Public and Commercial Services Union

Better conditions at work

Talks have now concluded on a package of measures to improve members’ terms and conditions. Management are now deciding on whether they should make a formal offer of the package which include improvements on the managing attendance policy, family friendly policies covering access to flexi time, breaks etc, job security and employee relations.

The improvements are in addition to the abolition of PDS and the extra non-consolidated money we were able to secure last year for pay. The negotiations were only made possible because of the strength of our campaign including the strike action taken by DWP members last year.

Delegates attending the PCS DWP conference discussed the package and unanimously agreed we had to secure the package without delay so members could benefit from the improvements

Delegates also agreed to demand that the improvements are extended to all members in CMEC.

Still no more money for pay

Against this backdrop of rising workloads and increased pressure across all parts of the DWP and CMEC, PCS negotiators met with management. The meetings were to identify efficiency saving that could be used to fund further pay increases for members in line with the Treasury guidance issued following the civil service-wide campaign and ballot last year.

Despite the clear evidence that staff are working harder than ever Management told PCS that they were unable to find any savings that could be used to fund extra pay.

DWP management said they could not find further efficiencies over and above the 5% savings they are already being asked to make but were unable to provide figures to support their position. They did agree that the savings were only being achieved by members’ hard work.

Conference decides

PCS representatives attending the DWP group conference found this situation unacceptable and agreed to demand a detailed breakdown and further talks on what efficiencies have already been made and what further savings could be made, in for example the use of consultants, which could be used to improve members pay.

PCS delegates attending the national conference also debated similar concerns across all civil service/public sector bodies and agreed that PCS members needed to be consulted about further campaigning; activity to secure much needed pay improvements.

Jobless figures

Between January and March the number of people out of work increased by 244,000 - the largest quarterly increase since 1981.

The number of people claiming jobseekers allowance was up by 57,100 last month to 1.51 million – the highest figure since August 1997.

PCS members in the DWP are at the forefront of the government’s attempt to deal with the economic crisis with the pressure increasing on a day by day basis.

PCS will be using these latest figures in our continuing campaign for additional resources, better terms and conditions and improvements to pay.