It’s been a week dominated by Black
Lives Matter protests with a sting in the tail that the economy has shrunk by
over 20% in April. Both issues are directly relevant to PCS members both in work
and out of it.
The economic news is so new that PCS
nationally have not had a chance to respond but we will, no doubt, push for
more staff to deal with the rise in unemployment and press our case for us to
be recognised financially for the key work that we do. We will also need to
strengthen our policies on estates, health and safety and home working given
the coronavirus crisis is still with us. We need to ensure that our members are
not swamped with work and subject to undue stress, and that we have sufficient
resource to be able to serve the public in a way that we would like to.
Here is the latest news.
Black Lives Matter
It’s hard to argue that racism is
not an issue in this country as well as abroad. It is vital that PCS stands up
for equality and fairness for all. See
here for the PCS DWP Group statement and here for the national statement.
PCS Forum on Covid-19 Impact on BAME
Communities
BAME people are affected more
severely by coronavirus and we still don’t know why. PCS Black Members
Committee have organised an online forum using Zoom to discuss the issues. See
here for details on how to register. If the event is full you will be able
to catch up later as the event is being recorded and will be available on
YouTube.
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.
Flexi
Credit
The
results
of the PCS survey were discussed with management at a national level. PCS
were arguing for a shorter working day but we did get offered an hour a week
flexi credit for those still having to travel in to work. While it is a fairly
crude measure it is very simple to apply and there is no maths or discretion
involved. See
the circular here for more details.
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.
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 – URGENT UPDATE
PCS has Health & Safety concerns
about using the Softphone system if you are homeworking.
As of the issue of this e-mail I
have not seen any update from PCS to add to last weeks. I know that PCS Health
& Safety reps at all levels of the union are working hard to ensure that
risk assessments and 6 point plans are in place which will actually work for
the members who are being asked to do telephony work from home.
Check out the PCS web site and our
Facebook page for updates. If you have any concerns please get in touch with
us. We are feeding issues up to national level on at least a weekly basis.
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.
And please try to look after the
mental health of yourself, your colleague, your friends and your family.
Availability of reps
We now have more reps
available to help members but for obvious safety reasons this will be, in many
cases, done by e-mail, phone and Skype. 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.
This
is the part of the e-mail when I talk about events but they are almost all off.
It is Trooping the Colour for the Queens official Birthday tomorrow but even
that is very low key. And it does mean that we get our one remaining day of
privilege leave.
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
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