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MoD guard service detached duty terms

As many of you will be aware the PCS has continually argued to protect your terms and conditions of employment; this has ranged from the MDPGA trying to remove the 4% flexible allowance roster during the alternative roster trial (ART), which we managed to keep for the guards concerned.

We also secured many agreements through our tiger team meetings. Some of these agreements have now been broken, including the 48 hours notice to move your shifts; this would remove the ability to forward plan for holidays and other events and would have a severe impact on your work life balance.

The latest attack is now on detached duty terms. The MDPGA in recent weeks have been forcibly making guards attend for detached duty at other sites, other than their permanent place of work, to cover short falls in manning levels caused by PR09. There have been threats of disciplinary action should guards refuse to move; there have also been incidents of guards refusing to do this as they believe detached duty is on voluntary terms with no mention of compulsion or disciplinary action mentioned in the department’s PRGs.

Our union is now entering in to dispute over this and will be escalating it up to the departmental trade union side (MCSU), and will also be writing to the agency’s owner Ms Susan Scholefield.

The current PCS advice to guard service members is, if you are being forced to go on detached duty you should go under protest and raise a grievance. You should attend your normal place of work at your normal start time and it is up to the employer to get you to the detached duty station and return you to your permanent duty station for your normal finishing time. You cannot be compelled to use your own car.

PCS would ask any guard who is forced to move to keep a record of time, date, notice given and detached duty station attended. This record should also include the miles travelled from when you left home; this is to help PCS with any legal challenge we may be preparing.

Our union will be starting an indicative ballot of guard service members throughout the UK asking for your support on industrial action. If you feel your hard fought terms and conditions are worth fighting for you should make sure your voice is heard by returning the completed ballot.

Balloting for industrial action is not something PCS takes lightly. This has been forced on us by the draconian management style within the MDPGA. Throughout our discussions on PR09, the agreement has always been that should a task not have the manpower to staff it then it falls, so why cover it with forced detached duty? It would seem that, typically of MGS management, they are trying to paper over the cracks and say it’s business as usual.

Local representatives should be asking their customers whether they are aware that, and content with, their security being downgraded (at their expense) whilst MGS staff are forced moved to cover shortfalls at other locations (often within other TLBs)? Please let us know of their response. Please send details to one of the points of contact below.


Points of contact

John Lyons
07899 094394
johnlyons1@btinternet.com

Calum Campbell
0141 224 2583
07876 137827
tupcsbrep1.civsec@apc.army.mod.uk

Sean Sweeney
01436 674321 ext 3324
sweeneysean54@yahoo.com

Phil Rowe
0207 701 1522
cablerowe@yahoo.com

Bob Goodswen
0207 218 0608
rjgoods@supanet.com

Steve Robinson
030 679 30355
DESHROps-PCS-AGS@mod.uk

 

 

 

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