PCS meets the new Ministry of Defence Permanent Secretary
PCS met with Jeremy Pocklington on 18 December to gain his understanding as to how Defence reform will work, but also an opportunity for us to raise a number of issues with him.
Principally we raised the problems of overwork, caused by the continuation of the recruitment freeze, leading to staff covering vacancies and having to deliver to unrealistic targets because of a lack of resources.
We asked for a statement, like that said at the all-staff dial-in earlier this month from the new National Armaments Director, that would empower staff to say “no” to requests that they were unable to undertake due to lack of resources. The permanent secretary did not feel able to go that far, instead relying on his direction to senior leaders to manage responsibly. We sense that we will return to this issue in the new year.
We also spoke about the recently announced voluntary exit scheme. Unlike in previous years, PCS is not objecting to this scheme at the present moment. The department has listened to our concerns about the design of the scheme and has worked with us to ensure that the eligibility criteria do not lead to a free for all.
We will be looking to arrange a more substantive meeting with the permanent secretary in the New Year to follow up on these and other issues of concern.
Next year will be another busy year for our members in defence and as always, we’d be keen to hear from members who want to get involved in their workplace on these matters.
In the meantime, for those members who are working over the festive season, thank you for the work that you do and for those fortunate to have some time off, a restful break. We wish you all a peaceful Christmas and Happy New Year from the PCS Defence sector group.