Public and Commercial Services Union

Your PCS representatives had a conference call with Fujitsu on the Thursday 30 July where we were informed of their intention to pilot a new HMRC Deskside Support Model in the North East.

 

The pilot will involve testing a model whereby mobile engineers will deal with all calls to “remote sites”. The company has defined a “remote site” as a site that generates less than five calls a day.

 

Therefore mobile engineers will also deal with calls to sites if the number of calls are less than five a day and UST onsite presence will be limited to sites that generate more than this number. The pilot is due to start on the 2 August.

 

However, we were assured that any staff involvement i.e. mobile engineers taking on new work, is unlikely to be until the second or third week of August. We were informed that the pilot was part of the ongoing work under Programme 40 to reduce operating costs by 40%.

Your PCS representatives responded to the announcement of the pilot with disappointment due to the lateness of our being consulted.

 

We referred to the PCS/Fujitsu Consultation Framework which stresses the need to “share information and consult PCS representatives before decisions are taken” and confirms the principle that “to be effective consultation should take place when proposals are at a formative stage, there is adequate information on which to respond, adequate time in which to respond and conscientious consideration given to any response”.

 

We explained to the company had they consulted with us at an earlier stage it would allow an opportunity to work jointly to overcome many of our members fears regarding the pilot. For example, concerns regarding the potential to downgrade work and potential threats to job security.

 

The company assured us the pilot was a “proof of concept” exercise only, they did not know whether it would result in savings and no decisions had yet been taken. Any decisions moving forward would be based on the pilot evaluation. 

 

Due to inadequate consultation we requested that the pilot be postponed to allow time for meaningful consultation. Our request was declined by the company.

 

We strongly feel that the spirit of PCS/Fujitsu Consultation Framework has not been followed regarding this matter and we will be escalating the matter.

 

We requested the business case for the pilot detailing, the number of staff and sites affected, justification for the five calls per day benchmark and details of the pilot evaluation measures.

 

The company agreed to provide us with this information and once received both sides agreed it would be appropriate to have a face to face meeting to discuss the pilot further.

The company has agreed to send us details of what activity is expected during the pilot including estimated timeframes. Once received, we will issue a specific briefing to our members working in this area.

 

We also intend to hold members’ meetings in the pilot area to receive feedback. One point we did make to the company is USTs should not be used to do work relating to the new model during the pilot as it will affect the pilot results and provide a false picture.

 

In the meantime, it is important that you inform your PCS representative of any concerns or any ideas you have for alternative ways of working. The local PCS representative in the NE is David Lloydbased in Sunderland. David should be your first point of contact should you have any concerns regarding the pilot. He can be contacted by email david.lloyd@hmrcaspire.com  or 07867 827034

We have agreed that we will have bi-weekly telephone conference calls with the company for the duration of the pilot. The company are keen to hear your views about the new model, good or bad and have agreed to issue a regularly updated Frequently Asked Questions Briefing.

 

Clearly, our ability to influence the outcome of the pilot, including putting forward alternatives depends on having a high and organised PCS membership and management knowing that we have members prepared to get involved in our campaigns. Therefore it is important that as many Engineering Services staff as possible are members of PCS. Please take time to talk to your colleagues about joining our union. A membership form can also be downloaded.