactically withdrew motion A140 as this was also being opposed by the Group Executive for similar reasons . This meant that motion A141 identical to motion A140 (but without deadline) was not opposed and was passed. The instruction from this motion is : Conference therefore instructs the GEC to negotiate the following start and finish time voluntary flexibilities: a) Twenty minutes pre scheduled start time to undertake non-telephony work, log-in and become ready to take telephone calls, and b) Twenty minutes post scheduled finish time to log-off and undertake non-telephony work.

PCS Diaries are to be reintroduced from this year .  Wigan Branch was one of dozens to submit motions on this subject and it was overwhelmingly passed at National Conference . 

Contact Centre issues

PCS met with CCM and asked that the appointment template be withdrawn as it is nowhere to be found in DWP Policy & Procedure and goes against the spirit of the CCA. This could not be resolved and was escalated - the reply received was that it is to ensure consistency but should not be intrusive. Let us know if you have any concerns that this is not the case.

PCS have been assured the early finishes do still exist.  Please copy in the inbox (include screenshots) with any of your requests and do the same for 15 minute overrides .

PCS needs your feedback in respect of DETPs (what used to be the extra days for underlying conditions).  PCS consider that any meeting concerning  DETPs, whether it be for the award,  increase or decrease of DETPs to be a formal attendance meeting and as such members must be given 5 days notice of these meetings and have the chance to be represented.  Let us know if you feel this is not happening.

Just to clarify PCS are available for advice on all these and many other matters and this time is official time and should not be in your own time. Any problems contact us.

DRT

PCS are meeting with Ian Mason on a regular basis.  We have found these meetings to be constructive so far.

PCS Makerfield are : FFW - Steve Barlow,David Bradshaw,Toni Matthews & Amelia Prunty. FFE - Simon Dalfen. GFE – Nina Laithwaite. GFW – Lorraine Birkett.

https://www.join.pcs.org.uk/en/join-pcs/switch-to-direct-debit/index.cfm

You can hand completed Direct Debit forms to any rep.

Pay calculator

We have launched a new pay squeeze calculator, for members to see what their level of pay should be if it had kept pace with inflation. 

http://pcs.org.uk/pcs/filemanager/root/site_assets/camapaigns/pay_campaign/calculator_pay_23april14_final_.xls

Don't forget to vote yes in the PCS ballot

Remember you can also vote quickly and simply by phone or online.

Phone: 0800 197 4625 and follow the instructions. You'll need the 2 part security code from the ballot paper.

Online: www.votebyinternet.com/pcs2014
Again you'll need your ballot paper.

We are asking our civil service and public sector members to vote ‘Yes’ in a ballot to support our campaign for a fair pay rise, including a strike with other public sector unions on 10 July.

On 12 June ballot papers will be sent out consulting members about potential coordinated strike action to break the public sector pay cap and force the government to negotiate with us on pay and other national campaign issues.

We all need a pay rise
More than a million union members in the public sector in England and Wales are preparing to take strike action on 10 July as part of a campaign to break the government’s pay cap.
Our members have seen their pay fall by an average of £2,300 as a result of 4 years of pay freezes and caps, which have limited cost of living rises to a total of 2% over 4 years. They are facing the tightest living standards squeeze for nearly a century.
The government has announced that the pay cap will continue in 2014 and 2015 and possibly beyond that time. Pension contributions for many have increased, further reducing take home pay.
Back our pay claim
We have submitted a pay claim to the Cabinet Office, which seeks:
a £1200 or 5% pay increase.
We have sought central talks on our claim. Unless we are able to force the government to end the pay cap, there is no chance of real negotiations on this claim.

Consultative ballot
We balloted members in March 2013 to take action to force negotiations over our national campaign demands on pay, pensions, job cuts and other issues. This ballot gives us the legal mandate to take action.
During the summer of 2013 we consulted branches about the next steps in the campaign and branches told us that we should continue with our campaign. We now plan to consult members about our campaign plan, which includes taking part in joint action with other unions to break the pay cap. Our plan will also include the launch of a levy to support targeted strike action aimed at putting pressure on our employers to have meaningful negotiations on pay, and other national campaign issues.

Day of activities
To launch our pay campaign we are asking branches to organise a "We all need a pay rise" day on 12 June, including workplace activities such as members holding "We all need a pay rise" red cards and using our new pay squeeze calculator, where members can see what their level of pay should be if it had kept pace with inflation, available at www.pcs.org.uk/pay
As part of the pay campaign we will be continuing to work on ensuring our financial independence from employers by collecting direct debit mandates.

Sign up for direct debit.
We need a serious challenge to the government's pay policy. Our members need a pay rise.
#WeAllNeedAPayRise

DWP declare 140 AA staff surplus (inc. 12 at Makerfield)

DWP has today declared 140 AA staff surplus. Managers will be holding meetings the AAs today who are directly affected.

The AAs being declared surplus today are spread over all parts of DWP Operations, but the two areas with the largest numbers are Pensions with 59 and Network Services with 46.

DWP maintains that the numbers of AA staff that they require is continually reducing due to new processes and increased digitalisation. They also say that the reductions in DWP staffing budgets has forced them to make work processes more ‘efficient’ that has led them to designing AA roles out of some parts of Operations. In practice this means making more senior grades do the AA role as well as their own.

PCS has made it clear to DWP management that we oppose making any AA staff surplus, not just because we want to protect the jobs of our members, but also because it is simply unnecessary. We believe that there remains more than enough work for all of the AAs in DWP and that, with a little flexibility on their part, management could easily find appropriate AA work for everyone.

AA numbers reducing
The numbers of AAs in DWP has reduced rapidly in recent months. 711 AAs left DWP last March under the Voluntary Exit Scheme and a further 460 have been successful in the recent AA to AO promotion exercise. As a result the total numbers of AAs in DWP has reduced to around 1,300.

This sudden loss of AAs has in some areas created significant AA shortages, particularly in the Benefits Directorate, to the extent that AAs have had to be transferred into those areas. In one office where a lot of AAs left, their work has even been given to Work Experience Placements, completely contrary to DWP rules on how such placements should be deployed.

PCS suggests alternative options
PCS has made a series of suggestions to DWP as to how the remaining AA staff could productively be deployed and so avoid anyone being made surplus. While some of these have been taken up by DWP, such as moving more AAs into Benefits, other PCS suggestions have not been taken up.

This is extremely disappointing. If DWP had been prepared to show the small amount of flexibility and imagination that PCS proposed, then there would be no need for a single AA to be declared surplus today.

Surplus Status
Being surplus means that staff have priority in applying for vacancies in DWP and, importantly it also provides for priority in applying for vacancies in other civil service departments. Management are keen for the AAs who are being declared surplus to consider doing this, though they cannot be forced to do so. Management have told PCS that, in some areas at least, there are some AA vacancies in other government departments that may provide a long term role for our AA members.

Threats of compulsory redundancy?
DWP have repeatedly told PCS that declaring these AAs surplus today is not a precursor to commencing meaningful consultation for compulsory redundancy. They maintain that is being done primarily to give them priority in applying for AA jobs, particularly in other departments.

They have also stressed that they will do everything they can to find long term positions for the AAs, both within DWP and in other departments.
However, having said this, they have also said that DWP is not able to give a commitment they would never move to meaningful consultation on compulsory redundancy for these AA members.

There is no doubt that being declared surplus is very unsettling and stressful for the members involved. Given what DWP have told PCS the possibility of meaningful consultation for compulsory redundancy at some point in the future cannot be ruled out. It is particularly frustrating that management have decided to move to surplus status given that, in PCS’ view, there is more than enough AA work for the relatively small numbers of staff who are being declared surplus. Surely an organisation of the size of DWP can find work for 140 AAs.

PCS is of course absolutely committed to doing everything possible to defend the jobs of our AA members. PCS has an excellent record of avoiding compulsory redundancies where these have been threatened before. Members can be assured that PCS remains as determined as ever to ensure all of our AA members, who want to continue their career in the civil service, are able to do so.

Rail safety in the North

News from Wigan trades council (WTC)

10th of June 14.

The proposal document for the Northern Rail/Transpennine express franchises due to start in 2016 was released by the DFT on Monday June 9th.

Part of the document outlines measures interested party's will need to try and implement, in order to satisfy the DFT.

These measures concern us greatly as they will reduce safety, security for passengers and result in the possibility of hundreds if not thousands of jobs being lost.

The proposals state, that the bidder must demonstrate how they plan to implement Driver only operation (DOO) of Northern rail trains, on TPE this will be left for the winning bidder to decide if they want DOO or not.

In Wigan alone this would result in 56 Guards losing their Jobs across the Northern franchise the number would be 700 plus.

A safety critical member of train crew would be removed from all trains leaving only the Driver to deal with any potential collision, derailment, fire etc.

Also the bidder must demonstrate how it plans to reduce booking office opening hours through staff efficiencies to enable reduced costs.

This would see passengers stranded at busy stations and also reduce security at stations with large numbers of footfall.

Part of the franchise process will be decided and micro managed by "Rail North", this will be made up of councillors from all relevant ITA areas including GMPTE.

As you may sit on this group in the future and have a direct input into how these proposals are "guided" and "rolled out"  could I ask that you work with and support the RMT union in our aim of saving jobs and protecting passengers.

David Dean.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/future-of-northern-and-transpennine-express-rail-franchises

 

PCS rejects the DWP 2014 Pay Offer

Following the conclusion of 2014 pay negotiations, DWP have now published their pay offer for 2014.

Main Points of the offer:

·         A 1% consolidated increase to all staff

·         No pay progression

·         A 3% increase in the AA Minimum

·         No non-consolidated payments to staff with a ‘Must Improve’ box marking

·    No consolidated increase to staff with both a ‘Must Improve’ marking and who have commenced formal poor performance action during the 2013/14 year

For the third year running DWP’s pay offer is again restricted by the decision of George Osborne to limit consolidated pay increases in the public sector to just 1%. PCS rejects this 1% cap on our members pay and is committed to opposing it and arguing instead for our pay claim of a £1,200, or 5%, pay increase for our members.

Enough is enough

Another year of a miserly1% pay rise cannot be tolerated. A 1% increase in the total DWP pay bill means there was just an additional £28.2 million available for consolidated increases this year. This sum, when divided between the 95,000 staff in DWP means there is nowhere near enough money available to meet the concerns of PCS members on pay.

A 1% pay increase means:

·         There is no money to pay for pay progression. Members will again remain stranded on the pay scales with no idea of when, or even if, they may ever reach the max for their grade.

·         Another below inflation pay rise. Whichever indicator of inflation you choose, a 1% increase is well below the current rate of inflation. This equates to a pay cut for members in real terms.

·         No money to bring our members out of poverty pay, as prices keep on increasing while the value of their pay declines.

·         40% of DWP staff have to rely on tax credits to supplement their low wages. A 1% increase does nothing to address this appalling situation.

·         DWP pay remains lower than most other government departments, let alone comparable outside organisations and allows for no element of catch up.

·         Again DWP members are again being made to suffer under the government’s austerity programme. Why should DWP staff continue to have to pay the price for the economic crash?

·         Members constantly receive messages of thanks from Ministers and senior managers for the high performance of DWP. But these are just empty words unless backed up with a real monetary reward.

·         This is the seventh year of pay restraint in DWP and the third year of a 1% cap. Enough is enough!

Unsatisfactory performers

Members who have had formal poor performance action recorded on RM at any time during the 2013/14 performance year, and who have received a ‘Must Improve’ box marking will not be eligible for a consolidated pay rise.

AA Minimum

PCS persuaded DWP to increase the AA Minimum by 3%. This ensures that everyone in DWP is paid more than the national Living Wage of £7.65 per hour and goes a little way to addressing the issue of low pay in DWP. As a result AA’s on the minimum will receive a consolidated increase of 3% and those just above the minimum will receive an increase slightly higher than 1%.

Non Consolidated payments

The non-consolidated money has been distributed as follows:

	Exceeded – c. 20% of staff	Achieved – c. 75% of staff	Must Improve – c. 5% of staff
AA	£500	£450	Nil
AO	£600	£475	Nil
EO	£700	£500	Nil
HEO	£800	£500	Nil
SEO	£950	£500	Nil
Grade 7	£1,350	£500	Nil
Grade 6	£1,750	£500	Nil

Again DWP have refused to pay a non-consolidated payment to staff with a ‘Must Improve’ marking.

PCS is completely opposed to the refusal to pay the ‘Must Improve’ staff a non-consolidated payment. Again in this year’s negotiations we made the case for all staff to receive a non-consolidated payment. However DWP refused to budge on this issue. The refusal to pay to the ‘Must Improve’ staff raises the possibility that, in future, they may prefer to reduce or, even stop, making non-consolidated payments to members with an ‘Achieved’ marking and concentrate all the non-consolidated money on the top box marking.

Several other government departments have already stopped paying any non-consolidated payments to staff with an ‘Achieved’ marking and there is no doubt that DWP is under pressure to do the same. DWP have made it clear that such changes to the non-consolidated pot are the preferred direction of travel for the future.

With consolidated pay rises so restricted, and with pay progression being non-existent the non-consolidated payment is an essential element of pay for all members. It is unjustifiable to deny this to staff with a ‘Must Improve’ marking.

Members have little confidence in the people performance appraisal scheme. Year after year the appraisal system has been shown to be discriminatory and to favour the higher grades. It is wrong for DWP to base any decisions on pay on a flawed appraisal system. PCS argued instead for all of the non-consolidated money to be converted into consolidated pay increases that could have been used to fund, at least in part, a decent pay rise or pay progression. However DWP were forbidden from doing this by Treasury-imposed rules.

PCS Response – We all need a pay rise

The DWP GEC has met and rejected this pay offer in line with PCS policy. This is a derisory pay offer and goes nowhere near meeting the concerns of members.

The GEC has decided not to run a formal ballot on this pay offer given that a pay offer artificially restricted by the Treasury-imposed 1% cap cannot be acceptable. Also as PCS nationally is launching a ballot of members on the national campaign for a fair pay rise across the civil service this week there is no sense in running a separate ballot in DWP at the same time. DWP intend to pay the award in July 2014 salaries.

Charles Law              Fran Heathcote

Industrial Officer      Group President