DWP LU Model Motions
DWP PAY CAMPAIGN
Conference congratulates PCS members in DWP for their magnificent show of strength in striking on 6th and 7th December 2007 and subsequent industrial action. This came after members had overwhelmingly rejected the offer which had then been imposed. Members rightly felt they had no alternative but to take this action in order to force management to listen. We recognise that the GEC were correct to call this action when they did.
We note that:
1. The offer from management was derisory, giving members an insulting 3% increase over 3 years, including discriminatory performance bonus amounts and resulting in the lowest paid receiving only 24p above the Minimum Wage;
2. In contrast, Senior Management have themselves received pay bonus increases of 6.5% to 7.6%, with the basic pay of Permanent Secretaries rising by up to 9% in 2007;
3. Management claimed they couldn't give us any more, with Gordon Brown insisting on the public sector pay cap of 2%;
4. The same Gordon Brown can find many billions of pounds when it comes to bailing out Northern Rock, funding illegal wars and renewing Trident Nuclear missiles;
5. According to the Labour Research Department, the 30 highest paid directors in the City of London received a staggering 97.6 Million pounds in the latest year (up by 25.7% from the previous year);
6. The attack on our pay is part of a general assault on the public sector.
Conference believes that the money is there to give members an inflation proof pay rise and more. However, the Government's and management's intransigence means we have to fight hard for that money.
In continuing the campaign for a pay rise which at least matches the RPI inflation figure, Conference resolves:
1. To develop and intensify our industrial action as necessary, including the use of further strikes, action short of strikes and targeted action;
2. To seek to co-ordinate our industrial action and campaigning with other Departments and other trade unions where possible;
3. Continuously inform and regularly consult members about how we are taking the campaign forward.
VICTIMISATION
This Conference fully supports the Campaign to Defend Eddie Fleming waged by the CSA Hastings branch and backed by the national union.
We recognise that management's attacks upon Eddie and others in CSA Hastings is an attempt to undermine the branch and to prevent union organisation. It is a part of the wider "disengagement" policy of DWP management.
We agree to do all that we can to support Eddie and the branch in defending the right to organise and to retain Eddie's job with the CSA.
NATIONAL CAMPAIGN AND THE DWP
Conference welcomes the national talks that have been secured by the national union campaign in which DWP activists and members have played a significant and at times, critical role. We recognise these are the first national talks around the issue of central bargaining in over a decade and represent a major achievement and an historic opportunity. The national talks seek to secure a platform for national bargaining in the following key areas, Jobs and redundancy Avoidance, Pay, Privatisation and Out-sourcing and Well-Being at Work. Conference recognises that securing an acceptable settlement on these areas that can be recommended to PCS members will represent a major step forward for the union.
National agreements and frameworks will have a direct impact in the workplaces, setting recognised benchmarks across all departments in key bargaining areas, thereby helping to defend member’s interests in a very hostile political and industrial climate where the Government and management are intent on carrying on their attacks on the Civil Service, and DWP particularly.
Conference is well aware that if the national talks do not result in an agreement then the national campaign, and DWP’s role in it, will be escalated. Nevertheless, even if a settlement is reached the campaign against low pay, cuts in jobs and terms and conditions and privatisation will continue at national and Group level.
PCS nationally will continue to campaign against the public sector pay limit and seek to build the widest possible unity across the public sector trade unions on this issue and will also seek to coordinate action across the Groups and with other unions whenever possible. The magnificent response by PCS members to the pay offer imposed in DWP has been a source of real inspiration to members in other departments and NDPB’s and across the public sector.
Conference instructs the Group Executive Committee to; -
Continue to closely work with the union at national level in building campaign work on low pay, the cuts and privatisation agenda.
Build and extend its work in building links with other groups and unions.
Review and develop its bargaining agenda in the light of any national settlement.
Fully cooperate with the national union in building any escalation in the event no national settlement comes from the national talks.
Build the widest possible coordination across the Groups, NDPB’s and other unions, to campaign, including industrial action, in opposition to low pay and the cuts and privatisation agenda.
PRIVATISATION
Conference deplores the ideological offensive conducted by the Government and senior management that pushes the interests of private sector profiteering above that of those who need DWP services and the staff who deliver them. The public sector delivers best, something that even the Freud Report indicated when it praised the record of Jobcentre Plus workers in delivering the government’s programme but then, in an absolutely cynical, dishonest and partial fashion went on to recommend privatisation of areas of Welfare to Work provision. This privatisation is a direct result of the cuts programme that has left the department without the capacity to deliver such a large new programme thereby confirming the union analysis that there is a direct strategic link between the cuts and privatisation.
While at this stage management state this transfer of work to the private sector is unlikely to include the transfer of DWP staff into the private sector under TUPE there will be huge implications for staff, clients and wider society arising from the effective privatisation of core welfare delivery.
PCS is committed to continuing the fight against privatisation and particularly to exposing and opposing the Pathways to Work outsourcing. Conference instructs the Group Executive Committee to;-
1 –Campaign at levels, media, legal, parliamentary, locally etc to oppose the privatisation of DWP services, particularly continuing to focus on the outsourcing of core welfare delivery work.
2 - Develop its bargaining agenda in relation to defending member’s rights throughout the outsourcing programme. Build membership in these areas as a matter of priority.
3 – Raise awareness amongst members, the public, service user groups and other relevant groups and organisations about the privatisation of welfare services and build and coordinate joint campaigning work. Specifically oppose the proposal contained in the White Paper to transfer Jobseekers to the private provider after 12 months.
4 - Conference notes the successful PCS event initiated by LU comrades in Scotland on Welfare to Work and agrees this should be replicated in Wales and the English regions.
5 – Coordinate anti-privatisation work with the national union and with other Groups and unions wherever possible.
6 – Develop the work of the Public service Not Private Profit Campaign in DWP, organising activity around the Pathways to Work outsourcing.
7 – Continue to expose the failure of privatisation and pose our alternative along the line of the Alternative Strategy as applicable to DWP.
8 – Coordinate industrial action whenever appropriate.
HR
Flexi
Given the increasing management use of new technology to monitor our members every move, this conference calls on the GEC to launch a campaign on flexi rights. –
to increase members awareness of what their rights are
to build a campaign to collectively oppose this intrusive monitoring and lack of flexibility for our members
To highlight publicly the need for more staff to provide vital services to the public.
Workforce Management
This conference agrees that Workforce Management in the DWP remains an area of deep concern for our members.
We also note with concern that in the North East a 'Non-ReCIPE' Pilot is being trialled, allowing management increased flexibility to make workforce management decisions without having to put these through ReCIPE. Conference notes that this has led to a reduction in TU consultation and that although the pilot is not yet complete, management in the North East are already hailing it a success, and have stated in their interim findings that they would see a return to full ReCIPE consultation arrangements as a 'retrograde step.'
Conference instructs the GEC to promote a strategy which includes full consultation with PCS at every stage of WFM with emphasis placed on resisting any expansion of the North East 'Non-ReCIPE' pilot.
Grievance Policy and Procedures
Conference agrees that the DWP Grievance Policy and Procedures need to be improved so that grievance decisions are fair, reasonable and consistent.
Conference calls for the introduction of:
Improved timescales, including up to three months to submit an initial grievance, so that no-one is denied their grievance rights because of an unreasonable timescale.
Freedom for fear that raising a grievance may result in any detriment by the abolition of the vexatious or malicious grievances policy and the introduction of a no victimisation guarantee which explicitly confirms that:
“Victimisation will not be tolerated. No one will be threatened with, or receive, less favourable or unequal treatment compared with others because they have used or considered using the Grievance Procedures, in compliance with DWP Policy, or helped another employee to do so. Disciplinary action will be taken when there is evidence of such misconduct.”
An appeal stage which allows the employee the option of an Independent Grievance Appeal Panel, as in the Ministry of Defence, which would consist of a chair and two members, with one of the members being an active or retired Trade Union official and the others from an agreed list of ex or current civil servants.
Improved fairness at work with the introduction of an appeal to the Permanent Secretary with re-allocation of resources from the current “back to the floor” initiative, so that unfair decisions can be corrected when the appeal stage fails to do so.
All appeal managers or panel members to be independent, not the line manager or countersigning manager of the decision maker of the disputed decision and wherever possible completely outwith the line management chain.
ATTENDANCE MANAGEMENT
Conference condemns the harsh, vicious and unsympathetic application of the Attendance Management Policy and Procedures. Conference demands freedom from fear of warnings and dismissal when sick.
Conference agrees there must be significant and substantial changes to the Attendance Management policy and procedures and calls for a high profile campaign to be organised to achieve key changes including:
· abolition of the “must give a warning” emphasis in the policy and procedures.
· abolition of requirements for line managers to consult others before deciding not to give a warning.
· strict limitation of the circumstances when a warning may be appropriate so that warnings are the exception not the rule and are not simply triggered by the absence record alone.
· strict definition of “satisfactory attendance” as a minimum standard.
· explicit confirmation that all the “special circumstances” listed as reasons not to give a warning apply at each stage of the procedures.
· improved minimum standards for the application of reasonable adjustments to the consideration point to support disability/medical condition related absence.
· amendment of the one off provision which abolishes all qualifications related to its use.
· introduce a requirement to implement annual stress action plans, following consultation with Trade Union Health and Safety Reps, in response to the DWP stress survey results.
· introduce explicit individual rights to safeguard the delivery of natural justice and procedural fairness backed up by effective sanctions against deliberate non compliance.
· reinforce and introduce hard and fast rules which protect job security when sick.
PDS
Conference recognises:
everyone is relatively worse off with a Performance and Development System (PDS) which uses relative assessment compared with a standards based system.
all the equality assessments of the outcomes of PDS show that employees who are part time workers, disabled or from ethnic minorities are less likely to get Top/Higher markings and are more likely to get lower markings.
all these outcomes are worse when compared with the standards based systems which were abolished when PDS was imposed.
the need to move back to using standards was recognised in 2006 when DWP introduced “descriptions of performance levels”.
Conference calls for all necessary action to be taken for:
the abolition of relative assessment.
the restoration of standard settings at the start of the appraisal year instead of descriptions of performance at the end
the introduction of the principle that everyone should be awarded the performance level which they have achieved.
WORKING PRACTISES
ESA
This conference notes the vulnerability of management with the tight timescale to introduce the new benefit ESA. As management are considering recruiting extra staff for backfill or use more overtime to cover the training of staff and their transfer onto new work – this gives us an opportunity to raise proper staffing levels to do the work properly and securely.
This conference therefore agrees to call on the GEC:-
To negotiate more permanent staff – if staff need to be benefit trained to backfill training and members working on the new benefit then it is a waste of resources to recruit fixed term staff for this
To vigorously oppose any attempt to start meaningful consultation on the feeder site members linking this with the dire need for experienced benefit staff
To launch a high profile campaign to expose management failures if they start further meaningful consultation or fail to recruit permanent staff as they will be putting benefit delivery for some of the most vulnerable in society at risk.
LEAN Working
Conference notes that across various business units within the DWP, management are introducing different pilots to move towards LEAN working practises. We note with concern the use of LEAN methods in the HMRC and that these have led to reductions in staffing levels.