It’s been another strange week in
the world of a civil service trade unionist.
The Dominic Cummings saga rumbles
on. I could do a long rant but I won’t. His own admission of what he did is
pretty startling if you believe what he said in the press conference rather
than the account he and his wife wrote in the Spectator. Views on what should
happen next are, arguably, a matter of opinion and I therefore shouldn’t
comment. But, well…
In another related civil service
story a cabinet office press officer tweeted about a statement from the Prime
Minister, “Arrogant and offensive. Can you imagine having to work with these
truth twisters?”. I’m not sure I’d be able to save their job but if they were a
member of PCS I would try to do my duty as a rep. The disciplinary meeting
would certainly be interesting.
Anyway, before I get myself in
trouble; the weekend weather is forecast to be good and the lockdown rules have
again changed slightly but coronavirus is not yet over. Stay local, stay
socially distanced, resist the urge to see relatives and friends, and stay safe
everyone.
Here is the latest news.
Equal Pay Act
Today is the 50th
anniversary of the Equal Pay Act. It addressed an immediate problem but there
are still problems. Although there is no pay differential for each pay grade
based on gender women are still paid less than men. Women have historically
been far less likely to get promoted and inequalities in caring
responsibilities (both child care and care for older or disabled people) mean
far more women than men work part time and put their careers on hold. PCS will
continue to campaign to try and break down these barriers.
PCS Interim Demands
PCS put in a bid for pay, pensions,
office closures, and redundancy. We cannot put all our normal work on hold due
to coronavirus. It is also a test of how much the government really care about
key workers. The supermarkets don’t accept a round of applause as payment for
goods.
Pay
PCS asked for a significant increase
as a reward for our hard work during the coronavirus crisis. The treasury have
announced that pay will be between 1.5% and 2.5%. When RPI is currently 2.6%
this is a real terms pay cut.
If there are increases to income
tax, national insurance, and VAT we will be hit even harder in our pockets.
Coronavirus
We have negotiated special policies
for coronavirus. Guidance is here. This is the management
site and should be cross referenced with PCS guidance.
PCS
continues to negotiate on behalf of members both locally and nationally.
If
you have any questions about coronavirus HR guidance or need a rep to support
you please contact us using the branch shared mailbox.
Fans
and air conditioning
DWP
have taken the sensible decision to remove ALL fans in the office and
only use air conditioning that draws in outside air. Circulating air means that
the 2m social distancing would not be nearly enough and will put our members at
increased risk of catching coronavirus.
If
you see fans being used or have concerns about air conditioning please contact
your PCS Health & Safety rep immediately.
If
you have a fan as a reasonable adjustment please have a discussion with your
line manager. It may be possible to make alternative reasonable adjustments
such as sitting by an opening window or working from home. If you are the line
manager of such a member of staff please discuss the issues as soon as
possible.
If
you cannot reach agreement or the conditions for the whole office are
intolerable please consult your PCS rep.
See
the attached circular about PCS advice if your working environment becomes to
hot.
Homeworking
Equipment
has been purchased and is being given out to staff to work from home. This will
enable staff who are on special leave to work and to help to stop our offices
becoming overcrowded when full lockdown end but we still need to observe social
distancing.
If
your manager rings you at home please be nice to them and have an open and
honest discussion.
It
is a reasonable request to ask you to work from home. It is not reasonable to
ignore reasonable adjustments and specialist equipment and applications that
you may need. You will need the physical space to site the equipment and either
wifi at home or be supplied with a 4G dongle.
Make
sure that you have the conversation with you manager. If they refuse to make
reasonable adjustments please contact PCS using the shared mailbox. If you are
a manager please ensure that you familiarise yourself with the guidance on
reasonable adjustments before you make the calls.
If
you work from home then you fall into the category of staff who are working
rather than staff on special leave and the relevant HR policies about leave,
etc. will change for you.
Please
note that home workers will be able to claim expenses to cover costs. The
general amount is claimable after you have been working from home for a month
or more. It increased from £4 a week to £6 a week from the new tax year. You
may be able to claim for actual phone bills (minutes and data) if you need to
use a personal phone. You can also buy additional equipment and claim the money
back up to a maximum of £100. DO NOT DO THIS until you have got approval from
your manager.
AND REMEMBER in times of crisis it is more important than ever
to join a union. Ask all your colleagues, friends and relations to join a union
and if any of your colleagues are members but don’t get this e-mail ask them to
e-mail me and ask to be put on the list.
Softphone System
PCS has Health & Safety concerns
about using the Softphone system if you are homeworking. PCS says
don’t work on the phone from home until the risk assessment process has been
completed.
Please see the attached circular for
details.
Clap for Carers
The event appears to finally be
over. For me personally it was an uplifting occasion. But I started to feel,
especially this week, that clapping was all key workers would get. Actions
really do speak louder than words and the clapping was so much noise to hide
the fact that we wouldn’t get real respect and recognition, let alone a pay
rise.
Keeping Healthy
I hope that people are keeping well
and following the advice to try and avoid catching coronavirus.
But there are other health
considerations. It is a good idea to try and maintain some physical exercise if
you are able to. I have been walking round in circles in my garden while I am
on telekits to get some physical exercise.
Mental Health Awareness Week
This week has been Mental Health
Awareness Week so try and look after your mental health. Some people are
starting to be affected by the isolation and frustration of being at home. And
possibly worse is the staff left in the offices with half or even more not at
work and a huge workload. You can only do what you can do. If you are a line
manager please look after your staff and yourself. We are all feeling the
strain.
There is a lot of advice on the
internet and intranet about how to help manage your stress. And make use of the
annual leave provisions that we now have. Please note the rules for
staff who are working and for those on special leave. Please make sure that you
are up to date with this. Don’t do too much and burn out. This won’t help you,
the business, the public, or your colleagues.
Availability of reps
As well as me working
from home a number of our reps are at home for medical reasons. And next week
we have even fewer in work due to leave over Easter. The remaining reps are
negotiating with management and members about coronavirus and keeping people
safe. We have now set up regular communications with managers at CMG site level
and Jobcentre District level feeding in issues from reps and members who are at
home and those in work as we still represent all of our members.
Please be patient at
this time. We ask managers to defer HR issues where possible so as to enable
managers, staff, and reps can concentrate on safety and business continuity.
The following is now in
the coronavirus guidance:
You should be flexible and
practicable in applying deadlines in any procedures, not just Grievance. Your
discretion should be applied, based on the circumstances, to allow reasonable
additional time for things to get done in the current situation. This might
apply to deadlines for submitting grievances, notice of meetings and time
allowed for trade union reps. or note-takers to be obtained. To the greatest
extend possible, travel between sites for meetings should be avoided, with
participants expected to agree telephone, VC or Skype meetings.
PCS
Branch Reps
There is a list of reps on the Branch Blog. Please find out your
local one. If you don’t have one on site why not volunteer?
PCS Records
It’s a good idea to
make sure that your details are correct, both to comply with GDPR and so that
PCS can contact you. You
can use
the update function, here and or log on to the PCS web site to
register or check and update your details. If you cannot update your
details please get in touch.
If you get an e-mail,
a text, or a call from PCS to check your details and ask about your
participation it is genuine. Please say hello from me and help our PCS team.
Communications
It is essential that
members know what is going on in the union. Please talk to your colleagues and
your nearest rep (if you have one on site). There is also information of the
web sites. If you register as above you will receive information about
campaigns and what is going on in PCS.
Recruitment
The more members we
have the stronger we are. We are planning an extra push on recruitment.
If your colleagues are
not members ask them to join. If they don’t receive these e-mails ask them to
drop me a line and I’ll put them on my distribution list.
Facebook
PCS also has a
national and local branch Facebook page but you cannot view these on DWP
equipment. Log on to your Facebook account and search for PCS DWP
Leicestershire Branch. If you are not a recognisable member of the branch
you won’t be added so let me know your real name if you use an alias on
Facebook.
Other News
Other news is, as usual, on the relevant web site.
How to get help with a personal case
Please follow the
instruction on the branch blog. Do NOT contact me personally or
it may slow down your case. DO NOT SEND THE FORM TO THE PCS LEGAL E-MAIL ADDRESS.
In order for us to effectively negotiate on your behalf please let
us know of the issues in your workplace by replying to our PCS branch mailbox
or by clicking reply to this e-mail.
The
sun is up, the sky is blue, it’s beautiful and so are you. Dear member, DON’T
you come out to play. Unless it’s socially distanced and in compliance with
government guidelines. Remember these apply to everyone.
Enjoy
your weekend and I’ll be back next week.
Whatever
you are doing make a difference.
Watch
out for my e-mail next Friday.
Branch Secretary PCS DWP Leicestershire Branch
