It’s been a week of swirling
surrealism, contact tracing, home working, and trying to steer traumatised
members and traumatised managers through ever changing guidance. And today I
have the day off to go and collect my mother in laws ashes. Covid-19 has turned
everyone’s world upside down and I don’t like it (expletives deleted).
Here is the latest news.
Promotion Opportunity
The economic impact means that DWP
is recruiting thousands of EO work coaches. This is being done by promotion
from DWP, the wider civil service and other public bodies. If you are an AO
seeking promotion then I wish you good luck. If you are an EO looking for a
move of office then this may be a good opportunity as we know there are
vacancies. If you need any help or have hit some sort of obstruction then
please contact PCS.
What will happen to the resulting
shortfall in AOs remains to be seen. PCS are pushing for further recruitment of
all grades and also in other parts of our business, such as CMG, so we can
provide a service to the public.
The
vacancy details are here. You will have to log on to Civil Service Jobs to
view it. Closing date for applications is 30 June 2020.
Pay
PCS has submitted a pay claim of
10%. This goes nowhere near restoring what we have if pay had kept pace with
inflation over the last 20 years. See the attached circular and watch out for
updates on negotiations and the PCS campaign.
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. The PCS Black Members
Committee online forum replay is on YouTube. PCS continues to push for answers
to our questions and protection for our members. If the government publishes
the recommendations which should have been attached to their report we may have
some leverage to get those changes.
And neither local managers nor local
PCS reps can directly influence what will be national decisions. Please be
patient with our reps. We are listening to your concerns and passing them on to
our national negotiating team.
Coronavirus
We have negotiated special policies
for coronavirus. Guidance is here. This is the management
site and should be cross referenced with PCS guidance. Please note that PCS
does not necessarily agree with all of these policies.
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
New
guidance on getting staff back to work was published this week. This does NOT
mean that staff who are homeworking will be asked to return to the office. If
you are on special leave with pay you will have a call from your manager to put
a plan in place to get you working from home. You will receive advance notice
of the call and some information about the process so that you can think about
what you need. If you are in the vulnerable group (rather than the extremely
vulnerable group) and it is IMPOSSIBLE to work from home you may
be asked to work from the office. This should only be the last resort.
If
your manager rings you at home please be nice to them and have an open and
honest discussion.
Make
sure that you have the conversation with you manager. If they refuse to make
reasonable adjustments or you think that what you are being asked to do is
unreasonable 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 still has Health & Safety
concerns about using the Softphone system if you are homeworking.
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. We have worked hard to try
and get robust systems in place which will work locally.
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.
Some have moved online so the more tech savvy people can download Zoom and join
in.
It’s
Father’s Day on Sunday. It might be tough for some people such as me who have
lost their father recently and for those who cannot see their children because
of Covi-19 restrictions. Look after each other.
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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