Public and Commercial Services Union

Members in Northern Ireland have heard that the MOD are trying to remove Stress and strain special paid leave from MOD civil servants in Northern Ireland. A letter was issued by the MOD on 21 November 2008 which suggests that this is indeed the case.

MOD council of civil service unions (CCSU) have written to the MOD asking for that letter to be withdrawn. The trades unions have made it clear that this is a term and condition of service in Northern Ireland and cannot be withdrawn unilaterally by the MOD.

At the time of writing, the trades unions were still awaiting an opportunity to talk further with the MOD about this issue. Should the outcome of these negotiations not be to our satisfaction, it may be necessary for members in Northern Ireland to take measures to defend this attack on their terms and conditions which seems to be borne out of ignorance in some quarters about the true position of so-called ‘normalisation in Northern Ireland.

A meeting is being arranged for early February to discuss the MOD's proposals. Our union will be represented by the group secretary, Paul Barnsley and a lay rep from Northern Ireland. the provisional meeting date is 5 February 2008.

Our union is committed to keeping our members informed about developments and supports members in any further action that may prove necessary. Any such action would be subject to a ballot and decided by our union's members.