Public and Commercial Services Union

Our union’s representatives are currently engaged in detailed negotiations with management on the Estate Management Review (EMR). The purpose of this circular is to:

1. Update activists and members on the current position
2. Highlight concerns that our union has with EMR
3. Seek comments, questions and issues from members that need to be put to management.

Our union has been in detailed negotiation with the employer on EMR. This has included engagement with the EMR HR working group as well as informal dialogue at the highest levels of Defence Estates (DE) and also with MOD centre.

This engagement is ongoing. However, at present PCS is opposed to the EMR and is concerned about the impact of the review on our members in DE and also across TLBs.

Our union has a number of concerns that have been flagged to us by members. Specifically we are seeking to resolve the following issues:

Post mapping

At present there is no agreed post mapping process and a number of TLBs have declined to support one objective and transparent process. This is unacceptable and must be addressed. Our union is also opposed to current plans to begin consultation before post mapping and the appeals process has been completed. We also believe that is unacceptable. We have made it clear that PCS believes post mapping must be satisfactorily completed before we can begin consultation.

Finally we remain concerned about governance arrangements over the application in the DE TLBs that needs to be addressed.

Management (mis) information

We are extremely angry that some managers have shared their proposed ‘To Be’ structures with their staff. Whilst members rightly wish to know what the future holds, these documents have no status, have not been discussed or agreed with PCS and pending the outcome of negotiations possibly nugatory work.

PCS members are advised to contact the group secretary, Paul Barnsley at paulba@pcs.org.uk to report instances where ‘to be’ structures are being revealed and where managers have told members that their post is to be cut.

Line management/reporting arrangements

PCS remains fundamentally opposed to the EMR concept and we do not believe the merger of TLB and DE teams will work in practice. We remain convinced that the original solution was the correct way to proceed, which would have delivered closer working, and has been abandoned in favour of arbitrary cuts.

We are particularly concerned at the decision to make the head of establishment the line manager of the new SEAT and believe this raises important questions about performance and reporting arrangements.

We note the employers seeming unawareness of the impact on workload and target delivery of their proposals. Our union will require assurances for our members who remain post transformation.

PCS is urging all members with concerns about EMR to contact the union, either via their local branch or by email to the group secretary, Paul Barnsley at paulba@pcs.org.uk.

We are committed to supporting members who wish to appeal the outcome of the post mapping process in due course. We are ready and willing to challenge misinformation from wherever it arises. We are also committed to ensuring the protection of every member’s job where this is what the individual wishes. Our union can also help members who wish to move out of scope or who wish to avail themselves of other options.

We will issue further information on EMR in due course.