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Guillotined motions section

Motion A502 from Services and Structures was carried

NEC Attitude: support with statement

This Conference congratulates the high profile that PCS has given to the problem of bullying and harassment in the workplace. However this Conference also acknowledges with regret that bullying and harassment also exists within the PCS organisation but that the present system in place to address this problem is totally inadequate. This Conference therefore instructs the NEC to instigate a thorough review of the internal measures that are presently in place to investigate and deal with cases of bullying, and that thereafter they act positively to address the problem.

Motion A614 from Personnel Policy was guillotined

NEC Attitude: support

Conference notes with concern that at present there is a dispute between the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) regarding how civil service departments and agencies should be monitoring staff on the grounds of disability. This was revealed to PCS week commencing 30 March 2009.

Conference notes the current arguments as follows:

  • Both the EHRC and the ONS believe monitoring on the rounds of disability must be expanded beyond a plain question of ‘Do you identify yourself as a disabled person as defined by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995’. However, their approaches are completely opposed.
  • The ONS believes that Government departments should monitor on medical grounds, and that staff must declare the types of impairment they have by reference to the underlying medical condition, e.g. being sight or hearing impaired, having cancer, HIV etc.
  • The EHRC however, believes that it is more appropriate to monitor using a Social Model approach and that Government departments should identify the barriers staff members face as opposed to their impairment, e.g. requires large print, requires access to a lift, requires a wide parking bay, etc.

This Conference notes that PCS policy is to adhere to and apply the social model of disability and instructs the NEC to:

1. Lobby the Cabinet Office to adopt the EHRC’s social model approach to monitoring.

2. Raise the issue in the wider trade union movement and encourage unions with similar views to lobby the Cabinet Office themselves, co-ordinating such action if possible

3. In the absence of a favourable response from the Cabinet Office, campaign in the wider Trade Union movement, in appropriate affiliated bodies and through the PCS Parliamentary Group to have the social model approach to disability monitoring adopted by the Cabinet Office.

(E marked motions associated with lead motion E615-E618)

Motion A36 from Health & Safety was guillotined

NEC Attitude: support

Conference is concerned that Government departments are able to shirk their responsibilities under H&S legislation by sheltering under the umbrella of Crown Immunity. This had led to a situation where major employers such as Revenue and Customs, refuse to engage in any meaningful H&S structure or process at any level, whilst introducing and changing working practices which are severely detrimental to the H&S of our members. Management standards – compulsory for private employers – are wilfully ignored, leading to serious detriment to our members.

Conference instructs the NEC to campaign for the removal of Crown Immunity from Government departments at the earliest possible opportunity.

Motion A41 from International was guillotined

NEC Attitude: support

The Branch notes the ongoing PCS campaign to boycott Coca Cola and backs this stance. The international boycott of all Coke products, started in July 2003 and launched by SINAL TRAINAL (Colombian Food and Drink Workers Union), has been growing stronger every year. People have been campaigning against the corporations socially and environmentally harmful policies since the campaign launch. The campaign looks to make Coke accountable:

  • For the profits made on the back of assassinations, imprisonments, displacement, kidnapping, death threats and the dismissal of trade unionists in Colombia.
  • For the criminal theft of water resources from communities in India where there have been prolonged vigils and huge demonstrations against the corporation.
  • For pushing privatisation so it can sell back in bottle everyone's right to water.
  • For saturation marketing and incessantly distributing unhealthy products, especially aimed at children and young people.
  • For the violation of human rights of workers and communities across the world.

Despite the PCS stance on this issue the fact remains that Coca Cola products continue to be sold via vending machines and canteens throughout Government buildings.

The NEC are instructed to enter into dialogue with Government Departments to negotiate the removal of all Coca Cola products from Government Buildings until such times as Coca Cola amends it's policies in line with the Boycott Coca Cola campaign. The NEC is further instructed to continue its support of the Boycott Coca Cola Campaign and Colombian Solidarity Campaign.

Motion A94 from Services & Structure was guillotined

NEC Attitude: Oppose

This Conference notes that the 2008 annual report stated:

“In carrying motion A94 our 2007….conference reaffirmed its view that extending elections beyond senior full-time officers and bringing the pay of our full-time officers more in line with the pay of our members, could be important means of continuing the development of PCS into a more democratic, accountable and effective trade union…Motion A94 also noted that our priority must be to ensure that work in this area does not…undermine our ability to achieve our national campaign demands. Conducting such work in 2007 would have absorbed a considerable proportion of the time of many of our full-time officers and leading lay activist…The NEC therefore decided…the large majority of our members would expect the union to focus its time and resources on making real progress toward achieving our campaign demands. The NEC agreed that the additional work called for by…A94 should await the conclusion of our national dispute. This decision is being kept under review.”

In order to further democratise PCS Conference instructs the NEC to present a relevant constitutional amendment to Conference 2010 that would extend elections for full time positions in PCS to those positions which the NEC believes appropriate at this stage but at least to Senior Negotiating Officers and Negotiating Officers.

(E marked motions associated with lead motion E492-E493)

Motion A65 from Pensions was guillotined

NEC Attitude: Oppose

Conference notes that there is an element of economic discrimination within the pension schemes offered to us.

The “classic pension scheme” does not allow for co-habiting partners to be nominated to receive any form of pension payment in the event of the death of the member, whilst husband/wife and civil partners are entitled to receive payment under the same scheme.

The only way members who co-habit with a partner can nominate them to receive any sort of death payment is if they had changed their pension to “classic plus” or “premium” schemed which means making a further monetary payment for the privilege of nominating their partner for death payment. As it not possible to change your pension scheme retrospectively, many members are in a situation where no benefit will transfer on death to their partner and their pension money is reabsorbed into treasury funds. This means that many low paid PCS members are in a position where they haven’t been able to provide for their partners in the event of death. Conference believes this to be discriminatory!

Conference therefore instructs the NEC to negotiate amendment to the “classic” scheme to ensure that co-habiting partners are able to benefit in the same way married and civil partners do, without paying for the privilege.

Motion A42 from International was guillotined

NEC Attitude: support

Conference notes:
1) The emergence of independent, democratic and effective workers' organisations over the last 2-3 years in Egypt despite management and state repression.

2) The successful mass strike by (mostly women) Textile Workers League members in the Mahalla industrial complex and subsequent achievement of the Tax Collectors and their families in obtaining a 325% pay increase after a 3 month campaign of strikes and mass sit-down protests outside the Finance Ministry .

3) The establishment on 20 December 2008 of the independent Real Estate Tax Authority Employees Union by tens of thousands of tax workers.

Conference condemns:

1) The attacks by the Egyptian state security police on the workers of Mahalla and their representatives including physical violence, unlawful detention and prison terms.

2) The hostility of the Egyptian regime to unions that refuse state control.

Conference instructs the NEC to:

1) continue to offer solidarity to those workers' representatives and protest at and publicise their plight;

2) to offer practical cooperation and links to the newly established RETA Employees Union, particularly in publicising their case and forging links with international trade union federations and corresponding trade groups within PCS.

(E marked motions associated with lead motion E328-E329)