Talk is cheap
29 January 2010
PCS’ objective was to try to secure a minimum three year salary severance. All we got from Cabinet Office was an invitation to more talks. The Government cancelled four meetings before Christmas without any explanation.
We can be sure that mass redundancies (on the cheap, comparatively) and privatisations will be coming our way very soon if we do nothing.
Cheek By Jowell
It is obvious that Tessa Jowell is planning to stall us from setting procedures in motion to ensure we are in a position, legally, to take industrial action ahead of the General Election – and she appears to believe this tactic will work. It is looking very likely that the statute that enables the changes to the CSCS will be laid before Parliament on the 4th or 5th February. Any objections to the changes need to be notified within a couple of weeks of that date. So far, 115 MPs have signed up to an early day motion (EDM) on the CSCS. Over 100 signatures for an EDM on an industrial issue is a tremendous level of support. This reflects effective lobbying by many members in constituencies, and MPs’ increased receptiveness to that in the run-up to a General Election.
Plan of action
The NEC has agreed to instigate a Judicial Review and to ballot members on a campaign of national industrial action. The ballot will run from 4 to 25 February.
Members are to be balloted on a programme of discontinuous industrial action, aimed at maximising disruption to the employer, to include a combination of national strike action, rolling action (i.e. across different departments, or other employers, over different days) and targeted action (i.e. specific areas which are particularly effective at causing disruption). The intention is to call effective action at the same time as minimising the financial loss to members as far as possible.
Therefore, March will be the key period to build pressure. This, and other issues, can be debated at the Branch Annual General Meetings coming near you over the next few weeks.
Some members may think this will not impact on them. Whether the change to the compensation scheme directly impacts or not, all members can be sure that if the change happens it will be followed by a swathe of compulsory redundancies across the civil service.
DfT is under particular pressure. The Department has been criticised by NAO for over-egging the efficiency savings it has claimed; and reports at the weekend suggested that whatever shade of Government we have after the spring cuts of 30% in DfT budgets may follow.
Cuts are already in the pipeline. PCS has been informed officially by the central department that a decision was made in December to cut HR posts across the Department and its Agencies. Initial targets have been set for September 2010 and nearly 150 posts are expected to be cut by 2012.
PCS Members need to stand together to save the compensation scheme and fight the cuts.
Please vote in the forthcoming ballot and attend your branch meetings.
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