Congratulations to Liverpool on
winning the men’s English football premiership. At the end of the storm,
there’s a golden sky. If the forecast is to be believed the weather will do the
opposite. Stay safe in the thunderstorms.
Here is the latest news. I’m sorry
it’s a bit late in the day today. I’ve been doing personal casework all
morning.
Reopening Jobcentres
The initial reports received by PCS
were that we would pretty much go back to the Before Covid (BC) ways of working
in Jobcentres with less than a week’s notice. Fortunately that is not the plan.
PCS will work to try and keep
members and the public as safe as possible. We are hoping for more detailed
plans as we cannot assess and reduce the risks without them. We will continue
to work with managers at a national and local level to keep you safe.
More detail is in the circular
here.
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. The pay offer doesn’t get close to meeting
our request. See
the latest PCS circular here. The management take on the offer is here.
Supporting People Back to Work
Managers are contacting staff to
work through a checklist to get everyone working again. This DOES NOT
mean that everyone will be back in the office. Please
read the circular here for the PCS steer on this issue. You will be given
advance notice of the discussion and a checklist to complete. All managers and
staff should familiarise themselves with the
procedures here.
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.
Softphone System
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. The PCS view is that
management could have done more at a national level. 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.
Other Coronavirus Information
Please check out all the 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.
JOIN
PCS
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.
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.
As
lockdown lifts please remember that the virus is still as deadly as ever.
Social distancing is still 2m unless you can’t maintain that distance. As we
have assessed our offices for 2m it will stay 2m in those locations. And then
it is at least 1m but also with other measures such as screens, face coverings,
special seating plans, etc.
Please
be careful. My mother in law, a couple of friends, and at least one member of
this branch have died from Covid-19. There is a spike in infections in parts of
Leicester and maybe in Wigston, too. I don’t want to lose anyone else. Please
look after yourselves and 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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